One Snake-Bit '74
08-16-2003, 08:34 PM
#1
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St. Jude Contributor
One Snake-Bit '74
Does anyone have the telephone # to a good exorcist? My '74 definitely has some spooks in it and I'm getting to think that might be the only solution. I'm even up for some voo-doo if necessary.
Go figure this stuff....
I pulled the bowls off the carb last night and put them on my work bench as I was going to call the builder of the carb this morning to see if he had any suggestions. While I was at it I decided to wipe the car down with a wet rag and dry it off. (End of night)
This morning I called the carb builder and he walked me through possible things that might have gone wrong when fuel started pumping fuel out of the overflow. Nothing was really evident, but I pulled the needle/seats and check to see if anything(trash) had gotten stuck in it... cleaned it with carb cleaner... and I set the float levels. We ended the call and I put the bowls back on the carb. After getting fuel to the carb and rechecking the timing to see if it was close I attempted to start it up. And that it did. It seemed to be idling fairly well for about 20 seconds, so I shut it down to hook up the tach and timing light. I went back to restart the engine & NOTHING! It was like there was no power at all as I have a shift light on the column that initially lights up when the ignition comes on. :confused:
Maybe the battery was dead? I put a charger on it and it immediately jumped all the way over to full charge and stayed there while I watched it for a minute. I went about doing other things for about 15 minutes and came back and it was no longer charging. Okay.... so I turn the ignition switch to the on position and on comes the shift light. I bump the engine over and everything seems fine. Open the freakin' hood again.... I sit back in the car.... turn the ignition to the ON position and NOW the emergency brake light comes on, but not the shift light. Nor would the engine turn over. A dead short somewhere? :confused:
So, I decided enough was enough until I thought this out and disconnected the timing light and closed the hood. As I walked around the front I looked down at the front bumper and found this. I can't say I remember cleaning the front bumper the night before, but it definitely was not there a week ago.
So... whaccha think? Coincidence or spooks?
By the way... no power at all to the ignition tonight. Anyone want a possessed '74 vette cheap? Spooks included of course. :lol:
Go figure this stuff....
I pulled the bowls off the carb last night and put them on my work bench as I was going to call the builder of the carb this morning to see if he had any suggestions. While I was at it I decided to wipe the car down with a wet rag and dry it off. (End of night)
This morning I called the carb builder and he walked me through possible things that might have gone wrong when fuel started pumping fuel out of the overflow. Nothing was really evident, but I pulled the needle/seats and check to see if anything(trash) had gotten stuck in it... cleaned it with carb cleaner... and I set the float levels. We ended the call and I put the bowls back on the carb. After getting fuel to the carb and rechecking the timing to see if it was close I attempted to start it up. And that it did. It seemed to be idling fairly well for about 20 seconds, so I shut it down to hook up the tach and timing light. I went back to restart the engine & NOTHING! It was like there was no power at all as I have a shift light on the column that initially lights up when the ignition comes on. :confused:
Maybe the battery was dead? I put a charger on it and it immediately jumped all the way over to full charge and stayed there while I watched it for a minute. I went about doing other things for about 15 minutes and came back and it was no longer charging. Okay.... so I turn the ignition switch to the on position and on comes the shift light. I bump the engine over and everything seems fine. Open the freakin' hood again.... I sit back in the car.... turn the ignition to the ON position and NOW the emergency brake light comes on, but not the shift light. Nor would the engine turn over. A dead short somewhere? :confused:
So, I decided enough was enough until I thought this out and disconnected the timing light and closed the hood. As I walked around the front I looked down at the front bumper and found this. I can't say I remember cleaning the front bumper the night before, but it definitely was not there a week ago.
So... whaccha think? Coincidence or spooks?
By the way... no power at all to the ignition tonight. Anyone want a possessed '74 vette cheap? Spooks included of course. :lol:
08-16-2003, 09:33 PM
#2
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Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (bgrice)
wow that sucks, do you have it locked up, maybe some one decided to beat on your bumber that night with a bat and did some voo doo stuff of there own.
08-16-2003, 11:01 PM
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Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (bgrice)
Go back to basic fault finding.
Are the interior lights coming on?
If so, you have power to the inside of the car. Go to the interior checks.
Otherwise start here.
Check the battery terminals first. Make sure the cables are tight in the terminals and are well attached to the battery.
It is a rare occurance but if Bubba has used a hammer to attach the terminals to the battery you may have an intermittant open in the battery.
NEVER use a hammer on a battery!
(at this point remove the negative terminal from the battery. You do not want to short out anything while you are working on it)
I am using my '68 assembly manual to describe the wires and routing. The '74 should still be very similar. If you have an assembly manual (and everyone should have one) follow the wires on your diagram. If you are having trouble use different colored highlighters to identify each wire.
