New 1976 Owner with Limited Skills

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They are relatively expensive but it you have a car you plan to keep and would like to learn about the car or do the work yourself. The GM shop manuals are the best. A 76 corvette would be for the most part basic stuff, but everyone has to start somewhere. A GM shop manual is a good investment. You might hunt around E-Bay too. I would not waste my money on a CHILTON or Haynes unless that's the only thing you can get.

----------- Elbert snipped-for-privacy@me.com

Reply to
Elbert
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Thanks...would this be what I need?

"1976 Passenger Car Shop Manual Set"

Reply to
1976VetteGuy

it would appear so. Thats what I see when I go to the site and run the lookup. I've bought some manauals from them in the past but they were for newer model vehicles.

I would get the GM shop manual from Helms, and it might be worth you while to do some searches on Ebay for corvetter specific GM shop manauals.

The GM shop manual would certainly be very helpful. They are not hard to use and are very well written and illustrated fairly well. Take it from me, some of the other manuals are just plain garbage.

I believe you can subscribe to Alldata and maybe other sources for shop manuals "on-line" but that might get a little expensive for a @home mechanic.

Any GM vehicle I own or want to know more about in regard to repairs....the GM shop manual is the best source for information.

----------- Elbert snipped-for-privacy@me.com

Reply to
Elbert

Yes. P/N ST32976K $ 75 from Helm (probably a Xerox copy of the original.) Includes several other Chevrolet models.

I'd not throw stones at adding a Chilton or Haynes to your library shelf after you get the factory manual. Sometimes those books will have a shortcut that may be helpful to someone who hasn't been through formal factory training or isn't too experienced. Sometimes Haynes will have a procedure that avoids use of a special tool.

Example: On the C4, the factory manual procedure for removing the fuel pump is an involved project. The Haynes manual makes the job easier and quicker.

-- pj

Reply to
pj

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(look about halfway down the page)

Reply to
WayneC

Are you talking about this thing?

"1966-82 Corvette Shop Manual"

If so...I bought it and it sucks...

Reply to
1976VetteGuy

Then buy the GM chassis service manuals (but the '74 base manual is out of print, so you'll need to find a used one).

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You are probably not going to find one perfect book that covers everything you'll ever want to know, specific to only your year.

I don't have the one that claims to have excerpts from the GM manuals that cover "full maintenance, repair, troubleshooting and tune-up information" It sounds good... so help educate the rest of us: why/how does it suck?

Reply to
WayneC

OK...so I've figured out that the hoses running into the heater core aren't hot when the engine is at temp. So there's a flow issue somewhere. I also noticed that the hose running from the engine block, I believe, goes into the A/C box and is attached by a vacuum actuator valve that appears to have the vacuum line cut. Is it typical to have this valve in the line, and if so, where can I trace to where the hose should go to supply the vacuum? Will this cause the flow problem to the system? Last question...what causes the actuation to happen to the valve in the water loop?

Reply to
1976VetteGuy

To all that helped me out I thank you...

So from reading past posts, I am going to install the manual valves on the hoses as I think the vacuum control valve might be stuck in the closed position or something as I am not getting any flow to the heater core.

One last question to everyone about this...do I need to drain the coolant level down to close off these valves in the summer? Also, when they are shut off, how can I make sure the heater core is not going to rust while it is not being used? In other words, do I drain it somehow when I close off the manual valves? Or does the water just stay in there all summer?

Thanks again!!!

Reply to
1976VetteGuy

you should get the flow going to the heater core first. then don't drain the core. just simply open the valves from time to time to circulate the coolant through the heater core.

g'day

Reply to
'Key

Did you price a vacuum valve? I think they are pretty reasonably priced. Why be fiddling with a valve under the hood when you don't have to? The heater core is made of aluminum (or possibly copper)... assuming that you keep a 50/50 mixture of water and quality anti-freeze in your cooling system and drain/refill every 3 to 5 years, with no leakage in the system in between refills, then no "rusting" or other deterioration should occur (it's just like leaving Pepsi in the can), so no need to drain the heater core.

Reply to
WayneC

So I replaced the vacuum valve with a manual one and now I have heat. The old valve was all gunked up and plugged, so I thank everyone that helped me!

Reply to
1976VetteGuy

I did look at a new vacuum valve, but it's not price that made me go with the manual valves. The original valve didn't have any vacuum line hooked up to it and I couldn't find one that wasn't being used, so I would have had to fix the vacuum problem and I just wanted to get the heat working. Besides that, most of the forums that I have read, say that the manual valves are better in the hotter days because it cuts off the supply of hot water to the heater core and makes the interior cabin much cooler. I know it's not stock or original, but I can always go back to that if I want or need to do so.

Thanks for the reply!!!

Reply to
1976VetteGuy

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