I frequently have talked to guys who purchased a older corvette or muscle car that was someone elses project car, who after working on the car either express a common thought that the previous owner(S) were total incompetent morons, or "back yard bubba" mechanics at best!
they can,t figure out why the car won,t run correctly or how the previous owner has connected or wired up many components and after a few weeks they start talking about passing on their previous (SCORE) to the next (SUCKER).
they get frustrated, and basically can,t figure out why something won,t work, well I hate to point this out but in most cases when your working on a 10-50 year old car thats had SEVERAL previous owners your almost certainly going to be starting from a car in that condition, RELAX while its almost a given you'll get frustrated at times its also almost 100% certain that if you look at each individual system, or component in each system and find out what its does and how its supposed to work, and find out how to test that component or system, you can get it functioning as it was designed to work OR better, yes it takes some research, some test tools and a factory shop manual is almost MANDATORY
many guys get totally confused of upset chasing cooling issues or the EFI (electronic fuel injection) or oil pressure, or have problems with valve train clearance , or geometry in the the engine because of what the previous owner did, or simple stuff like fixing oil leaks, or even vibrations become a problem!
Well its all common and the basic truth is its part of the hobby, so if your not into resolving problems your 100% sure to get a bit crazy, dealing with things you didn,t cause and have a bit of difficulty correcting theres NOTHING on a corvette or muscle car that time, research, some basic testing and a few basic tools in the hands of a persistent mechanically inclined installer/mechanic or average hot rodder, that can,t be corrected, adjusted or replaced if necessary
sure its frustrating when the car won,t run correctly and your not sure if its ignition, related, low or no fuel, carb, tuning, injectors, faulty sensors incorrect valve timing, compression, or maybe a clogged catalytic converter, or a bad ground or faulty electrical wiring or a vacuum leak, etc..........but if you RELAX, and take each potential area of engine operation individually and verify its correct function before moving to the next set of tests and verify each step in the process and take a few notes you'll find the cause and the cure, it just takes time testing and research, you'll generally start with taking a compression test, reading the spark plugs setting the ignition timing, checking voltages and fuel flow and pressure, you'll want to check trouble codes and verify the valves are adjusted correctly, the carb or injectors function etc. but taken a step at a time it won,t be nearly as overwhelming and its just a logical process, sure you'll need a few meters, tools and gauges, but theres NOTHING that's BEYOND most guys ability's, and once you find the cause of your problems in many cases you'll be amazed at how small things like faulty sensors or vacuum leaks or badly adjusted components can cause you so much grief, or how easy that was to correct ONCE you found the cause
hot rodding should really be called... the art of isolating , testing and repairing or improving the function or automotive related components, in a logical , well thought thru process designed to make your blood pressure go up and give you sudden urges cuss and to throw tools
shop manuals, if you can get one do so
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2701
trouble codes, if your cars modern enough to be computer equipped these HELP at times
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2697
sensors and locations
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1401
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=168
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=596
tuning & adjusting
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=773
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=1246
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=196
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=181
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=2746
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=202
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=875
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=967
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=986
they can,t figure out why the car won,t run correctly or how the previous owner has connected or wired up many components and after a few weeks they start talking about passing on their previous (SCORE) to the next (SUCKER).
they get frustrated, and basically can,t figure out why something won,t work, well I hate to point this out but in most cases when your working on a 10-50 year old car thats had SEVERAL previous owners your almost certainly going to be starting from a car in that condition, RELAX while its almost a given you'll get frustrated at times its also almost 100% certain that if you look at each individual system, or component in each system and find out what its does and how its supposed to work, and find out how to test that component or system, you can get it functioning as it was designed to work OR better, yes it takes some research, some test tools and a factory shop manual is almost MANDATORY
many guys get totally confused of upset chasing cooling issues or the EFI (electronic fuel injection) or oil pressure, or have problems with valve train clearance , or geometry in the the engine because of what the previous owner did, or simple stuff like fixing oil leaks, or even vibrations become a problem!
Well its all common and the basic truth is its part of the hobby, so if your not into resolving problems your 100% sure to get a bit crazy, dealing with things you didn,t cause and have a bit of difficulty correcting theres NOTHING on a corvette or muscle car that time, research, some basic testing and a few basic tools in the hands of a persistent mechanically inclined installer/mechanic or average hot rodder, that can,t be corrected, adjusted or replaced if necessary
sure its frustrating when the car won,t run correctly and your not sure if its ignition, related, low or no fuel, carb, tuning, injectors, faulty sensors incorrect valve timing, compression, or maybe a clogged catalytic converter, or a bad ground or faulty electrical wiring or a vacuum leak, etc..........but if you RELAX, and take each potential area of engine operation individually and verify its correct function before moving to the next set of tests and verify each step in the process and take a few notes you'll find the cause and the cure, it just takes time testing and research, you'll generally start with taking a compression test, reading the spark plugs setting the ignition timing, checking voltages and fuel flow and pressure, you'll want to check trouble codes and verify the valves are adjusted correctly, the carb or injectors function etc. but taken a step at a time it won,t be nearly as overwhelming and its just a logical process, sure you'll need a few meters, tools and gauges, but theres NOTHING that's BEYOND most guys ability's, and once you find the cause of your problems in many cases you'll be amazed at how small things like faulty sensors or vacuum leaks or badly adjusted components can cause you so much grief, or how easy that was to correct ONCE you found the cause
hot rodding should really be called... the art of isolating , testing and repairing or improving the function or automotive related components, in a logical , well thought thru process designed to make your blood pressure go up and give you sudden urges cuss and to throw tools
shop manuals, if you can get one do so
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2701
trouble codes, if your cars modern enough to be computer equipped these HELP at times
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2697
sensors and locations
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1401
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=168
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=596
tuning & adjusting
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=773
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=1246
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=196
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=181
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=2746
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=202
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=875
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=967
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=986