What to do first...

[timmb001]

Well, as I am picking up a 1996 LT4 six speed on Sat. :cool - Now comes that REALLY hard part of "What to do first."

Any ideas? Other than go for a ride...That one is always at the top of my list.

All maint. has been done including serp-belt, All new fluids, brakes, & tires. So all that is left is detailing related.

The Engine does have dust and I am not sure the best way to clean it??? :confused

It has the windows tinted - keep it or remove it??? It does have some small scratches on the side windows.... :confused

I know that both sun-visors have droopy ends - how to fix that I am not sure.???:confused

One other thing for those that have both tops - any comments on see-thru vs solid???

Can anyone recomend a good product to use on leather seats to bring them back to life???

Shift boot needs to be reattached - does this mean a great deal of R&R or is there an easy way i am just not clear on this one.

Thank you all in advance...

 

[Vettelt193]

lets see...

Engine dust: do not wash it! clean it by hand with a rag, or use pressurized air

Window tint: a matter of preference... mine were not, but in florida the 'greenhouse' of the C4 makes for a really hot car, so I tinted.

sun visors: they all droop over time... I just flipped the ends up on mine, so they aren't in the way (you can flip them up under the sun visor, effectively making the visor a bit smaller while looking inside the car, i can take a picture if you would like) They are very costly to replace, usually not worth the money

tops: again, a florida/heat thing... I use my solid top 90% of the time... it is cooler, and more solid than the glass top (the solid top keeps the car more rigid). The glass top does weigh a bit less though. This is really another preference thing though.

leather: saddle soap works well to get the dirt off... i really need more details on their condition/color to help further

shift boot: i assume at the base of it? there are 4 screws that hold it in from the bottom... all you have to do is remove the console peice, and re-attach the shift boot, then put it back together

 

[timmb001]

Vettelt193 -

thanks for the info - i will post pics this evening of seats.

Sunvisors are currently "flipped over" as this seems to be how they end up. As they are NOT cheap they will remain "flipped over."

Simple Green & a wet sponge followed by a dry rag...sound Okay to clean the engine...?

Shift boot is only a minor thing but i will pull it apart and put it back.

As for the tops - The glass one has never been on the car - It will be on for the first time Sat. as I will have to move both tops home.

Thank you again.

 

[Gorgon]

My shift boot is also not attached. I took the console off and found that the points on the bottom of the console that the shift boot screws into are broken and I'm not sure I can reattach them without shelling out big bucks for a new console.

Leon

 

[Vettelt193]

timmb001: simple green is an excellent choice... the only thing you really have to be concerned with is the opti spark... if you don't know about it, run a search in these forums for it to read other's posts.

also, that glass top is worth some $$. If you decide you don't want it, I am sure you could sell it for at least $800 to someone since it is brand new.... just food for thought

Gorgon: you can use black silicon to attach the boot as well. The benefit of silicon is you can remove the boot in the future if you have to get in the dash for something

 

[timmb001]

thanks for the tip on the top - I will hang on to it for a while but will keep it in mind.

I will pull the console and see what is the problem - the boot does not seem to be torn - not sure why it is not attached at the "front" end.

BTW - What is the best way to remove the console - I am sure screws are hidden everywhere...:Silly

Thanks agin.

 

[Skant]

I've got the glass top and the solid top. I really love the glass. It opens up the cockpit quite a bit and makes it like a fighter plane. Plus, it raises the interior of the roof slightly, which is just enough to keep my head from touching the roof (I'm 6'2").

I've read comments about the car feeling less rigid with the glass top. I can maaaaybe feel a slight difference versus the solid top. But it might be psychological, and I don't think I would have noticed it if I wasn't looking for it.

The interior doesn't seem to get too hot. But then I live in California, not Florida. Also, I bought my top from Thompson's Astrotops, and I think the tint may be slightly darker than stock. Not sure.

Btw, your car can carry both tops. You don't need to make two trips with different tops on. The top stows in the back on special rails and a latch. So you can carry one stowed in the back and one mounted up top.

As for the center console... the owner's manual actually describes how to take it apart! There's an accessory power connector in there you can use if you want. So the owner's manual describes the whole procedure to get at it and use it. It's pretty simple. There are even labels on the car to help the owner along. And it will get you as far in as you need for the shift boot.

I'd check the laws in your area about tinted windows. Where I live, the front and side windows may not be tinted at all. And the police do enforce it... they can't pull you over for that alone, so if you drive by a mean one, he'll trump up some technical charge that he can pull you over for, and then give you a ticket for both 'offenses'.

