The Ferrari Daytonas of Miami Vice

[Sonny-Burnett]

Be aware that the temp gauge/high temp light sensor/sender is unique to the light and gauge and NOT the sensor that controls the radiator fans via the ECM.

Maybe I'm not following you on this, as I think the Vette shop told me the electric fan is preset to come on at around 190-195F, and I have a coolant thermostat mounted forward on the engine that also opens at 195F. They actually gave me an option for it to open at a higher temp but I opted for the lower range. So if more coolant is flowing at that temp, and the secondary fan kicks in then I should have no coolant or engine temp issues. (Rarely does my engine temp get near or at 220F since they properly reversed the flow on my electric fan. )As to the one sensor you are describing that I think you're saying controls both the Coolant Temp Gauge as well as the Red Light indicator, since that sensor and the thermostat are both mounted forward on the engine I'd think that the red light should never come on given my engine thermostat kicks open at 195F and the electric fan also kicks on around the same temp.So guessing then that my sensor may be faulty and probably not an actual engine overheat. Or maybe I am missing your point on this.

[Sonny-Burnett]

Things Remembered in the shopping mall and have little plates engraved

Definitely would NOT put labels on the lamps....I'd just like to know for certain what each lamp is intended to indicate. No owners manual came with the car, unfortunately. I know the upper greens are turn signals (one is burned out), and the upper blue is the bright lights. Have to learn how to remove the cover so I can replace the bulbs. The lower left Amber I think is the Check Engine light, while I think the right lower red is brakes, perhaps pressure on the lines? The lower left Red may be the coolant temp warning as you indicate , and the right amber I just don't know. I thought perhaps these warning lamps were meant to parallel those on the (1981) Vette, as the donor car would no doubt have the wiring harnesses left over and I would think McBurnie would want to reuse the wiring and report the same gauges and indicators since the mechanicals are the same?

[Kavinsky]

Definitely would NOT put labels on the lamps....I'd just like to know for certain what each lamp is intended to indicate. No owners manual came with the car' date=' unfortunately. I know the upper greens are turn signals (one is burned out), and the upper blue is the bright lights. Have to learn how to remove the cover so I can replace the bulbs. The lower left Amber I think is the Check Engine light, while I think the right lower red is brakes, perhaps pressure on the lines? The lower left Red may be the coolant temp warning as you indicate , and the right amber I just don't know. I thought perhaps these warning lamps were meant to parallel those on the (1981) Vette, as the donor car would no doubt have the wiring harnesses left over and I would think McBurnie would want to reuse the wiring and report the same gauges and indicators since the mechanicals are the same?[/quote']I dont know honestly, I just remember Jurrasic voicing his disdain for it at some point as I remember him talking about how complex the wiring loom was. and I ment under the lights, not on them lol Funny thing is though I think that rig they had for the replicas was more based on the 308 than the actual daytona as theres no colored bulbs on the Daytonahttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8192&stc=1&d=1375492890but there is on the 308.http://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8191&stc=1&d=1375492888and it seems like there might be some variation on the bulbs, some have the green turn signal lights in the middle, others on the end and some more than othersand it looks like it might be different on both your carsas Sonny seems to have 2 more than rehomeshttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8194&stc=1&d=1375492895and he just has 4, 2 red on the bottom and 2 green on the tophttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8193&stc=1&d=1375492893Hmm Maybe despite the interior styling similarities rehomes may have a latter dash cluster and a latter car in general and given that his car has the latter C4 engine maybe the wiring loom is that of a C4 base as well?

[reholmes]

The fourth and sixth pictures on the left are identical to my dash and interior. As you can see, except for directionals and high beam there is only a single light--red. the blue high beam light is obstructed by the steering wheel.Whose cars are these?

[Sonny-Burnett]

The fourth and sixth pictures on the left are identical to my dash and interior. As you can see' date=' except for directionals and high beam there is only a single light--red. the blue high beam light is obstructed by the steering wheel.Whose cars are these?[/quote']#3 is a shot of my car, captured from previous posts. Believe #1 was a shot of an actual Ferrari Daytona Spyder. Hmm so you have no ambers and only one red then? I will have to find some way to identify the lamps. Can't even find a photo of my gauges anywhere.

