The Force Awakens...

Hi Gents,

Soooo I have been dealing with a lot of "silly" stress lately. I am four weeks out from semi-finals for Natural Bodybuilding. The contest is on May 26. I hope my coach knows what he is doing, because it does feel like I am way behind in term of body fat loss. This is a drug tested environment. I'll be participating in the "Masters" (=old man) category. Weight class: under 75kg or 165lbs. Last week I weighed in at 79kg or 174lbs. :mad:

Anyway, that is neither here nor there - but it is very demanding psychologically and one tends to fatigue very quickly. All that to explain my relative silence.

Vibration
I managed to pry and fix the exhaust pipes away from the body. I'd say 90% of the vibrations are gone. What little there is still seems to come form the rear and not the engine. The engine does, however, feel like it wants a larger damper. I'll need to creep under this weekend to see if there is any other contact anywhere else that I missed.

Horn
The horn button is fixed. Interestingly there was some insulating varnish that had broken down inside the steering column that had led to continuity... in other words, the horn would always blare because grounded. I plastic insulating washer made available a year later cleaned up that issue. It is so nice to drive with a horn button again - the car feels so much more complete.

Cooling
The car does not like standing still for too long and begins to overheat if left that way. Driving 20 mph or more prevents this.

There was a crappy auxiliary electric fan that I tossed out; the only thing that seemed to do was obstruct the draw of the mechanical fan.

I did notice that the steel fan shroud lacked foam insulation between itself and the radiator. The gaps were huge. I filled those gaps with some spare insulating foam that I had to see if that would have an effect. That improved things but still did not solve the issue.

I am not a fan of electric fans (pun intended) because I do not like relying on the added complexity of the thermostat and relay that may fail with me only noticing when it is too late. I'd much rather have the simplicity and reliability of the thermocouple viscous fan. BTW, how does one test that fan?

On the other hand, on C3 Corvettes, the mechanical fan is very far from the radiator. Having a 3,300 cfm electric puller with a shroud (Black Magic) is affordable and would probably fix the problem. De Witt high performance aluminum radiators do exist... but they are expensive.

Hmmm

Clutch
I did notice that in my quest to control vibrations that the clutch fork and linkage were rattling. It turns out that a ball stud was missing a locking plate and VERY loose. Tightening it up as best I could (temporary solution) had no effect on the rattle BUT it did dramatically improve the feel of the clutch. Which bring us to my next issue...

Intake
Swapping in a (free) standard GM 30-30 cam was a no-brainer. However I did lose some top end. 2,500 to 3,500 has good drive. But off idle is still poor. Getting the car going, even despite the improved clutch feel, is still a bit tedious. I am suspecting the first generation open plenum Torker.

With 882 heads and a mild cam, I see little advantage to it and probably disadvantage.

The short block seems in very good condition - my plan for next year is to slap on a better cam with some reasonable aluminum heads and to be happy for some time.

However, one thing that can change in the meantime is the intake.

On C3 corvette, hood clearance is an issue. I suppose I could go with a Performer or a Performer RPM or possibly an Air-Gap would fit. These intakes would also be compatible with newer heads when I get them. But... there are so many expenses on this car... maybe modifying with a divider is the way to go for the moment. I am leaning that way for the moment...

What do you gents think? Add a separating plate? Grind the intake and epoxy? Would that help significantly the off idle, get-the-car-going ?
 
a good quality dual plane intake , like an air gap edelbrock, would help, but youll need a drop base air cleaner too fit under the hood,and in most cases a different hood
they are available in 2.5" 3", 4" hood clearance styles, and with as bit more clearance, to use a air gap intake, and yes sealing the shroud to radiator gap is sure to help cooling


l88hd1.jpg

l88hd2.jpg

l88hd3.jpg

l88hd4.jpg



at times a bit more hood clearance adds considerably too that
"LOOK" most guys like, in an expensive exotic RIDE"
even if it just passed on the street most guys appreciate, the look of a bit more aggressive hood , it just screams impressive, vs average

l88hd5.jpg
 
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This fan seemed more trouble than it was worth...

View attachment 9712
Be easier just to buy a new or Used Edelbrock or Performer Intake manifold.

Check out Griffin Pro Series Radiators.
I bought the Biggest made for a 1967-1969 Camaro.
I can let the 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix Run in the driveway & it does not overheat.
Griffin Pro Radiator works .
Could use 1 more auxillary fan yet.
Much like you have pictured for 100F days here .
 
Electric fans are troublesome in the real world.
Any component fails & it overheats.
Best Relay is Contactor magnetic Pole relay constant duty or 100 percent duty cycle.
Used On Diesel Semi Trucks Here in the USA. $40-50.
300-500 amps just for the electric fan.

