Topic: Corvette build thread!

I have been wanting to to this for some time, lets hope it doesn't suck.

The thread I mean...ANYWAYS

Part one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dacX79lgZMI&t=38s

Mid day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV9zb0d … e=youtu.be

End of day one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlnd38kNU2M

We took some more video that I will upload as I get them.   Enjoy!

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

looks like fun... I bet you can get a lot of weight out of that car. Headlight buckets alone are probably 20lbs each. and it is always fun to find money...

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

Still waiting on the videos from the rest of my team, but here is another little tease.

We dragged the car out of my garage and now its at our family shop.  Despite all its....quirks, the car is actually in pretty good shape.  I ran the car up and down the backroads of Wisconsin a few times and it moves out pretty good.   Its not muscle car quick, but now that its lost a bunch of weight its not as slow as most people assume when they see a ceasefire Corvette.  Tranny shifts good, the brakes work, all good signs.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEjZv2DQ94&t=2s


We sold the gauge panel for $40 (to a rebuilder!)  and 2 of the speakers for 10 bucks each, and I found 2 more quarters in the car.   Still not under the $500 mark, but getting closer. 

I'm THINKING of going with a Rhodes roll cage for the car.   Anyone have experience with them??  I'm open to other ideas as well.

Matt Rat.

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Still waiting on the videos from the rest of my team, but here is another little tease.

We dragged the car out of my garage and now its at our family shop.  Despite all its....quirks, the car is actually in pretty good shape.  I ran the car up and down the backroads of Wisconsin a few times and it moves out pretty good.   Its not muscle car quick, but now that its lost a bunch of weight its not as slow as most people assume when they see a ceasefire Corvette.  Tranny shifts good, the brakes work, all good signs.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEjZv2DQ94&t=2s


We sold the gauge panel for $40 (to a rebuilder!)  and 2 of the speakers for 10 bucks each, and I found 2 more quarters in the car.   Still not under the $500 mark, but getting closer. 

I'm THINKING of going with a Rhodes roll cage for the car.   Anyone have experience with them??  I'm open to other ideas as well.

Matt Rat.

If I can sell almost $1000 in 84 Trans Am parts you should be able to get it under $500. If the center caps are good they can get $25+ set. I sold a set of them off an 88 for $40. Get all of those door panels and whatnot on c-list.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

The center caps and console are up for sale.  The big seller I think is the glass.   Both the side and the rear windows go for 100-150 each on most of the used car part sites I look at.

The trick is to get UNDER 500 so I can fix some of the leaks on the car, get a bigger rad for the car and maybe..MAYBE uncork that smogged 350 a bit more.

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

I bought a 85 for $1000 to use the drivetrain, and was able to sell about $600 in parts from it, the biggest thing
was the seats were in good shape, got $150 from them, the roof is also a good seller, the rest not much,
got only $50 for the entire front hood,  $100 for both doors.  Still haven't sold the back glass.  There are a lot of people that part these out, so hard to ask a lot (though some people ask crazy prices like they are rare..)A parted another '84 I bought for $600 years ago to make an electric/hybrid, and got most of it back selling the cross fire engine parts and the glass roof.

The hood is very heavy, be nice if Lemons would let you replace it with a lighter version.

Good luck with the project!  Sell that motor and trans, the doug nash should get you below $500,
then put in a Volvo straight 6 turbo....  smile smile

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:

The center caps and console are up for sale.  The big seller I think is the glass.   Both the side and the rear windows go for 100-150 each on most of the used car part sites I look at.

The trick is to get UNDER 500 so I can fix some of the leaks on the car, get a bigger rad for the car and maybe..MAYBE uncork that smogged 350 a bit more.

one of the 1st things we did was ditch all the emissions, we gutted the converter too. You can yank all the smog and EGR stuff off. I made a block off plate for ours out of sheet steel. The smog lines you'll have to be careful with...once you get them off the holes can be plugged. We just used a set of used shorty headers, they bolted right up to the stock y-pipe.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

Radio is gone  for 40  headlight motor was also 40 and center console lid for 20.

Not bad at all.  The plan this weekend is to see how healthy the stock engine is while we finish gutting out the rest of the car.  The engine that WAS in my Camaro got hit pretty hard,  but the local race shop that I deal with offered to check it out for us for free if I just strip it down and hand it over.

My hope is that the stock Vette engine is OK to race, its more Lemony to be racing a numbers matching crossfire Corvette dont you think? 

Its its too tired and sloppy hopefully I can put the pickuptruck engine into the car that WAS in my Camaro,  a truck engine in a vette, also lemony I thinks.

Videos and pics to follow soon.

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Radio is gone  for 40  headlight motor was also 40 and center console lid for 20.

Not bad at all.  The plan this weekend is to see how healthy the stock engine is while we finish gutting out the rest of the car.  The engine that WAS in my Camaro got hit pretty hard,  but the local race shop that I deal with offered to check it out for us for free if I just strip it down and hand it over.

