Here are some pics of the right rear pads/caliper. First the dumb/obvious one - the top pad is inboard/piston side, correct?
Because when I install them like that, the pin on the outer pad prevents the caliper from seating all the way. Like this:
So would there be any harm in flipping the pads to the opposite sides of the rotor, other than possibly increased noise?
Update: I filed down the pin on the outer pad, only to discover the wear tab & rivet still prevented the caliper from engaging fully. So I swapped the pads, bolted the wheels back on & ran it in gear for about 15-minutes, varying the speed & applying the brakes a few times. I kept checking the rear hub temps, but they stayed below 80 the whole time and there was no progressive dragging.
Hopefully it'll be dry enough tomorrow to take it for another test drive and see if it actually made any difference.
Are you one of those Corvette guys who doesn't drive your car in the rain? 
And remember, just because a part was installed a particular way when you got the car, that doesn't mean it was right.
In reply to mazdeuce:
So far, yes! That's mostly due to the 10-year old Hoosiers + leaky roof & windows though.
These were new pads from Rockauto I installed a few months ago, and apparently didn't notice the pin was causing the caliper to not be square. So that's all on me. Other than the excessive amount of RTV under both valve covers I didn't find any blunders from the PO. The car really seemed mostly untouched...well, other than by that tree.
The pad with the wear indicators are almost always inboard i e piston side.
Took it for a short drive tonight and the brakes didn't seem to drag, although I didn't go as far as previous drives, nor was I able to get up to the same speeds. I did manage to finally get a video though. It's rather boring for the most part - Stampie: you'll want to fast-forward to about 1:50...then also notice the cop about 35-seconds later.
Cool to see it on the road, Pete!
Just catching up on reading about your last couple of pages of progress tonight. The comments on thr color cracked me up, since I (somewhat) recently picked up a '03 S10 of a similar color. Around our house, the truck is known as "Bran" ... my daughter's term for "the unfortunate color you get when you combine bronze and tan". Funny kid ... Bran will likely be her first car in a couple of years!
Anywho - keep up the good work!
In reply to Pete Gossett:
Well I didn't want to two pump chump it so I watched the whole thing. I was expecting the climax at 1:50 to be a J turn and follow up donuts at the Keesler main gate. Let's just say I was disappointed to hear a mild SBC rumble followed by fellow motorist flashing their headlights to warn you of the sleeping cop ahead.
Nice of the guy in the truck to give you the light flash about the speed trap.
In reply to NOHOME:
Definitely! It's a pretty common spot for them, and I'm usually one of the few people doing the speed limit down that street, but without a functioning dash & not having my gps up I was just going by feel.
In reply to Pete Gossett:
So you get it out again? Seems like to me you're there (knock on wood). I'm ready to see a post of you taking it to the grocery store.
In reply to Stampie:
Not today. I was going to attempt running errands in it after work, but it was supposed to(and did) rain. I'll drive it in the rain, even on the 10-year old Hoosiers, but a new set of wiper blades seemed like a good idea, so I picked some up. I'm also going to tidy up the spark plug wires before I drive it too far, they're still in contact with the air tubes & I don't want them to melt. I'm also going to relocate the FP relay bypass switch inside the cabin - having to open/close the hood every time I get in & out of the car is a PITA for normal driving.
I was tempted to take it to an autox this weekend, but it's 43-miles each way, and driving that far & back seems a bit optimistic at this point. I should get the torque converter clutch switch wired up before any serious highway driving also. Oh, and getting the gauge cluster working might be a good idea too.
Those are all mostly little things, and I'll drive it a bit while I tidy all that up - and I'm sure new things will crop up that need added to the list too.
I must have missed it, but I take it the transmission has all the gears?
Congratulations on the successful test drive. Watch the wiper inserts, many are too tall to clear the hood/cowl gap. I went through three new sets on mine and ended up using a razor to shave a millimeter off the retainer clip on the third set. Hard to believe a mm could make so much difference but it did.
In reply to Crackers:
It shifts pretty smooth at low load/rpm, so it was hard to tell, but I think it went into 4th. I know it went into 3rd at least once. I don't have the TC clutch wired up yet to test it though.
In reply to conesare2seconds:
Thanks! I'll watch for clearance when I close the hood. I need to adjust the wiper arms on the motor shaft too, there's a bit of interference between both blades in home position.
Just to prove Corvette ownership hasn't completely overtaken me, notice the raindrops on the windshield.
I went for about a 3-mile drive this evening, hitting the highway on the way back home. Traffic was probably doing 44-50(I didn't have my gps on), but about 3/4-mile from home the car started running rough & felt down on power - I had to drop it in neutral at a stop & rev it a bit to keep it running. The passenger rear brake also started squealing a couple blocks from home, so I'll be tearing back into them.
When I got home I could smell oil, but didn't see any leaks. I'll need to check the level after it's cooled down & see if I'm losing it, or just previous leakages still burning off.
Not exactly a successful drive, but I didn't have to walk home!
Pete Gossett wrote: In reply to conesare2seconds: Thanks! I'll watch for clearance when I close the hood. I need to adjust the wiper arms on the motor shaft too, there's a bit of interference between both blades in home position.
Cycle the wipers with the hood down. Too-big inserts will fit fine with the hood closed but won't clear the hood when cycled. This I found out the hard way on the way back from Bowling Green as a terrific storm closed in. Something made me check the wipers before I needed them. Good thing.
I had about 10-minutes this evening, so I fired up the Vette. There's a definite surge to the idle now, maybe 100rpm or so. Would that more likely be a fuel or ignition issue? I didn't have time to do any troubleshooting tonight, but hopefully will one night this week.
I'd guess fuel, choke letting of too early? You need to get the engine properly warmed up and see if it does it then.
In reply to BrokenYugo:
I've never hooked up or used the(manual) choke. Apparently they're pretty uncommon to use/need down here. It's started fine multiple times previously without it, so I don't think that's the cause. Though now that you mention it I should probably confirm it didn't vibrate closed on my drive...
I was thinking last night I may be a vacuum leak?
1.Check the Air bleeds for surging 2.timing 3.vacuum 4.rpm you have some cam now it may want to idle at 750-ish. 800 is about max,that should drop to 700 in gear.
I checked & tightened the carb mounting bolts this afternoon. The front two were definitely a little loose. The car started up fine & settled into a nice idle, so I took it for a drive around the block.
There was no brake squeal, so I'm thinking there may still be slight dragging as it still pulls to the right a bit. My guess is the sound I heard on the previous drive was the brakes just starting to heat up and drag slightly. I let the car sit about 10-minutes, then took it for another drive. It wasn't idling as smoothly this time, and died at the 2nd stop sign - although it restarted fine. It wasn't much farther than the first drive, and there were no other issues, but I did drop it into neutral at all the other stops.
raise the RPM 50 then hit the Hwy. Dog It Get it heated up, take your phone!
Hey Pete, Nice work! And kudos to all that have chimed in to help as well. I'm glad you have her running and driving!
It's funny, I've actually been looking at C4's recently as well. But I'd be looking for a manual tranny. I have a lot of LT1 experience, and though I hate opti-sparks, I may lean that way. Anyways, before I head too far away from your thread... This has not helped me get them out of my mind. The troubles should have pushed me away from them, but it really hasn't. ;)
Good luck and you're getting close! All I have to add is I'm still thinking that your factory fuel pump is way too much for the little fuel pressure you need. Why not install a mechanical one? Or even a cheap universal one, as previously mentioned?
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