New here, just bought '90 ZR-1

[bdw18_123]

More pics...

[LGAFF]

Not bad, keep us posted

[-=Jeff=-]

yeah for everything you have there you got a good deal..

[Eric870]

You got a great deal.. I love White with red guts, just like the first 1953 vette.

[Ccmano]

Now that you've got it home and cleaned up a little it looks like it's in better shape than the original pictures showed. I'd say you got a good deal for the money. That earlier darker red looks great, I had a 91' vert in that combination.

Get that engine out and check out what the issues are. You can drill off the heads of the stripped camcover bolts. I had one like that recently. Drilled off the head and was able to pull the cover. The bolt stud that was left was easy to remove with a bolt stud remover.

The idea of simply buying a replacement engine and then parting out the original engine is a good idea if you have the funds. You could end up with a minimal expense when all is said and done and a driveable car much sooner.

Otherwise just take your time and enjoy the process.

H

[tccrab]

Beg/borrow/steal a "Boro-Scope" and post up some pictures of the drivers side cylinders.
Maybe one of the more expert members here can tell you if there's valve/piston/head damage before you have to remove the head.
Likely there is, but you never know.

Doing the math, you paid ~$7k, plus another $1k for towing/license/tax brings it to around $8k.
If your motor is damaged, buy one from Johnny (Phrogs) for say $4-5k, brings your total to $13k.
Sell the parts of your old motor, should bring you enough to offset a good chunk of the cost of the replacement engine.
So you're back down to the car costing you ~$10k, which is a serious bargain.

Overall, the car looks pretty good for a "high miler", some touch up paint and a good under hood cleaning will do wonders. The white exterior with red guts is one of the few red interior combos that I like. My next favorite is the black/red. Great combo.
When you go to clean the engine area...
DO NOT use water.
No pressure washing, no steam cleaning.
Even your garden hose is not your friend.
Also, DO NOT use caustic chemicals on the engine surfaces AT ALL.
Trust me.
These are serious No-No's.
You will thank me later.
Diluted Simple Green works OK.
It's late and I don't feel like typing any more, but suffice to say that you would hate yourself if you did.

TomC
"Crabs"

Originally Posted by bdw18_123

Before I pull the engine out, I want to pull the driver's side head off. I'm anxious to see what the damage looks like.

Just get the motor out and then start working on it. You have to remove the brake booster to just get the cam cover off, but you can remove the motor without removing the brake booster.

[bdw18_123]

Originally Posted by Jeffvette

Just get the motor out and then start working on it. You have to remove the brake booster to just get the cam cover off, but you can remove the motor without removing the brake booster.

Yeah, I realized that when I looked closer at the rear bolts on the driver's side, lol. Now I'm working on disconnecting everything from the engine so I can get it out.

Couple questions:

1. How the heck do you get to the exhaust manifold bolts? I can't even see most of them. It doesn't help that the manifold/cats are one piece.

2. There are a couple wire harnesses that go down to the oil pan on the passenger side. It's very tight in there, can hardly see where they go, how do you get to them to disconnect them?

3. I notice in the service manual it shows some special brackets for lifting the engine. Is there a way to lift the engine without these?

[bdw18_123]

I asked the guy about why the underside of the hood was white. He said he got a new hood because someone with a hitch backed into his and made a big gash in the middle. The new one apparently came white like that.

[tomtom72]

Till one of the other guys gets to your Q's I'll toss this out fwiw.

1.) I do believe if you remove the wheel well liners you can do the exhaust bolts.

2.) Same as above and the "K" members, two of them at the front of the oil pan can come out I think 16mm wrench &/or sockets. The one on the pass side will reveal the wiring once it's out. The pieces I'm talking about appear to be holding the motor mounts, they don't as the motor mount is actually on an ear on the main frame rail. Just remove the two front 16mm & the rear two 16mm(?) and that bar will come out.

3.) This one I can't answer , but Jeff or one of the FBI can answer that one.


Tom