My hope is that the stock Vette engine is OK to race, its more Lemony to be racing a numbers matching crossfire Corvette dont you think? 

Its its too tired and sloppy hopefully I can put the pickuptruck engine into the car that WAS in my Camaro,  a truck engine in a vette, also lemony I thinks.

Videos and pics to follow soon.

you know any dirty 350 engine topped with the crossfire looks just like the stock vette motor, just saying... Not up on the CFI, I have read they could be tricky.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

OK folks we stripped out some more junk from the car.  No more parts sold BUT  we did find another $1.50 in the car.   Still no 1980s Heroin that was GOING to be my ace in the hole for the $500 limit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGp0Bjh … e=youtu.be

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Looks like progress is going fine. Dig the duel TBI setup.

Fourteen time loser. You'd think I'd know better by now.

12 (edited by Tiptoe the rat 2017-07-04 09:41 AM)

Re: Corvette build thread!

Another update as you saw in the video we did a few tests on the engine.

The oil pressure was 40PSI at 1000 RPM with the engine warmed up, that's fine by me!

Then we did compression (plugs out, engine cold, full throttle)  and we got 80 PSI on most of the cylinders, but we ended up with 100 and 110 on the back two.

Hmmm....the thing pulls VERY hard for only 80 PSI,  I would expect it to run like dog dirt if it was that tired.

Its an old gauge, so MAYBE  that's OK??

Also I read these engine are supposed to have forged pistons in them, they were left over C3 mills from what I have read, does anyone know how much that can effect the readings??  if at all??

Next step is leakdown I will get back to you guys and gals after that.

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Another update as you saw in the video we did a few tests on the engine.

The oil pressure was 40PSI at 1000 RPM with the engine warmed up, that's fine by me!

Then we did compression (plugs out, engine cold, full throttle)  and we got 80 PSI on most of the cylinders, but we ended up with 100 and 110 on the back two.

Hmmm....the thing pulls VERY hard for only 80 PSI,  I would expect it to run like dog dirt if it was that tired.

Its an old gauge, so MAYBE  that's OK??

Also I read these engine are supposed to have forged pistons in them, they were left over C3 mills from what I have read, does anyone know how much that can effect the readings??  if at all??

Next step is leakdown I will get back to you guys and gals after that.

At 80 psi across 6 of 8 cyls, I don't think it would run well at all. Like, hard to start kind of running. I think you should try that gauge on something you have no concerns about (like whatever late model DD you have around)... I think it's your gauge.

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Re: Corvette build thread!

Piston material shouldn't have any effect on compression test results. I agree with Type44; verify your gauge, as well as your methodology. Are you sure you're getting a good seal? The tester should have a healthy O-ring on the end.

Re: Corvette build thread!

SpaceFrank wrote:

Piston material shouldn't have any effect on compression test results. I agree with Type44; verify your gauge, as well as your methodology. Are you sure you're getting a good seal? The tester should have a healthy O-ring on the end.


See I have HEARD that forged might give a lower reading cold....but that doesnt make any sense to me.

The fact that ALL of them were 80 on the nose makes me think that its a gauge thing.

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Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:
SpaceFrank wrote:

Piston material shouldn't have any effect on compression test results. I agree with Type44; verify your gauge, as well as your methodology. Are you sure you're getting a good seal? The tester should have a healthy O-ring on the end.


See I have HEARD that forged might give a lower reading cold....but that doesnt make any sense to me.

The fact that ALL of them were 80 on the nose makes me think that its a gauge thing.

The coefficient of thermal expansion of forged pistons can be greater than that of Cast / Hypereutectic pistons. That will account for some minor difference in hot vs. cold compression ratio. Can't imagine that would be the difference between 80 psi and 110 psi though.

Sounds like a gauge issue if you're getting the EXACT same number across multiple cylinders on a 30 year old motor.

Sorry For Party Racing! - 1985 Pontiac Firebird - Car #35

A race car exists only in two states: broken or in the process of becoming that way.

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Another update as you saw in the video we did a few tests on the engine.

The oil pressure was 40PSI at 1000 RPM with the engine warmed up, that's fine by me!

Then we did compression (plugs out, engine cold, full throttle)  and we got 80 PSI on most of the cylinders, but we ended up with 100 and 110 on the back two.

Hmmm....the thing pulls VERY hard for only 80 PSI,  I would expect it to run like dog dirt if it was that tired.

Its an old gauge, so MAYBE  that's OK??

Also I read these engine are supposed to have forged pistons in them, they were left over C3 mills from what I have read, does anyone know how much that can effect the readings??  if at all??

Next step is leakdown I will get back to you guys and gals after that.


pull the heads, check the bore, re-ring it and go. Oh and while the heads are of do a quick gasket match and clean up the casting... Then grab a set of steel shim gaskets and roll. I mean you're gonna pul the pan and check the bearings anyway right?

