Miles, First 1995 Convertible
 

Miles, First 1995 Convertible.

https://www.corvetteforums.com/forum...ge2/#post75717

Hi all:
I just got my first 1995 C4 convertible.
What have I got myself into?
Check out my shopping thread for some background.

the car is home and now comes the fun part (I hope).
I do like to tinker had I have been getting bored rebuilding 68-72 Oldsmobile's Cutlasses and 442.
It's time for something different.
Overall the car seems to be in good shape.
Body is good. Interior has new red leather.
Very little maintenance was performed during the previous 5 years and 4,000 miles.

I will start with a full fluid's replacement.

Too be continued.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...1c7ebdc71c.jpg
It also came with a hardtop
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...09bd6e0be6.jpg
its all Red

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...f29efac6d7.jpg
All of the analog and digital gauges seem to work. Readings all look normal at highway speeds. Car idles nice Hot and cold.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...7aa32c85dd.jpg
Starting the cleanup process. The coolant tank was full of brown crud. MAW, I may as well, replace the thermostat, coolant and any old hoses while I am at it.

I like the hard top. Very pretty car you have there.

I have had the car for a few weeks. Weather is still poor.
I put the car on Race-Ramps. Looks clean.
No obvious leaks underneath or on the garage floor.
I am not an expert, but everything underneath looks original.
There are no signs of damage from rocks or curbs, etc.
One of the cars I looked at, had a big dent in the X beam. This one shows no signs of damage.

I Changed the Oil and put another 100 miles on the car.
Today I will change ALL of the remaining fluids, along with another oil change and new thermostat [180F].
The last known oil change was 3 years ago.

Engine stars and runs great. Typical engine temperate is 195-205F, with oil temperature just a bit lower.
Outside air temperatures 40-50F.

I am a member of a local Oldsmobile club. Just found out a few members are also corvette C4 owners.
I now I have a list of Corvette shows, they are expecting me to attend, without missing any Oldsmobile shows.

Interesting handling Quirk:
This car does not have the selectable suspension option. It has just the stock suspension.
When I encounter an "Expansion Joint", manhole cover, pothole or bump. The car will Jump.
If the Bump or pothole is on the right and both right tires hit the bump, the car will step-to-the-right or left depending on which side the bump is on [Lets do the warp again].

The tires are Michelin Z rates tires. Front and rear sizes are correct for front and rear.
I assume this is normal.



https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...2b3e0f5e06.jpg
Looks normal

I would suspect its worn suspension parts, either tie-rod ends or the transverse springs themselves. That is just a suspicion though. We don't have many concrete roads where I live, mostly asphalt. When I bought mine, it rode terribly. You would feel every little bump. Since replacing the transverse springs the ride is so much smoother, and that is with a "tighter" sport spring with a higher K value (spring resilience).
When thinking about replacing the transverse springs I talked to the guys as Vette Brakes and Products (VBandP) and asked them what they considered the life span, they said, "20 years". Even with low miles, the years of sitting will wear on the fiberglass springs.

On a side note, I just tried looking for VBandP's website and can't find it. I hope they didn't go out of business but it wouldn't surprise me that much. They are/were 30-45 minutes from me, so I went straight to the shop and at that time they were only running part time and all of their ordering technology was still in the 1980s. They were very knowledgeable and have/had quality products... I wish I had money to purchase the shop and bring it to the 21st century. I think that is all they needed.

Most of the way through the liquids replacement.

Today discovery is a damaged bushing on the "transverse" spring?
I guess its time to replace the busing's for the spring.
A new set of shocks are not too far in the future.
Can I re-use the long bolts?


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...ac2bd4ef00.png
Looks like time for new rubber.

Yes, that is your rear transverse spring and yes, you can re-use the old bolts. Make sure you have the is spring supported before you start removing the nut. I can't remember if I caught the metal end with my jack or just used a hockey puck between my jack and the spring on the rear. There is another transverse spring in the front that seats on your lower control arms.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...58b5b3aad9.jpg
right, passenger side
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...7d36d2b95e.jpg
left, driver's side
I doubt those two bushings alone are going to get it done for you. I just looked at my old pictures and mine looked better than yours.

All fluids Changed.
 

Since some of the fluids were 22 years old, I decided to replace all fluids.
I had a shop do some of the hard stuff.
Transmission pan was clean, no signs of abuse. Installed new filter.
Rear-Diff changed (with posi-traction additive), also no surprises inside.
The coolant looked like a muddy river. I removed the Overflow tank and cleaned out all of the mud.
Now the whole system is Irish Green 50/50 mix (happy st patty's month).
Power Steering and brake fluids were black. Now they are clear.
I actually did two Oil/Filter changes. The day after I got the car I changed the oil since it has been there since 2016. And again, after about 200 miles of normal driving (Mobile Synthetic 10-30 and K/N filter).

