Good day all!

It's Wednesday... Trivia night... Supposed to be hella hot here over the next few days. Heat alerts on the weather channel and stuff.

Got a dead fridge to rewire and a dead fan to troubleshoot. I wouldn't bother with the fan, except its one of those expensive Tornado brand fans... and it's not that old.

oh... I got all tied up in politics and forgot the important stuff...

Today is the 43rd year since my Dad died... 10 August 1977. He was a great person, with a great heart, just a shame it wasn't strong enough...

Quote:

That's cool stuff!!!!

Now... on a sicker side... I read "genealogical hobbyist" as "gynaecological hobbyist". It took me a minute...

Mine wasn't too far behind... I ended up going with the K&N solution... we have sooo much fine dust out here, and that leads to more frequent replacement, after 2 or 3 new paper filters, I am making money by using the cleanable K&N!

Why are we where we are? I think the common denominator is education. It has, or the lack thereof, created a class structure.

Toss in misleading information - social media is not the place to get ones news - and a distrust starts to fester. That distrust becomes paranoia and a bad case of us vs them manifests.

It is a shame, a crying shame, that our country is tearing itself apart because people are to damned afraid to discuss topics, they must shout them down.

The bigger picture is the natural swing in culture... for example, in the 1920s, we had flappers and their degenerate kind, replaced by the dour depressed 1930s, then came swing bands and WWII, ladies working and all sorts of unnatural things... replaced by the 1950s, a decade of near perfect normalcy, as long as you were a white person, even better is that white person was male.

Then came the 1960s... the hippie revolution burst onto the scene with the assassination of JFK. Our social innocence was wiped out and people stopped trusting the government... we had Vietnam, the most tragic of wars, 56k US Service men and women died for no good reason, except to maintain French colonial control over Indo-China... a violation of the Atlantic charter - look it up.

That begat the 70s and the Me Generation, with disco... and the youth of America continued being free spirits... as did many of the boomers... But in the early 80s, the neo-conservative movements started to appear... These were old school Republicans who wanted to go back to laissez faire economic policies, which, as we all know, don't work in modern economies... please refer back to the Great Depression and how wonderful a job Hoover did recovering after the 1929 Wall Street Crash.

We are now at the peak of the power of the Neo Conservative revolution, so to speak, and we have now created a far left and a far right that are both spouting bullshit and lies in an attempt to wrest power from the other... leaving the rest of us in the middle wet from all the mutual pissing contests.

Toss in the fact that we are still a bigoted, racist society... oh, and toss in scared... we have a disaster on our hands.

It breaks my heart. It really does.

Since politics has invaded the site, I am making is perfectly clear - four more years of Trump would lead to the end of America as we know it. His administration is corrupt, incompetent and lacks the most basic elements of human compassion.

I don't care about the parties, I never have. I have voted for any number of parties, depending more on the candidate.

I look at performance. I look at the numbers... and the numbers out of the Trump administration are incomprehensible.

This will be my only diatribe on the subject. All I ask is that everyone votes for the future of America... and if that future means four more years of ignorance and messed up conspiracy theories, go for it.

It's LA... it will be sunny and ashy for the next 2 months.

Did anyone see the end of the IMSA race at Road America?

Rain? What is this thing you all call "rain"?

It's been sunny here... that is all.

yay!!!!

It was a great race.

Thanks for the post, Charley!!!!

The coolant temp sensor is DTC16, IIRC... it is important because the ECM must have the engine temp to set the mixture.

As long as the car starts, you are ok... because the CCM has to handshake with the ECM to start... once the engine fails to start, then start worrying.

COVID has avoided us so far!!! Whew...

The weather has been HOT around here for the last few days... today is the first nice day in nearly a week.

Got the Vette back on the road... was replacing the radiator support and did a brake bleed... need to fix an evap purge valve and do a quick tune up... poor car needs a bath, ASAP! It's a mess... dusty and covered in cobwebs.

Cool!!!!!

Greenwood went medieval on the C4 frame... I have seen pictures... they removed the hatch floors and added triangulated reinforcements all in the frame and from the frame up to the halo. In short, they meant bizness...

I am an IT guy... I don't mind computers in cars, I just hate computers in cars where they are nothing but maintenance fails...

Engine controllers, IMHO, are the best thing since sliced bread... thanks to the tech (which came to the street from F1 racing), has given us 700hp V8s that can get 20 mpg on the highway... The 400hp LS2 in my '06 Coupe gets nearly 30 on the open highway!!! The LT1 in the C7, when mated to a 7spd manual, set in eco-mode, will hit nearly 40 MPG on the highway. That's insane. And if it helps us sustain our passions, I am all for it.

