The issue with #7 cylinder has been resolved. Matt P and John S helped diagnose the issue and we thought it must be either a missing or damaged intake valve stem seal or a bad fuel/injector. Both were probable, both were wrong. When the valve cover was removed I found a dislodged rocker at the #7 intake.
The possibility that normal break-in caused this is highly unlikely. I found out I could turn the rocker nut with just my fingers and that's wrong. Rocker nuts have crushed ends and require wrenches for installation and removal. This one had little to no resistance. I bought all new rocker nuts and replaced all the existing ones. I paid special attention to the resistance when removing the old ones and I was surprised that several had little resistance. The new ones are very tight and almost require two hands to tighten.
Lesson Learned: Always pay attention to rocker nut resistance during installation.
Our cam card specifies .030/.030 lash on the intake/exhaust valves when hot. Forum discussions on the National Corvette Restorers web page recommends .027/.027 for optimal performance. Since a cast iron block with cast iron heads is expected to tighten .003 from cold to hot, I set lash at .030 cold. I started the engine (it ran great), warmed it up, checked lash and sure enough, .027/.027. I then checked compression and all cylinders were between 190 and 200 PSI. We're good!
New Topic
New Topic
I purchased a used passenger door panel on EBay recently. I needed this panel because I didn't have several trim pieces, specifically, the hockey stick and the stamped steel upper piece (not shown).
These are the pieces I salvaged. The stamped steel piece on the far left was sand blasted and painted. The hock stick was fine as is. The fuzzy window eyebrow piece, far right, was stapled to the stamped steel at the factory. I have new eyebrows but I don't have a heavy duty stapler. Humm...
The new eyebrows came with staples so I decided to use them. I aligned, clamped and drilled the eyebrow then inserted, bent and secured each staple with pliers.
It turned out great. One down, many to go. (Note my fancy 4th of July cast)
Here is the completed passenger door. The new brow is at the top.
I finished both door panels and they turned out very nice.
New Topic
Al Knoch Interiors finally sent all the seat components. This Thursday I will drop everything off at a local upholstery shop recommended by several car enthusiasts. I am told I can pick them up the following Tuesday. It will be nice to finally get the seats done.
Don't forget, Hot August Nights in Reno, NV is our next car show and we hope to have the Corvette done for that event. Dennis and Annette K will also be going and they intend to bring their 57 Chevy Nomad. Should be a fun event.
Thanks for watching.
