The Force Awakens...

Thinking warmly of you and wishing your family an extra measure of comfort, joy and hope
this Christmas. Thanks Dorian, that was very kind of you to say!

Thanks Rick ! Merry Christmas ! I wish you and yours all the best for 2018...

And thanks again for the detailed feedback.
 
Looks in reasonable condition to rebuild. Simple enough. Fortunately the headlight harness is intact; no wires to replace there.

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Making progress here...

Still, I think I’ll be replacing the battery cables; the starter sometimes randomly doesn’t work. I want to make sure all the cables and grounds are fine before doubting the starter. It seems to spin up healthy fast when it does.

I’ll have to test the ignition line. For some reason the key ignition was bypassed for a push button start. I suspect an ignition switch failure. Something about the steering column key pushing a rod that diverts 12v to a purple wire. Something seems wrong there.

I lost all my rear lights, all of them. I think I might have yanked the ground when reinstalling the gas tank that has been repaired.

The throttle pedal also doesn’t seem to be actuating properly. It feels like I only have 1/3 of the travel. The pedal is quite close to the floor.

Lots of little things to sort out.

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yeah! I've never worked on a car over about 35-40 years old that did not have a significant list of minor repairs and upgrades,
that were needed, I at one time had the opportunity to talk too and discuss that with an actual G.M. engineer.
his response to the question was that the design parameters were that the car last about 10 years with few major issues,
thus if an engineer selected components that would in theory last 20 plus years , too be used,
even if the cost increase was minimal, or even non-existent, it was almost always rejected.
he said he at one time was working on a designing a wind-shield wiper motor assembly, vendors offered several motor and switch component designs.
G.M. settled on a mid priced option even though a significantly smaller and more compact and more robust design was less than 70 cents more.
 
the G.M. muscle car starters from the 1957-80 chevy v8 is easily repaired and parts replaced rather cheaply, those worn contacts are designed to be replaceable

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-1986-...ash=item52033a2ca3:g:pmQAAOSw0j9ZUkrp&vxp=mtr
StarterPlunger01.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/Victory-Lap-...rd_wg=IzOXf&psc=1&refRID=2AV7FJREAPB644A2J0Q6
51NAL.jpg





new and professionally rebuilt starters are not all that expensive
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...7cid+v8,1040870,electrical,starter+motor,4152
 
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So I yanked all the plugs and was expecting the worst but, it turns out to be reasonable.

The plugs are all dry and reasonably tanned.

I did a compression test on all the cylinders and 160 psi seems to be the average. A squirt of oil makes no significant difference. (the starter seemed to have less of a problem with the plugs pulled; I did the test before I dropped the stater.)

Plug #8 looks a bit white (not plug #8 pictured hereunder). I also noticed, when re-setting valve lash cold, that the intake rocker on 8 doesn’t seem to be near full lift potential. In fact I missed it the first time round when setting the exhaust valve and eyeing the intake rocker. I’m thinking the cam lobe is a bit worn. Typical for #8 is if I recall correctly.

I have an old pair of M/T cast aluminum valve covers... I'll cut the top off; ideal for setting valve lash with the engine running. First I need to get that starter fixed and back in there...

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Thanks for the links and information ! I'll be doing a full rebuild soon. Other than the stud and contact plate; the starter looks in good condition including the brushes and commutator lands look in good condition... as do the bearings.
 
so what your indicating is that everything's about as one would reasonably expect on a car nearly 50 years old
and while some things are less than ideal, the basic car seems to be in reasonable condition for a 50 year old car.
yes you have some repairs and upgrades but after seeing the impressive skills and results youve displayed in the past,
I have no doubt youll soon have that corvette in show room condition and worth even more money.
..btw document everything you do it adds to the value,especially , if you decide to sell the car,
if you have a thick photo album and stacks of receipts.
 
As a poor teenager, I would take that round contact out and rotate it 180° and use the other
side. Which is essentially a new contact again. ;)
 
As a poor teenager, I would take that round contact out and rotate it 180° and use the other
side. Which is essentially a new contact again. ;)

As a new corvette owner faced with probably many more expenses to come up, that is what I did... ad interim :D
 
Getting rebuild parts is hard now. No parts houses want to keep them in stock. They want to sell you a whole unit. Even solenoids How about a whole starter cheaper than just a solenoid?.
 
Well, that didn’t fix it. I’m not sure that changed anything at all.
 
Set hot lash and indeed, it does seem like 8 intake doesn’t have much lift to it. Something is up there. I suspect a worn cam lobe.

955C86B0-37AA-4F52-BF52-E5EDFA6E29FC.jpeg

I checked the timing, after finding back TDC, and at idle it seems to be at 26. All in happens before 3000 rpm.

However, my spark seems to be erratic at higher rpm, disappearing at times. The high rpm does not feel smooth.

I might pull the plugs and close the gap at tick. Eyeballing it looked like quite a big gap.
 
By the way. That opened valve cover worked extremely well. NO oil mess at all.
 
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