i went to test drive a 7 yesterday. i know the full history of the car because i was going to buy it before the person who bought it now did. it is an 82 and has 60,000 original miles. full racing beat exhaust and a side draft carb(from some company that is called rotary something, must have been big in the 80s) no emissions and a mariah front bumper. ok, a doctor who is the dad of one of my friends bought the car new. he did all the stuff to it in the 80s when he was younger. he then purchased a corvette sometime in the mid to late 90s.at that time he parked the car. his son decided he wanted to revive it. so him and the guy who owns it now did. they didnt use ATF. they just changed the basics and fired it up. his son drove it for a while and then decided he wanted to sale it and trade in his trail blazer for a tiburon?? i dont know why. the guy who owns it now got to it before i could. now he has decided he wants to sale it to me because he wants to build a b18.

now, me and and my friend drove it yesterday. i let is start up and warm up. i didnt see any smoke at all coming from the exhaust. the fan seems to always go full blast. i assume its the clutch or something. it runs what seems to be on the cooler side to me, about 1/3 the way or so on the meter. so me and my friend go to drive it down the road and i start off easy for about a half mile. then i slowly let it go to about 6k and after that i gunned it through a gear and shifted into the next at around 7 or so and then pushed it in that gear a little bit. after a second i noticed the tach arm drop, so i was like ??? then i noticed the car had died. so i stop and turn it off. it fires right back up but it just make me worry. i think it kind of idles and revs kind of rough. so i suspect the problem to be something in the ignition system, but i figured id ask everyone on here. oh yeah, hes asking 1k for the car. which i think is a steal, but id still like to know what the problem could be. cause i dont want another project right now. thats why i bought my SA


also, i wanted to do a compression test, but every time ive tried to use a convential compression tester it just doesnt work. i figured i could just take out the plugs and feel for three good burst of air, but i would like something more accurate.

 

Could be something as simple as the fuel filter not allowing enough fuel to pass for hard revving. Anyway, since it started right back up, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Offer him 800 because it died on the test drive....

 

...my thoughts exactly. The stall is probably nothing more than a chance for you to bring down his asking price.

 

Bad cap/rotor, fuel filter, coil, ignition wires, plugs, etc.

Sounds like a simple porblem. Check compression and ask for $800. Then use the extra $200 to replace the above items.

Good luck. Grat price!

 

haha i suspected the fuel filter also, i asked him if they changed it and he said no. i was planning on offering him 800 after i did the compression test, but i need a more accurate way to test the compression

 

The place you are refeeering to as Rotary, is probably rotary relaibility.
The problem you are describing is more than likely fuel starvation. If it has a side draft it is either a 44phh Mikuni which was very big back in the 80's or a weber. But it will say on the side of the carb what it is. The carb is starving for fuel either filter or fuel pump failing or even kinked line at the pump. Anyways not a big thing. As far as the compression check goes, don't get all hung up on this. just take out the top plugs, disconnect power to fuel pump, block throttle open and crank at least 8 revolutions on each chamber. It should just climb
steady on the gauge without bouncing all over the place. And don't worry about taking the scrader valve out either. If you got 90lbs or better front and back with a hot engine than the engine is going to last awhile. If it has 100-110 on both then it's going to last along while as long as i'm not driving it

 

i dont think it was rotary reliability but it was something like that. the carb is a weber 48. whats the best way to disconnect power from the fuel pump? the connector under the drivers side bin?