If it's not against the law, then drive it around at night a bit and decide whether you can handle how difficult it is to see out the tinted windows (it's like wearing your sunglasses at night). If that doesn't bother you, I'd keep the tint. Cuz it does look nice, and is very nice during the day.

Meguiars makes good leather cleaners and conditioners for these cars. They've got a strong line of products for all your car cleaning, conditioning, waxing, etc needs. And a lot of folks on the forum use them.

- Skant

 

[vette-dude]

My shift boot and shift indicator were broke at the screw attaching points under the console. New console was $100 + so decided to drill thru where the attaching screws broke off and found some 8-32 machine screws with large flat heads and washers and bolted everthing back together this way. I painted the screw with a flat black and believe it or not it looks pretty good. I know it isn't stock but it sure won't break again either. I think the way it breaks is someone putting their weight on it while leaning over to get something from the pass. seat.

Randy

 

[timmb001]

Skant -

I planned on bring both tops to San Diego just as you mentioned. As for the windows - I too am in CA and am not sure if i want to push my luck with the local PD. (They tend to REACT here in San Diego if you have seen the news about the # of police shootings here in the past few weeks.)

I will give both tops a try and find the one that I like best and roll with it (pun intended).

For the seats - I will post pics and let the CAC members give some tips when they are available. Tomorrow is the big day...and I am finding it very hard to remain calm...:J

Looking forward to the drive home from LA - I have a funny feeling car might be headed for LV just dont know why...

 

[Skant]

I'm not sure if the anti-tint laws are for all of California or if they're just local here, but they're probably state wide.

If that's so, I'd definately recommend removing the tint. You're already driving a cop magnet. And cops _really_ hate tint, as far as I can tell. As I understand it, the big deal there is that they can't see inside the car. Which means they can't see a weapon being prepared as they approach the car when they pull it over. And they (understandably) get really agitated about anything that reduces safety for police officers. They'll be on full alert when dealing with a car with tinted windows.

Btw, whichever top you decide you like best, keep both anyway. They're useful for different ocassions (and different times of year) and you may change your mind about what you like later as well.

I'm keeping both myself... I plan to use the glass top most of the time. But I'll put the solid top back on if it maybe gets too hot in the summer or whenever I do autocross. It's stiffer... and it just wouldn't do to scrape up the inside of my glass top with the top of my helmet..

Driving your vette home the first time is an aweful lot of fun. Watch your speed... the LT4 goes very fast effortlessly. The second day I owned mine, I accidentally darted up to 103mph when I hit the gas momentarily to pass someone. The amount of time I had the accelerator down would have been appropriate in my previous vehicle. The engine also winds up a lot faster than anything I was used to... it doesn't slow down as it reaches red line... and I've been quite thankful for the rev limitter those first few days. I figured I've always owned Chevy V8 vehicles, and I thought I was a good enough driver to not have these problems, but I was wrong. The LT4 is just a freaking fast car. A true super car. So try to approach its abilities carefully.

And enjoy the heck out of it!

- Skant

 

[timmb001]

OK - I have made it back. No problems (DMV lines excluded)!!!

Trip was GREAT! My dad drove me LA in his vette and once we had picked up the car we crossed over to PCH via Topanga Canyon - (Great drive it was a beautiful day and i was able to see all the LA basin). We then took PCH all the way to Long Beach had a late lunch and continued to San Diego. once home I changed clothes ask my wife if she was up for a ride. As I had just come fromthe north East was really the only direction left to go - so we went east. Found 15 and went north till we found Las Vegas strip. Stayed the night and came home Sunday. All in all it was a great way to get US "broke in" to the vette. Sunday afternoon I washed the bugs off of the car and explained to the neighbors why an LT4 causes such a silly grin. I will post the Pics of the car this evening.

Thank you all for your input and tips. CAC is really the best.

 

[UB2 SLOW]

After the appearance is cleaned up try these:

Better flowing exhaust (your choice), Headers, LT4 HotCam, 8MM wires, 52mm Throttle Body, 3.73 gears, K&N or Ram Air(your Choice), ECM reprogrammed. You will turn that beast into a fire breathing beast. All of this should run you around $2k-$3k depending if you get package deals or you do the labor. This would put you in the low to mid 12's.

 

[6 Shooter]

Keep it Stock . . .

 

[timmb001]

well - I need to find out how to post the pics - it does not seem to be working for me. It must be a "chair to keyboard interface problem."

pics will be avail. soon.