wallaby

Yea, I had to read that one a couple of times before I saw the j/k.

That may be true, but corvette intakes are NOT high-rise types. Because of hood clearance issues, they are shorter. L-88 was different, but so was it's hood.

I would guess 5500 to be redline, but power is well into the decline by then. Peak torque is probably around 3200, and peak HP at about 4000.

Welcome to the site. This is a good place. Lots of horsepower with decent gas mileage? Pick ONE. LOL. The horsepower is the easier one to get if you are working with a big-block. One thing you have in your favor is your engine size. A 402 with oval-port heads will breathe better than a 454 with oval-port heads. I think the rectangular-port heads would absolutely kill your bottom & midrange power (and your mileage), so stay away from them. Good luck with your new toy!

It is an in-line fuse in the engine compartment. It is located against the firewall between the distributor and the heater box.

MM454, you stole my trick!

Sounds good, I see some of my suggestions made the cut. With all the responses that you got I felt sorry for you: being overwhelmed !

Eastwood has a great catalog of that kind of stuff. Everything from hammers to polish, buffers and how-to books. I had a friend that bought the book and the tools and repaired all his stainless on a '56 Buick. (!!!). He was able to fix even bad dents and bends, and remove deep scratches and gouges. The pieces came out perfect and gleamed like chrome. Very impressive.

I been there, done that. I was stuck in that trap of the "lifetime waranty" parts. Over and over I was towed or broken down and always ended up with a crappy free replacement. It was a hard circle to break but I had to cut my losses and go elsewhere to get the quality I expected.

Then when you get done with it, you can stay out of it. LOL

Welcome to the board. We have a couple of members in the area between Sacramento and Auburn..maybe 5 or 6 of us. It's good to have you along. As for the level system, Rob was right; it should raise the rear back to a level position when you put something heavy in the trunk. The car has to be running because the air compressor uses engine vacuum as its power source. The compressor is very slow at pumping air. It will give good pressure, but it moves air slowly. Load your trunk to make it drop a couple of inches, then start the engine and go into the house and boil some water. When you are done, go back out and see if the car has returned to level.

no need to remove pillar trim.

Dash pad is easy to remove. All the attatching screws are along the upper lip of the dash cluster, and there are some inside the glove box also. Once you have the screws out, the pad pulls off with the same motion you would use to open a drawer. Spring clips are used to hold the pad at the base of the windshield. Once you get the pad off, you will see what we are talking about. The back of the gauge cluster gets in the way if the speakers have large magnets.

Maybe I missed something, but do the dash lights come on at all? There is a fuse for panel lamps.

Cool! That means my carb is original. Thanks

7041200 FA My car is a California car, if that makes a difference. [This message has been edited by wallaby (edited 10-27-2002).]

are those like Volvo uses? A ceramic "pill" with a strip of metal from one end to the other? Just be glad we aren't trying to find TUBES for our radios!

Well, in the olden days they had those at the gas station. I remember them in that yellow display with all the little drawers... I had to replace one of the long ones the other night, and it was hard to find glass fuses. The ATO type were common. Around here, NAPA auto parts has hard-to-find stuff. They don't use a computer even! They have a real catalog with pictures, and circles and arrows pointing to each one and a paragraph on the back...

There is a spring under the wiper arm, visible from the inside of the car, that holds the wiper against the window. My arms have an adjustment on that spring. Maybe you can find some like this at the auto parts place. The adjustment helps keep the wipers on the glass in driving rains at near 120 MPH. (I tested them at the carwash). The parts house should also have a retrofit wiper delay kit, but the one I had required the wipers to "park" before it would wipe again. The Monte wipers (at least mine) park so dang slowly...

I used to be that AAA guy. If you CAREFULLY insert a wedge (we used those rubber door-stops from the hardware store, or wood about 1/2" max) between the window glass and the outside door panel, you should be able to actualy look into the door cavity with a good flashlight and grab the linkage with a wire or slimjim. It may take a little searching to find the right place in there to push/pull. Just be very careful: a little too much pressure on the wedge will break the window glass and then getting in will be the easy part. I used to have to open custom cars that had shaved door handles, solenoid doors, and dead batteries!

yep, Chevrolet used some clever wiring when they did those lights. The turn indicators will light up on one side when you turn on the headlamps if you have a burned out bulb. I think it's kinda neato, it lets you know from inside the car! Of course, a good old-fashioned walk around will detect those problems....LOL don't forget to check the control cables and ailerons

geez...You just gotta love that 4-door. Looks as if they stole the roof from a Buick Electra. You could customize it with some curb feelers, and one of those giant trailer hitches....and...and..an Airstream...

Maybe if we only post pictures of primered or faded cars, then we wouldn't have such a "color depth" problem as we do with those shiny clear-coated cars. I use one of those "once-a-year no buffing" car finishes, and forgot to do it the last couple of times. Even in real-life, my car has pretty low resolution.

The grinder would realy make an edge for rust to take hold. I would try rolling one first. (insert joke here). I rolled the fenders of a chevelle long ago. I used a wooden baseball bat stuck between the tire and fender, and had a friend drive the car slowly forward. Might take a couple of trys, but it works pretty good.

Up through 71, I think shoulder belts were an option. I think 72 had them standard. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I haven't a picture, but they are a long strap with a male end...there is a chrome wire clip that holds them folded over the door opening. The female end attatches to the floor with the same bolt that holds the other belts, and this end of the belt has the tension adjustment. It all sounds great, but the shoulder belts fit poorly. I have shoulder belts in my other cars and never notice them, but this one is either too loose, or trying to saw my head off. If you adjust it tight ( as it should be) you can't lean forward to reach the radio.