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

Mr.Yuck wrote:
Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Another update as you saw in the video we did a few tests on the engine.

The oil pressure was 40PSI at 1000 RPM with the engine warmed up, that's fine by me!

Then we did compression (plugs out, engine cold, full throttle)  and we got 80 PSI on most of the cylinders, but we ended up with 100 and 110 on the back two.

Hmmm....the thing pulls VERY hard for only 80 PSI,  I would expect it to run like dog dirt if it was that tired.

Its an old gauge, so MAYBE  that's OK??

Also I read these engine are supposed to have forged pistons in them, they were left over C3 mills from what I have read, does anyone know how much that can effect the readings??  if at all??

Next step is leakdown I will get back to you guys and gals after that.


pull the heads, check the bore, re-ring it and go. Oh and while the heads are of do a quick gasket match and clean up the casting... Then grab a set of steel shim gaskets and roll. I mean you're gonna pul the pan and check the bearings anyway right?


Yup the oil pan leaks like a colander, and I managed to scrounge a deep sump pan from a buddy for the car.  Leak down test this weekend and then we will see just how far apart it needs to come  OR if we just junk it for another truck engine.

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Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:
Mr.Yuck wrote:
Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Another update as you saw in the video we did a few tests on the engine.

The oil pressure was 40PSI at 1000 RPM with the engine warmed up, that's fine by me!

Then we did compression (plugs out, engine cold, full throttle)  and we got 80 PSI on most of the cylinders, but we ended up with 100 and 110 on the back two.

Hmmm....the thing pulls VERY hard for only 80 PSI,  I would expect it to run like dog dirt if it was that tired.

Its an old gauge, so MAYBE  that's OK??

Also I read these engine are supposed to have forged pistons in them, they were left over C3 mills from what I have read, does anyone know how much that can effect the readings??  if at all??

Next step is leakdown I will get back to you guys and gals after that.


pull the heads, check the bore, re-ring it and go. Oh and while the heads are of do a quick gasket match and clean up the casting... Then grab a set of steel shim gaskets and roll. I mean you're gonna pul the pan and check the bearings anyway right?


Yup the oil pan leaks like a colander, and I managed to scrounge a deep sump pan from a buddy for the car.  Leak down test this weekend and then we will see just how far apart it needs to come  OR if we just junk it for another truck engine.

Truck block would work fine. Just use the vette heads and grab a decent cam and roll. If you can get the cross fire to work use it, if not just toss a small holley on it and roll.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

Well Ive been a VERY busy rat these last few days so I don't have that much of a video update.

HOWEVER we did a leak down test on our engine and it passed with flying colors.  So we have confidence in our numbers matching Lemons vette!!

We also ripped out the HVAC inside the engine bay, the AC condensor, and the wiring harness for the lights and emissions on the car.

I cut out the license plate area on the nose (and behind it!) to make another vent for the radiator, I have read that these cars run hot so I figured some more air would not be a bad idea.

Also its more reason NOT to hit anyone with this thing...not that I ever would revert back to my days of stock car racing....ever....

enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf8vUZd … e=youtu.be

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Yes, put the biggest, cheatiest radiator you can find in there. And be prepared to put a big oil cooler on the power steering fluid/pump.

Re: Corvette build thread!

So I finally got some of the small videos from the rest of the team.

One of the FIRST things we found when we started to strip the car was a Hayes book...still in its wrapper...it was CLEAR it had never been used.

So I figured I would read the intro to the team to inspire them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe1bnj7 … e=youtu.be

Team Sucker Punch: Winner Class B Doing Time at Joliet 2023 Autobahn ,Winner Org Choice award Were the Elite Meet to Cheat 2015
Chevy Camaro (Tiger striped #38)  (1989-2017 RIP old friend)
Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

Tiptoe the rat wrote:

Well Ive been a VERY busy rat these last few days so I don't have that much of a video update.

HOWEVER we did a leak down test on our engine and it passed with flying colors.  So we have confidence in our numbers matching Lemons vette!!

We also ripped out the HVAC inside the engine bay, the AC condensor, and the wiring harness for the lights and emissions on the car.

I cut out the license plate area on the nose (and behind it!) to make another vent for the radiator, I have read that these cars run hot so I figured some more air would not be a bad idea.

Also its more reason NOT to hit anyone with this thing...not that I ever would revert back to my days of stock car racing....ever....

enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf8vUZd … e=youtu.be

We pulled all  the factory "bumper" behind the cover and replaced it with nice piece of rolled steel. It is behind the cover about 1/2". They key is these cars are bottom feeders so create a nice splitter and force the air in.

"get up and get your grandma outta here"

Re: Corvette build thread!

As always I'm too busy in life to do everything I want to do...but we DID get some more work done on our vette.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebKpseE … e=youtu.be


Most of the body is black now...almost time for the cage.

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Chevy Corvette 1984......and still racing!

Re: Corvette build thread!

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