Well, our '95 Z28 has 91,350 miles, so we decided to have a restoration started on it. We've owned it since '95 and taken really good care of it over the years, so we figured we'd only have it 2/3 restored (the 1/3 being ignored is mostly cosmetic/appearance stuff that doesn't affect safety or how it runs).

Why did we decide to do it now? Well, the radiator was full of rust, the tires were almost worn out, the brakes needed changing soon, and everything was just in need of being done. We didn't want to buy another car, and we didn't want this one just sitting around or being driven like a ticking time bomb. So my mom decided as a graduation present to my sister (she just received her Masters yesterday), she would have her car restored.

So we took the car into Corvette Warehouse in Dallas and had Rick get started on it April 7th. He didn't have time before his knee surgery to finish everything, but we finally got the car back May 13th, two days before graduation .

We chose Rick, because we had him do the clutch replacement and a bunch of maintenance on our 35th Anni SS in March. He seemed to do a thorough job despite some problems (lost keys, didn't add enough coolant, missing center console mat), but these problems were not enough to **** us off completely (though the keys issue came close!). We trusted him enough to do the Z28 simply because he seems to take pride in his work and doesn't cause damage to the car like other mechanics/technicians do. We told him we'd rather pay him more to do it right, than pay him less just to take a shortcut. He's not quite the perfectionist I am about things (haven't found anybody that is), but he's a good technician who does good work.

So far it seems like he did a very good job on the Z28. We were disappointed he had the car almost 2 weeks longer than we wanted him to have it (sister had to drive my car an entire month, which was inconvenient for me), but Rick was busy and had to try to make all of his customers happy instead of turning down work. The only things to complain about so far is that the optispark vent hose was left disconnected, this car (just like the other one) was not filled with enough coolant, and unfortunately he was unable to finish everything before getting his knee surgery.

The vent hose was actually shoved inside the cover for the throttle cable, so he just overlooked hooking that back up. Originally I thought he removed it, thinking it "unnecessary", which pissed me off, but after messing around for half an hour, I found it inside that cover and plugged it back in. The coolant was 1700 ml (1.79 quarts) low, which I didn't find acceptable at all. I had to add 600 ml of distilled water to the radiator, go buy some green Prestone coolant, then do a 60/40 mix of 1100 ml to the overflow reservoir to get it to the proper level. I actually added a bit more than that, because I had to follow the necessary procedure for LT1 Camaros once the car cooled down and bleed the air out of the system and lost about 1/4 cup of fluid. That whole issue honestly did **** me off quite a bit. I'd rather he do it right and finish the job than me have to double check his work, go buy supplies, and fix the problem. I also didn't like that he said I didn't need to open the bleed screws and let air out. Maybe he's just not familiar enough with LT1s to know how vital that is, or maybe the LT1 Corvettes automatically vent the air, or SOMETHING, so I let that issue slide. It sucks that you have to be an expert on your own car these days, but honestly, I don't have a lot of confidence that anyone who has worked on the car since the 90s has probably followed the proper procedure. Leaving both of the cars low on coolant and calling them done though... that's a new one!

However, overall he does seem to do a good job, so I would recommend him. We intend on having him do more work in the future when his knee surgery heals and he can get around. He's a good guy.

Pics and info on what was done coming in the next few posts...

 

So far we've paid a total of $3,479.56 for this car to get repaired. I would only consider it half done compared to what we still want to get done to it this year.

Here's what has been changed and charged for:

A/C accumulator/drier (material cost)
A/C accumulator/drier replaced
A/C condenser cleaned
A/C freon (material cost)
A/C heater control head (material cost)
A/C heater control panel replaced
A/C manifold hose (material cost)
A/C manifold hose replaced, system evacuated and charged
A/C oil charge (material cost)
A/C relay replaced
Belt (serpentine belt) (material cost)
Belt tensioner pulley (material cost)
Belt tensioner replaced
Brake pads (front, ceramic) (material cost)
Brake pads (rear, ceramic) (material cost)
Brake rotors (resurfacing the front ones)
Brake rotors (new rear ones) (material cost)
Brakes replaced (pads and rotors)
Cleaners (material cost)
Coolant (material cost)
Cooling system flushed
Heater hose clamps (material cost)
Heater hoses (material cost)
Heater hoses replaced (various)
Power steering fluid (material cost)
Power steering return hose (material cost)
Power steering return hose replaced
Radiator (material cost)
Radiator cap (material cost)
Radiator replaced
Spark plugs (material cost)
Spark plugs and wires replaced (platinum 100k mile ones used)
Speedo sensor (material cost)
Speedo sensor replaced
Thermostat (material cost)
U-joints (material cost)
U-joints replaced

Note: PCV valve was fine and didn't need replacing.

