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1986 Corvette Project


BuckeyeROC

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Pictures.. need them. no one wants to read what you're doing :).

 

LOL, my daughter posted a few online on an instagram she made for our cars. And yes, we got the debris out before removing the sending unit and lined up the belt buckles to the recesses. When we get done with the work, she has a heck of a detail job ahead of her.:

 

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Long day, a lot of driving to parts stores, but the valve covers are in and no leaks so far. BUT the fuel schrader valve decided to start leaking. I'm guessing with the new pump/sending unit/filter that the fuel rails are now getting the pressure that they should have had and the schrader valve failed. Edited by BuckeyeROC
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I do miss my '95 C4 at times...not working on the LT1 doe (stupid Optispark issues).

 

I would say '80s Z51 C4's are the best C4's to own: if you can get one that looks good for cheap, they have some seriously hard paint that takes a good polish, and it's a sturdy chassis with great performance characteristics for cruising and spirited driving. I get why people might look at'90s ZR-1s, but at the price point the performance envelope is so much better with C5s and newer...why even bother unless you're a collector? Just get a good L98 and be happy with it.

 

Props to you, sir.

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I do miss my '95 C4 at times...not working on the LT1 doe (stupid Optispark issues).

 

I would say '80s Z51 C4's are the best C4's to own: if you can get one that looks good for cheap, they have some seriously hard paint that takes a good polish, and it's a sturdy chassis with great performance characteristics for cruising and spirited driving. I get why people might look at'90s ZR-1s, but at the price point the performance envelope is so much better with C5s and newer...why even bother unless you're a collector? Just get a good L98 and be happy with it.

 

Props to you, sir.

 

Thanks man, and I agree with you. Also, on the C5, the LS1 was a game changer when it came out.

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C5 is more than just LS1. Its chassis is much stiffer in both torsional and bending; the suspension is greatly improved in the rear. Regardless, a C4 is still fun and in this case it's a good entry into the world of RWD sports car.

 

Any chance she would be interested in participating in a competitive event?

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C5 is more than just LS1. Its chassis is much stiffer in both torsional and bending; the suspension is greatly improved in the rear. Regardless, a C4 is still fun and in this case it's a good entry into the world of RWD sports car.

 

Any chance she would be interested in participating in a competitive event?

 

When she's ready, I told her I'd let her run the 1/4 mile at National Trail. A road course class for both of us would be fun.

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Man this is car looks good! If you ever feel like moving forward with mods Z51 suspension (look in salvage yards) and C6 brakes turn it into a whole different car.

 

Thank you! The Z51 upgrade will be out b/c of all the suspension work we're currently doing, but I would love to put better brakes on there. I'm just not sure how much more money we'll be throwing at it. It's starting to add up, and we haven't addressed the A/C nor the paint/weatherstripping yet.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another fun day so far. Goal was pretty simple, replace brake master cylinder and booster, flush/bleed brakes. After stuffing my 6'4" 270 lbs body under the dash of this thing to get the brake booster nuts off and pedal clip, we start getting everything out and see that the brake master cylinder pressure switch is broken in half and hanging down the side of the fender in its harness. Of course, no local stores have it, special order part online from a specialty Corvette shop (overpriced). And we wait. Going to see what else we might be able to get done today...

 

Decided to get the new O2 sensor in and oil changed. Would like to do the diff fluid change today, but still waiting on some Race Ramp wheel cribs to make it a little easier/safer. Also took some time to cleanup the filthy engine bay. Bought a couple new stainless hose clamps to replace the aging ones on the intake system.

Edited by BuckeyeROC
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The brake pressure switch/sensor came in tonight and we had the VERY rare night with no kids' events, so we got to work.

 

First we put the sensor in the master cylinder. Then we had to make a gasket for between the booster and firewall, since nobody makes them anymore.

 

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MfGgJbT.jpg

 

 

Then we installed the new booster (hopefully the last time I have to squeeze upside down under this dash, but somehow, I doubt it). Then bench bled the master cylinder and buttoned everything up to specs.