Where computers become a pain in the ass is when the OEM stops supporting them. I spoke to Harlan Charles about this a few years back, asking if GM was considering supporting older Corvettes with hard to get parts and he indicated it was on the radar, but I suspect the C8 kinda slowed that plan.

We in Corvette land are not the only ones with this problem... The Ferrari 348, 1990-1994 or so... it has a computer module that manages the climate controls. This component was made for Ferrari, using Ferrari specs, by an outside vendor. The downside? This module fails and you are stuck with an expensive car with no heat or AC! Ferrari doesn't make the part (well, they may now), and won't let the vendor make it, either... As I understand it, there is a dude in San Diego that fixes them... however, my point is that we are not alone.

In general, the computers in a C4 are pretty good. The CCM and EBCM are noted to last forever, and the ECM is good to 150k miles or more... Even tho it is made to deal with engine heat, I don't think it lives as long as it would if it was in a cooler area. Why not put it in the back storage bin? As an aside, if you need an ECM, the 1992 and 1993 Corvette ECM is shared with the 1993 Camaro/Firebird LT1 ECM. There are 120k of them out there... just swap the chips.

Do NOT trust the rebuilders... they don't know what they are doing...

Gloomy so far, but should burn off by noon... Close to the coast in SoCal usually gets lower temps... but we are on the wrong side of a hill and it can get warm...

It actually rained here a few days ago! Had to use the wipers!!! World must be coming to an end or something.

Working on some small fixes to the Vette... oil change, radiator support, things like that...

DTC41 is the comm error... this means the UARTs are failing.

UART - Universal Asynchronous Receive Transmit - are chips that send and receive data from the ECU to the CCM and from the CCM to and from the EBCM (brakes/ASR), the AC system and the radio.

There are two distinct UARTs on both the PCM and the CCM, they merge into 1 wire and split again on after the firewall... this creates a redundancy, if one fails, the other will take over.

I don't have the time now, but I will check the Helm Manual on this schematic for this... it used to be a tan wire, but I don't know the details on a 96.

At this point, I don't think the ground is the main problem... it smells like a failing PCM...

DTC41, loss of communications, right?

cool!!! Grounds are so important on plastic cars!!!

Rabbits are the nice critters on that list... I have heard about the snake issue, and this Cuban gecko thing that is replacing the native gecko... not a nice gecko. Welcome to FLA.

As for prisoners being released... this is a nasty catch-22... I have a sneaking suspicion that if a large prison had a huge die off of said occupants, can you see the wrongful death lawsuits? I sure can... It's not something that sovereign immunity would protect the system from. That would mean more financial pressure on the government, which would then lead to increased taxes and such...

To be honest, I am not a fan of how our criminal justice works... putting everyone in jail for every little offense... all that does is take a scofflaw and turn them into professional criminals. I just don't see the point.. some 19 year old kid, busted holding a couple of joints (this is an old example, but still legit) or even a rock of crack, and is sent up the river for 2 years, thanks to some screwed up zero tolerance law designed to be tough on crime. It's counterproductive.

I am pretty much the same way... crowds are ok, but I am not a fan... The only time, really, is a concert or movie. There is a single reason, but a throng? not so much.

Aloha.

I am either gonna computer geek out or work on the C6... donno yet... depends on my knees, I guess!

Biden in 2020.

Well... the frame design is a killer weakness. Have you read Dave McClellan's book, Corvette from the Inside? He lays out why the C4 frame sucks.

If you can fab up an x-brace, that is a great start. I have heard good things about Gordon's setup. It preloads the frame, call it isometrics for the chassis.

Good luck finding a steering brace... I don't think anyone is making them. Same with an x-brace, but those are easier to find on the used market via OEM parts.

I am a huge fan of the Banski rear suspension kit. I did that on my C4 (and did a story for it in the late-great Corvette Enthusiast Magazine, some 10 years ago now!). Not cheap, but sooooo worth it.

You will need to search the hinterlands for some of the parts and be willing to make some parts. The C4 has fallen on hard times and it's sad. But vette2vette and Corvette Salvage will prove to be useful.

BTW, I sold my C4 three years ago... I got a 2006 Coupe... yellow/black with a 6spd. GREAT car. Just great.

Horsepower corrupts... absolute horsepower corrupts absolutely.

Spoiled? Or the reality 360hp just ain't all that much anymore?

I look back on some other LT4 builds... The LT4 hot cam, or something of that vein, was always a good call. Long tube headers, for sure... thinner head gaskets - the Impala head gaskets, good for a half point pop in compression.

Maybe some clean up of the heads? Not a lot, because the LT4 head was already pretty good... but some mild port matching and such.

Also, get some NGK plugs and good wires... the OEM Delco platinums are junk-o-rama.