What remains to be changed/checked. Speak up if you spy something I should ask about:

Intake gasket
Timing cover gasket
Oil pan gasket or oil pan
Timing chain?
Fuel filter?
Any remaining gas vapor issues (don't know if they remain yet)?
Any remaining EGR system issues (don't know if they remain yet)?
The SES error code that still remains. (Only comes up when driving and coasting at around 20 to 25 mph for long distances. Anyone have this problem and know the cause/fix?)
Exhaust leak (clamp not right just before muffler)
Automatic transmission fluid and filter?
Other vacuum lines? (EGR, fuel pressure regulator, EVAP purge solenoid, PCV lines, and one for the HVAC system)
Oil pump?
Fuel pump?
Brake fluid?
Appraisal ASAP

Items to take care of in the next few years: (items we don't intend on fixing now [or ones that aren't even problems YET] and will wait until the paint is bad or something else happens--unless I find really good deals on these parts locally)

Springs and shocks
Bushings
Tie rod ends and lower ball joints
Cap & rotor on optispark eventually
Clean throttle body again in a few years
Change differential fluid again in a few years
Coolant every two years
Oil every 3000 miles
Front bumper cracked
Front passenger blinker cracked
Rear driver taillamp small crack
Gas cap old
Drink holder missing
Side mirrors scratches
Hood support struts
Hatch support struts
Exhaust tip passenger side bent
Sunvisors worn out
Paintless dent repair on rear fenders
Steering wheel recovered
Rust repaired underneath headlights
Rust repaired underneath edge of hood

 

And here's some pics and more story/text.

Since the original wheels have clearcoat damage (from stupidly cleaning them a few times in the 90s with aluminum polish) and the tires are old, I got on craigslist, found somebody selling wheels, and bought them. The wheels were filthy but in great shape. They have typical wheel weight damage on the edges, but not too bad.

I spent 5 and a half hours cleaning them inside and out (I went ahead and removed the wheel weights and waxed the wheels the next day which was an hour and a half of that). I was very surprised to find the paint on them 9.9/10 flawless!

They had Goodyear Eagle GA 235/55 R16 tires on them. AKA original Camaro convertible Z28 tires or V6 Camaro tires.




Here they are with the new Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position tires mounted on them. I chose those tires because they reviewed the best of any other tire for the 245/50 R16 size and they have a 40,000 mile warranty and last for up to 60,000 miles. Plus they are all season tires and gorgeous. These are the same tires as what the Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari 458 Italia, and my GXP came standard with.



I requested they use the tape on wheel weights so the rims don't get damaged further.



Very happy overall. Over $800 invested in the tires, and only $150 invested in the wheels and old tires.



Here's a pic of one of them installed:



The front bumper damage doesn't bother us enough yet to replace it. I'm being patient and waiting for a local silver Camaro to get rear ended and parted out. I don't want to pay for repainting unless the car is going to be completely redone (another 5 to 10 years), so I'm just going to be patient.



New rear rotors and ceramic pads:



Resurfaced front rotors and ceramic pads:

 

Bunch of underbody shots showing fixed stuff and remaining problems:

 

New tires installed and the car looks perfect. The only flaw is a slightly damaged exhaust tip. We've never really known what happened to it, but it is what it is. Easy to replace, but hard to motivate us to replace it.


Here's some engine shots after I reconnected the opti vent hose and cleaned up some grime from it being worked on. If you see anything that looks like it's missing or connected improperly, be sure to mention it to me!







You can see the rust that was caused by a leaking battery at one time in this pic. Rick repaired the rust underneath the coolant reservoir, but didn't notice this rust.




I'm unhappy he didn't replace the radiator cap with a factory appearing one, but... I'll live.

 

you are doing a thorough job overall. To compare, I've done everything myself on my car and I've replaced practically everything except the body, the wiring harness and the transmission. I've updated the engine/clutch/suspension/interior etc... I've spent a lot more over the years than the 3500 you have in so far. Let me tell you, the # can go up really fast. The reason I do things myself, is I know it's a bad investment in these cars as we will never get that money back, and I enjoy working on it (except the dash conversion). I've had mine in the family since new too and it's hard to let go, but it is practically brand new now with everything I've done and I've gone as far as updating my interior to ebony from tan and 97+ dash.

So I would say do what you think you need to do to enjoy it, but I wouldn't try to make it pristine, because the investment/return ratio is really low and always will be unless it's some old exotic car with history (eg.. a shelby or the 1st gen f-body... but even that market is soft)

As I was typing this post and reflecting on how much effort /money/time I've spent on this thing over the last 10 years, i could could have built a shelby cobra......oh well...saving for a ls3/t56 next I'm too far in now

 

Here's some pics of the interior.

Rick changed out the A/C controls because of damage behind it, but unfortunately the part is discontinued and he wanted to use a new part rather than used. I don't know what car this came out of (Impala? Anybody know??) but I'm disappointed there's no MAX A/C setting anymore. AKA, there's no way to have recirculating A/C, so it's constantly pulling in grass smells.


Other than that, the car is all original on the interior and in fantastic shape. Besides a missing rubber drink holder piece, it's complete. The only thing to get changed in the future is the steering wheel cover, but that can wait several years.





I spent a lot of time riding back here in junior high and high school. I really don't know why people complain about it. I'm 6' and fit just fine with plenty of head room.

 

i have the hvac controls from my 96 if you're interested...

 

We'll have to wait and see how annoying this gets. Do you have the control unit or whatever makes it work or just the plastic? Unfortunately, it's more than just having different symbols. There's only 6 settings now instead of 8.

 

That's actually not the correct procedure.

You don't. The bleed screws are only opened when you fill the system.

Proper drain/fill procedure


Your car looks great. The leather is in great shape - is it original? Amazing that all of your A/C needed replacing.

I've had mine since Aug 1994 and other than some minor paint issues, just the headliner is only problem I have currently. Material is starting to droop on the liner. I gotta get that fixed.

 

Hmm, the owner's manual says that if you are having to top up the radiator, you wait until it cools enough that you can touch the upper hose and it's not hot, then open the cap half way. Wait for it to stop hissing, open it all the way by pushing down on it. Open the bleed valves, fill the radiator up, close the bleed valves. Start the car without the cap on the radiator, let it run 4 minutes, shut it off. After it cools a bit more, the level will change. Top it up and put the cap back on. Fill the overflow tank up to the level it should be, which in this case, is close to FULL HOT because the car is still warm, and you're done.

That's just how I remember the owner's manual stating it.

I spilled some coolant probably mostly due to backing the car out of the garage for the 4 minutes of idling. I only had to clean up a very small amount though and refill maybe 1/4 cup when I pulled back inside.

Unless the car is driven on a longer trip (one where the car gets hot) I don't think the air bubbles are going to escape to the overflow tank. So since the car wasn't driven on a long trip immediately afterward (it was only driven about 10 minutes), I opened the bleeders an hour or so after the car was turned off and let the hiss of air out the bleeder valves. I'm pretty sure that's proper and recommended unless someone knows otherwise.

Injuneer, can you speak up about that? You'd probably know what's good or bad.

On to the next subject...

Yep! The leather is all original as far as I know. I believe the driver's seat may have had the cover replaced shortly after we bought it on warranty. I believe my mom mentioned it had a hole in the bolster the day we bought it in '95 from keys or something and they replaced the cover. As far as I'm concerned, replacing the cover on a brand new car a few months after it was made is still original. I could look at the paperwork from back then and find out.

Rick said that for some reason the A/C relay was making the A/C run nonstop, and we had a small leak of green oily dye coming out of the compressor for the past 2 years, so I suppose we had major A/C issues. It was always cold though, until the last few months, so we never knew there was a problem.

Our headliner is great, but the sun visors are bad. Years of using windshield shades and using them to block the sun while driving has caused the cardboard in them to be just terrible. The factory replacement ones are $147 each... so I'll be looking for them to appear on ebay...

How many miles are on your car? Is it still stock?

 

I was looking at pics of the engine bay before Rick did work and noticed that the red cable coming from the back of the alternator to who-knows-what is now located on the wrong side of the A/C components.

I wondered if it was still "factory" on our car before Rick worked on it, and based on pics I took of a '95 Z28 convertible with 14k miles for reference purposes, I think it is. These pics are huge if anybody wants to save them and use them for their own reference. If you use them on a website, please give Brangeta credit.




I'm not sure how difficult it would be to move that to the proper location. There's a lot of stuff on top of it now and it's awfully close to the serpentine belt.

 

The system is not likely to be under pressure after an hour, so opening the bleeders then will probably do nothing (except possibly interfere with the process of the cooling system pulling back any excess coolant from the remote reservoir).

You normally open the bleeders when you fill the system (you will hear air purge as you fill the radiator). That purges ~90% or more of the air (I rarely ever have to do any bleeding after doing this). If you want to purge air with the system closed, you do it when the system is under pressure (as in engine at normal temp and generally running).

 

Thanks for the info shoebox, I appreciate it!

 

Holy clean and totally stock car! Car looks good.