[reholmes]

#4 and #6 appear to be the same car, or two cars with identical mileage ;-)

[Sonny-Burnett]

http://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8194&stc=1&d=1375492895and he just has 4, 2 red on the bottom and 2 green on the tophttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8193&stc=1&d=1375492893Hmm Maybe despite the interior styling similarities rehomes may have a latter dash cluster and a latter car in general and given that his car has the latter C4 engine maybe the wiring loom is that of a C4 base as well?

Mine actually has 7 lamps..2 green (turn signal), one blue (hi beams), 2 amber (one is check engine), and 2 red. Can't recall when the Holmes car was made now but think they were both in the latter stages of McBurnie manufacturing.

[Kavinsky]

The fourth and sixth pictures on the left are identical to my dash and interior. As you can see' date=' except for directionals and high beam there is only a single light--red. the blue high beam light is obstructed by the steering wheel.Whose cars are these?[/quote']Yeah when you upload the photos it uploads them at the bottom and then I copied and pasted them in the proper order on the message, so there's only 4.one of a daytona coupe, a 308 which I got off of finecars.cc and them the two photos below them, one I saved of your car when the previous owner posted the photos here and Sonny's as well.

[reholmes]

Thanks. Gotta say, McBurnie did a pretty good job with the interiors, as well.

[Kavinsky]

This is abit of a long shot but I may have an idea about what the warning light might be, as my Corvette C4 book by Tom Falconer arrived yesterday. My reason for acquiring it being finding out just what other changes done to the C4 might be compatible with the C3, as the rack and pinion setup that was new on the C4 can apparently be retrofitted to the C3's and the replicas as it was done by rowley corvette here on there ferrari replica in the early 1990'shttp://www.rowleycorvette.com/reprt1.htmland Cameradaytona did say the Corvette C4 car cover fits his daytona replica well, so it kind of got me thinking what else is compatible? my main interest being the changes to the windshield, which was apparently lowered by an inch and a half, moved slight forward and brought to a 64.5 angle that matches the angle of the windshield on the testarossa. also it said this was JUST updated today so the Rowley corvette website is not as dead as we all thought it was, even though the copywrite on the thing says 2002 on the main page. http://www.rowleycorvette.com/usedparts.htmlAnyways there's an interesting mention about the cooling system on page 47 of the 1986 section:"To deal with the problem of low radiator levels mentioned previously, a sensor was fitted in the right hand radiator plastic tank. Permanently grounded when coolant covered its probe, it signaled low coolant on the drivers information display when open circuit. unfortunately contaminates in the coolant would have the same effect when the radiator was full and would sometimes set off the low coolant warning on the dash by breaking the circuit to the coolant and in service the module was not always reliable either. also rehomes there is a ton of considerable information about the C4 motors in here as well that might help you to, in particular about the alternator which I believe the previous owner replaced on your car before you bought it. Apparently it might not be a bad idea to carry around a spare one as between 1985 and 1991 they used some dicky alternator that wasnt as good as the early ones. and usually its the cause of almost all of the electrical problems on it.the books full title by the way is the collectors originality guide corvette C4 1984 to 1996 by Tom Falconer, I picked it up off of amazon.com for about 20 bucks, hard cover no less.

[reholmes]

http://www.rowleycorvette.com/usedparts.html also rehomes there is a ton of considerable information about the C4 motors in here as well that might help you to, in particular about the alternator which I believe the previous owner replaced on your car before you bought it.

Many web sites use a few lines of Java script to keep the "updated" to the current date--not accusing ;-)Here's a wiring diagram for an '87 instrument panel--while I have an '87 engine my instruments are pretty primitive compared to this. Note the coolant level circuit.I don't think Bob replaced the alternator, but I did. It was, however, an early Delco-Remy on a v-belt--not the serpentine that the engine came with.