Since they were an aftermarket kit, the build is, basically, how many kits did they sell? That 600 is realistic... I can't say I have seen all that many... I have seen cars with Greenwood components, sure - a wing here, rocker covers there - but entire packages?

Also, don't get too warm and fuzzy... unlike the aero kit from Callaway, this wasn't part of an OEM package. In short, this is just another aftermarket product and we all know what aftermarket bits do to OEM values.

However, this kit was well done and has many added benefits... the hood heat extractors, the bigger gill vents, the wing that has an actual mount down to the frame vs being bolted to the SMC... it all adds up to a kit that actually WORKS. Super cool, really.

You did it right... the ABS is a parallel thing... Some ABS systems have their own dedicated fluid, I would need to confirm that.

I agree with the replacement parts list... 100%... age is a major factor now. And this car should have the GS front calipers! Great bonus!

The Greenwood is about the only kit I would get! Looks really good!!

It takes courage to ask $19k for that sad vert... that's a shame, it hurts to see something you sweated over get so beat up... sad...

Congrats!!!!

Sad but true, John...

My brother and his wife will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next month. They are planning on coming out to CA to do it - I am here, and their son (my nephew) and his family is here. Less ppl to move if they come here!

However, I realized that outside of them, I will be the only other person who was actually AT the wedding...

Our parents died (Dad in 1977, Mom in 2016), my sister-in-law's folks have passed (Dad in 2013, Mom last year)... and Paul and I lost our brother in 2003.

No other friends will be traveling from Delaware or Florida... so that leaves me... I was all of 4 and a half years old...

That reality was a bit of a shocker to me. Quite honestly, I don't remember much of the wedding, a few snips, mostly jogged by photos... but I was there! In my little summer blue suit!

Morning gang....

Sorry to hear about your neighbours death, Gris... that is so sad...

We have been in a heatwave here for the last 3 days... highs touching 100!!!! It's been HOT! Today it is supposed to break. I can only hope.

Still on the job hunt... hoping for a break soon.

that's about it!

Thanks Charlie!!! The post rocks!!

I am curious where the Corral is??

Now we know why Tommy is still an indentured servant...

And likely will be for many years to come.

Been quiet here. Riots have calmed down and the temps have dropped - it's in the mid 60s today... gotta love living near the Pacific Ocean!!

Gonna do some wrenching on the C6 today, I think.

Cooler today, only a 15% chance of a riot... 45% chance of a peaceful protest.

The protestors are not our problem, it's the imported rioters... those buggers can go home anytime.

What I find funny... all those internet devices - Internet of Things or IoT - anything that is Internet enabled, from smart phones to smart TVs and Ring doorbells, have what is called a MAC address... these addresses can be tracked!!! They can also be locked out! Apple is already tracking stolen products. And I don't blame them.

All is quiet here... Nothing bad in my area... the riots are all 20 miles away, just pick a direction.

I hope things start to calm down... I really hope things do...

The weather has been fine... it's the social unrest that is rather hot right now. I hope the thieving bastards stay home... or get busted... the protests? Very cool with that, they have the right to protest... riot and looting? NO.

A personal memory, sad as it is, 15 years ago today, my brother Roy passed from brain cancer...

Morning gang!

Kinda cloudy... have a video drs appt this afternoon... Need to do some laundry and such... just house stuff. Also, need to work on my C6 a bit... just general maintenance, nothing earth shattering.

That's my day...

My brother had a 1979 C10 Custom Deluxe pickup, much like that 1985 Suburban, under the skin.

And we have a 1999 Suburban, based off the next generation pickup platform (GMT400, that sounds right).

Our Suburban is about the same size as that 1985, but is super nice inside and the ole 350 puts out more HP than the 454 did and gets over 20 MPG on the highway! At 215k miles, its chugging along just fine. I should note, ours has a 44 gallon tank... not only is it expensive to fill, it is a test of patience!!!

The Biturbo was always a fave, just because it looked so comfy inside!!! I knew they were junk, but they were pretty junk. I would get one, and then drop in an LSx conversion.

The 924 was never a fave... the 944 arrived and looked so much more refined and resolved. It just made the 924 look old and cheap.

This is not an 80s car, but it had to be shared...

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-chrysler-new-yorker/

That price is most realistic... thanks to the C8 release and COVID, there has been a real tanking.

In fact, as nice as this is, $15k is still a bit high... sad to say. If this was a 6spd manual, the tune would be different.

It's been nice here... sunny and pleasant... very SoCal! Upper 60s during the day, upper 50s at night.

Just getting some things done around the house... the job hunt has been slowed by COVID-19...

This just sold on BaT this week:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-oldsmobile-custom-cruiser/

I think it's a good move... Le Man's in Sept was going to conflict with the reset IMSA series in a big way. Logistics and costs were going to make it tough. I will miss them being there, but there will be enough teams from Europe to make for a good show.

