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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
"QUOTE": Originally Posted by chazman View Post
Factory radio repaired by *84TA and re-installed. He even added an aux cable, which I rolled up and put under the ashtray.
That is awesome. How much did it all cost? I wonder if there is anybody up in Canada that could do that
"QUOTE": Originally Posted by chazman View Post
Factory radio repaired by *84TA and re-installed. He even added an aux cable, which I rolled up and put under the ashtray.
That is awesome. How much did it all cost? I wonder if there is anybody up in Canada that could do that
I think it was about $100. Send him a PM. No reason why he can't do it for you.
So I was slightly shamed by a picture I posted in another thread. Honestly, I haven't given this car the love I should have. I've done some stuff, but the engine compartment of my 43K mile '85 looks more squared away than this one's. Also, I have done virtually no undercarriage detailing.
So, this was the pic that got me motivated:
Not that bad, but 28 years of surface rust on a bare metal rear end.
So I hit it with some IRON-X...
You might say, big deal, looks the same. Actually it's much improved. Instead of 28 years of rust, it now looks like flash surface rust you might have seen on week one of the cars life, with shiny bare metal peeking through.
I don't know how far I want to take this. Clean bare metal like Erik's, (ev305tpi) 1LE cars? We'll see. Man, I gotta get a lift!
Two things of historical significance, though. 1989 was the year that GM switched from yellow to black on it's Bilsteins. As you can see this car's are yellow and not black like my other '89. Also '89 is when GM switched from VR to ZR Gatorbacks. This car left the factory with VR's. Probably using up leftover inventory? But this is not a super early production car either, being produced in 12/88. Interesting if you are a historical geek.
I just put factory sized Bosch 19# injectors back in place of the 24 pounders the previous owner had installed. I brought the factory PROM from my black '89 to the shop which did the injectors. Unfortunately, VATS kept it from starting so they put the modified PROM back in so I could get the car home. It actually runs fairly decently with it and the 19# injectors, but with poor throttle response.
The car ran REALLY strong with the 24 pounders and modified PROM, but I could smell it was running rich sometimes. Plus, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of such large injectors on a stock 305. I know, I'm weird like that.
1meanZ is getting a new PROM to me - hopefully VERY SOON!
BTW, the old 24# injectors are for sale. They are virtually new with only a few hundred miles on them.
He sells just the chip, or chip/injector packages in a bunch of different injector sizes. I figured go big or go home lol. In case I ever decide to throw some mods at it, I already have the larger injectors now.
He sells just the chip, or chip/injector packages in a bunch of different injector sizes. I figured go big or go home lol. In case I ever decide to throw some mods at it, I already have the larger injectors now.
That's interesting! 60# just seem so much, but the proof is in the pudding.
The 24# injectors have bugged me since before I bought it though. Could be psychological, but that's how I roll.
So I got my 19# injectors and 1meanZ burned me a stock-ish PROM. Car runs GREAT! Maybe we lost a few ponies compared to the previous tune/injectors, but it just runs so much better now. Plus I'm not worried about driving a car with 25+% bigger injectors than it was designed for.
Anyway, I drove it for an hour and when I parked it I got a strong smell of fuel from the driver's side engine compartment only. Nothing is leaking, but it really smells.
This is the issue that's been discussed regarding the the fuel vent valve, the charcoal canister vent, clogged vent line to canister, clogged return line, etc. This is what we haven't found a fix for yet.
This is the issue that's been discussed regarding the the fuel vent valve, the charcoal canister vent, clogged vent line to canister, clogged return line, etc. This is what we haven't found a fix for yet.
I'll have to pay attention to the canister area next time, Scott. Never had this issue on this car before, though. But makes sense.
Ok. Question..I've been thinking that the issue could be the fuel injectors on my car. Do you think that could be the issue with yours? If this problem started only after you swapped the injectors, it sounds plausible, right? Or, maybe the higher pressure injectors was getting fuel past a blockage that the lighter injectors can't? I don't know. Hopefully, a more knowledgeable person can chime in with a theory on this.
Yes, if the fuel smell started after the whole area was disturbed with the injector change, look there first. Leaks are sometimes hard to spot on TPI because many of the connection points are hidden from view and the fuel evaporates quickly after dripping on a hot intake.
Ok. Question..I've been thinking that the issue could be the fuel injectors on my car. Do you think that could be the issue with yours? If this problem started only after you swapped the injectors, it sounds plausible, right? Or, maybe the higher pressure injectors was getting fuel past a blockage that the lighter injectors can't? I don't know. Hopefully, a more knowledgeable person can chime in with a theory on this.
Originally Posted by eseibel67
Yes, if the fuel smell started after the whole area was disturbed with the injector change, look there first. Leaks are sometimes hard to spot on TPI because many of the connection points are hidden from view and the fuel evaporates quickly after dripping on a hot intake.
I'm gonna drive it to work tomorrow and see what happens.
But I'm really leaning toward the canister theory.
Keep in mind I've only put a few hundred miles on it since I've owned it and those were on shorter drives and/or cooler temps.
I've looked and can't find anything wet. And when I came back an hour later, the smell was completely gone.
Bottom line here is, if you are lucky enough to get a super low miles car like this, don't eff it up for the next guy.
