MN-Brent

My sentiments exactly. A few simple mods will also free up some power and allow you to keep the reliability. I drive mine as much as the Minnesota weather will allow, with never a hiccup from the CFI.

I was stranded one time in all my years of ownership, due the the E-brake disentegrating in my drivers side trailing arm.

B.

2TONE82

Another vote for the Cross-Fire; people beat it up because they simply don't understand it. I've had one in my garage since 1998 and as others have said no problems. Great performance for the limited power of the heads/intake. The 700R4 is a great tranny and adds greatly to the performance and yields great gas mileage.

As for a C3 as your DD - depends on where you live and how far you'll have to drive, traffic conditions, etc. Depends on your budget but I'd look to a C4 or even an early C5 as a DD...prices are right across the board and they are very dependable. Best of luck in your search

Fast81

ANSWER: just as good/reliable as any other fuel delivery system from that era !!!!!!!

Other DD considerations to think about: 1. the AC isn't exactly as effective as you get in todays cars (think roasting in rush hour) 2. the windshild wipers dont clear that well (think driving home in a downpour)............just dont forget, its a 27 yr old piece of rolling art

7T1vette

Actually, the C3 A/C system was very effective when new. The compressor is the same one used on full sized cars [and that's when full-sized meant full-sized], and the C3 has a very small passenger compartment. I had a new '74 and it would freeze me out if I didn't turn it down. Also never had any problems with the wipers doing their job. But you are correct about them being 'long in the tooth'. If those systems aren't maintained to original condition, they won't perform to original condition.

zz28zz

I bought a 82-Z in 84 with 16k miles. Drove it to almost 300K miles before dropping in a TPI/383 abt 7 years ago. Not a single problem with the Cross-fire. Never even replaced or cleaned the fuel injs! Passed Calif smog cks no problem. Good bottom end torque!

The 200C tranny was another story. Stay far away from those!

parkerracing

The crossfire intake manifiold shares its beginings with the Smokey Yunick Cross Ram carb intake of the late 60's z/28 Camaro. You could almost swap air cleaners. It was chosen more for emissions rather than all out performance in the 82's case however. Not a bad place to start. There was a thread a year or so ago about a company that specialized in performance upgrades to TBI engines. The polished intake looked so cool I wanted to go out and get one. They offer matched cams as well and maybe some computer mods? Some of the results they got from 82-84 Corvettes and Camaros were pretty impressive. My computer crashed a few months ago and I lost their info. Anybody still have it? DDing a 27 yo car will have you wrenching on it most weekends regardless of motor (or brand, for that matter). /:\

jeffp1167

The only real problem with CFI is it's electronics. The system is basically the same as later model TBI. However look at the better ecm's and weatherpack related connectors throughout the engine bays. I would think any CFI would benefit from a better ecm and weatherpacks. Why wouldn't it be a good daily driver if it had what later model cars had and they are still on the road.

I drive my 82 trans am everyday, yes with its original feedback carb I'de say no way. But I upgraded to all 1990 electronics and a 5 speed with a L-98 with TBI. Been a great car since and never has issues.

markdtn

Nothing wrong with a Cease-Fire, I mean Cross-Fire. The biggest complainers are the ones that don't understand it. If you buy one that has had decent maintenance and that Bubba hasn't worked on you should be fine. I have a friend with an '84 that swapped the engine for a '90 L98 TPI engine but kept the CFI. He says it is like a whole different car. Each of the EFI engines got better. LS is better than LT1 which is better than TPI which is better than CFI. However, CFI was quite a step forward for a stock car in '82. Again, nothing wrong with a CFI.

The13Bats

People who diss it just don't understand it, but it is hardly comparable to Smoky's high RPM racing intake, the old school Cross ram intake, which was basically a tunnel ram laid out side ways, but I am sure calling it "Cross fire injection" was as much marketing to poke at the memories of the old CR that anything else, you hit the nail on the head with it being an emissions piece way over performance,
The intake on the 82 is wonderful for a driver, it's not a performance piece, it just can't be made to breathe well, nothing there to open up.
I too recall magazine stories of this or that guru doing all they could to the CFI and it was still fairly low in HP building,
But for a wonderful daily driver I think it would be a pretty cool set up.

toobroketoretire

I now have over 270,000 miles on my '82. Nothing has ever gone wrong with the Crossfire Injection other than one IAC motor failed.

terry82

http://crossfireinjection.net/they have the new intake and other parts to for a cross-fire .

toobroketoretire

I'm running Renegade #0007 right now. I got into the pre-buy program early so I got one of the first ones. Whereas my '82 L83 used to flatten out at 4000 rpm, now it pulls strong all the way up to 6000 rpm. DCS did a great job re-designing the old Crossfire. The Renegade is something every Crossfire Injection owner should have.

Bugman Jeff

Old doesn't automatically mean unreliable. Until I bought my '73 Vette, I drove my mostly stock and largely unrestored '55 Plymouth daily to the tune of 45 miles a day. Did that for 9 months out of the year here in WI, and put on over 40,000 miles. Never once left me stranded. Now I drive the '73 daily. Again, not even a hiccup. I wouldn't hesitate to drive either of them anywhere at any time

Sure, the Crossfire leaves a bit to be desired. But it' is just as reliable as anything when it's properly maintained. No, you can't go 100K between tune ups, but thats a given with an car more than 10 years old. Maintain it properly and it will serve you just fine

toobroketoretire

My '82 has been perfectly dependable for the entire 22 years and 270,000 miles I've driven it. During that time I've had one IAC motor go bad and one fuel pump relay fail (intermittently). Neither of those two conditions left me stranded. The CFI system has been great for me. I think it's far more dependable than the 8 injector systems used on later Corvettes. I replace the spark plugs, wires, cap, and rotor every 100,000 miles. And I also lightly sand the points in the fuel pump relay with 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. I think the CFI system is one of the best systems ever made because of how dependable it has been for me.

Texas Stinger

Make the 82 the weekend car

pleasants9

I am 21 years old and have had my '82 for four years. It is my daily driver and I love it. I use it for around town at school (UF) when I dont use my motorcycle and use it for driving to Jacksonville to visit the woman on weekends and 240 miles south to jupiter to go home on vacations. I have had no drive train issues yet. In the four years I have had it the only things I have had to fix are: the rear mono leaf spring had to be replaced, the fuel pump (which was designed very nicely to taken out of the take easily), i decided to replace all the bushing and joints on the front end this past spring break, and i had to replace the motor mounts last winter. other than that i replaced the steering wheel since it was leaking juice out of the stitching and i had to replace a window switch cause it went bad from 27 years of krud getting into it.

TexasYankee

This thread is as old as my '82.

crossfire1982

I agree Texas Yankee but it is nice to see a thread where so many are defending instead of berating the crossfire injection. My crossfire has 140K on the clock and runs great, reliable, and gives good gas mileage. I would not hesitate to buy another crossfire. I agree with others in that it is not a high performance engine but as long as the throttle bodies are balanced and bubba hasnt had his greasy hands on the throttle bodies bending the linkage they are reilable. As someone stated early on in this thread though. Replacing the short piece of rubber hose in the fuel tank is a MUST if its still original.

texaswilkins

Mine has almost 300,000 miles on it and it still spins tires and pulls hard until way above the speed limit. I keep hearing that it will get good gas mileage but I dont get more than about 15. Probably more to do with the way I drive it than anything else.

Bill

worms713

AAH! This post is STILL alive...Long Live The CFI!!


The CFI is quite the Renegade in the Corvette world.......