[reholmes]

OoopsSorry, file size too large. If anyone wants it I can PM, or email, or put it on Dropbox

[Matt5]

Thankyou for the link:D:thumbsup:

[reholmes]

My Single Red Dash LightBIG MISTAKE and humble apologies to all.I decided to check and see if there were any residual codes left in the ECM. Upon reading the output I notice the single red light on my dash--which I thought was a high temp light--was blinking. So, I shorted the appropriate terminals and started over--sure enough my little red light was blinking out the codes. So, it appears it is actually a Check Engine light.In this case it was a code 24 which I probably will not be able to correct. It signals a loss of speedometer data from the IC Panel to the ECM. As the ECM is from an '87 TPI engine and the instruments are SW, there is probably no link--no big deal as I see it.Any comments--other than those about my heritage ;-)Dick

[Kavinsky]

Yeah it said that they switched from a 120 volt alternator (I think, the electrician part of the family is my fathers specialty) to a smaller alternator to save weight, saying it was a 100 volt one they replaced it with and that usually if someone called up with an electrical fault to Tom Falconers Corvette shop in england with an electrical problem the first answer was to check the alternator. and that they'd come back surprised when it was just that.so it sounds like they made a point to go with the better part there, just like the electric cooling fans on Sonny's car rather than the clutch mounted one that runs only when the car was moving on the earlier cars of the 1960's and 70's.Come to think of it with the speedo fault there I remember that on both an old ferrari 330 and a Lamborghini Countach that the cable that hooked up to the speedo could come undone from Vibration over time.at 5:45

and at 13:28

so maybe that's all that needs to be checked on Sonny's car their if its setting it off and it means the same thing as it does on your car there. and nah it actually says for the parts reading there now Updated: Aug-14-2013 So Sonny looking at that rowley parts thing right on the bottom it says something interesting http://www.rowleycorvette.com/usedparts.htmlthat he actually has a 1978 to 1982 140 MPH speedo face which I think is one of the things you said you were looking for.as for those not in the know for the last couple of years for the C3 production the speedo reading was limited to 85 mph, in which reading this C4 book it said it also carried over to the C4 for a few years in some crackpot way to deal with speeding. although they found a way around it by having two readings, one in KPH that would go all the way up to 220 KPH, aka 130 MPH.and now what I actually wanted to post about, reading that C4 book and knowing that both the C3 and C4 corvettes actually get fed the air for the engine underneath it got me thinking.that maybe that Mcburnie grill was designed to redirect the airflow under the car rather than allow it to pool under the hood and create lift like Jurrasic said he was having happen to his. which has a Rowley replica flat faced ferrari like grill fitted to it.although he had managed to fashion a walkaround by using and putting some house siding behind the grill to angle the pooling air up and over the radiator to reduce front end lift above a 100 MPHand as to why the ferrari had that flat grill it seems like the radiator or something infront of it was angled to allow the air to flow over it and up into the working hood vents to reduce pressure, which is also functional on the replicas. http://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8214&stc=1&d=1376459758 a trick that has been done by some on the C3 forums http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-tech-performance/3045663-how-do-you-keep-the-c3-from-getting-light-above-120mph.htmland on the new Corvette C7 to reduce front end lift at 1:25

and also one of the changes done to the C4 was to reangle the radator, which makes sense as their goal with the C4 was to make a stable 150 MPH car that could compete with the Lotus Esprit Turbo, Ferrari 308 and the Countach, of which they tested against it when redesigning the C3 for the 1980's and as a sidenote rowley did create some sort of extra part to prevent vapor lock with the enginehttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8215&stc=1&d=1376459760and it makes me wonder if he also fitted that latter modified C4 radiator to his cars without telling anyone about it as to allow his cars to reach a 130 mph without that issue as he documented in that kitcar article, as Jurrasics car is one made by Carl Roberts, not Rowley also it looks like Brians/Rehomes car is using the C4 radiator to go along with the C4 enginehttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8217&stc=1&d=1376460085Vs an earlier Corvette, I think it was a 1960's/1970's ish one http://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8216&stc=1&d=1376460084 unless all C3's had an angled radiator and I've just never looked before at it or its a result of them putting the new body on it. and sorry about the weird blue font, something about the message maker crapped out and started doing that weirdly.

