Hey Guys,
So my father purchased his 81 vette in 1985 when I was 1. We shared many awesome years going to corvette shows and cruises in that car when I was a kid. Over the past 10 years it hasn't been driven much and he recently finally pulled the trigger on a 2016 Laguna Blue 2LT Z51 Stingray! the car is just phenomenal.
So that leaves us with the 81, he realized he would only get about 11 grand for it and the memories are worth more than that, so he told me I could have it.
I am 31 and daily drive a Silverado Z71 and have a 2011 Camaro SS 6 speed with a modded LS3.
There is so much sentimental value in that 81, that even though it is smogged out and not exactly a coveted year, I cant turn down his offer. I also think the body of those late C3's is just absolutely gorgeous.
Interior is in good shape, paint is decent for a 35 year old car. It runs and drives but the Quadrajet needs some attention, the TH350 shifts very soft, seems to be almost slipping and its leaking drops of oil and tranny fluid. I also have no idea when the last time the rear end gear fluid was changed.
My goal is to just make it a reliable cruiser, I do not need speed and power as I have that with my LS Camaro.
I only plan to drive it on occasion, most likely take my 3 year old son to Corvette shows and share the passion and hope he enjoys it half as much as I did when I was his age. Not interested in charging the AC as I don't really intend to ever drive it without the t tops removed
When I was in high school and got into wrenching on cars, I did a full tune up, KN filter, removed the cat, took the belt off the AIR pump and threw on some aftermarket mufflers and chrome tips. since then it has seen maybe 10,00 miles
Should I replace the quadrajet with a factory replacement, or go with aftermarket? it appears that some oil is seeping from the intake manifold, clean that manifold up or go with an Edelbrock etc.?
Exhaust has a minor leak from the manifolds to the downpipe and the manifold to the block. Keep those very odd stock manifolds or go with shorty headers?
I know this is the first year of the computer control and they make a chip for it, but I also read some people have tore out the electronics? thoughts on that?
I live in Florida and do not plan to drive in blazing heat, but is the stock radiator going to hold up on this thing?
Car has about 80k miles on it, reading 78k as the Speedo stopped working last year, guessing it is the cable, is that a common problem? easy to fix?
antenna motor is fried, stuck in up positon. Looks impossible to reach.
stock cassette deck and speakers seem to be shot, I assume Ecklers or Corvette central have nice replacements, are there any other things that are common problems?
All my wrenching has really been on TPI, LT1 and LSx cars, so this old smogged out carb'd engine is going to be a new venture for me. Only carbed car I ever helped friends work on were late 60's so they were very bare bones.
any advice is welcome! thanks,
So my father purchased his 81 vette in 1985 when I was 1. We shared many awesome years going to corvette shows and cruises in that car when I was a kid. Over the past 10 years it hasn't been driven much and he recently finally pulled the trigger on a 2016 Laguna Blue 2LT Z51 Stingray! the car is just phenomenal.
So that leaves us with the 81, he realized he would only get about 11 grand for it and the memories are worth more than that, so he told me I could have it.
I am 31 and daily drive a Silverado Z71 and have a 2011 Camaro SS 6 speed with a modded LS3.
There is so much sentimental value in that 81, that even though it is smogged out and not exactly a coveted year, I cant turn down his offer. I also think the body of those late C3's is just absolutely gorgeous.
Interior is in good shape, paint is decent for a 35 year old car. It runs and drives but the Quadrajet needs some attention, the TH350 shifts very soft, seems to be almost slipping and its leaking drops of oil and tranny fluid. I also have no idea when the last time the rear end gear fluid was changed.
My goal is to just make it a reliable cruiser, I do not need speed and power as I have that with my LS Camaro.
I only plan to drive it on occasion, most likely take my 3 year old son to Corvette shows and share the passion and hope he enjoys it half as much as I did when I was his age. Not interested in charging the AC as I don't really intend to ever drive it without the t tops removed
When I was in high school and got into wrenching on cars, I did a full tune up, KN filter, removed the cat, took the belt off the AIR pump and threw on some aftermarket mufflers and chrome tips. since then it has seen maybe 10,00 miles
Should I replace the quadrajet with a factory replacement, or go with aftermarket? it appears that some oil is seeping from the intake manifold, clean that manifold up or go with an Edelbrock etc.?
Exhaust has a minor leak from the manifolds to the downpipe and the manifold to the block. Keep those very odd stock manifolds or go with shorty headers?
I know this is the first year of the computer control and they make a chip for it, but I also read some people have tore out the electronics? thoughts on that?
I live in Florida and do not plan to drive in blazing heat, but is the stock radiator going to hold up on this thing?
Car has about 80k miles on it, reading 78k as the Speedo stopped working last year, guessing it is the cable, is that a common problem? easy to fix?
antenna motor is fried, stuck in up positon. Looks impossible to reach.
stock cassette deck and speakers seem to be shot, I assume Ecklers or Corvette central have nice replacements, are there any other things that are common problems?
All my wrenching has really been on TPI, LT1 and LSx cars, so this old smogged out carb'd engine is going to be a new venture for me. Only carbed car I ever helped friends work on were late 60's so they were very bare bones.
any advice is welcome! thanks,