90 ZR-1 #2273 - To be rescued

[S.hafsmo]

Recently acquired a 1990 black/black ZR-1, which has led me to this rather impressive LT5 community.

Figured I'd share the process of getting the car to those bored enough to read it.

The previous owner bought the car at the age of 18, owned it for 4 years, drove it 2000 miles, might have done some less good mods, and sold it to me.
Not sure who actually did the mods though.
Throughout his ownership, the Service Engine Soon light had always been lit, so he never tested the car with the secondaries active.
When I realized he thought the SES light was a service indicator, I started thinking of the purchase more like a rescue mission than a regular car purchase.
Knowing so little about a car this special makes you unqualified to own it. At least that was my thoughts.

When I came to pick up the car, it was standing on a mix of various wheels and seemingly arbitrarily placed spacers on some wheels.
The rear wheels were apparently worn out when he bought it, and had yet to be replaced.


Fortunately I had brought my own set of wheels. Winter tyres from a BMW M3.
The positive lead for the battery had been extended with a car stereo lead, attached to the old lead with a hose clamp.


The only positive mod I've found. To bad he didn't keep the stock setup.


The battery was busted, so I brought a new one with me. When I got there he had removed the old battery,
and during the moments it was removed, he had lost all the bolts to the battery door/lower fender.
Quite a few wheel lug nuts were also missing, and one stud was rotating.

Beforehand he had told me that the slave cylinder was bad, but topped up with fluid, it should last until I got home.
It lasted approx. 5 minutes, and the remaining 375 miles were pretty much carried out in 5th gear (CAGS did not help either).
Might also mention that using 5th gear put the revs in the range of the worst drone one can imagine.
Those who have read my resonator WTB request, can probably tell why. Another little surprise that came with the car.

Usually I'd walk away when met with such overwhelming signs of poor maintenance, but there are just 10-15 ZR-1's in Norway, and this one deserved a better faith.
And besides, one of the main reasons of buying the car, was to have a project to tinker with in the years to come. Can't tinker on a flawless car.

In the end I did however get the car home, and until my own garage is finished, the Z currently resides in my missus little garage, 15 minutes away from the Arctic Circle Raceway, which suits me just fine.

I've only had the car since October, but been able to fix most of the electrical issues, as well as the clutch.
The latter more of a semi-success, as the slave cylinder provided by Summit Racing (dorman) does not fit.
The hydraulic line and the vent should be 180° apart, but they are probably approx. 80° apart. Does not fit the right way up, and puts quite a bit of strain on the hose.
Will get the '91 slave and hose the next time.

[S.hafsmo]

I assume all here know how a 90 black/black Z looks like, but I also know people like photos, so here's one from the ad,


And one from it's new (temporary) home,

[XfireZ51]

Bless you.

[S.hafsmo]

Well thank you, Sir.

I got kinda lost in the story-telling so I forgot to ask the question I initially started the post for.

Is it possible to acquire some of the cars history, while it was still in the States? As far as I can tell it was exported in 2005, but Carfax has no history on it.

[S.hafsmo]

Originally Posted by S.hafsmo

I've only had the car since October, but been able to fix most of the electrical issues, as well as the clutch. The latter more of a semi-success, as the slave cylinder provided by Summit Racing (dorman) does not fit. The hydraulic line and the vent should be 180° apart, but they are probably approx. 80° apart. Does not fit the right way up, and puts quite a bit of strain on the hose. Will get the '91 slave and hose the next time.

I've got to correct my self on this one. Been reading all the tech-archives one the registry front page (quite a few broken links there), where it's mentioned that the original GM slave cylinder for the '90 had the aluminium snap-off bleed nipple, which allows installation in such a tight space. The snap-off bleed screw has been replaced by an extra tall one in steel. Odd no one has told the after marked makers (in this case - Dorman) that they won't fit without the snap of bleed screw.

Clutch Slave Cylinder Installation (1990)

Edit: I see the forum doesn't like use of of the "attachment function", will have to re-post some pictures. ImageShack this time.

[Z51JEFF]

Car looks good,it will only look better. How I was advised when installing the new slave cylinder was bolt it up and start pumping the pedal,eventually preassure would build. After about a 1/2 hour of pumping the pedal I broke out the auto bleeder and fineally got the system bleed.

[S.hafsmo]

Thank you!
I bled the slave before installing it (hanging by the hose), and the clutch is somewhat firm after pumping a bit. Not sure I got it all though, so I've ordered another slave cylinder, this time for a 91-95, with the bleed screw pointing down. Would recommend all to get the 91-95 slave and hose for their '90, as I'm quite sure that the hose on the later model is a lot easier to install rather than the long metal pipes on the '90.

I also noticed the following statement in the "ZR-1 Trivia",

In 1992 the master cylinder bore was increased. In addition, the front brake calipers were changed to increase the brake pedal height.

Anyone knows what changed in the calipers? Piston? Can one see the difference?

[Z51JEFF]

As far as I know the calipers were all the same for 90-95 and the statement about pedal height makes no sense.

[STATION]

[emoji106] good luck


Sent from my iPhone using ZR-1 Net Registry

[Z51JEFF]

What boggles the mind is why would anybody do that to a car such a Z and how did an 18 year old kid get ahold of it.