Thread: Chevette blues

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Yeah, if it was a numbers matching '72 or earlier Impala, Biscayne, Corvette or Camaro but a Chevette? Sorry, but that's a personal passion that not many will share. Power to you, but restoring a '87 Chevette to original condition just doesn't excite me.

Restoring to original condition, not a chance!

It is IN original condition, I'm just getting it to run!

After that I don't know.

A nice all - weather back up vehicle maybe. It has ZERO body damage external, so maybe a fresh splash of color, no body filler needed.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

So today I pulled out my Sears engine analyzer, set dwell on 6 cylinder setting, hooked up to the dwell reading plug, and THE DAM THING RAN.

Wierd.

More interesting than that, it idles slightly better when the dwell meter is hooked up.

I understand the challenge to get it running. It would be interesting to understand how that dwell meter plug affected the circuit. I'm not an electronics wizard, so no help but it makes one wonder...

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

Restoring to original condition, not a chance!

It is IN original condition, I'm just getting it to run! .

If you know the needed millivolts to and from the O2 sensor, then add them in ( or take them away) It may be that once it happens the other circuit(s) will react and start working again. It's a thought!

A dummy 02 sensor... Summit has those.

But, I already replaced it. To day I tried a NOS carb gasket, no help.
There are a few more checks I could do, mostly continuity checks, but right now everything is pointing to ECU which is my signal to try the non-computer NOS carb on the kitchen table.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

There are a few more checks I could do, mostly continuity checks, but right now everything is pointing to ECU which is my signal to try the non-computer NOS carb on the kitchen table.

https://www.ebay.com/p/4005588762

Can't beat the price! Could be just the thing or a total dud but for 30 bucks?? Sounds like a winner

...and if you want new you have to spend a little more, but not a ton,
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...computer),2896

But swapping the carb for the earlier, non-electronic version would help pinpoint the problem, and tell you if buying an ECM is a good investment or just another chase of a gremlin.

Ok, today I was killing time on YouTube waiting for a no-sjow customer requesting my welding services when I decided dsm this, let's wrench on the 'vette.

I was utterly convinced that the problem was actually somehow in the head, as the vacuum guage is saying vacuum leak. AND I'm fully aware that the resale value of this NOS carb drops about a bill if I bolt it on. So I remind myself that I didn't purchase it to resell.

Anyway the non computer carb runs great, and apparently the computer IS controlling timing, confirmed by the timing light. Must be using the tach input from the dizzy because EVERYTHING vacuum is unplugged.

Right now it looks like a headlight away from being road worthy.

A couple experiments today:

I have these small cans of clear paint from work that came with the machines and we don't use them. I've been wondering how it would function using it as resin for fiberglass.

Well the thin fiberglass tail light buckets are deteriorated in a spot on the passenger side. To be precise, the resin has deteriorated and the fiberglass is braking apart. So, using a cheap paintbrush i coated the fiberglass bucket in its entirety hoping the paint will soak in and act as a resin. Then I painted some pieces of fiberglass cloth and applied them to the broken spot. Beyond it being more thin and runny compared to resin, I didn't see much difference. I'm interested to see how it sets up.

The other experiment involves soaking the instrument cluster bulbs and sockets in vinegar to remove the corrosion. This car was in Panama City Fla gor a few years and the salt air certainly didn't do the car any favors. I had to remove the dash pad to get the cluster out, no fun. Also, it turn out that the speedo needle is brittle and broke at the slightest touch, so that gets a drop of super glue.

This is so exciting!

Just a couple of hours in and the contacts on the bulb sockets look shiny clean from the vinegar bath.

It is getting chill outside so I put a work lamp on the fiberglass repair to keep it hot so it can cure. On the rest of the fiberglass bucket it looks like the clear paint soaked in completely. If any of you ever built gas nitro powered stick and paper airplane models, what Dad called "dope" treated the paper making it stronger, tighter, and fuel resistant. This clear paint smells exactly like that stuff.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

.......so that gets a drop of super glue.

I was never a big fan of Super Glue, and ya'll will probably say you've been using it for years, but if you haven't discovered "super glue accelerator" in the spray can it's a game changer! I generally pick it up at the Rockler woodworking store, the glue & accelerator together. Apply the glue, align the pieces and give it a tiny blast of accelerator and it cures immediately! Love the stuff!

That accelerator was distributed as, I think, zip kicker back in the day. Unfortunately all I have currently is some gell type which sets slow, so I had to position the cluster so the needle was perfectly straight up so it could dry, came out ok. Now to not break it again, very delicate.

The issue with the corroded bulb sockets has me rethinking the ECU. Remember that I could have done signal checks to the ecu? Now it seems like a good idea. I'll bet every electrical connection in this car is compromised.

This is the stuff that I picked up, medium thick plus activator.
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20221025_100423.jpg

For the guage cluster circuit board membrane i used some anti oxidizer electrical contact cleaner and q tips. For the plug, the electrical cleaner and a brass brush.

I scanned the electrical diagrams for troubleshooting the back up lights and blower motor, came across the stepped speed control so I studied that too. Quite complex. I'm still not understanding exactly how the timing is controlled.