Baby at the mechanics

[IH2LOSE]

Barry congrats on getting the car back.I was so frustrated hering about this I was going to suggest I come to you for the week end. this type of maintnece shoud be cut and try with simple answers and corrections.these cars are not that complecated.its a simple combustion engine

As for

but the regulator died so that was replaced which is a shame because I still had the original unit in there - oh well, after 40 years one more original part bit the dust and had to be replaced.


Get the old one back John Pirckle can rebuild it for you no problem.Once its rebuilt it wont take YOU more the 5 minute to re-install

 

[BarryK]

Hi Larry


first, I would NEVER consider pulling you down here for something as simple as tuning my car no matter how much I know you could do it blindfolded with no problems, same as I'd never ask Mark (VNV) either. Well, not THIS year anyway - next year might be fair game
Both you and Mark have way too much work to go and need every minute of your time to get your own cars together for Carlisle than have to deal with mine because I'm too dumb to be able to do it myself but it was very generous to even mention it!

I wasn't aware that regulators could be re-built but I do have the old unit so one day I guess I will send it out to John Pirckle. Thanks for telling me about that as it's nice to be able to keep as many of the original pieces on the car as possible.

 

[IH2LOSE]

Barry is not Dumb,its just in-exsperianced.Once you learn the fundemetals of what makes a car run you just have to dig in in and start doing it your self if you want to learn.


Sometimes the learning curve is an exspencive one.

Its like body work for me.I can do it no problem,I can paint no problem.But in my area there are high quility folks who can do it better and in less time then me,so I always chose to hire out this work. If there was no high quaility folks around then I would take on this work myself.

Good luck I hear so many stories of improper diagnostics by parts changers it makes me crazy.

A mecanic will diagnoise a problem and fix it.A parts changer will keep on changing parts until the car starts to work.

A last word.

When I was designing my 62 I had the choice to put in any motor or running gear I wanted .I purposely eliminated any of the new motors because of the computers controlling them as I am un-knowledgable in how to diagnoise them.And I dont have an intrest in trying to learn them.

Good luck and I will see you soon in Carlilse

 

[BarryK]

Barry is not Dumb,its just in-exsperianced.Once you learn the fundemetals of what makes a car run you just have to dig in in and start doing it your self if you want to learn.

Larry, you are very correct as usual. I do know a little (very little) about working on motors and stuff as I used to do all my own work on my motorcycles - rebuilt the carbs a few times, changed a few clutches on them, basic maintanance stuff like the oil changes, etc but I've never worked on any of my own cars.
I don't have the proper tools and without at least some supervision the first few times from someone that does know about this stuff makes me very hesitate (read as scared ) to start digging in on Baby myself as I've always been concerned about screwing things up but it's time I started. No way to really learn except by just doing it. If I start by simple jobs than I guess I can only screw up so much without any real serious possible damage. Besides, with all the knowledge on here how could I possibly go wrong

 

[Z28Canuck]

Barry there is absolutely nothing wrong admitting you don't have the mechanical knowledge for a lot of the work you could do on your own vette but try to fix what you can with the help the CAC family. Everyone has such a vast amount of knowledge and experience and is so willing to share and walk you through things step by step. YOU CAN DO IT! I dare to say that's probably how a lot of these fellows started out too at one time. Any chance you get, take it to watch and learn and ask questions, don't assume things. Look how many times these guys go out and take a digital pic from their car to help show others how it should look, heck some have even dismantled parts to show or go to their personal library for pics and notes that they have kept just to help answer questions.

I am like you with my mechanical knowledge but was extremely fortunate that a good friend let me spend time with him on his dream project and I've met so many great and very skilled fellow vetters during this time. Enough to learn that everyone I've met so far has no hestitation explaining things, in as great a detail as you need and in simple terms (For me anyway), and they want to share their knowledge and experience so willingly. Any invite you get or chance to ask someone if you can come and help or just watch them working on their car, do it. I still know little compared to these guys but what a great experience and satisfaction knowing you can at least try your best and do some of these things yourself. I'm even trying to fix things at home I would never have even attempted to, nothing to lose by trying , heck sometimes I surprise myself! I'm lost if Bob and Brian get technical but if I ask they will explain it until I understand.

