1980 L-82 Corvette I just Bought it

[JaseVaughn]

Alright so I just got the car I have always wanted as a kid. This is going to be my first Project car. I haven't done anything like this before and my mechanical skills are not as good as I would want them to be but, I am using this as my learing experience to gain all the knowledge. The car it'self isn't that bad at all in shape Body is good Paint it nice it's about a 10 Footer car. I Bought it with the engine working good sounds nice and strong and drives pretty good. I would like some tips for you the people that have done through this process of where I should start on my restore and what things I should do first. I know one thing that's wrong with the car is that the power steering is leaking and whinning when I turn it at slow speeds like when parking. I know I gotta get that straighten out. Also the Heater and A/C were completely bypassed all together in that car.

Any suggestions or thoughts one where I should start my process would be great.

Jason

[spytearbite]

You will need a lot of tools to start your hobby. I would begin with the wheel bearings, ball joints, rubber mounts to the frame are rotted through the years is GM my still may have a lot of parts for the car is keep searching for OEM.

Things like front end parts are NAPA kind of auto store parts, being the jobber parts GM uses is like MOOG is a ball joint maker or jobber for the OEM's. So you still buy OEM at NAPA, is get it?

So, no way would I buy a rebuild power steering from the aftermarket. You might hear a bag of wind is what you just started restoring this car; is I would close my ears to everyone else is how many times I have heard rebuilds returned to the stores is do it right the first time and buy brand new OEM from GM. You are done with that leak. Is listen up...

You then drain all that old ATF or whatever is OEM replacement is read the cap. So, once you install the new pump and cleaned all the old oil out of the lines, front end steer parts, is remove your return line, (figure it out is you are on a learning curve is only two hoses is one is in, one is out and now...

Drain all the oil out of the old pump but leave it on. So, that means you are going to remove all the oil you can out of both lines and pump and now, fill the old p/s pump all the way to the top with new fluid.
Have the front wheels off the ground so you can swing the wheels lock to lock. You are going to prime the old oil out of the lines. Keep filling and keep lock to lock; locking the wheels until clean oil is out of the return line.

Now you are primed for the new pump once you see clean oil. So, now you install the new pump is might as well use new lines if available. You still have the wheels up. You are going to prime the new pump is the same deal, only: All hoses attached. All oil is up to the, 'cold' filler stick line.
You swap wheel a few times is watch the level go down and fill to the cold level. It will level out soon is go slow in the pour.

You should have arm pump buy the time you filled all that oil out of there and primed both times is the old oil is gone as with new is in. Keep your thead open and keep asking what to do is we might rebuild your restore over the net.

Good Luck. I had an '80 4-Speed T-Top = 1+ to you, Jason!

[MagicRat]

As noted above, inspect all the regular wear items, brakes hoses, suspension conponents, U-joints etc and see what needs replacing or repair.
Also, change fluids, like the transmission oil (and filter if it's an auto) coolant, etc.

IMO if a part is good, leave it alone. My suggestion is to make it a reliable driver. The worst thing you can do is to disassemble things or do more work than is necessary. That way, you can continue to enjoy the car and not feel overwhelmed with work.

There is alot of Corvette support out there, so try to get a decent service manual for the car.

Also, keep all the original parts. If a component, like the steering box, alternator, transmission etc need work, rebuild the part you have. Do not get another one on exchange!! At the very least, if you must replace it, keep the original core part because it may come in handy later.
This is because Corvette values are, in part, dependent on the originality of the car. A knowledgeable Corvette guy can identify original parts vs. replacements and value your car accordingly. I have seen Corvette guys blow an o-ring over minor stuff like they find the radio antenna is not original......

[thrasher]

First off, congratulations on the purchase. Owning one of the most iconic cars in American automotive history is awesome. Prepare for much gawking and many thumbs up

Getting down to business, the first things you need to address are issues related to making the car safe and road worthy. This means the entire drivetrain, braking, and steering/suspension systems should be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Failure of any of those systems while driving, especially at high speeds as on the freeway, can obviously have disastrous consequences. After that, just take things easy until you feel comfortable diving in. Remember, it takes about 5x less to take things apart than to put them together, if you want to do it right. Enjoy the ride. Cheers

[Blue Bowtie]

Take a close look at the exhaust manifolds. They are notorious for developing leaks around the AIR tubes. They can be repaired:

[MrPbody]

Cool cars! I like that era with the "big" backlight.

Zip's in Mechanicsville, Virginia has most, if not all the restoration parts you need. Highly recommend them.

When you want that 350 to run like it should, shoot me a PM! '80 models weren't known for "blinding power"...(:-

Jim

[JaseVaughn]

Thanks for the response so far. I have a full tune up on the car pretty much planned out this weekend which includes.


1. New Spark Plugs - AcDelco RapidFire
2. New Plug Wires - Moroso BlueMax Wires
3. New Distributor Cap -AcDelco OEM
4. New Distributor Rotor - AcDelco OEM
5. New Fuel Filter - OEM
6. New Mobile 1 Oil Filter & Chage with Mobile 1 Synthetic 10W-30
7. Cooling System Flush
8. I want to get the Transmission Fluid and filter changed but I was told it would be better to have a shop do that because they could get all the fluid out of the system and the torque converter.
9. Whiles it's up in the air I am also going to see where my power steering leak is coming from and try and get that squared out.
10. Also I am going to take off tires and check the status of the Brake Pads and rotors and see how everything checks out.
11. I might also start to look for where the regular vaccume lines to the headlight switch are messed up as well. All this should keep my busy.


Also since it's been brought up on here. I am not one of those people that care about the whole engine part number matching game. It doesn't matter to me at all. I bought this Vette already with the top half of the engine upgraded with Edelbrock performance parts. Carb, Intake Manifold, Air filter, ect.. The A/C and heat system in that car do not work at all and have been bypassed so that's another big project. Also I need to do Weather Stripping on everything. And I really want to dress up the engine and make it look nice. Also the vette came with chrome plated Moroso Valve Covers. It currenty has the stock Exhaust Manifolds and I want to look into getting headers for the car.


Anyway I welcome your thoughts.

Jason