Not A Good Sign

[maverickmk]

So I recently acquired a 1980 Corvette a few months ago. It had been sitting in a guys garage for about 7-8 years. I have finally had a chance to sort some of it out and get it running. I had trouble with it starting. When I got it the thing kicked off right away. When I got it home it just cranked & cranked. Checked the distributor and found that the wire that feeds into the HEI distributor had fallen off. It was loose and would shake off from the vibration of the engine - it was missing the clip-on end, someone had crimped on a regular blade connector. So I ordered a new connector and went to put it on. When I pulled the wire up to get some room to solder on the new connector and found it had a wire added to it. So I pulled off the electrical tape and found this:



Needless to say, this is not looking good. I can hardly wait to really dig in to it to see what else has been jerry-rigged.

Do you smell that? It's sarcasm

 

[Snake Farm]

Previous owner probably wasn't an electrician I guess.
And you're right......there's probably more.

 

[CR55]

What, no electrical tape?[S

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Looks like a TBI transplant... next stop, fuel system!

.

 

[Todd]

Well, it works on the stereo. Why wouldn't it work there too? good luck.

 

[Neverdone]

Looks legit to me....

 

[maverickmk]

What, no electrical tape?[S

The picture was taken after I removed the tape. I just shook my head and thought "Oh dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?"

 

[cycledog]

Nice professional job.....for a pyromaniac

 

[21willys]

Wait a minute? You mean people do hack work on other cars? It's not just ratrods? Lol

 

[hankthebigdog]

send that pic to the "corvette crowd" and watch the noses roll up. LOL

 

[maverickmk]

I have to tell you all, I joined a Corvette forum mostly for parts, and for some information. Some of these guys that try to work on their 'Vettes are morons. They are definitely of the mind set that "Hey, I have a college degree, how hard can this be?" Those kind of people really get my ire up, if you know what I mean I can't tell you how many of those types I have bailed out.
As an example, a guy asked what the flapper door thing is in the top of the carb. He said when it's hot it sticks open, but when it's cold and I push the throttle a little bit it snaps shut. He had absolutely no clue what it was for and why it did that. He thought his carb was all screwed up

But then, there are a few guys that are real gurus when it comes to these wierdo cars. I say weirdo because they are a breed all their own. The power steering, the IRS, fiberglass body, etc. Just weird.

 

[Bamamav]

I believe the same guys that put my Lincoln together worked on your Corvette!