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I'm planning one more little project. I have found a paint kit on line that is a three stage white pearl. It has great reviews on a pro paint forum that I frequent. I believe I've changed my strategy. I was going to do the vet but I think I will get the kit plus an additional quart of clear to put me over the minimum for free shipping and use the quart of clear on my immediate paint issue. The hood has some clear coat flaking. So I will get that done and then use the bulk of the kit on my Cobra. I have planned to change the color once a year (sort of like Shelby did when he was not building enough cars so he painted them different colors to make people believe there were more Cobras out there). Anyway, I may have matching cars if I like the pearl enough. But getting the hood cleared with fresh will bring the paint back up to standard (much faster than striping the whole car for paint).
I thought I would recap a little on my 91 white vert.
I bought that hard top I was looking at on the web. It was at a local vette shop. I have it on there now and I must say for the winter we've had in AZ this year about 10 degrees below normal, it was a good idea. I have driven it in complete comfort. On top of that, the looks of the hard top give the vert another rather hansom look.
I have been working on the luggage rack/wing and finally got some time to clean, paint and get it finished and back on. I should have the wing body work finished tomorrow, painted and all done. That was a bigger job than I realized.
I got some AT205 for the front seal oil leak. I think it is working Auggie. I will have to give it some more time to be sure but it seems to be a much smaller foot print after sitting for a while. It was never that bad but bad enough you didn't want to mess up your friend's drive way. So now I think it is much better and the oil smell has gone away.
Next I will jump on the cruise control not that I will ever use it. Maybe for a road trip. I shouldn't say never. There are little things that come up. When you fix one thing it makes something else that you didn't notice before look bad. That may never end!
I'll try to shoot some pics of the luggage rack tomorrow.
BTW: Almost forgot the best yet. I have been looking for an FSM everywhere. I have seen them from over $400 to as little as $45 for one. I got a good deal. I found the set for 49.27+7.22 (ship)= $56.49 I think this is the best investment in the C4 yet. I won't be begging you guys for images any more. I will probably be begging for something else though (who knows).
Thanks,
WEK.
Very nice.
I may have paid too much for my 94 but it was a friends who passed away due to cancer. But It's worth it to me for many reasons. A good C4 is a heck of a lot of car for the money.
Sorry but I need some clarification on a couple of comments in past posts.
bow tie guy: never heard the term "jack scabbing". What does that mean exactly? #11
Renfield: Are you referring to repair of vacuum lines or something else? #14
auggy: Good idea about the tracer dye. I will consider that as a plan C if it is that nasty to find the leak. I'm guessing the AT205 Reseal is added to the oil like you would do for the coolant system with radiator stop leak. I will have to check that out. My reseating of the oil filter and making sure the pan plug is tightly sealed will be first but that might help if the front cam cover is leaking from a dried out gasket or the old pan gasket for that matter. #15
Thanks for your input,
WEK.
Oops. I didn't mean to leave you hanging. Yes, the vacuum lines were rotten. There are two different sized lines that I replaced. Cruise is now rock solid. And I'm amazed how much I use it.
No problem, Renfield. I am on no particular time line. I do have a plan or strategy which goes like this: do necessary repairs to return to near as OEM as possible while keeping the car drivable except for maybe 2 or 3 downtime days in a row. So far I have stuck to that plan. For instance, I have a new cloth top but have not started that project since I have the hardtop in place. Eventually, I will store the hardtop and begin probably the most difficult job I will have on the car. Personally, I would rather pull the engine than attempt a convertible top. I used to do convertible tops on boats as I was a sail maker. I worked harder on those than any other type of job. So I know what is in store for me.
I will try reconnecting the cruise but I may have to wait until my FSM gets here on Feb 19. I haven't even seen where it actually belongs in the engine bay. It's really crowded in that area. But I hope when I do reinstall it, it will fire up like yours did.
