Uncle Pete's Vette

So, I have been on the lookout for several years for a project car. I want to have something I can work on with my 3 boys to teach them how to do car repairs. I was also looking for something possibly convertible, capable of seating 5, has a manual, that we could all take out together for ice cream runs, rides along the ocean, etc.

So, two weekends ago, I picked up our new project car. Meet Uncle Pete's Vette.

It is not a convertible, not a manual, and can only take two of us for ice cream, shore drives, etc. However, it is a car that has all 3 boys and Mrs. Wx. excited to fix it up.

A little history first. Uncle Pete's Corvette is a 1984 Black Corvette with 4 speed auto, 16" custom alloy wheels, and a rear wing. It was owned by my late brother-in-law, Pete. He bought it well over 15 years ago down in Florida. He and my sister-in-law (Mrs. Wx's sister) had a lot of fun in the Vette before they moved up to New Hampshire when my twins were born (14 years ago). It came up here in 2002 and was running for a short while before it was parked in their garage. It was last registered in 2004. After it started to have running issues, it sat.

Eventually, they wanted to get rid of it and I almost bought it 5 years ago. But timing wasn't right so I passed. One of Mrs. Wx's brothers said he wanted it and was going to fix it up enough to drive down from NH to MA. During this time, Pete passed away. The vette continued to sit, getting a few little things fixed, but not road worthy. It was passed through two brothers, but still sat in the garage in NH. Finally, my sister-in-law sold her house, so the vette HAD to move.

Now, this is my first time ever pulling a car home from somewhere. First time towing anything. So, I borrow a truck from a friend, rented a trailer from U-Haul, and took off with a friend to get the Vette. What could go wrong?

I knew the car was out of gas, but my BILs had at least got it running. I packed some gas, wrenches, tow straps, had a jump pack in the truck. Tried to cover all the bases. Trip up went fine. Got into the garage, and this is what I found.

Remember I said I tried to think or everything? Well, did I mention an air pump? No. Front tire was completely flat. I couldn't find a pump in the garage, but the neighbor had one. One disaster averted. After some fresh gas in the tank and some air in some flat tires, we were able to "drive" it onto the trailer.

Trip home in Part II.

Awesome. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of the class.

Cool car, cool wheels.

your going to hear some Bad Mouthing about the Twin TBI. Please Ignore Them. GET A BOOK. The 700 4r is just fine, what a great starter for your Kids.Very Lucky. You know the Drill Drain And Clean EVERYTHING, Looks like it's in Really Good Shape. Don't get despondent it's 30 + years old and Has been Sitting, Lucky Kids.

In reply to Wxdude10:

Very cool!

Definitely plan and budget replacing every rubber hose and line, cleaning every engine-related connector(especially grounds!), and redoing the brakes. That's in addition to flushing/replacing the trans/diff/brake fluid, coolant and oil.

Great back story. And great you some helpers with small hands to reach various cubby holes. Keep us posted on your progress.

Better pictures of those wheels?

Awesome. I also just bought an 84 auto that has been sitting for a number of years. Haven't even had a chance to get it home yet. I'll be watching along AND taking notes...

Very cool that you are saving this one. I've been more and more interested in C4's lately, so I'll be watching your progress.

Looks pretty nice. I've even been glazing at C4s lately.

WOW ! VERY similar to my story. About a month ago I was able to pick up a C3 Corvette out of New Hampshire, I live in Massachusetts. It had bounced around between family members and fell into my lap. Borrowed a truck, rented a U-Haul, drove to New Hampshire, pulled it out of a barn with a cable, flat right front tire. Didn't want to risk starting a car that was stored for so long so we pushed it up onto the trailer with a tractor, strapped it down and headed South.

Trip home in Part II.

It involves a near accident due to too much car and trailer and too little truck, along with the straps falling loose and a delicious roast beef sandwich at Kelly's.

Love the wheels. Looking forward to updates.

So you're telling me you bought a project, added gas, and DROVE it on to the trailer? I hate you so much.
These are cheap and cool, but I feel like the crossfire cars are hated for some reason? I can't imagine why, that orange airbox is amazing!
Looking forward to seeing this one unfold.

Crossfire is hated for a few reasons. Archaic and slow ecm. Guys never balanced the tbi. Gm still had some biodegradable wiring. And vacuum leaks/egr issues that get blamed on the crossfire.

Personally, ive always wanted to do a desmog, porting and polishing, ultimate tbi mods, and better ecm to one anx find out what they are really capable of.

