June 2002
The poor thing was sitting there in a gravel lot in a trailer park, looking like a diamond in the rough. I�ll never forget that trip down to L.A. and back. After some negotiation, I traded a stack of stinky Franklins for the keys to the legendary Corvette. It was my first gift to myself, a realization of working the late shift on top of a full plate college classes. The sleek, black trailer park queen greeted me with a leaky intake manifold gasket, bad waterpump, dry rotted tires, and surely more surprises. After getting the keys and a handshake from the seller, I lit 'em up leaving his street and let the injected V8 roar to let him know what he was missing.
I didn�t even realize the stereo was garbage because of the obnoxious Monza glass-packs. It had a mere 54,000 miles on it, and the interior looked the part, but it hadn�t been driven more than a few thousand miles in the past 6 years.
June 2002 � Stereo System
Essentials first. I installed a JVC mp3 stereo, and Infinity speakers, all hidden behind the factory speaker covers. Most C4s came with the Bose option, which isn�t compatible with anything, so I removed all of it and stored it in the dumpster.
The �speakers� in the dash are just dummy covers. I cut these and mounted the tweeters underneath. The rear speakers locations accommodate a 6x9. I modified the Bose enclosures in the door to hold the 5-1/4� components and be weatherproof. I painted the JVC�s silver face to match the interior better.
June 2002 � 4+3 Shifter
The 4+3 transmission uses external shifter linkage to reach the Super T10 4-speed. If the shift plates aren�t aligned perfectly, the shifter will feel notchy and leave you with sloppy, slow shifting. I adjusted the neutral alignment and used a hydraulic press to tighten it up. I also installed the shorter shift links. They shorten the shifter movement by about 25%. They advertise much more, but the pictures tell the truth. Ecklers lies.
July 2002 � Intake Leaks
Intake gasket leaks are common for this vintage, especially on the iron heads if parked for extended periods. It was leaking coolant into the lifter valley and into the oil pan. The quick way to check is let the car sit for a day, then drain a cup from the oil pan. Water settles to the bottom and will show itself here.
You can see the aluminum intake was corroding from the cast iron heads around the coolant passages. I replaced the water pump as well with a Stewart high flow unit. NOTE: Always check the gaskets on new parts. I spent 6 hours installing the new pump and it started pissing out the factory gasket immediately. Sealing and reinstalling it only took 2 hours. Practice makes perfect.
February 2003 � Lowering
Installed the $40 lowering kit.
Go here for a step-by-step install guide. Dropping the front requires pulling out the transverse leaf spring and glueing on shorter wedges. The rear is easily done by installing longer bolts. You�ll be lucky to get �� drop with this kit though. If you want much more, buy coilovers. If you have an 84-86, then you'll also need to buy the aluminum "upgrade" brackets from Mid America and trim them so they clamp the front spring down, otherwise the wedges will come unglued.
March 2003 � Wheels and Tires
I couldn�t stand the Nissan-ish factory wheels anymore. These chromies are reproductions from a 2000 Corvette, wrapped in Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 tires. (FYI, this is a one year only design and was changed in 2001). The Kumhos were a good entry-level tire at $100 each. With the brakes and suspension now exposed, you'll want to clean it up a bit.
They are 17x8.5". I used 1.25" adapters to install them. Both offset and wheel width effect fitment. If you decide on an adapters, make sure the factory lugs won't stick out past adapter face and interfere with your wheel mounting surface. Most aftermarket wheels don't have much clearance between lugs. This photo shows both.
