I have a 2000 z-24 with the same "cracked piece of s***"
I wonder if fixing the panel is the answer, or, because of stresses induced when conering (the whole body does a whoo-yaaa when thrown into a corner) if you put a new panel in, it would just crack again.
Perhaps fixing the piece and stiffening the j-body a bit might be the answer. But i dont know how that would fix it either because cracks might appear in other areas as a result.
I figure the stock body is sloppy, its engineered right, but GM doesnt make a "regular" car with the idea that its going to be a "budget" corvette.
the z-24 was the answer, but still the fact that the panel is cracked in mine, tells the same story.
CHECK THE SLOPPY OF YOUR CAV-VIE.
..Please note..
Remeber that if something screwes up in this procedure, ie the car is dropped, or a jack fails and the car falls... there is a potential of damaging the car PERMINANTLY... so make sure all of this is done delliberatly and with MAXIMUM CAUTION in either a shop, or on a very flat level piece of concrete away from Children and pets.
Plus, I would hate to hear that Im indirectly responible for f*cking up your pride and joy. because I would feel bad, and yes it would keep me up at night.
To find out how sloppy your cavalier is, you need:
2 floor jacks (same size and weight)
2 jack stands 1/2 tone or greater
1 beer (or 12 with a chaperone)*
1 chaperone*
(* please dont drink, because you shift the blame from me, to you that way)
Ok.. lets do this.
Make sure engine is off, and its in park, or neutral with the emergency brake on...
make sure both doors are closed,firmly... if you want to play tunes, roll the windows down.. instead... if you leave the doors open, you will do nasty things to the car..
note: if you have any cracks in the windshield, this procedure will make those cracks larger, depending on the location of them.. I would suggest getting a new windsheld before attempting this procedure... do what you want... its your car...
Locate a solid jacking point on the Front Driver Corner of the car.. Near the radiator, but not under. Something that will not crush when jacked. When found, slide a jack under that area and squeeze up the jack so theres contact.
Locate a rear Passanger jacking point, same details as above, slide jack under and squeeze up to contact.
Now "GENTLY" jack the rear corner of the car untill BOTH rear tires come off the ground. When the Drivers Rear tire begins to lift.. slow down and jack untill a squeek of daylight can be seen under the tire. (slide a jackstand under the Body at the Sandard Jack slot (just in front of the rear passanger tire) and get it close to touching, but not quite (this will catch the vehicle incase anything goes awry) Finally lock the handle of the floor jack to the up position.
Go to the front of the vehicle, and start jacking slowly.. you might hear some interesting noises, but dont worry, this is an engeneered body.. they have rigerous test procedures to make sure that even under the worst case scenarios it will not fail, (short of dropping it on its roof, getting into a collision, you get the idea)
Same idea with the front, only dealing with a little more weight.. Jack it unill a sliver of daylight is visible under the front passanger wheel... Slide a jackstand under the car (NOT THE ENGINE) and make it fall safe....afterall, you want to be alive to enjoy life, RIGHT?
Ok.. now your car looks strange, asthough a 2 year old was playing with jack today, and happened accross your car. Plus, everything is out of wack... your hood dont line up, and your fenders are a little wacked.. plus your doors are...what the hell happened...
not to worry, this will all go back to normal when the wheels and tires come into contact with the earth in about 15 min...
With a tape mesure , measure the distance between the bottom of the front driver wheel (right at the tread level BDC of tire) and the ground, Repeat the same procedure with the passanger rear tire.
Take both mesurements and take the average ( m1 + m2 ) \ 2 = TD1
TD1 is your Torsion Deflection Measurement.
This is how much your car flexes and shudders and reacts to changes in road surfaces, and subjected G-force (a corner for example)
Ok.. take your jack stands out, and lower the vehicle, (front first. then rear)
Remeber again that if something screwes up, ie the car is dropped, or a jack fails and the car falls... there is a potential of damaging the car PERMINANTLY... so make sure all of this is done delliberatly and with MAXIMUM CAUTION in either a shop, or on a very flat level piece of concrete away from Children and animals.
Plus, i dont want to be indirectly responible for f*cking up your pride and joy. because I would feel bad, and yes it would keep me up at night.
Anyways.. let me know how it goes.. Im not going to post my numbers, because I dont want to either encourage of discourage people taking part in this procedure. Simply because a car with 80,000 miles on it, will have an obvious difference compared to one with 160,000 miles on it... Z-24 to a Z-22, plus ones with tower braces, and a 12 point roll cage (drool...)
Oh by the way... things to stiffen the cavilier.. any good suggestions, I thought about a set of tower braces, but I realized that the car is twisting slightly longditudinaly (front to back, not side to side)
cheers and dont kill yourselvs.
-ken