I finally got to a point where I thought the luggage rack/wing looked good enough to reinstall. The thing that slowed me down fixing it were the two inside flanges holding the wing. The part of the flange that fitted in the luggage rack rail was broken so I had to figure a way to make a replacement bracket. So here are a few pics.
There was a lot more bodywork to do one this than I anticipated. I don't know if they came from the factory like that. It's adequate for now. I may have to work on it more if I do a complete paint job.
I have a couple of pics of the hard top I got. I thought it was a little pricey but the ones I saw for less were either to difficult to ship (logistics) or condition was borderline. I was able to get it local so I could inspect the interior and overall condition. I have to say, it's worth it's weight in gold from all the use I've had during our unseasonably cool winter here in AZ. It's getting back to normal (68 to 78) during the day so I will likely store it pretty soon but I do like it. It's gold so I will be painting it when I paint the car but I can live with it for now. Now I have to build a storage shelf in the barn to store it securely.
It's been over 80 and even 91 degrees here in Sunny Southern California
as of late. If there's an "El Nino" Coming You certainly wouldn't know it
Living here, I haven't seen a cloud since December
My dad riged up some ropes and pulleys and could remove and install by himself. Just put a cover over it and pulled it up to the ceiling out of they way in the garage.
Still out the best way to do the top storage. There are 4 positive points on the top one on each corner that can be used for support. I have been warned not to store the top on edge as it was in the shop. It had to be repaired so I will be more careful. If I design a hoist to utilize the Torx screw holes in the front and the flanges in the rear, it should support the top without any ill effects: one more project.
Did I mention I got my FSMs yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised. They are in nearly perfect condition. You can see some wear from normal use on the covers but inside there is no greasy finger prints, dog ears, or water damage. So all is good.
I waited until I got the FSM to evaluate the cruise control. It appears I am missing a cruise control cable (to servo), and the bracket that holds the servo. All other components and lines seem to be in place. I had a loose vacuum line which I plugged. Now it idles a little better. The vacuum lines may need replacing. I also have an aftermarket TB so I'm not sure if the attachment point there is the same. The cable bracket is there for the cruise control cable at the TB end. I'm beginning my search for those things now.
I pressure washed the engine bay which helped looks a little. Each time I'm addressing something, I learn a little more about this machine. It is something pretty special. The FSM makes me feel much more confident about attacking these issues. Sometimes I wish I had additional real pics as it helps to look at the area more dimensionally but those can usually be found on the web.
My 91 had 77,000 miles when I bought it from original owner, oil pressure sending units/intake manifold were leaking. When it quit running on me found out the 2 original precats had collapsed. New single high flo cat along with service of ignition and fuel system running great. I love the 91-96 body style and I think the L98 engine is one of the best looking Corvette engines built. Enjoy your Corvette...
My 91 had 77,000 miles when I bought it from original owner, oil pressure sending units/intake manifold were leaking. When it quit running on me found out the 2 original precats had collapsed. New single high flo cat along with service of ignition and fuel system running great. I love the 91-96 body style and I think the L98 engine is one of the best looking Corvette engines built. Enjoy your Corvette...
Good point...not made often enough. The L98 is very sexy looking.
The vert is about to shed her top (hardtop) for the balance of the winter/spring. It has been wonderful to have the hardtop for this season. I must be getting soft in my older age but it is very comfortable having that protection. I see why many of you guys are coupe owners. I will be using the hardtop again during the hotter summer months. It varies from year to year here in "the valley of the sun" AZ. Sometimes it's a long hot summer and sometimes it's a shorter but still very hot summer.
I will be devising a hartop hoist very soon. I'll include pics.
The vert is about to shed her top (hardtop) for the balance of the winter/spring.
I will be devising a hartop hoist very soon. I'll include pics.
Thanks,
WEK.
Promised pics. I decided against a hoist so I went with this simpler way of storing the top. I was afraid of messing up the WS or edges if I stored it on a cart so I made a little device to hold the top away from the wall but up high and out of the way.
02-12-2016, 01:20 AM
