Hey guys I have been looking at buying an 80-82 for some time and not found one worth the asking price,what is the best year to look at? I love the 80-82 body style more than any of the previous C-3's and am trying to pick up on the good and bad about these three years.

 

I can't speak about the 80-82 cars but don't give up on it. Keep looking and when you find the right car you will be very happy. I think that in general they can suffer from many of the same problems as earlier C3s, and I have heard that the Crossfire cars (82) can be a bit more expensive to work on in the event something goes wrong with the engine electronics.

Good luck!

 

It depends on what you want.

1980: No Computers
1981: Computers
1982: Computers, Cross-fire, and 700r4.

I personally would go for the 1980, less to go wrong.

 

i bought an 80 3 years ago, from down in Ohio.

been using it as a daily-driver, all over Toronto, almost every day since & i love it.

(mind you i have never drivin any other Corvette or even had a ride in any other 1)



Paid $9000 Us , 3 years ago & its the best birthday gift i ever bought for myself !

if i can't ride the bikes , i don't want to drive anything but my Batmobile !

Pete

 

If the engine/transmission on each car were operating properly, I'd opt for the '82 with the throttle-body injection system. Lots of folks don't like them...because they don't know how to work on them. Properly running, the crossfire system is more trouble-free and will get much better gas mileage. The '81 system is a "one year wonder" with a rudimentary computer and a 'hybrid' carb with some electronic guts. Nobody knows how to work on the '81 carb. Stick to an '80 or an '82.

 

If you plan to work on it yourself, definatly go with the 80. If you run accross any problems that you can not fix, most garages should be able to work on an 80, the crossfire on the 82 would be a little trickier to get fixed, and the computerized carborater on an 81 would leave many mechanics scratching their heads.

I have been working on my 80 since I was a young kid, and have not had any problems with it.

 

Styling is always a matter of personal opinion, but as the original owner of an 80 I'm partial to 80-82 cars. I like the front chin and rear spoiler on them. I like the seat design versus the early years, but some people find them to be narrow. The top latch design for t-tops was changed- I'm not sure what year, but it is different than my brother-in-laws 75. I like the newer design better. The 80 is still very much classic chevy small block that many people can service.

Because these cars are approaching 30 yrs old little things can happen that you don't really expect, but the availability of every little thing is amazing. Example, visor won't stay up -- $1.50 bushing to fix it. As to one not worth the asking price, that is definitely subjective. I have seen enough of these to know that there is reason the low priced ones are down where they are. Better cars should sell for better prices.

Mine is a garage kept 47K one owner car. It cost me very, very little to keep it. Insurance is low, taxes are low and it quit depreciating a long time ago. Most people that see it my garage think it "Must be worth a lot of money." My 09 is parked next to it worth far more. The C3 really grabs people with its shape.

Good luck in your search.

 

As outlined already, you need to decide what powertrain you desire the most since those three are in all reality the same car.

80 - regular HEI, reg rochester carb. Pretty much the choice for those that want full control of the engine.

81 - first year of computer carb, no vacu advance or mech advance on the HEI as it is electronic. O2 sensor and other factors to deal with. Last 4spd manual car. All cars have 350 cid. CCC limits the amount of mods that can be done before the system will need to be disabled/removed. (I just bought this 71K 4spd I enjoy driving more and more).

82 - crossfire engine. Coll.Ed. No manual tranny avail. Composite rear spring. Claimed to be expensive to mod the engine for more power (never tried it myself only read about it).

Do your research on all three years so that you make the best informed decision possible.

 

Thanks so much for the advice guys,really didn;t know much about the cross fire,lots of good tips,thanks again.Will post up pic's when I find the right one.