WTB 87 project car

[SuperSix]

Our plan is Power Tour long haul when its done, if were near we will look you up and you can take a spin!!

[Top Speed]

Damn Mark, congrats to both!  I know Mark put a lot of work into that car.   

[Steve Wood]

I am probably odd man out, but, I have never found these cars to be unreliable with reasonable care.  The problems arise with multiple owners and often some of them were clueless with regard to maintenance, or cars in general.  It's difficult to know what is lurking in the background, but, wiring is often a problem.  These cars are over 30 years old and some have had multiple generations of magic parts added to them and history tells us that a lot of these mods caused more problems long term than any short term benefits.

Look at the wiring bundle under the hood.  It comes out of the firewall and runs thru a stand off loom down the driver's side valve cover as well as across the firewall to the other side.  I have found it very common that the loom stand offs break and the harness sags down behind the driver's side valve cover where it lays on one of the screws that emerges thru the firewall (one of the screws that goes thru the accelerator pedal mount under the dash.

With time, this screw wears thru the insulation of various wires in the bundle and strange things like fuses, fusible links, etc. start to blow or stop working.  The screw is hard to see if you don't know it is hiding down there, but it will get you one day.

Check the fusible links, exhaust heat and oil tend to cook them and they become cracked and dry.  It does not take much for one or more to find an exhaust tube.  The orange ecm memory wire that comes off the battery plus terminal eventually wears, frays, or otherwise become troublesome.

I used a caspers' fusible link relocation kit on one of my cars which cures a lot of potential future problems.  Some make their own.  Main thing is to get the wires away from the heat and replace everything that is tired from age.

The ground bundle on the back of the head is always a problem waiting to bite you unless it has been improved.  At the simplest, it can be relocated to an intake stud after being checked and reterminated as required, or, again a Caspers relocation kit can be mounted with a terminal box on the firewall.

Make sure the negative battery cable is in good condition and is firmly connected to the turbo mounting bracket and the small ground wire that goes to the inner fender metal is likewise in good shape.

Check the injector harness to be sure it is in good condition and none of the individual connectors are broken, frayed, or otherwise no potentially reliable.

Check the connector that goes to the ignition module for broken wires or pins that have been pushed out.  Do the same at the crank sensor and the cam sensor.

Check the voltage coming out of the alternator and compare it to the voltage arriving at the battery.  The wire from the alternator can be problematic.

Check the voltage at the ecm-ign fuse and see if is is very close to what was seen at the battery.

Go to the ecm connectors and look for signs of corrosion, bad wires, pushed back pins.

Get rid of ever damned push lock connector that someone, some where, some time, clamped on a wire to get power.  Look under the dash for wiring hacks.  Make sure you know what they are and are they done well.

Check the fuel pump wiring and make sure it has a good ground wire that goes to the body sheet metal, not the frame.  The primary ground surface in the car is not the frame.  It is the sheet metal.  I connect my ground to the fuel tank hanger bracket.

When and if you ever need an alternator, get a 140 amp CS-144 for an Impala.  Don't waste money on one of the hopped up 200 amp or more modified one that people often want fortunes for.  Not needed unless you are a stereo competitor.

Throw away any volt boosters that might be connected to force the alternator to put out more voltage.  A good alternator should put out all the voltage and current that the car needs.  Don't judge alternator performance by the scan tool voltage.  It's usually wrong.

Never use crimp connectors unless you solder them as well and cover with heat shrink.

I suspect Mark may have already done much, if not, all of the above.  It's just a list of potential problems that could affect reliability if left unchecked.  Might help, might not...just things I have routinely seen over the years on my cars and others.

[xpander343]

Congrats Shimy!  That will be a cool project for you and your son.

Steve that is an awesome checklist of PM wiring maintenance, I think I'll print that off and make sure I get all that done on my own.

[Shimy87]

Thanks Steve, in reviewing Marks build thread it looks like he did a ton of wiring maintenance/upgrades but I'm going to for sure go through your list above. My current headache is the Transport company is completely jacking me around and who knows when I'm going to get the car😡😡😡

[Steve Wood]

Mark did a lot of work on it for sure.  I have had my transport company problems before and I feel your pain!

I did not mention suspension work.  Mark probably did that but if not, these cars usually need idler arms and all the other stuff.  I hate the poly bushings as they squeak, wear out, ride rougher and transmit more noise.  If it needs work, then I would look for one of the packages that has everything.  I lowered my GN about an inch with Eibach springs and it looks much better, I think.  With the right sway bars, these cars can handle pretty good assuming good tires and shocks.  I only use Bilsteins but some of the adjustable shocks are reputed to handle well also.

I'm just repeating what you have already learned LOL

[Steve Wood]

The main thing is to be systematic.  Don't jump around but completely go thru each area you are working on before moving to another area.  You have a lot of experience already so you don't have the handicap that so many do.

[SuperSix]

Yep, almost all of those things have been done/upgraded/etc.  But of course, check my work.

[SuperSix]

ONe thing I was working on was a  distribution/new fuse panel for the gauges, since there's so many. I didn't finish it, it's still under the dash. I used a small marine fuse block.
This one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000THQ0CQ/
And I ran a large-gauge cable direct from the alternator to the panel so there would be little to no voltage drop to the gauges, especially the digital volt gauge I integrated into the left-hand turn signal indicator housing. Used an unused spot at the bottom for a teeny  voltmeter - this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A722XGU/

[Steve Wood]

Never understood why someone did not market a remote power point like that.  Sure would clean up a lot of nasty wiring that we add on over the years.  I did something similar but I never finished powering it off a relay from the alternator.

[daveismissing]

Blue Sea stuff  seems pretty good.

[Shimy87]

Well after 3 different transport company's, 3 price increases, and at least 8 different "promised" pick up times, the car is finaly loaded and on its way! Thanks for the patience Mark!!!

[Steve Wood]

That is a really frustrating tale of the country today!  I recall that it was always a bit of a hassle but some companies were really good.

[SuperSix]

Yep - helped the guy load it last night (at 11 freakin' PM), on it's was to Steve and son.

[Scoobum]

Depending on distance it's just easier to rent a U-Haul car hauler.