10/18/2016 - I had this manifold sitting in my garage for some time now, trying to psych myself up to put it on. It's the only aftermarket intake that was ever available for the crossfire, and that wasn't until recently (the last few years or so). supposed to really open up the flow, as the stock manifold is very very restrictive. supposed to add 30 hp or so, which are awesome gains for an intake manifold. it's called a "renegade" intake. look at the runners on that thing!!
12-22-2015, Had the windows tinted, car is all cleaned up and waxed.
IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE THE LAST UPDATE, BUT THERE HAS BEEN PROGRESS ON THE CAR. EARLIER THIS YEAR i REBUILT THE FRONT END. A SERVICE THAT NORMALLY COST $800-$1000 IN LABOR ALONE NOT INCLUDING PARTS. tHE PICTURE BELOW SHOWS THE NEW STANCE OF THE CAR, IT SITS MORE LIKE STOCK INSTEAD OF SAGGING IN THE FRONT END. I ALSO REPLACED THE FRONT SPRINGS WITH SOME SLIGHTLY HEAVIER SPRINGS. THE RIDE DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED. THE CAR NOW DRIVES STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW, BEFORE IT WOULD DART ALL OVER THE ROAD, MAKING IT VERY UNEASY TO DRIVE AND SOMEWHAT DANGEROUS. i HAD THE LOWER a-aRMS POWDER-COATED SO THEY SHOULD REMAIN RUST FREE FOR YEARS TO COME. SOMETHING I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO, BUT DID ANYWAY.
RE-ASSEMBLING THE A-ARM AFTER BEING POWDER-COATED, NEW SPRING ALSO POWDER COATED AS WELL. THIS IS GOING WELL ABOVE AND BEYOND STOCK SPECIFICATIONS AS THE FACTORY DOES NOT POWDER-COAT FOR COST REASONS IN MOST CASES, BUT POWDER-COATING IS FAR SUPERIOR TO PAINT OR JUST BARE METAL.
A-arms back from powdercoating
these are the springs that were ordered from ecklers corvette
old spring next to new spring, the new one has a larger spring rate, which is why it's shorter. but make no mistake it rides nice with this spring, and still sits at stock height, even though it appears much shorter.
CONTROL ARMS BEFORE REMOVING FROM CAR.
A-ARM COMPLETELY REMOVED AND GETTING READY TO BE POWDER-COATED BLACK
12/2/2014
installed some new adjustable strut arms for the rear. Glad I decided the do this, because when I removed the old ones, they were really worn out!! the result is the car rides much better, less darting back and forth. but i still need to rebuild the front end. both these things were together contributing to poor handling:
installed some new adjustable strut arms for the rear. Glad I decided the do this, because when I removed the old ones, they were really worn out!! the result is the car rides much better, less darting back and forth. but i still need to rebuild the front end. both these things were together contributing to poor handling:
5/22/2014
finally got around to installing the rear bilsteins. the car has had a dramatic improvement in ride quality, and it doesn't even seem like the same car. the car still "wanders" though, but the braking and the quality of the ride have improved 1000% !!! i am hoping that the front end rebuild kit that includes all new ball joints and tie rod ends will fix the "wandering" problem. i am really pleased with the progress so far on this car, its already come a long ways...
4/27/2014
I "borrowed" the front bilsteins from my '81 and installed on the '82 this afternoon. there was a dramatic increase in the quality of the ride. the rear still is bouncy since it has the old shocks. I will replace these with the bilsteins, just ran out of time today.
4/26/2014
Since buying the '82 it was obvious that this car had some issues. I knew this going into the deal, but planned to make the corrections myself. here were some things I found:
1) when braking the car would veer dangerously to the right. I found the problem to be the brake line on the drivers side was so badly corroded that it was no longer functioning. I borrowed a brand new line from my '81, then bled the entire brake system and displaced the old fluid with new fluid. the old lines had quite alot of air in them which also contributed to the poor braking. I also borrowed my newly rebuilt calipers, pads, and rotors off my '81 and put on my '82. I plan to do something different and special for the '81, such as wilwood calipers and baer drilled and slotted rotors. only the best for dads car. but back on topic, the result is that the '82 now brakes like a new vette and stops on a dime just like it should!
2) fixed horn, all this amounted to was disassembling the horn on the steering wheel and sanding down the rusted connections and reassembling. took all of 20 minutes and cost me nothing.
3) polished wheels with mothers billet alum polish, and then waxed the car with "liquid glass" polish. it's amazing what a little tlc will do for a vette!
4) fixed drivers side door latch. when received this car you could not even open the drivers door. I replaced the door latch along with the latch mechanism no even my son can open and close the door with ease! cost of parts around $200 total, labor was free :D, but took most of the weekend to perform. I imagine if you paid a mechanic to do this it would have amounted to several hundred dollars.
5) bought new hub cap centers. Details make all the difference!
6) painted the trim around the rear window semi-flat black.
planned:
1) I have ordered and received a front end rebuild kit. this kit includes control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, sway bar bushings, and tie rod ends. I have already replaced the sway bar bushings and felt much improvement in the handling. but more to be had with the rest of the kits installed. The kit cost around $180. I got a quote from a local mechanic of about $800 labor to do the job, so I will pass and do it myself.
2) have ordered and received new electrical switches, pigtails, and actuators to get the electric lock system going again. did this for both sides, but not installed yet.
3) will probably replace the shocks with bilsteins
4) will probably order and replace the rear strut rods
5) will replace carpet
6) engine mods - top secret :D