I say it very sincerely, this group is such a wealth of knowledge, experience, with humour,compassion and such an open willingness to share that I feel truly honoured and fortunate to be a part of it. You show effort from your side and you'll receive it tenfold! If you can't get friends to help at your place travel to their place if they'll let you to watch and learn.......it's a wonderful thing! Sorry to be long winded about this but as Bob knows how strongly and appreciative I feel and I really do respect the members and cherish the great friends here.
Good luck Barry

 

[BarryK]

I say it very sincerely, this group is such a wealth of knowledge, experience, with humour,compassion and such an open willingness to share that I feel truly honoured and fortunate to be a part of it.

you and me both!

if I have the funds over the winter there are a few things that I want to get done - I want to take off and send out for reskinning the intake manifold, valve covers, and possibly the exhaust manifolds. Just disassembling that much of the motor (yeah, I know that's not very much) and than putting it back together will be a start. Not TOO much I can screw up there except for maybe shearing off a bolt from the exhaust manifolds which would NOT be good. Than come springtime I'll see about changing the oil and filter myself to get her ready for driving again.
It's not much I know but I figure it's a start.
Without everyone on here I wouldn't even think about attempting that little bit. I look at all these major projects being done on here and I feel foolish not even being able to do the basics so it's definately time to change that.

i'm hoping a few guys from my local Vette club might even be willing to show/teach me a few things.

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

Heh Barry,

Congrats on getting the Vette Set......:L ... I'm sure you'll have many years of enjoyment to come. Now is the time to reflect on how much time and money the
Corvette Action Center has saved you. And all the help from these great members .

I must say... That the Fourm Members here have saved me a ton of agg and bucks..... I'm happy and Proud to be a Supporting Member Here..


.......................Thanks Corvette Action Center..!!!!

 

[BarryK]

Mark
to be even more accurate...........

Thanks CAC MEMBERS

 

[Vette66AirCoupe]

Not TOO much I can screw up there except for maybe shearing off a bolt from the exhaust manifolds which would NOT be good.<<<

Barry,

Actually, there is one thing that can get screwed up bigtime. You're going to have to remove the distributor to remove the intake manifold. Getting it out and back in with the distributor gears meshing with the gears on the camshaft is not for the faint of heart. Miss by a tooth and you're back to posting about timing problems again. Get some help with that process.

Regarding the exhaust manifolds, I'd go with the manifold dressing before I'd remove and replace them. It's a lot of effort with a lot of potential pitfalls for very little reward in my opinon. The dressing looks very nice and we're talking nice driver here, right?

While you have the distributor out it would be an excellent time to convert to electronic ignition if you are still running with points and condenser, such as the Pertronix system, that all fits under the cap so that it doesn't take anything away from your stock appearance. Purists won't advise this but there is a reason why you see less and less cars broken down on the side of the road nowdays and one of the big reasons is that cars don't have mechanical points anymore. And if a condeser fails? Boy is THAT fun! It happened to me once and I about ran off the road! The car backfired so loud I thought I was under fire! :W

 

[youwish2bme]

Only thing I have to add to above is that instead of the Pertronix get the Lectric/Limited setup because it's a one wire system. If it goes bad all you have to have is a few hand tools and your point set to get back on the road. All of the rest you will need a tow truck to get home.. Or another module... Dave..

 

[ctjackster]

holy crap Barry, I take my eyes off you for one minute (while you were having your mechanic change the oil and plugs for you ) and now you planning on pulling the intake manifold! That's great, don't let anyone spook you, and pulling a distributor out and putting it back in is a skill that needs to be acquired - don't fear it, enjoy it. Lots of info here from your trusty friends for all of these tasks, and I should point out that John Z had a great article in Corvette Enthusiast 6 months back on removing and installing the intake manifold on C2s. I can send it along.

And, thoughts differ on ditching the points. It works now, right? About the only beef with points is that it is a service item, meaning you eventually have to replace them and adjust them - but given the mileage we are putting on these cars, that won't be too much of an issue. I'll bet John Z can share some thoughts on this too . . .

now, let's buy us a rathet set from Sears (SAE) and a set of SAE wrenches, and some screw drivers, get an Acton dial back timing light, a simple dwell meter, a feeler gauge set, a set of allen wrenches (all can be had for not too much, 'cept the dial back timing light, even that is sub-$100) - and you are good to tackle a lot under that hood!

 

[I'mAVettehead]

Great to hear that you've got your car up and running. I love the sound of a solid lifter car. Bring your regulator to Carlisle and drop it off at Pirkles. John in a gentleman, and his work is outstanding.

 

[BarryK]

wow, I go out for a few hours and look at all the messages

Terry, at this point I wouldn't dare try to reinstall the distributor myself - I'd wait until someone who knows about that could herlp me one day after I got the parts back from reskinning.
Regarding the exhaust manifolds, I've considered the dressings and have already tried one method. I've heard mixed opinions on here about the various dressings though, Some seem to work and last while others don't. A lot of them even still require taking them off and baking them in the oven after applying the stuff. If I have to remove them I figure I might as well send them out to Jerry MacNeish along with the other stiff. The reskinning is suppose to last a very long time on them.