I tried ruling out the canister on my car. The miles are too low for the canister to be an issue. I never top off the tank, so fuel should not have gotten in and contaminated the canister and the line feeding the canister is just a vent line, not a fuel line. So, either the vent line is clogged, the return line is clogged or I have a vacuum leak that isn't allowing the valves to open properly and vent. Otherwise, it's the fuel injectors. At 30 years of age, SouthBay believes the injectors could be the issue. I just haven't had an opportunity to address these issues to find the fix.
Some notes on on my ECU programming. The previous owner's shop soldered a chip onto the factory PROM to reprogram it. Jeremy burned me a chip attached to a Moates adapter. All of this is attached to the factory PROM and installed in the ECU. So by my count I have 3 PROMs and an adapter in the ECU.
The current tuning is similar to stock. Jeremy deleted VATs, had the fans come on sooner, added about 2 degrees of ignition timing off idle, a rev limiter, (6200 RPM), and some other tweaks. This was done over the phone so it obviously wasn't data logged, so there is probably more potential left.
Power is down a bit from the previous tune/24# injectors in the midrange, but drivability is up every where. 95% of the time with the previous tune all was well, but that other 5% it was like the ECU was saying, "What exactly do you want me to do with these ridiculously sized injectors this butthole installed?"
One example is cruising in 5th gear. The car simply wasn't very happy or smooth doing that before. Sure you could use it as a highway gear if you were putt-putting along, but it wasn't very responsive in 5th. Much different than my black '89 hardtop. I chalked that up purely to gearing. Black '89 5th gear is . 73 and 3.45 rear gear, vs .63 and 3.08 for the convertible.
Now, it cruises smoothly and even accelerates happily in 5th even at 35 - 40 MPH.
My plan is to really start enjoying this car more now. Too bad car season is coming to a close around here.
Drove it today. It's going to be hard to keep the miles off it, it drives really nice. By chance I had dinner with 1MeanZ last night, he was 10 minutes from my office for his work. He's going to burn me a hotter PROM to bring back some of the lost power. That's great, but I'm also pretty happy with how it runs now.
I'll tell you what, when I got this car I was somewhat disappointed in various aspects of it. First, I figured it would be just as well preserved and protected as my 11K mile '89 black hardtop had been by me. It wasn't. I was also disappointed in the dubious "mods" the previous owner had done on such a low miles car. Because of these things, I really didn't even want to drive it very much.
But all of that has now changed! I really enjoy driving this car now. Drives great and feels essentially new. Really!
Jeremy is going to send me a couple of PROMs with more aggressive tuning to try. I may or may not even try them out.
BTW, that gas smell from the canister area has never returned and I've driven it multiple times on 90+ degree days.
Oh one more thing, the Magnaflow exhaust with the stock style exhaust tips grafted on, sounds magnificent! Much better than with those silly Magnaflow tips sticking straight out.
One puzzling note regarding this alternator thing. The first two alternators I ordered, which were correct for an '89 had an eyelet terminal. Apparently that is correct for an '89. My '89 had a threaded stud terminal, which turns out is correct for a '90. I checked my black '89 which is all original and it does in fact have an eyelet terminal.
Any ideas on what gives? BTW, my black 89 is a late production car and this 89 is an early production.
That is strange, Do you have all the paperwork? It would make since if it was replaced under warranty or a recall, or had a TSB on it. I have all my Recall Notices that GM sent me back then. I’ll have to post the pile...its almost laughable. A few things like Computer, wiper motor, seat belt retractor, carb jets, updated the spark plug gap, 4 wheel disc recall. Some of those parts may be different from my origonals. The disc brake recall wasn’t until 1988. If it had a bad alternator and thats what was available, they could have retrofitted it. Was it ever a corporate car? I love a good mystery.
That is strange, Do you have all the paperwork? It would make since if it was replaced under warranty or a recall, or had a TSB on it. I have all my Recall Notices that GM sent me back then. I’ll have to post the pile...its almost laughable. A few things like Computer, wiper motor, seat belt retractor, carb jets, updated the spark plug gap, 4 wheel disc recall. Some of those parts may be different from my origonals. The disc brake recall wasn’t until 1988. If it had a bad alternator and thats what was available, they could have retrofitted it. Was it ever a corporate car? I love a good mystery.
Nope, no paper work on that. But that alternator was on there two owners ago as per pictures I've seen. It was a replacement and I surmise it was replaced while the original owner had it between 1989 and 2004.
I thought I could get the eyelet terminal on with a nut and bolt, but I couldn't without bending and manipulating the terminal connection on the cable and I really didn't want to do that.
I'm trying really hard not to "over restore" this car. For those who have followed this thread, there were a bunch of paint defects all over the car. Most of them were in the lower passenger door and ground effects. Like some chemical damage or something which created little pits in the paint.
At first, I was just going to clean and buff and leave them. Then I decided to touch them up and leave them. Then I was sitting on the floor and and light reflected off the touch ups on the lower door, maybe 30 or 40 of them, and I didn't like how they caught the light.
Sooo, today I wet sanded and buffed them. I wanted to buff by hand because of the proximity of the decals, but that was going nowhere, so I got my orbital.
You can't really tell much in the pics, but in the flesh it makes a big difference.
10-08-2016, 04:24 PM
