Discussion
I made the journey up to the workshops of "Jeal&Sons" to meet Geoff and talk about the progress of the engine mods and also to clean up the engine bay.
Armed with rags,cleaning fluids,scrappers and some elbow grease i set to work,BOY! to think i pride myself on how clean i like to keep my car and baring in mind ime always cleaning the engine bay,i was prepared but none the less still surprised on how filthy some parts of the chassis where.
Still with the motor out now was the time to clean up,for a car 13 years old the chassis was untouched,just some flaking paint in a few areas.
In the time i was there i guess i cleaned about 80% of the bay and on my next trip in a couple of weeks i will finish of before i start touching up the paint work on the Chassis and attacking brake pipes,steering and suspension etc with wire wool.
>>> Edited by ZR1415 on Sunday 31st August 22:14
Armed with rags,cleaning fluids,scrappers and some elbow grease i set to work,BOY! to think i pride myself on how clean i like to keep my car and baring in mind ime always cleaning the engine bay,i was prepared but none the less still surprised on how filthy some parts of the chassis where.
Still with the motor out now was the time to clean up,for a car 13 years old the chassis was untouched,just some flaking paint in a few areas.
In the time i was there i guess i cleaned about 80% of the bay and on my next trip in a couple of weeks i will finish of before i start touching up the paint work on the Chassis and attacking brake pipes,steering and suspension etc with wire wool.
>>> Edited by ZR1415 on Sunday 31st August 22:14
Reminds me of last year Cliff. The engine and bay in my '81 always looked pretty good since I detailed it whilst still in the car.....Well if you could see the pictures of it when I pulled the engine out last year to do it properly....looked like it came out of some old wrecker !! Keep up the good work mate....And just remember, if you need a good bloke to change your oil when you get it up and running 
Paul.
Paul.
I'm glad you posted that, I had similar ideas for when my engine comes out in a couple of weeks but I thought it may be frowned upon by Geoff etc. What sort of cleaning things did you use ?
I have this image in my head of when the car is finished it will have a totally gleaming engine and bay .... I just cannot miss the oportunity while it is out !
I have this image in my head of when the car is finished it will have a totally gleaming engine and bay .... I just cannot miss the oportunity while it is out !
The problem with engine bays is that we only ever look at"the bay"from one angle and everything that gleams on top takes your attention from the grime(fluids,dust,grit etc) that lurks in the shadows,and yes it did look like an "Old wrecker" with the motor out.
I think before i take a car for an engine out job again wether it's me or someone else doing the job i will get the engine bay and the underneath steam cleaned,just so i can make an impact and get the jet of steam in the awkward areas.
Geoff's ok with you wanting to clean up as he is an enthusiast as well as in buiseness ,he even helped me with a lead light,i took with me loads of rags,brushes(the ones used for washing up),a scraper,you can use different size flat head screw drivers to scrape in tight areas(making sure not to scratch of the paint),a 2inch clean paint brush to get rid of the dry dust and get in awkward areas then i wiped all the areas clean with a rag daubed in engine cleaner before wiping off residue and shining with dry rags.
One thing you will notice are all the yellow ok signatures on the chassis.
The chassis is galvanised so there is no chance of rot but one other thing i will take advantage off is to clean brake and petrol pipes that are normally hard to get to with the motor in,i will use wire wool and one of those little brass wire brush's for the unions.
I think before i take a car for an engine out job again wether it's me or someone else doing the job i will get the engine bay and the underneath steam cleaned,just so i can make an impact and get the jet of steam in the awkward areas.
Geoff's ok with you wanting to clean up as he is an enthusiast as well as in buiseness ,he even helped me with a lead light,i took with me loads of rags,brushes(the ones used for washing up),a scraper,you can use different size flat head screw drivers to scrape in tight areas(making sure not to scratch of the paint),a 2inch clean paint brush to get rid of the dry dust and get in awkward areas then i wiped all the areas clean with a rag daubed in engine cleaner before wiping off residue and shining with dry rags.
One thing you will notice are all the yellow ok signatures on the chassis.
The chassis is galvanised so there is no chance of rot but one other thing i will take advantage off is to clean brake and petrol pipes that are normally hard to get to with the motor in,i will use wire wool and one of those little brass wire brush's for the unions.
My car will be there for a while yet as some of the parts will take around 6 weeks to arrive,when steam cleaning your engine bay dont let the top half of the engine get wet as between the plenum and the valley are the starter motor and other electrical items,try to just get the chassis particuly the front crossmember(under the rads) as this takes the brunt of the road dirt,hopefuly see you up there.
Well I've just come in from the garage after removing the water pump. Not that hard at all. just had to remove the belt, pulley, tensioner, water hoses, air intake assay., throttle body and undo the alternator and a/c compressor. Then all there was left to do was to undo a mounting bracket and the several bolts holding the pump on. The hardest part by far was releasing the water pipe clamps as they were all in a difficult position.
The pump is ordered and should be here soon (I hope) at $416 + delivery and tax:-(
The cars due for an oil change and I also want to remove and clean the rad as I've read that they clog up with crap - Geoff said that would be a good idea as well. Then I will need to give the car a good clean as well. The front area of the engine is caked in crap. I use a solvent which I get for work that works well. Remind me Clif and I'll give you a can for your next trip to Jeals.
