My New Project Car - Advice?

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Apr 6, 2012 | 03:58 PM
  #1  
Hey guys and gals of ThirdGen.org,
My name is Jason, I'm on the East Coast, and I just picked up my very first project vehicle, a 1982 Z28 Crossfire.

Album Here

Body is in decent shape, no visible rust anywhere that I could find.

It was someone else's project car before I bought it, and they converted the crossfire to Carburetor.

In doing so, (and to my chagrin) they cut out the entire engine wiring harness from the firewall. It's ugly. I sent Denny at ThirdGen Ranch an email to see if he's got a replacement.

The speedometer does not work. I have tested it (and completely taken it apart) from advice here, and found the speedo itself works great, but either the plastic gear at the tranny end, or the speedo cable itself is bad.

I've removed the lower speedo cable, (I have cruise control) and ordered a replacement that should be in tomorrow. I took off the top speedo cable, spun it in a cordless drill, and the speedo does in fact work.

The Bad:
  • None of my other gauges work (since there's no wiring to anything in the engine compartment).
  • Both door pins are wonky. (I have 2 sets of replacements in hand)
  • The fog lights aren't wired in, and were in the trunk.
  • The driver's side door won't open from the outside, and the key doesn't work in the lock (works on the passenger side).
  • Car runs quite rich
  • I believe the timing is off (don't have the tools to test this)
  • Needs a complete stripping and repainting
  • Nose looks like it caught a curb, the plastic braces on the underside are missing the nylon clips, and there are a couple rips in the fiberglass (I can fix that)
  • Interior is a mess. Needs all new seats, carpets, headliner, speaker covers, seat-belts (in the back) etc. I'd basically toss everything inside the cab and replace it with nice used, or After Market stuff.
  • Brakes are iffy. They work, but the rear passenger drum makes a clunking sound. Probably need to pull that one apart and bleed the whole system. Brakes are spongy, but not completely bad.
I talked to the previous owner, it doesn't sound like he still has any of the Crossfire Injectors or intake anymore. So, taking this back to stock is mostly out of the question. I'd like to fix everything that I can so that it runs well, and I'd like all of my idiot lights to work.


The good news, is that it actually runs pretty well. Rough, but it starts right up every time.


Any advice as to where I should start, or where I should go from here?
I've been reading a lot of threads here, and I apologize if this ends up in the wrong sub-forum.


Thanks everyone.
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Apr 6, 2012 | 06:12 PM
  #2  
Re: My New Project Car - Advice?
Update, Denny says it's a no go on the wiring harness. Anyone know where else I might find one?
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