Terry & Dave
I've considered in the past converting to the electronic ignition and Lectric Limited was actually the one I was looking at. I liked the 1-wire setup to retain the stock look as much as possible. It was JohnZ's and Dukes various posts to others thar kinda convinced me to shy away from the idea. I still think about it at times though.
Their posts seem to be that there was no real advantage to it in the long run. Point may fail although rarely and electonics can also fail without a doubt. In either case I'm stuck on the side of the road as I would have NO clue (at least currently) on how to replace a set of points in there to get running again so it would be the cell phone for a flatbed to get me to the shop or home. I'm still not sure which way to go on this and don't really have the knowledge to make an informed decision yet.

Jack
yep, can't leave me alone for a minute can you. next week I'll announce that I'm pulling the motor and tranny and going to rebuild them both myself!
Seriously, I figure pulling the valve covers, intake and exhaust manifolds can't be TOO hard since I have the shop manual and you guys on here to help me thru it. It's not like i'm going to try and redo the heads and stuff I'm already figuring the re-install will be harder than the removal and i'll have all winter to be able to get it done so can take my time one step at a time.
As for tools, I do have a basic set of hand tools - wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, allenwrenches, etc. I thought about going out and buying a complete set than figured that was dumb. I think it best that I wait to see what I need when I need it and buy the proper tool(s) at the time. This way i'll eventually have what I need without also having 200 pieces of other tools I may never use. Things like the timing light are a given that i'll need of course. Believe it or not, I DO actually have a dwell meter just never used it. My neighbor gave me this analazer tool from sears he never used that measures 9 different things like dwell, rpm's, points resistence, etc. I just have top learn to use it.

I'maVettehead
I'm glad it's running good myself
Yes, when I'm ready i'll send it to John i'm just not in a rush since I now have a new replacement but eventually i'll get it to him. I understand he is excellent.

 

[Subfixer]

Hey Barry, just a quick note about sending your stuff off to Jerry M. His turnaround time is fairly long, so your car will be laid up for a while. It's definately a winter project. Took him 2 1/2 months to get mine done last spring. Great work, just takes a while.

When you get started, you know we'll all be here to help.

 

[BarryK]

Paul
if I do it it will definately be a winter project so a few months won't be that big of a deal. Only 2 1/2 months? That's kids play for me now considering how long I waited for the paint............

 

[BarryK]

Jack
I forgot to ask in the previous post........
if you can send that article of JohnZ's about removing the intake I'd greatly appreciate it!
my email is bkimmelman at comcast.net (at=@)

 

[paul67]

Barry,
That's certainly great news re your Corvette! Yes, get driving.

Been away for several days at the new house where I do not have communication links yet so these congrats may be a little tardy.

 

[BarryK]

Paul

just took the first real cruise in her last night since I got her back. it was my grandmothers birthday so my wife and I drove up to NJ to take her out to dinnner. About an 1 1/2 drive each way. It was VERY hot and humid and we were sweating like crazy on the way there.........until we drove into the major rainstorm that is. I do NOT take Baby out in the rain but I didn't know they were calling for this storm so we got caught out in it. Oh well, Baby still needs a good detailing anyway. I found out with the new windshield and rear window gaskets that some of the leaks are gone compared to last year but I still have some water dripping in from somewhere from underneath the dash on both sides. Both my wifes and my legs and feet got pretty wet.
Other than that Baby was running GREAT! She is idling better than she ever has since I got her at a steady 800rpms (tach reads 700 but I found out last year the tach is off by about 100rpms and my new mechanic confirmed this. Tach reads 700 at idle but his equipment reports idle is really at 800rpm) without stalling or requiring me to keep taping the gas and she cruised down the road perfectly - very smooth and nice running
The ride home at night was even better as it was a lot cooler out and much more enjoyable.

Oh.........I did find a mistake my painter made when reassembling the car.
The hi-beam highlight warning light in the dash comes on with LOW beams and turns off with the HI-beams switched on. When the car goes back for the buffing he wants to do again before Carlisle I'll have him correct this. I assume it's just a swap of the harness from the hi to low beam bulbs.

I hope your new house is coming along good

 

[ctjackster]

Jack
I forgot to ask in the previous post........
if you can send that article of JohnZ's about removing the intake I'd greatly appreciate it!
my email is bkimmelman at comcast.net (at=@)

done. Also consult my friend Brian's 65 Vette website (subsection Monthly Journal, Spring/Summer 2004, June 2004 to be exact) for some very helpful color photos on how to lay the RTV bead when reinstalling the manifold:

http://65corvette.nonethewiser.net/

we'll be here for you in the winter when you tackle this.

 

[BarryK]

Jack
thank you! I got your email and the article.
i'll check out Brian's website also.

you guys better be here when I'm ready to do this over the winter or else it ain't gettin' done!