I am hopeful that Sebring goes off as planned...

fingers crossed

Sorry to hear your event was cancelled, Marcus... that super sux... I hate when something seriously looked forward too is cancelled like that.

I am not a convertible person... or, not enough to justify a C8 vert.. I will stick with the coupe.

Good read.

I agree with the limits of the C1... I have never driven on, chiefly, because when I tried to get into one, I simply don't fit. I have always had the wrong proportions... tall in the torso, short inseam (I am just at 6' tall, but with a 30" inseam!) and a bit too much of a belly... It makes for a poor fit on a good day... I haven't tried a restomod with PS and a small steering wheel.

The C4 limits were a bit kinder... that tall sill was a result of GM brains, thinking they were smarter than Dave McClellen, ordering him to remove the t-bar... and not giving him $$ to do it right. On my 92, remove the top, and the front and rear of the car no longer were one... they vibrated at a less than complementary frequency. It was kinda nauseating...

I can't speak for the C8. I can't wait to drive one, tho.

The radiator support is busted... again... I have the parts, what I have been lacking is motivation. So... This weekend, it comes apart!

finally.

My 92 was old... and had miles... but I never felt those lines were problematic.

As for replacement? I don't think the bumper needs to come off. The rubber is either localized to the sender area, or connects to a rubber line that is accessible... I would need to see the area again to confirm.

Removing the rear bumper is a pain, on a good day.

Marcus!!! How you doing??

It's been hot here... cool/cold on the east usually equates to hotter than hell here. It was in the triple digits not all that far from here. I have described it before, but being so close to the ocean does buy us some cooler air. However, we are on the wrong side of the hill and don't always get the cooling breezes... We can get hotter here than other areas. But still cooler than most!

The heat is supposed to go through until tonight and moderate back to normal over the next few days.

I need to get to work on my C6... but that will wait until the temps drop!

I think today will be an office day. sounds like a nice idea!

I installed a racetronix on my 92. Last pump I did. Worked very well.

Any update?

The more I think of this problem, the more I am convinced that the issue is with the harness around the coil and ICM.

Back some 15 years ago, a C4 regular on Corvette Forum had the exact same problem. His car would run great, then start to misfire. His was also a 1992/93 vintage.

After much analysis, it was found that the harness for the coil/ICM had failed and was intermittently losing connection, causing the coil to shut down for a moment, then turning back on. It was a needle in a haystack, to be honest.

The C41 is worrisome to me.

That is the signal that goes from the engine controller to the chassis controller...

I think I know what is happening... but I am not sure and it would take a laptop to track it with software to monitor and record things. This would also require a USB connector to allow for communications to work.

I think Tunercat is the software you want, I will have to confirm, it's been a while.

However, it sounds like to me the ECM is shutting down or failing. I like the idea of making sure everything is connected and clean. Make sure the grounds are clean and that the power block (behind the battery, against the fire wall) is clean and all connections are solid.

There are many places where things can be corroded, especially near and under the battery.

Do all that minor stuff and then remove the plate on the bottom of the engine controller. Take a sniff. Does it smell like burnt electronics? If not, that's a good thing. If so, could be bad.

Take the controller and put it back, but don't put the cover on it. Get a can of air, like used on computers to clean dust off. Take the car for a drive, once it starts to misfire, pull over, flip over the controller, invert that can and spray the cold gas into the controller. If it starts running better, you have found the problem.

Other sources of this problem are a bad coil and/or ICM - Ignition Control Module. Also, a bad harness at the ICM will wreck havoc on things.

The ICM is on the right head. You can see the coil wire. This is the source of the spark.

If the engine controller seems ok, the next time it misfires, use the same spray on the coil/ICM. If things settle back down, there is the problem.

I am betting more on the coil/ICM vs the ECM.

If it is the ECM, unless things have changed, you will need to go used. 1992 and 1993 Corvettes share the same ECM. 1993 Camaro and Firebirds, with LT1, share it, too. And from my initial search, no love new... no one is remanufacturing these things.

Again, I would start with the ICM and coil. Depending on mileage, that would be a great starting point. I am guessing the car has over 100k, so yes, ICM and coil.

And don't be surprised it is the harness. They get greasy and rotten and stuff. It ain't pretty... Same goes for the harness to the opti itself.

touch base before buying anything. There are some upgrades you need to consider.

15 years on the same pump? damn. Impressive!

The stock pump should flow enough... they push at 100 psi and the fuel pressure regulator brings it down to 40 something at idle and rises with throttle. And adjustable FPR will help...

If you upgrade the pump, I recommend Racetronix. At some point, I would.

go up to 1/2"...