Project Nessie: Bringing an '84 Corvette back from a flood

You read that right! I got this Corvette from a friend of mine's father last November. He lives in Morehead and it was in a flood in May of 2010. A runner/driver (but by no means perfect) before it was submerged. Water went 3/4 up the windshield and just as quickly left. It's an all-original 1984 Z51-optioned 'vette, black on black with the (rare) black transparent targa top. I am converting this from CFI to TPI and adding a ZZ4 cam, 1/6RRs, double-roller timing chain and Hedman ceramic coated long-tube headers. The tranny is a freebie from my brother and is a built to the hilt 700-R4. Also, I am replacing the factory 'Atari' digital dash with the instrument cluster from a '91 Camaro RS. Yes, it DOES fit with some cutting and plastic work. Anyhow, I am getting ready to tear her down in the next few weeks. I located and bought an LO5 350 out of a '92 GMC stepside two weeks ago and it's getting dropped in soon. I'll keep you all posted and if anyone is interested in helping out just lemme know. And if you got any ideas/thoughts post 'em up!

Later,

Lee

The Hedman long tubes showed up...heh heh heh!

Later,

LEE

Here's the headers...got VERY lucky on a 24 hour auction on Ebay and got 'em at 55% off retail. They were missing the collectors and gaskets. I'd use Percys gaskets anyways and collectors are no biggie.

Later,

Lee

Is this going to be a mild redo or a wild ride?

Fairly mild...it's what best fits my budget. Swapping from CFI to TPI, adding a ZZ4 cam, 1.6RRs, long-tube headers, 2,800 stall for the tranny and just other little things.

Later,

Lee

Going back with Black?

Yeppers. Appearance-wise I'm planning on keeping it stock-looking. The used seats I got are beige but for $50 I could not pass 'em up. And beige will work work with the black interior until I can recover them.

Later,

Lee

Getting things together for the car I've got the double-roller chain, a set of door locks and keys, rear diff gear oil and limited-slip additive, the headers, a set of spare TPI runners and plenum, two spare MAFs, two spare throttle bodies, a new set of ARP chrome intake bolts, new Crane LT4 'Hot cam' springs, lifters, clips and retainers, MSD plug wires, new tranny cooler and a pair of Sony Xplode speakers for the dash. So, that's the bits and pieces. I'm ordering my gasket set on the 26th and sending the TPI intake base out next week for a killer porting/gasket-match. I thought I had a set of 1.6RRs but they are gone. However I may have a lead on a set. Need to line up a hoist to get my L05 350 on the stand. It's at my uncle's garage and he'll deliver it but no way to get her out of the bed and on my stand. I got a buddy that has one but it's BURIED in his garage.

So, on the list to get are:

One-piece rear seal C4 oil pan
New harmonic balancer
Plugs
Cap, rotor
Rear diff seal
Motor mounts
Tranny mount
Heater core (now's the time to change it!)
Collectors for the headers
Exhaust (no mufflers)
Battery
Fluids (oil, tranny, coolant, water wetter)
Tires

That's the list, folks!

Later,

Lee

Sounds like you have a game plan.

Hey Lee,
What do you do about all the electronics? Rip it out and replace?

Yes, I am removing the digital instrument cluster and modding a spare instrument cover to accept a set of '91 Camaro RS gauges. Plastics are easy to work with and I want to keep a factory look. As for the engine harness I am removing it and repining the '89 harness that I have (with the help of my good buddy Wayne Best). I've got a killer schematic from a friend on Facebook that did just this with his '89 Corvette. Early C4s ('84 into mid-'86) are far easier candidates for swaps of any sort due to the lack of ABS and a few other things. So, once the repin is done the harness is about 1/3 of its' factory size and weight. This will clean things up and replace the flooded harness. I did throw a battery in her after I got her home and most of the exterior lights work (and headlight motors rotate) along with a few interior lights. The key with electronics that get wet is to leave 'em alone and let them dry out and then mess with 'em.

Later,

Lee

P.S. Thanks for asking...I was beginning to wonder if my project was a bore.

Never a bore when you are wrenching on something to make it better.

Not a bore! I've just never been into 'Vettes that much and started thinking about the fuel injection, ABS, radios and such and got kind of a queasy feeling thinking about it. I figured you had a plan though.