Relay on the Grand Prix lasts 2-6 months & then burns up internal.

Gotta get the new Hershey Cole Mangnetic Pole Relay I have put on 63 GP Yet.

Best Mechanic Fan was used on a 1970 Trans Am RAIV Muncie- 4.
 
We are both the same size & almost the same age Dorien.
174 lbs your in leaner shape.
I click in at 185 lbs.

You Have to be Hungry for T-Boned Steaks.

LOL
 
I eat a lot of meat, eggs, fish, chicken and other sources of protein. I really miss, in no particular order: the carbohydrates/starches/sugars/alcohol...

A slice of wonder bread is like a brainwave of goodness.

I'll try replacing with a good aluminum radiator first... I am not a fan of electric fans. As you say, all it takes is for on link to fail.

BTW, I am unaware of anyway of testing the viscous fan. Is there a reliable way to do that other than the newspaper-interference method... which I tried inconclusively.
 
I eat a lot of meat, eggs, fish, chicken and other sources of protein. I really miss, in no particular order: the carbohydrates/starches/sugars/alcohol...

A slice of wonder bread is like a brainwave of goodness.

I'll try replacing with a good aluminum radiator first... I am not a fan of electric fans. As you say, all it takes is for on link to fail.

BTW, I am unaware of anyway of testing the viscous fan. Is there a reliable way to do that other than the newspaper-interference method... which I tried inconclusively.

I don't drink alcohol anymore on a regular basis.
A few times maybe in the summer.
A cold beer after a hot day working.


Most of the C3 guys use a Hayden clutch fan with SBC & BBC.
Report its the only way to keep them cool in the summer time.

LS Swap guys spend lots of money on Drop in Cooling system modules.
$1,000 to start.

Chevy had a special Mechanical Flex Fan used on L88 & early 454 Corvettes along with the original LT1. Hard to find now.
From what I read it moved the most air. No cfm reported.

Seen similar on Ebay. Used on early K5 Chevy Blazer Trucks.
Heavy duty flex fan. Think to big to use on a C3 Corvette.

Pontiac called it the Power Flex Fan.
Used on Non AC 70 TA.
4-speed.
Heavy Duty Cooling system package.

Clutch fan used otherwise.
 
I agree Dorian about electric fans. Personally I like a belt-driven thermostatic clutch fan.
I would only use an electric fan as an auxiliary fan for those 100 degree days.
 
Dorian, you said 30-30 camshaft. If that is correct, then that is a pretty wild SOLID LIFTER camshaft.
 
Ok, today we are going for our first 100-mile drive. I drove to work this morning (about 20 miles). This afternoon I will be driving another 40 from here to see my coach. (He'll be assessing whether or not I'll stage-ready in three weeks. :confused:)

The drive up was uneventful. The morning was cool and traffic fluid, so there was no chance of overheating. I am set on replacing the radiator with a De Witt; I have only read excellent reviews.

My goal here is mostly to hunt down the vibration. It seems to appear at 2700 rpm and fade out at higher rpm. This leads me to think that the balancer is the issue. It might be the exhaust still banging somewhere. TBD

There are used Performer intakes on local e-Bays here. I may go that way to save a few $$$ rather than buy a Weiand Street Warrior - TBD as well. Getting the car going is really not fun.

The clutch linkage is rattling and missing at least three springs. I intend to go aftermarket there too.

Finally, not this weekend but next, I will be doing a power brake conversion. The brakes on there now are adequate... but... come on !

I do find that despite a lot of work that remains to be done on the suspension, it handles pretty good !!!! Better than some other new cars on the road. The low center of gravity must be in it for something. Once I have fully perfected, it should be quite good !
 
If it's the balancer, then the motor should show the same vibration whether the car is moving
or not. Try putting a glass of water on the engine somewhere and raise the idle speed. Do you
see any indication of the vibration at ~ 2700 RPM???

I would use the idle screw to raise the idle speed, that way you can move the idle in small
increments around your target RPM and focus on the glass. I did this when graphing my
advance curve, much easier than doing it by hand and trying to hit the right RPM while also
reading the advance degrees.

A couple of more questions to answer:

Does it happen in every gear at ~ 2700 RPM?
Do you feel the vibration if you coast (car in neutral and engine at idle) thru the same speed
reached at ~ 2700 RPM?
 
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So this weekend was power brake conversion day.

It started out with me setting out all the pieces on the table:
Apieces.jpg

This was a kit from zip-corvette. It was very comprehensive, good quality and had pretty clear instructions.
 
This is what we are looking at. Don't mind the cables; I left them extra long for when the day comes that I pull the engine and will trim and tidy things up...

1A the old.jpg

Draining...
1A Draining.jpg

It looks worse than in was... that, or I have seen worse.
1A Old fluid.jpg
 
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