[Kavinsky]

Hmm looks like Tom Mcburnie is now building Porsche 365 replicas now

and I think Chuck Berry has a 906 replica (the white porsche from Florence italy) that was made by them.

[Sonny-Burnett]

BIG MISTAKE and humble apologies to all.I decided to check and see if there were any residual codes left in the ECM. Upon reading the output I notice the single red light on my dash--which I thought was a high temp light--was blinking. So' date=' I shorted the appropriate terminals and started over--sure enough my little red light was blinking out the codes. So, it appears it is actually a Check Engine light.In this case it was a code 24 which I probably will not be able to correct. It signals a loss of speedometer data from the IC Panel to the ECM. As the ECM is from an '87 TPI engine and the instruments are SW, there is probably no link--no big deal as I see it.Any comments--other than those about my heritage ;-)Dick[/quote']Pretty sure my leftmost Amber light is my Check Engine light, as that commonly lights when the car is cold and first started, when the engine is idling very fast and likely running rich. After a bit when I kick the accelerator and the idle drops then the Amber light goes out. Still unsure of my lower red light however. It is concerning to drive it with that on as I know red is generally bad news.

[Sonny-Burnett]

This is abit of a long shot but I may have an idea about what the warning light might be' date=' as my Corvette C4 book by Tom Falconer arrived yesterday."To deal with the problem of low radiator levels mentioned previously, a sensor was fitted in the right hand radiator plastic tank. Permanently grounded when coolant covered its probe, it signaled low coolant on the drivers information display when open circuit. unfortunately contaminates in the coolant would have the same effect when the radiator was full and would sometimes set off the low coolant warning on the dash by breaking the circuit to the coolant and in service the module was not always reliable either. [/quote']Interesting idea on that sensor, however when I looked in the overflow tank I did not find any sensor or any leads running from the sensor. As I am not much of a mechanic I am not sure how I would even trace the lead from the offending red lamp.

[Sonny-Burnett]

Sorry' date=' file size too large. If anyone wants it I can PM, or email, or put it on Dropbox[/quote']Is this wiring diagram for the C4 vette panel or a Stewart Warner? If the latter I would like to see it pls

[Sonny-Burnett]

and at 13:28

so maybe that's all that needs to be checked on Sonny's car their if its setting it off and it means the same thing as it does on your car there. and nah it actually says for the parts reading there now Updated: Aug-14-2013 So Sonny looking at that rowley parts thing right on the bottom it says something interesting http://www.rowleycorvette.com/usedparts.htmlthat he actually has a 1978 to 1982 140 MPH speedo face which I think is one of the things you said you were looking for.as for those not in the know for the last couple of years for the C3 production the speedo reading was limited to 85 mph, in which reading this C4 book it said it also carried over to the C4 for a few years in some crackpot way to deal with speeding. although they found a way around it by having two readings, one in KPH that would go all the way up to 220 KPH, aka 130 MPH.and now what I actually wanted to post about, reading that C4 book and knowing that both the C3 and C4 corvettes actually get fed the air for the engine underneath it got me thinking.that maybe that Mcburnie grill was designed to redirect the airflow under the car rather than allow it to pool under the hood and create lift like Jurrasic said he was having happen to his. which has a Rowley replica flat faced ferrari like grill fitted to it.although he had managed to fashion a walkaround by using and putting some house siding behind the grill to angle the pooling air up and over the radiator to reduce front end lift above a 100 MPHand as to why the ferrari had that flat grill it seems like the radiator or something infront of it was angled to allow the air to flow over it and up into the working hood vents to reduce pressure, which is also functional on the replicas. http://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8214&stc=1&d=1376459758 a trick that has been done by some on the C3 forums http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-tech-performance/3045663-how-do-you-keep-the-c3-from-getting-light-above-120mph.htmland on the new Corvette C7 to reduce front end lift at 1:25