Thanks guys! I know you don't see many 'vettes as projects like this much but I'm enjoying the different challenges that a Y-Body offers vs. an F-Body. And I just could not see her get hauled off to the scrapyard...that didn't sit well with me.

Here's a mock-up of the instrument swap. The square overlay is the 'vette piece. The Camaro bezel has to be trimmed flat with a 1/2 inch raised perimeter. Then, if you look close at the 'vette piece you'll see a recess in a squarish shape. That will be trimmed out, a clear piece of lexan put in place and then the Camaro bezel behind the lexan. I have to get the wiring for the bezel and integrate it with the 'vette wiring.

Later,

Lee

Reb, to answer your earlier reply, yeah I have done my best to hash out a game plan for it. Big key is to get her moving again first. Then I'll tackle the interior and then finish up on the outside. I am hoping/planning on having her moving around on her own by end of summer. I've got a running motor and good trans already. The time-consuming part is the repining and the instrument swap. Once those are done it's just remove, repair/replace and restore. Elbow grease never hurt a person. And I don't have a big budget but I have time, enthusiasm and the will to invest my personal time into saving a car that nearly anyone else would walk away from. There's a wonderful satisfaction bringing a car 'back from the dead'. Those are my most favorite car stories to read/hear about.

Later,

Lee

Nanook wrote: There's a wonderful satisfaction bringing a car 'back from the dead'.

Lee

I agree!

Gasket set is on the way and should be here by Friday. I have to pack up the intake gaskets and send the TPI base to Darin at High Flow Fuel Injection. It's getting a Stage 3 port/polish but Darin told me he's planning on doing all of the tricks he can to this one. This is my one 'gift' on the build. I made enough on my Ebay sales to make this happen and Darin offered me a ridiculously generous offer. It's not necessary for the build but now would be the time to get it done and it (along with porting the runners) is the best I can do to 'pep up' the stock TPI setup. Here's a link to one of his Youtube porting videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwhcwCdlt2o&feature=youtu.be

Later,

Lee

Well, my ZZ4 cam deal seems to have fallen off the cliff so I worked out a 'here, you take it' deal with a friend on a Speed Pro cam. Here's the specs:

p/n CS1062R

220*/231*, LSA 110, .468/.480

This will work slightly better/more efficiently with the long tube runners of the TPI setup.

Otherwise, not much happening right now as I need to get my wife's O2 in her TA and then see about the cam/head swap on it. I am hoping to get the L05 350 to the house within a week or two at the most though.

Later,

Lee

Too bad on the cam you wanted but at least something fell in your lap.

Yeah, I just never heard back from the seller so I had to move on. My pal Wayne has had this cam around for years and years (I actually had it once before) and it's finally time for it to come out of the box, as it were. It will wind up working out a bit better really...and it will have a tougher sound than the ZZ4 cam too (not that sound equates into horsepower LOL!).

Later,

Lee

.480 in an automatic.....That's a thumper....

falconwagon62 wrote:.480 in an automatic.....That's a thumper....

Yeah, you'll hear this one...I'm running Hedman long tube headers and the exhaust will be 3" straight back with muffler eliminators. I never could stand the clunky mufflers sticking out so obvious on the backside of the C3 and C4 Corvettes. I don't think you will not hear me coming down the road. But really it will be a slightly better fit for my induction system than the ZZ4. The ZZ4 cam is a 50-state safe cam and can go into a factory TPI-equipped car with no changes needed to the computer/PCM. Not so this cam I am going with now. Hee hee hee.

Later,

Lee

The latest and greatest...

I got the instrument panel cut to fit the '91 Camaro RS gauges. This is a very rough-in only as I still have to trim the Camaro instrument flat to fit the dash and then clean up the edges and corners. Then it's off to get the plexiglass cover for it. Thoughts?

Later,

Lee

Looks like it's going to work out just fine.

Reb Stew wrote:Looks like it's going to work out just fine.

Thanks! I think so too. It's been about a 50/50 split with the Corvette guys I know on FB and I expected that , really. The digital gauge cluster has a certain appeal and most folks simply don't mess with doing something like this on a C4.

Later,

Lee