Then check the other ends of the cables. The earth or negative goes through the body and is attached to the frame. It may be a loose joint there.
The positive cable leaves the battery and travels up the transmission tunnel to the starter. Check it's physical condition as it goes past the universal joints etc.
Next check the starter motor. Check the nut holding the cable to the starter.
There is a thinner red(brown?) cable attached to the starter by the same nut. That is the wire that feeds the power to the rest of the car. If it is broken you will get nothing at all when you turn the ignition, not even the clock.
I believe there is a fusable link in this wire. look for a loop coming out of the loom near the starter. Its job is the master fuse for when bubba bypasses every other fuse and shorts the main feed to ground. It is supposed to stop your car from burning to the ground. If you have a multi meter with Ohms use the pointy probes to pierce the insulation and check the continuity of the fuseable link.
The main feed goes to the junction block to enter the cabin. It also feeds the horn relay which then connects to the Alternator, the regulator and another feed(or 3) to the junction block. Check you have continuity to the junction block with all feeds.
Check the bolt holding the inside and outside parts of the junction block is done up tight as ths affect the contact to the inside block. It may be worthwhile to remove the bolt and check the condition of the connectors between the inside and outside.
If you get this far and haven't found the fault check the fuseholders for corrosion as well.
From the inside junction block the main feed goes directly to the light switch and ignition switch. Check the connectors on both switches.
If you have not found the source of your problems by now then you definitely have gremlins and require the exorcist you previously mentioned!
Can't help with the bumper though. Bugger!
:cheers: Cap'n James (retired)
Are the interior lights coming on?
If so, you have power to the inside of the car. Go to the interior checks.
Otherwise start here.
Check the battery terminals first. Make sure the cables are tight in the terminals and are well attached to the battery.
It is a rare occurance but if Bubba has used a hammer to attach the terminals to the battery you may have an intermittant open in the battery.
NEVER use a hammer on a battery!
(at this point remove the negative terminal from the battery. You do not want to short out anything while you are working on it)
I am using my '68 assembly manual to describe the wires and routing. The '74 should still be very similar. If you have an assembly manual (and everyone should have one) follow the wires on your diagram. If you are having trouble use different colored highlighters to identify each wire.
Then check the other ends of the cables. The earth or negative goes through the body and is attached to the frame. It may be a loose joint there.
The positive cable leaves the battery and travels up the transmission tunnel to the starter. Check it's physical condition as it goes past the universal joints etc.
Next check the starter motor. Check the nut holding the cable to the starter.
There is a thinner red(brown?) cable attached to the starter by the same nut. That is the wire that feeds the power to the rest of the car. If it is broken you will get nothing at all when you turn the ignition, not even the clock.
I believe there is a fusable link in this wire. look for a loop coming out of the loom near the starter. Its job is the master fuse for when bubba bypasses every other fuse and shorts the main feed to ground. It is supposed to stop your car from burning to the ground. If you have a multi meter with Ohms use the pointy probes to pierce the insulation and check the continuity of the fuseable link.
The main feed goes to the junction block to enter the cabin. It also feeds the horn relay which then connects to the Alternator, the regulator and another feed(or 3) to the junction block. Check you have continuity to the junction block with all feeds.
Check the bolt holding the inside and outside parts of the junction block is done up tight as ths affect the contact to the inside block. It may be worthwhile to remove the bolt and check the condition of the connectors between the inside and outside.
If you get this far and haven't found the fault check the fuseholders for corrosion as well.
From the inside junction block the main feed goes directly to the light switch and ignition switch. Check the connectors on both switches.
If you have not found the source of your problems by now then you definitely have gremlins and require the exorcist you previously mentioned!
Can't help with the bumper though. Bugger!
:cheers: Cap'n James (retired)
08-16-2003, 11:26 PM
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Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (RHD '68 L89)
RHD '68 L89....
Thanks for your indepth post, but it's not as if anything was different from Tuesday. I finally got around to attempting to start this new engine then and after some timing issues it did start only to spew gasoline out of the front vent hole after 10-15 seconds. I posted the issue here on the forum and the concensous was that it had to be the needle/seat. The only other thing I have done since was to rotate the distributor 180 degrees just to make sure that was not the problem. Otherwise the car has been covered up and not touched.
And now I've got both the front & rear bumper that have stress cracked in the last 6 months without ever driving one foot.
Thanks for your indepth post, but it's not as if anything was different from Tuesday. I finally got around to attempting to start this new engine then and after some timing issues it did start only to spew gasoline out of the front vent hole after 10-15 seconds. I posted the issue here on the forum and the concensous was that it had to be the needle/seat. The only other thing I have done since was to rotate the distributor 180 degrees just to make sure that was not the problem. Otherwise the car has been covered up and not touched.