and also one of the changes done to the C4 was to reangle the radator, which makes sense as their goal with the C4 was to make a stable 150 MPH car that could compete with the Lotus Esprit Turbo, Ferrari 308 and the Countach, of which they tested against it when redesigning the C3 for the 1980's and as a sidenote rowley did create some sort of extra part to prevent vapor lock with the enginehttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8215&stc=1&d=1376459760and it makes me wonder if he also fitted that latter modified C4 radiator to his cars without telling anyone about it as to allow his cars to reach a 130 mph without that issue as he documented in that kitcar article, as Jurrasics car is one made by Carl Roberts, not Rowley also it looks like Brians/Rehomes car is using the C4 radiator to go along with the C4 enginehttp://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8217&stc=1&d=1376460085Vs an earlier Corvette, I think it was a 1960's/1970's ish one http://www.miamiviceonline.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8216&stc=1&d=1376460084 unless all C3's had an angled radiator and I've just never looked before at it or its a result of them putting the new body on it. and sorry about the weird blue font, something about the message maker crapped out and started doing that weirdly.

Not sure I am following all this but I can say my radiator and condenser are very much angled backward toward the engine. I know mine is also an aftermarket radiator, per the Vette shop that worked on it. As to the airflow you are describing causing lift, I have only had my car at speed one time (around 90-95mph) and I can't recall any lift issues....but at the time I was more concerned with the banging noises when first driving her that later were found to be broken trans and motor mounts.

[reholmes]

Is this wiring diagram for the C4 vette panel or a Stewart Warner? If the latter I would like to see it pls

Sorry, it's the Vette wiring--I would like an SW wiring diagram, too; however, I'm guessing there are as many versions as there are cars ;-)

[reholmes]

Pretty sure my leftmost Amber light is my Check Engine light' date=' as that commonly lights when the car is cold and first started, when the engine is idling very fast and likely running rich. After a bit when I kick the accelerator and the idle drops then the Amber light goes out. Still unsure of my lower red light however. It is concerning to drive it with that on as I know red is generally bad news.[/quote']Easy to check codes without a scanner to confirm your amber light. Google "check codes without a scanner," there's a ton of stuff out there. As for the other red light, disconnect the temp sensor/sender at the front of the engine and that will probably give you a clue. If you have gauges for the critical measurands, you should be safe regardless of the light.

[Kavinsky]

Sonny I think you mentioned that you thought that the red light could be something to do with the braking system, so have you had those and the other hoses checked over?http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-general/3069699-scary-1972-coupe-brake-calipers.htmlas it is a 25 year old caralso the advice here should help when looking for any sort of leakagehttp://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-tech-performance/3135721-canadas-most-determined-oil-leak-2.htmland the calipers even on modern cars with MA driving up here usually need to be probably replaced about 10K miles with my kind of driving.as I hate it when people drive 30 when everyone else normally does 40+, as 30 feels like a walking speed.

[reholmes]

Sonny I think you mentioned that you thought that the red light could be something to do with the braking system' date=' so have you had those and the other hoses checked over.[/quote']Three reasons you get a brake warning light; bulb check, hand brake on, a leak in ONE of your brake hydraulic systems (front or rear). If the front fails you'll know it; rear you may not.

[Kavinsky]

Three reasons you get a brake warning light; bulb check' date=' hand brake on, a leak in ONE of your brake hydraulic systems (front or rear). If the front fails you'll know it; rear you may not.[/quote']I can vouch for the rear one, and it didnt trigger the light either, the rear drum had a crack in it from a previous incident where when I let my brother borrow the old car, he swearved and hit a rock to avoid an incoming car in framingham.and he just drove on it home instead of calling AAA, with a broken shock absorber rubbing against the tire, forcing a replacement of both tire and shock absorber but also it cracked the rear drum without him or me knowing it. and then 2 years latter when I got the new car I slammed the brakes on it on a dust off run on the old thing to make sure they were working, and I heard a distinct metallic ka plop noise once I came to a full stop, a piece of the drum had come off and and blocked the brakes on the rear, giving me like 5% braking power on the front. and I barely got the thing down the hill in one piece.when I asked about it and why the braking power was so low from the front as its something like 70% front 30% power from the rear brakes at the corvette forums as it was a GM car they said the master cylinder was also probably shot or the brakes were badly worn and I didnt even know it.also a good way to tell if the brakes are worn is to drive another type of the same car and compare it, like take one of those other vettes on a test drive. as sometimes you can get so used to it you dont notice the change overtime.