I have also noticed that 2 of the 3 bolts holding the alternator in position were missing and 1 of the 4 throttle body mounting screws (1 of the ones on the inside-which are hard to remove all the way) is also missing. I know for sure that the cam covers had been removed at some point by the condition the the bolt heads but I do wonder what work has been done and why.
Fingers crossed I should be able to make Capel still.
The pump is ordered and should be here soon (I hope) at $416 + delivery and tax:-(
The cars due for an oil change and I also want to remove and clean the rad as I've read that they clog up with crap - Geoff said that would be a good idea as well. Then I will need to give the car a good clean as well. The front area of the engine is caked in crap. I use a solvent which I get for work that works well. Remind me Clif and I'll give you a can for your next trip to Jeals.
I have also noticed that 2 of the 3 bolts holding the alternator in position were missing and 1 of the 4 throttle body mounting screws (1 of the ones on the inside-which are hard to remove all the way) is also missing. I know for sure that the cam covers had been removed at some point by the condition the the bolt heads but I do wonder what work has been done and why.
Fingers crossed I should be able to make Capel still.
Nice one Brett,sounds like your getting to know your way round a LT5,its reasuring to know there are some jobs we could do.
when will the pump be in the UK?,have you asked Geoff about the history of your motor?
Thanks for the solvent i will leave it by my car then Jason can put it to use aswell,hopefully see you at Capel.
when will the pump be in the UK?,have you asked Geoff about the history of your motor?
Thanks for the solvent i will leave it by my car then Jason can put it to use aswell,hopefully see you at Capel.
Geoff wont know, my car is from Germany and didn't arrive into the UK until mid 2001. I bought it with no history but know by looking over it that it has had some body work repair done and some engine work. It also had a new windscreen fitted in Germany as well. I was told at the time that the body work was done because the car had been vandalised. This may or may not be true. Though whoever did repair the car did a good job as all the panels all line up ok (well for a 'vette anyway ;-)) . According to mech spray mis-aligned panels on a repaired vette can be a give away that the the car has had some poor work done on it.
Some would say I should have waited and got a car with full history but I think car history is bullshit. If someones selling a car with full history and part of that history shows the car is bad news - they are going to hold back that part of the history from the buyer anyway.
Some would say I should have waited and got a car with full history but I think car history is bullshit. If someones selling a car with full history and part of that history shows the car is bad news - they are going to hold back that part of the history from the buyer anyway.
Well I've give up removing the rad cover. Ater removing a dish full of bolts, the expansion tank, vacumn tank, top fan mounts and the vacumn pump I still couldn't get to the last 3 bolts without removing even more bits. So I've put it back together. I can see a load of crap sitting between the 2 rads but can't get to it to remove it properly. Now I know its there I will try and clean in there with a hose regular. That should keep the worst of it away.
Nigel jet washed my rad by putting the nozzle near where the pipes come out on the passenger side of the rad shroud,and boy!,you get a lot of crud caught up between the rads.
There is a possibility that geoff might have seen your car even though its been on mainland europe,he has done quite a lot of work in Gemany,did your car go straight to germany in 1990?,what is the production No of the car?
As for history ,i had no history with mine either,it went to Germany in 1990 came to the UK in mid 98 then i bought the car in may 99,the first owner came from Carlisle but only had the car for a few months(i bet the brakes scared him S**tless,they were so bad i replaced them moreless straight away with Brembo's),besides history counts for nothing when the cars come from another country,most vette owners i know want the car because they really WANT the car and unless there is something blatantly wrong then they are going to part with cash.
Good thing about working on your own car is you can see where others might have taken the odd short cut.
>> Edited by ZR1415 on Friday 5th September 10:02
There is a possibility that geoff might have seen your car even though its been on mainland europe,he has done quite a lot of work in Gemany,did your car go straight to germany in 1990?,what is the production No of the car?
As for history ,i had no history with mine either,it went to Germany in 1990 came to the UK in mid 98 then i bought the car in may 99,the first owner came from Carlisle but only had the car for a few months(i bet the brakes scared him S**tless,they were so bad i replaced them moreless straight away with Brembo's),besides history counts for nothing when the cars come from another country,most vette owners i know want the car because they really WANT the car and unless there is something blatantly wrong then they are going to part with cash.
Good thing about working on your own car is you can see where others might have taken the odd short cut.
>> Edited by ZR1415 on Friday 5th September 10:02
I'm gonna try and get a brace made for mine. The company that used to make the roof bars (Ecklers p 63) folded due to a partner thieving from the company. They are supposed to be back in business in spring 04 But I am going to try and find a place over here that could make one or maybe run of a few. I have talked to people on ZR1 net that have the bars and they work really well. I hate the flex when the roof is off. But like to have it off :-)
and found some interesting things
yeah ive seen that. Thats not rated on ZR1 net. It will stop the 'twist' effect when changing gear when you are driving flat out - beam plates solve that anyway - www.lt5registry.net/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.main
found some stuff on http://store.yahoo.com/corvetteforum/c4-group-purchase.html
Looking forward to getting the rear lexan glass hatch from ecklers,should imagine it will take around 4 weeks to arrive,@ 15lbs in weight they might even put it on air-freight.
>> Edited by ZR1415 on Monday 8th September 10:23
Looking forward to getting the rear lexan glass hatch from ecklers,should imagine it will take around 4 weeks to arrive,@ 15lbs in weight they might even put it on air-freight.
>> Edited by ZR1415 on Monday 8th September 10:23
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