Abandoned 454 4 speed Corvette rescue

Discussion in 'The "Other" Bench' started by CJay, May 24, 2023.

  1. wkillgs

    wkillgs Gold Level Contributor

    My standard procedure lately for carb rebuilds is to soak it in Evaporust. It removes the rust off the linkages without having to do full disassembly. I also got a 10 liter ultrasonic cleaner off Amazon for $130. It doesn't perform miracles but it is nice to just throw parts in there for cleaning, walk away for 30 min to work on something else, and come back to clean(er) parts. Might be an option for you too.

    I always enjoyed those first days of working on a new project. There's so much to do, and getting small things makes such a difference.
     
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  2. Duane

    Duane Member

    Jason doesn’t make those kind of deals with me. I still feel the need to do a few more things for him. He rebuilt a tilt floor shift column for me for free.

    Actually I think he not only fixed it but he made a column shift into a floor shift model.
    Duane
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
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  3. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    Check the frame rails before the rear tires. That box rail before it meets the rail that goes up over the tire. The box rail has no drainage. Every C3 I've worked on it rotted out there- even the nice ones.
     
  4. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Thst was the second thing I checked! First was to see if the engine was free, second was to check the rails just before the rear tires. It's solid. Maybe because it wasn't driven alot? Idk...but the cars got good bones
     
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  5. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    Good deal.

    Side note- that vette ought to have a deep bowl fuel pump. Compare the vette pump to the stage one and see how close the fittings are. Maybe an arm swap will put us back in business?
     
  6. Jim Weise

    Jim Weise EFI/DIS 482

    Nope Joe... looked at this a while ago, everything is wrong for the fittings, mainly because it's bolted on the passenger side of the engine. Not saying it could not be "made to work" but it's not going to fool anyone into think it's the now extinct Stage 1 factory pump.
     
  7. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    I wouldn't expect it to be dead nuts, but it would be nice to find one that was able to use the factory pump to carb line with minimal tweaks. The rubber lines are of course easily made to work.
     
  8. Redmanf1

    Redmanf1 Gold Level Contributor

    Those are 69 factory style side exhaust.
    Last year for the BB.
    One year only rear bumper cover.
    You might want to look into that hole for an alarm key switch or cut wires.


     
    Last edited: May 29, 2023
  9. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Next small issue is getting it off the ground and on blocks. Looks like front crossmember is a no no. Im thinking 2 Jack's, one under each lower control arm in the front, and jack it up from the diff/ center spring mount in the rear. That might be my assignment for today

    In researching it, thry say you can put a jack in the center of the frame rail and jack up the whole side at one time.
     
  10. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Mission accomplished- I got it up on blocks successfully and got the wheels off.

    Looks like only the right read rotor was off. All the others still have the rivets. I greased the front end and drained the gear oil from the trans.

    20230529_112243.jpg

    Trans is original and a wide ratio. Definitely going to need calipers, rotors and a master.

    Frame is surface rusted from sitting for decades but solid.

    20230529_112305.jpg

    Fresh grease! Front end is tight too

    20230529_112318.jpg
     
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  11. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Brake lines are soaking in PB Blaster. Only one has broken free. The rest of the flare nuts are frozen to the lines. They're not terrible to do, but I'd rather not. The brake job is still at least 2 weeks away.
     
  12. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Ok, im done for today. Good news though..

    Rear calipers are off! Looks like they were were replaced at one time. They're in great shape! All the pistons move freely. They definitely look newer than the fronts. Rear E brake shoes are free and in good shape as well.

    I'm gonna just order a master, pads, rotors and front brakes hose. Were gonna roll the dice on the front calipers. Might me $450 I don't have to spend.


    Question- do you guys think I should prime the pump?

    My game plan is to take the plugs out, shoot some marvel in each cylinder, or at least some wd-40. Spin it over once by hand to make sure there aren't any stuck valves, spin it over with the starter a little to get the oil pressure up, then slam the plugs in. I'm debating on taking the distributor out and using a priming tool

    While I'm cranking it with no plugs, im gonna put the fuel line in a clear plastic bottle and purge the fuel line to the carb.

    Any tips or suggestions?

    And btw, I noticed it's got a tach drive distributor. Pretty cool
     
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  13. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    If you are concerned with stuck valves I would pull the valve covers before turning it over. It takes very little effort to bend a pushrod or ruin a lifter. Its worth your time- you know the valve covers will leak immediately if you don't change the gaskets anyway. Pull the covers and see if the valves move first!

    I paid the piper twice now with old engines.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2023
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  14. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    So far so good....the front lines going into the flex hoses gave me the most trouble. Had to cut both flex hoses and unscrew them off the frozen flare nuts. Got one to free up. Trying a little experiment on the other- Im soaking it in a small cap full of evaporust for 24 hours.

    20230531_191212.jpg

    All the rotors are removed. What a pain in the rectum. 15 rivets! And the rotors don't just jump off the car afterwards...

    Only a Corvette guy would probably know what these are-

    20230531_191145.jpg

    All the calipers are off. Wouldn't you know it, one bleeder broke. After drilling it out and applying a little heat...cant put too much, you don't wanna cook the seals. It finally broke free...whew!! We're crossing our fingers here on the calipers. Hopefully they don't leak and squeeze the rotors

    20230531_191120.jpg


    20230531_191056.jpg

    Front hubs are degreased and bearings all cleaned up ready to go back together.

    20230531_191106.jpg

    Brake pads showed up today-

    20230531_191320.jpg
     
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  15. Redmanf1

    Redmanf1 Gold Level Contributor

    Those are what's left of the rotor rivets after being drilled out. Someone could have SS sleaved those calipers years back???

    Did look into that hole for an alarm key switch or cut wires?
     
  16. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    I looked in the hole :D didn't see any evidence of a lock cylinder.

    So the only lines that didn't survive were what's known as the trailing arm lines. They go from the rear flex hoses to the rear calipers. Theyre small, maybe 12". I'll just make them from some scrap pieces I have in my box. I have some of that spiral armor too from the Wildcat project.
     
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  17. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    Your drill looks dead nuts center in that bleeder. But... did you drill too far? You must have cut into the caliper if the EZ out is sticking that far out. Is the flare surface still useable?
     
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  18. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    That's a good question and you actually scared me for a minute. Looks like I may of gotten lucky. I looked in the caliper and it looks good.

    20230531_195917.jpg
     
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  19. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    60% of the time, luck works every time!
     
  20. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    It lives!!!!

    I manged to get the beast running the other night. Took all the plugs out...what a bitch. #2 had to come out through the wheel well. Poured a little marvel in each cylinder. Turned it over one full revolution by hand- no noises. After that I let it sit a little with the marvel.

    Put a fresh battery in it and spun it with no plugs to build up some oil pressure.

    Slammed 8 R44Ts in it, new wires, cap rotor points and condenser. Filled the bowl with fuel and twisted the key.

    It sputtered a little on the first crank. Second crank she fired right up! I was pelted with nuts, leaves, dirt and God knows what else that came flying out from under the hood! Rust flakes shot out of the tail pipes. It smoked alot as it warmed up from the marvel in the cylinders. I revved it up to clear it out. Set the dwell, checked the timing and it sat there idling like it ran last week. Thats a relief! The sidepipes sound freaking awesome!!! Now I have even more motivation to get this thing going.

    Calipers- front are wasted. Bores are pitted. Looks like I'm gonna have to bite the bullet on this one and shoot the lock off the wallet. Rock has AC Delco remans for $90 stainless steel sleeved. So those are on order. I'm thinking if I can get the calipers this week, the test drive could be Sunday.
     

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