The Ignition system looks to be original. The plug wires appear to have factory markings.
There are no signs of any oil or coolant leaks or water pump issues.
The belly of the car is covered in an oily mist, but no oil drops.
I have been parking the car on a clean sheet of cardboard. After 3 weeks there is not a single drop of liquid on the carboard.

This car makes my garage smell different after its been siting after a drive.
It now smells like baking fiberglass.
I assume this may be normal?

My Carburetor cars always smell like fresh gasoline after a drive, event if there are No fuel leaks.
I now know the difference between a Normal Carburetor smell and a fuel leak with my classic Oldsmobile's.

The 95-corvette smell like cooking fiberglass.
I do not think anything is really burning.
I think this may be normal for a car with 2 catalytic converters warmed up to 1400F, sitting a few inches below a fiberglass body.
I am not sure if I am missing any heat shields. My novice looks under the body shows many different types of shielding around the exhaust and other places. Everything appears to be original to my untrained eyes.
While driving, there are no detectable odors or unexpected sounds.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...15b0d2ef31.jpg
Passenger Side Cat, with Starter. I can see some metal shielding and folder silver insulation blankets.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...94eab1019b.jpg
Driver Side Cat. Similar shielding.

You have love GM's dexcool (major sarcasm).... That stuff can be a beast to clean out once it breaks down and goes muddy. If anyone else is reading this and they have dexcool still in your car, GET IT OUT NOW, with a proper full flush draining the block.

I don't get the cooked fiberglass smell. Maybe because of my higher mileage? The engine heat can wear on the hoods paint job though. Especially with the factory temps getting up to 220.

Shielding looks good. Looks like you have a little jack damage in that driver side cat pic.

Stuck Convertible Hardtop
 

When I bought the car, the Hardtop was already bolted onto the car. I test drove the car with the Folding-Top. I bought the car with the Hardtop Installed.

After a few weeks I decided to clean and verify the Convertible folding top installation.
I read the Owner's manual a few times to learn how to remove the Hardtop, Pages 2-96 – 2-99.
Sine the roof was already installed, I did not know exactly how the Rear two bolts were actually attached to the car.
These two bolts use the same holes as the Rear of the Folding top.
The Folding top uses a cone shaped pin and retaining cam to hold the rear folding top in place.
The Pins are released with a Lever under the read deck.

The Hardtop works differently.
The Instruction manual was not clear, I needed at least one more sentence.

4. Loosen the rear comer bracket bolts with the ratchet.

Missing Text "Loosen the 8-mm bolts until they are no longer connected to the bottom mounting plate.
The 8-mm bolts do not need to be physically removed from the corner mounting bracket.
The Folding-Top release lever is bypassed when the Hardtop is installed."

I loosen the 8-mm bolts, but still had a few threads attached to the bottom mounting plate. The top will not come off until "All" of the threads are out of the mounting plate.
This would have been obvious to me if I had installed the Hardtop myself. Since the Hardtop was pre-installed, I was stumped as to how the mounting system worked.

I eventually figured it out and removed the top without scratching anything. Now I just need to find a place to put it when it is not in use.
Of-course i was missing the factory tools for installing the Hardtop. I am also missing 4 of the T40 mounting bolts.

Have any of you Used or know of a good Garage Celling hoist kits that can be used to hold the Hardtop?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...87faf5812a.jpg
Hardtop rear corner mounting collar with 8-mm bolt. The bolt Threads into a mounting plate inside the car.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...6d865099a2.jpg
What do you do with the top, when its off?

Sunny and not Cold.
 

Finally getting some Top-down time.
I even let the wife drive the car.
My ferrous Guard dog "Ruby" loves convertibles.
The car is running great.

Ruby (the long hair dachshund):
She comes most of my car shows.
She prefers convertibles over hard tops.
She will greet every guest and verify there is no Food in your hands or on your lips.
I am still trying to break her of the habit of walking on the paint.
While cruising, she is on a short leash, so she can't jump out any more.
Car show people may not know my name, but they know "Ruby".

New topic:
Any suggestions for a good garage sling for hanging the "Hardtop"?

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...24c0eb2970.jpg

Replacing Headlight motor Gear.
 

I watched a few YouTube videos on repairing the stripped Headlight motor gears.
One video suggested using a Drill-Bit, in placed of a real PUNCH to remove the roll-pin.
Bad Idea, I recommend you use a real Punch, 5/32 fit perfectly.

I took my time and many pictures before and after.
The only difficulty was getting the roll ping out. After switching to a real Punch, the pin came right out.
The DS light worked first try.
It was so quite, I could hear the sound of the PS motor striping its plastic gear.
Guess what I am doing Next week. Glad I bought two gears.

Other Tips:
Use the blue painters tap, to cover the painted headlight parts to prevent scratching.
I actually removed the to cover sections just to make sure i did not scratch anything.
If you do remove these covers, you will need to re-adjust the 4 screws on each cover a few times to get spacing and alignment to match the body lines correctly.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...31fa454dc7.jpg
New Brass gear, all lubed up and ready for install.