Well, I went over to see "Little Buddy's" 1970 convertible, automatic, red corvette. Very refreshing! He's got it squeezed in a tiny garage and working on it with very modest tools (metric ) It really is refreshing to see a new car and a youth working on it.
I wasn't available the day he tried to drive it home. It crapped out after a couple of hours of driving. Engine stalled on an incline (could be float level), radiator leak (loose clamp - hoses are not dried out) and... front right caliper leaks. He finally had to be towed home. His parents were quite upset - he's 24 and it is their garage.
Though he didn't know it, his master cylinder sucking air and that was it for braking; it became very unsafe. The front reservoir was extremely low. I am guessing seals around pistons... at this point, we can't tell where the leak is coming from, but it looks like the back of the brake pads are wet. I suspect there is air trapped in the system and now it cannot generate enough PSI to leak obviously.
What typically goes south on these calipers? Piston seals?
Does it might make sense to rebuild all the calipers... what do you think? Even if the others are dry?
The carb is missing a return spring and the divorced choke linkage to the bimetal coil. I happen to have a spare Q-jet which was... on a 1970 SBC 400 automatic . The carb that is on there now is from a 1977 Chevy manual (Little Buddy's 'vette is a THM400). From what I can tell it was never tuned for this car
Would it make sense to rebuild mine and slap it on there as mine if from a 1970 automatic and I know when I yanked it off it was running decently on the SBC400.
As for the VERY spongy steering. Is it a PITA to swap out the rag-joint? Any thing 'vette specific? His power steering is so greasy that I think it is best to replace the rag-joint, lean it up, and reassess.
Another thing that I did not like was there was a serpentine crank pulleys nestled inside the stock pulley... you know the kind that you see running mini blower? I didn't like that...
I wasn't available the day he tried to drive it home. It crapped out after a couple of hours of driving. Engine stalled on an incline (could be float level), radiator leak (loose clamp - hoses are not dried out) and... front right caliper leaks. He finally had to be towed home. His parents were quite upset - he's 24 and it is their garage.
Though he didn't know it, his master cylinder sucking air and that was it for braking; it became very unsafe. The front reservoir was extremely low. I am guessing seals around pistons... at this point, we can't tell where the leak is coming from, but it looks like the back of the brake pads are wet. I suspect there is air trapped in the system and now it cannot generate enough PSI to leak obviously.
What typically goes south on these calipers? Piston seals?
Does it might make sense to rebuild all the calipers... what do you think? Even if the others are dry?
The carb is missing a return spring and the divorced choke linkage to the bimetal coil. I happen to have a spare Q-jet which was... on a 1970 SBC 400 automatic . The carb that is on there now is from a 1977 Chevy manual (Little Buddy's 'vette is a THM400). From what I can tell it was never tuned for this car
Would it make sense to rebuild mine and slap it on there as mine if from a 1970 automatic and I know when I yanked it off it was running decently on the SBC400.
As for the VERY spongy steering. Is it a PITA to swap out the rag-joint? Any thing 'vette specific? His power steering is so greasy that I think it is best to replace the rag-joint, lean it up, and reassess.
Another thing that I did not like was there was a serpentine crank pulleys nestled inside the stock pulley... you know the kind that you see running mini blower? I didn't like that...