 

S3JUD61.jpg

lxjWMo8.jpg

 

 

We ran out of time tonight, but either Friday night or Saturday, we will flush/bleed the entire brake system.

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She decided she was fine without AC in the car, so we ordered up an AC Delete Pulley, Dorman #34224. We'll measure for the belt once installed. If nothing else, it at least buys us another year before spending the money to replace much (if not all) of the AC system.

 

Plan tomorrow is to flush and bleed the brake system and start teardown of the front suspension.

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No pics and nothing sexy today. Flushed/bled the brake fluid with some Prestone DOT 4 and the new Motive Power Bleeder Kit. Man that bleeder kit worked nice and easy! Cleaned out the bleeder kit with denatured alcohol when done.

 

It is hot as balls out, we are done for today.

Edited by BuckeyeROC
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ENORMOUS day for our project car. We got the front suspension torn down. I was dreading this part of the project the most, and it turns out it was for good reason, it's a HUGE PAIN. But we muscled through it and got it apart. Had to make a trip to the hardware store for a 21 mm and 19 mm socket, never needed/used either before in my life. And Chevy did some unkind things like using a 15mm head bolt with an 18mm nut (and kind of hid the nut and made it tough to get to).

 

After reading Clay's project thread and looking at my current tools, we are just taking the A-arms to a machine shop this week and having them clean them up and replace the bushings and riveted ball joints. I just don't have the time and patience right now and the money will be well spent IMHO.

 

Still need to replace the inner and outer tie rods and sway bar bushings.

 

Looking closely at the front brake rotors and pads, they are "alright" I guess, but I'm just going to get new ones. It's just WAY too convenient to do them now.

 

47939606282_bd0dfaa927_z.jpg20190526_130359 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

47939650426_e5d195ac36_k.jpg20190526_171850 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

47939618642_110879b4bb_k.jpg20190526_171837 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

47939824846_8ecf150691_k.jpg20190526_213757 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

47939826896_758998ce1c_k.jpg20190526_213809 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

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Well, we were doing great until my wife decided that we just HAD to start building a deck (not a small one) on Memorial Day. I just don't have the time and energy to work all day, squeeze in workouts, work on a deck and rebuild an 86 Vette, and go to soccer games almost every day. Also had to reroute (dig a trench) for about 20 feet of sump pump line and fix a rotten piece of wood on the back of the house before continuing the deck. Slept 10 hours last night and worked out or worked on something the entire day and night today. It's definitely catching up to me.

 

That said, since Slowmotion was closed last week, we took the upper and lower A-Arms to Precision Machine Shop in Edison, Ohio and had them do the ball joints and bushings. Picked them up yesterday after work. Today we only had a couple hours to work on the Vette b/c of the deck. My wife, daughter, and I cleaned up the A-Arms, spring retainers, knuckles, and wheelwells. I pressed out the front sway bar end bushings, burned out the old rubber, cleaned up the insides and outside, and then pressed in the new bushings. Not sure what the proper name is, but the sway bar mount bushings aren't going to work on this Vette. Going to get a hold of PST on Monday and see if they have the proper ones or not. If not, the old ones are in good shape.

 

 

47982067312_5fcfa5de46_b.jpg4 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

Dirty vs clean knuckle

 

 

 

 

47982067387_58b342d741_b.jpg1 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

Pretty A-Arms

 

 

 

 

47982118397_7721a0dafd_b.jpg12 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

 

 

47982067302_49c35913c7_b.jpg5 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

Nope, not going to work.

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Sigh.

 

So we went out today to replace the tie rods and start putting the front suspension back together. First thing, neither tie rod jam nut nor outer tie rod would move, AT ALL. After measuring each side, I reluctantly had to cut the inner tie rods to get them off with the tie rod tool, came off easy after that.

 

I bought the Moog #EV124's, per the Moog website for a 1986 Corvette, which are female. However, the stock inner tie rods are male. So now I'm trying to figure out why Moog sold me lesbian parts and what I actually need here.

 

Moog site: https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/moog-ev124

 

48002413148_a5a8b770d6_b.jpg20 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

 

48002413123_55cf3599e3_b.jpg21 by BuckeyeBOSS, on Flickr

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