And now I've got both the front & rear bumper that have stress cracked in the last 6 months without ever driving one foot.
08-17-2003, 04:50 PM
#5
CFOT Attention Whore
Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (RHD '68 L89)
It is a rare occurance but if Bubba has used a hammer to attach the terminals to the battery you may have an intermittant open in the battery.
NEVER use a hammer on a battery!
NEVER use a hammer on a battery!
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=626888
08-17-2003, 05:14 PM
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Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (bgrice)
You don't have a 16 year old son, do you???? Seems like my Dad's car always had weird things going wrong with his car when I was 16......
I wouldn't worry about spooks too much, but if that bumper fixes itself, I'd get the heck out of there.....
Sorry, that's all the troubleshooting "advice" I've got..... :)
I wouldn't worry about spooks too much, but if that bumper fixes itself, I'd get the heck out of there.....
Sorry, that's all the troubleshooting "advice" I've got..... :)
08-17-2003, 07:11 PM
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St. Jude Contributor
Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (ZD75blue)
Ya just gotta be nice to it...
:cheers:
:cheers:
Well... she can just stay home. Her friend('71) is being way more agreeable. A cutie too! :D
08-17-2003, 09:02 PM
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Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (clutchdust)
Yea though I did read the epic of Wal*Mart (Trailers of the movie in theatres this fall) I didn't associate the 2 stories.:jester
I just know you are not supposed to hit a battery.
Apart from possibly breaking the electrical circuit you will break the seal around the terminal and get the blue/green corrision from acid getting out around the terminal.
Cap'n James (retired)
:cheers:
I just know you are not supposed to hit a battery.
Apart from possibly breaking the electrical circuit you will break the seal around the terminal and get the blue/green corrision from acid getting out around the terminal.
Cap'n James (retired)
:cheers:
08-17-2003, 09:58 PM
#10
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St. Jude Contributor
Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (bgrice)
Hmmm. Looks like somebody hit it with a Ford pickup! :jester Sorry, couldn't resist.
That's one wicked stress crack. What in the world could cause something like that? Is it completely through the material of the nose?
JB
That's one wicked stress crack. What in the world could cause something like that? Is it completely through the material of the nose?
JB
08-17-2003, 10:16 PM
#11
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Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (JB)
Hmmm. Looks like somebody hit it with a Ford pickup! :jester Sorry, couldn't resist.
That's one wicked stress crack. What in the world could cause something like that? Is it completely through the material of the nose?
JB
That's one wicked stress crack. What in the world could cause something like that? Is it completely through the material of the nose?
JB
My best bets(just a guess) are that the front & rear bumpers have seriously stress cracked due to a couple of things. First of all... when the car was converted to a vert in '89 the owner shot the paint with the bumpers on the car with no flex agent. I know alot of people have done that, but they have also not put their vettes through the ordeal of being left in all kinds of obscure positions while I've had everything redone on it. I know that for at least a month while the engine was out it was left with the front wheels up on roll-up ramps. Maybe it loaded stress to the rear and to the bumper area? In fact it was during that time that everything started cracking. No problems before. And just in the last month I have had one side of the front end(passenger) up & down & up & down & up & down while attempting to get starter issues out of the way. And at times I left it with that side propped up for days at a time. And I finally got the issues out of the way and maybe it settled back down and decided to relieve all the stress through the bumper.
It might be a bad theory, but that's the only reasoning I can see behind all the cracking when I had no problems at all before this complete redoing of everything started.
[Modified by bgrice, 9:18 PM 8/17/2003]
08-18-2003, 01:29 AM
#12
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St. Jude Donor '09
Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (bgrice)
While I was at it I decided to wipe the car down with a wet rag and dry it off. (End of night)
No wonder you have a possesed vette. :lol:
I think I can solve your problem with a typo fix. Do not call it a car,
it's a vette, and it has feelings. :jester
08-18-2003, 10:07 AM
#13
Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (Desertdawg)
Is the car stored in a climate controlled garage? If not, the temperature changes and extreme heat we have been seeing around Houston may be causing the urethane to expand and/or contract, cracking the paint.
Just a thought...
Jeff
Just a thought...
Jeff
08-18-2003, 10:55 AM
#14
Intermediate
Re: One Snake-Bit '74 (no_radio)
I think on 74 there was a seatbelt link that would not let the engine turn over without having your seatbelt buckled. Many people disabled this a long time ago on their cars. Try plugging in your seatbelt, doesn't make sense why it started before and now it wouldn't though, worth a shot.
:thumbs:
:thumbs:
