i live in the northern panhandle of WV (near pittsburgh) and it is time to put the elky in the garage for winter. it is in good mechanical condition and i was wondering if anyone could think of anything my dad and i could work on to make it look or preform better. i know this is kind of a vague question but now is a good time to improve upon it. it is a 1984 with an unrebuilt 305 with 77k miles. the car is totally stock.

thanks in advance :) :) :)

I think it is sad to live in a place that you can not drive the elky year around. :)

Cold here in st.louis but I still drive my elky year around. if it snows or what not I put in sand bags over the axle and by the tail gate. So yah I have to agree that it is sad that you cant drive the elky year around. If you want to do something while its in storage you could put on a new intake/carb and strip the paint if need be.

Up here in PA, it gets pretty cold too. I had planned to drive my elky all year, untill the new emmision laws, and the little 229 six went out. So now I bought a beater car and am gonna go for an LT-1 conversion. Hopefully it'll be done by mid-summer and driveable next winter.

Anyway, this is a great opportunity for you. I would go over everything. With only 77k, I would think your internals should be alright. I would however replace the cam, get a nice street cam with a little more aggression to it. I would toss the old car and intake for a nice 4bbl and an Edlebrock intake. Then go to the exhaust, put on a nice header system with duals out the back. It should have you running and sounding great this spring!!
Good Luck!!

How about detailing the engine compartment and painting the fender wells? That's a great project for a long winter. And you can take some of the parts down into the warm basement to work on and do some of the painting there. Have fun.

i wouldn't risk driving something you like that much in the snow. fwd beaters are made for that.

first thing i would do is get rid of the computer controlled intake, and ignition.

maybe go around, take all the trim off and check for rust. then polish the trim up and put it back on (or replace if need be)

when my 65 is done, it will have to bench race all winter. here in iowa they dump so much salt on the roads its hard to tell between the snow and the salt building up on the side of the road.

getting a winter beater next week. an '86 pontiac sunbird convertible 5 spd:) already got a nickname "sunturd". is a convt a suitable winter car?

I would say no. To much snow could collapse the top. :) Anyway I hope it's got a great heater to overcome the drafts.

first thing i would do is get rid of the computer controlled intake, and ignition.

I would recommend spending some winter time reading a shop manual. Figure out the purpose of computer controls. Then make an informed decision about what to do with them. I'm spending a lot of time undoing a previous onwers "performance modifications". ( I got the ECM working again, I just need to get it to closed loop, then I'll be happy :) )

I had a 85 Monte SS & I had nothing but trouble from the computer system. It seems to be not a great system to begin with. I am sure some people have no problems but I would get rid of it.

That's why I recommend learning about first. They are really quite simple and with a scan tool (which are cheap now), they diagnosis themselves. On another car (with the same computer system), I have knocked off two seconds off my ¼ mile ET's and the ECM still manages the engine. 8)

I had the SS in the late 80's when they were not cheap. I would jump the port to get the set codes. I would replace something & it would run fine for a week or so, then it was something else.

That's why I recommend learning about first. They are really quite simple and with a scan tool (which are cheap now), they diagnosis themselves. 8)
trouble codes are only a direction not a diagnosis.

I'm not referring to trouble codes. You can get those with a paperclip. The scan tool (a real scan tool) tells you what the sensors are reading and what the outputs are. If the tool can't tell you directly what's wrong, there flowcharts in the shop manual that take you step by step to interpret the data.

I agree with Rich. Spend some time reading up on your vehicle.

Once you understand how a CCC system is supposed to work it's very easy to diagnose problems. I use my Brainmaster scan tool on both my 87 El Camino and my 86 MCSS to help diagnose problems and also to make carburetor adjustments. With it, you can read open/closed loop, MC dwell, O2 sensor, knock sensor, engine temp, RPM, TPS, VSS, TCC, 4th gear pressure switch, and lots more. Whenever I have a performance problem or if the SES light comes on, the Brainmaster is the first tool I reach for. It sure beats standing in front of the car and looking under the hood while scratching your head wondering what to swap next.

:mrgreen:

I have knocked off two seconds off my ¼ mile ET's and the ECM still manages the engine. 8) what was the time before and after?

Low 17's down to 15 flat. To be fair, I'll point out that it also has a factory turbocharger. But the ECM controls the engine (HEI and quadrajet) and hasn't been a burden at all. At WOT, the ECM doesn't control much anyway. It just makes normal driving much more efficient.

oh, so your talking about your GN. a turbo carbed car would make a lot more of a difference. I can see now that if the carb is outta tune, the turbo spooling isn't gonna help the cause.

brake systems would be a good thing to work on.. often over looked.. and hard as heck to work on.. so take your time.. and dont drive your elky in the winter.. mine sucks for traction.. get an astro van and get going.. :lol:
but if you do drive in winter make sure you have plenty of weight in the back.. meanwhile i'll stick to my beater till it thaws