My 1985 vette needs help

[FourAndAHalf]

I have a 1985 vette which i am trying to add horsepower to but i also need to replace a lot of interior parts and it needs some engine work... i am not very educated on this stuff so what would be the best way to gain some horsepower right away and after i do that im thinkin bout a body kit, replacing whole interior with black carpeting and the seats too... does anybody know where i can get educated if i am going to do this?

 

[69MyWay]

Get your visa card and contact www.tpis.com

They have everything from the first basic cold pack kit to complete engines.

Search the forum, you will see many of us have modded our C4s for more power.

 

[FourAndAHalf]

k thanks 69

 

[tntcorvette]

what are you looking to do to the motor? I've owned my vette since 1995 and after alot of hard work im pretty much satisfied with the power levels.

FWIW, the 85 motor is rock solid and is a good foundation to start with.

 

[FourAndAHalf]

first of all when ever the engine is in idle it is not very stable i think it might have something to do with the fuel injectors... also when i go above say 65 the whole car starts rattling... after i get some of these problems fixed i want to make some mods like air intake, air filter, just some basic mods, then after that i want to get into some more complicated mods... obviously i plan on doing this over a long period of time... also im just curios about boring out the cyclinders in the engine... did you do that to yours or no... i understand its a complicated process and my grandpop owns a machine shop and he is good with that stuff

 

[FourAndAHalf]

also, one more thing if anyone has any adivce or opinions on whether or not its worth it to change the transmission from automatic to a manual on my 85 vette. about how much money does that cost to if you know

 

[Ken]

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19954&highlight=trans+swap

 

[tntcorvette]

your irratic idle could be a number of things. Do you get any trouble codes?

Thats where you want to start. And I agree totally with getting the car mechanically sound first before putting more power under the hood!

 

[LD85]

Welcome another 85 here is great!

What are your expectations with performance?
Tell us how much money you want to spend?

 

[FourAndAHalf]

Hey thanks LD85 and everyone else. As far as performance expectations go I want to beef up the acceleration as much as i can and i am not so worried about top speed tests and stuff like that i am more into getting the car faster off the line... As far as money goes right now, theres not much of it, However, i plan to make a lot this summer since i am still in school i cant make too much during the year... and getting hours are tough

TNT, thank you very much for your advice i havent been able to put much time into it to pin point the reason for the rough idle, i've only been able to speculate as to what it might be, im going to try to spend this weekend figuring out a couple of my engine problems

thanks again

 

[LD85]

Well for little money you can:
1. Cut your air lid opening = FREE
2. Buy a K&N filter = $50
3. Get free'r flowing exhaust. = $250 Dynomax
4. Change the O2 sensor ($20) as they can really make a car run rough.
Make sure your IAC (idle air control valve) and your TPS (Thhottle Position sensor) are set correctly. = FREE
5. Cut the fins out of your mass flow sensor. = FREE

That will top you out with all of the cheap/free and simple mods.

Then you can get large tube runners and a higher flowing intake base for the price of used stuff on the web. (@ $500-$800) After that your into the motor.

Just a disclaimer, I am not expert but all of the above is fairly standard practice depending on what your goals are with your car. I suggest you get it running correctly first cause when an 85 is running well they are a really nice car to drive and can keep up witha lot of cars on the road today.

 

[c4ever]

Always good to see another 85:cool
I run pretty much stock but made some changes;
ANSA exhaust
throttle body by-pass
open air lid
K&N filter
PerformanceChip

These are all basic mods you can use the search engine to locate.
As far as light to light performance, you can't beat the early L98.

If you just purchased the car I would start with a complete tune-up, throttle body clean out and idle/tps adjustment for starters and go from there.
The possibilities are endless. As others have mentioned, How much money do you want to spend

Carlo

 

[FourAndAHalf]

Thanks Carlo. I plan on spending around 7,000 dollars total on all mods by the end of 2004, i have had the car for some time now, but have been running it without any modifications it is completely stock right now, the previous owner (my grandpop) took really good care of it, but a salesman who had it before him didnt take such good care of it im afraid . Now that i have it, i make sure it gets oil changes every 3000 miles and all of the usual stuff. It is starting to snow right now during this time so i dont use the car very much but i want to drive it come spring time, and i think now is the time to get everything ready. I am going to start with the stuff you said like (complete tune up, throttle body clean out and idle/tps adjustment for starter. Then work from there on some basic mods.

Also, what kind of chip do you use in your vette, and did you notice a big difference in performance? im trying to gather some opinions on those chips.

Thanks a lot,
Austin

 

[c4ever]

I'm running the stage II Hypertech. I really can not claim a performance increase but better shift points and down here in So. Florida I needed to get the temps down so the fans on at 174 with a 160 stat does the trick.
My greateast increase in performance was modified exhaust and hi-performance fuel pressure regulator.

Best of luck. Sorry to hear about the snow. I spent most of my life in NY so I feel your pain.

Carlo

 

[FourAndAHalf]

Hey carlo thanks a lot for your input it seems a lot of people run the hypertech over the jet chip, also it helps to keep everything cool under the hood over here too, as summers can reach 100 degreees sometimes.

LD im sorry i missed your thread last time i was online. I appreciate those cheap mods because i could really use em, im going to see what i can do with that information this weekend. Thanks a lot