In reply to mazdeuce: Don't hate, it was Family. If you REALLY like them I have one here. though I did Have to Buy it I have less than a Grand in it now. BUT I did drive it on the trailer. the engine and ecm are for sale. what duster said is truish but when they are right they are real good.

Wow. Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I didn't get a chance to put together the rest of the story, but I wanted to drop a quick note.

ChandlerGTi - I'll get some better picks of the wheels.

GTXVette & Pete - Thank you for the tips. It was in worse running shape before my BILs worked on it some, but its not even close to being road ready. I'm still working on the immediate triage list...

Mazduece - I wish I could tell you I bought a project, added gas, and drove it on. It's more like my boys were given the project, I added gas, and I manhandled it onto the trailer. No power steering/brakes. It was... interesting.

Duster - From what I've read, the intake is a huge restriction. You can add 25-30 HP to it with just a bunch of porting of the runners in the intake.

http://www.technovelocity.com/chevyhackers/tech_articles/port_polish/port_polish.html

I also recall that you can replace the 6026/6430 ECM with the newer 7747/8746 TBI computers (with either a re-pin of the harness or something like the HAM board) to get the benefits of the newer computer (reprogrammable).

Does anyone have any recommendation(s) for books/manuals to buy? I was looking at either:

1984 Corvette bound manual

or

1984/85 Corvette Factory Service manuals CD

Crossfire! You get caught up in the Crossfire!

In reply to Wxdude10: It isn't going to be a Racer so don't worry about 25-30 HP. the amount of work isn't worth the Gain.

There is a man On the Fiero Boards that either Mods or Supply's 7747 ECM's for the TBI's. PENNOCKS FERIO FORUM OR GAFIERO.ORG(georgia Fiero club)

Enjoy your Car Boy's

chandlerGTi wrote: Better pictures of those wheels?

Here you go:

Part II:

So, we left off with me "driving" the vette onto the trailer. This wasn't super easy. 255 tires don't like to be turned if you have no power assist. And the car doesn't stop easily if you have no power assist for the brakes. But... It worked enough to get it up the ramp. Here's the proof of it running:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/fak3y9cYvIk

So, we tied down the wheels, return the pump, and we are set to go:

So, the drive home was pretty uneventful, except for this shiny happy person in a black vette who was on my backside. So close I could only see the top of the roof over the back of the truck. Seriously. I must have thought that at least 10 times on the ride home. We took a quick pitstop at the Hooksett, NH rest stop and I took a quick pick.

Soon.... Very Soon.

The trip couldn't have gone any better. No problems with the truck or trailer. Soon enough we were home:

And my older boys:

So, the deal with the Vette. My BILs have handed it over to my boys. They know how much my boys love Corvettes, so the BILs decided to pass it forward to my boys to fix it up. There is a lot to do, but we have a pretty simple plan right now:

1. Get it weather tight
2. Deal with basic maintenance and safety things to get it running right.
3. Make it pretty.

For 1, we need to replace the passenger window (got broken by a ladder years ago). For 2, we need a new power steering pump, new power brake boosters, then deal with hoses, fluids, brakes, tires, etc. For 3, everyone has their ideas. We'll come to some agreements and work on it over time.

Thanks everyone for the comments and the suggestions. Please keep them coming.

Well, it's late. More to come..

Dad and i did essentially the same thing when i was around 14. Only with a 70 duster.

His categories: safe, reliable, and cool. In that order.

Memorable sayings; Chrome don't get you home.

Not running is an inconvenience. Not stopping will kill you.

Do it right or go the berkeley home.

There's no such thing as too much power. Just not enough brain hooked to the throttle.

Necessity is a mother.

The lessons he taught me bent over a fender in the driveway have lasted 20+ years noe, and i have begun teaching to my daughter and niece.

Wxdude10 wrote:

chandlerGTi wrote: Better pictures of those wheels?

Here you go:

Those are great! Do you have the mesh covers? I think those are Remotec but they usually have a ton of dish. I love the 80's!

So are you all coming South any time In the next couple months? I will GIVE you a Pass window,and A booster, but the Pump is still on the Engine and it's for Sale (engine) so If you need it Too just need to remove it,

I didn't look to see where you live, Anyone you Know coming to the Challenge? My Thought's are "If you Teach this Stuff to Kids they Will Stay in School and Get A real Job" Lol. It Doesn't always work But worth a Shot.