Mustang_Eater

Hi All,

I was thinking of buying a 1982 C3 as a daily driver but know it has cross fire fuel injection that could be hard to repair. Its is working order now but Is it a good idea to stay away from it because of the cross fire fuel injection? I don't want to get stuck if it ever breaks.

Thank you!

Steve~74

A 1982 Corvette is 27 years old.......not a very dependable daily driver in any condition.

If you do use it as a DD.......I suggest joining AAA, link provided.

http://www.aaa.com/aaa/sem/sem.htm?r...word=exact_aaa

Wrecked82

Here we go again. I bought my 82 in 97 with 57K miles on it. Retired it in 2000 with 199K miles on it. Every repair I had, had nothing to do with the crossfire engine.

So, whatever your name is replying before me, please document your comment.

pbcanney

I can honestly say that I have never heard of an xfire having 1/10th the problems the '81 mutant carb is known (hated) for

Steve~74

Just to clarify.....my comment was not directed at the Cross Fire Engine.

It was directed at using the car as a daily driver.....any 27 year old car is going to have its fair share of mechanical issues. Why do you think this Forum is so popular, everyone is looking for help with repairs and mechanical issues they have with these wonderful machines.

The name is Steve by the way..........peace Larry.

crvtownr

I had an 82 for four years as a daily driver, put about 30k on it in that time, and the only things I had to replace related to the crossfire were the air filters.

xCCTer

L83s are much maligned, usually by folks who have no working knowledge of them.

They were all the rage back in '82, but technology quickly passed them bye.

They're really just twin throttle bodies sitting diagonally across a special intake manifold.

They're no harder to work on or diagnose than a TPI, and in some cases easier since there are only 2 points of fuel introduction instead of 9 on the 1st gen L98.

If it's running right when you get it, and you use only top tier quality gasolines, you should have no more problems than any other Corvette owner with whatever powerplant they're running.

As was stated earlier though, a 27 year old DD sounds like a recipe for disappointment sooner or later.

My .02

Bowerss2

as long as you get it running well you can DD it if you want. I dont know why people think that you cant. They are as dependable as you abilities to make them.

nutsy

when i was watching MECUM auto auction last week one was on and the announcers were talking trash about the cross fire problems also. i know nothing about them personally but do hear negative comments about them. maybe getting a bad rap like the 68s dont deserve.

Mustang_Eater

Thanks for the info all.

The reason I asked the question was because everything I've heard about Cross Fire injection was bad but I glad I got all your input.

Wrecked82

Agreed. Peace also.

worms713

Just about all the smack talked about CFI is from people that do not know anything about these unique Vettes - even your seasoned Vette mechanic most likely will not know how to make them run right. Once you know what your doing and why your doing it, these 82/84 Crossfire's will give you a lot of great driving AND dependability.

My daily driver 82 has 139k (49k of the 139k are my miles)with no major engine work; still runs excellent even in the Phoenix heat. I guess the key is good constant maintenance as it would be with any 20+ year old auto.

gq82

I owned a 82 CE for 5 years and never had a problem with it however it was a very low mileage example. As previously stated I would not recommend any C3 as a daily driver.

TexasYankee

I've owned my '82 for almost 4 years. I have no gripes about the Crossfire engine. It has plenty of snort in the 0 to 60 range thanks to some nice torque.

It is a 27 year old car however and I personally would not recommend it for a DD. I used mine as a DD for 6 months last year and began to develop a serious love-hate relationship. All the squeaks and rattles I thought gave the car character soon started to grind on my nerves! I finally got a Truck to drive on a daily basis.

Now that I only drive the Vette on the weekends again I've fallen head over heels in love with it all over. It's kind of like eating chocolate cake. It's a wonderful treat but I can't eat it every single meal.

SuprJames

Agree with others. I ditched my Crossfire, but that was in a quest for more power. My '82 had 70,000 miles on it when I got it and 20,000 more before I pulled the engine. There was never a problem with the Crossfire Injection and the car ran great.

alswagg

I am just speculating here, this was the first year for reasonable electronic Fuel Injection, I know some very early years had mechanical injection but this is completley different. As anything like this Fuel injection you cannot just "adjust" the fuel, no place to twist the screw driver. many people do not really know how to work on injected engines anyway. we had the same issues in the Marine Industry, just like when we went from points to electronic ignition. Buy the Vette and drive it, when something goes array fix it, plain and simple. We bought our firts C3 in June and have already put 1,800 miles. Yes we have repaires some items, and I would like to have more power, but we do drive almost every day. Allan

killain

I've owner my 84 for fifteen years and NEVER had a single problem with the CFI. I'd have no problem jumping in that car and driving to California today. The only problem with CFI is the heads and the intake manifold. They limit the amount of power you can increase out of the L-83. But as the poster before me stated, it's simply a Throttle Body Injection, which was used on every single GM product after 1984. It's not bad, just limited.

...Roger...

The 82 looks complicated under the hood but once you get into working on it its not bad at all especially if you rely on the guys here at the CF and purchase a GM shop manual. The one thing that I would caution you on that might let you down is the small hose inside the fuel tank that connects the fuel pump to the fuel line. If it hasnt already been done I would replace the fuel pump/fuel gauge sender assembly. Its easy to do and can be done without removing the tank.

Wrecked82

I will have to say again, I used by 82 for a DD, 500 miles a week for 10 years. Never a problem with the crossfire. I am not a mechanic, but easily learned how to balance the tbi's. Its not something you do all the time. Very rarely.

7T1vette

A throttle body is a much simpler device than a Q-Jet carb...thus, more reliable. If the TBI system/computer/sensors is in good condition, it should be very reliable and much more economical. Plus, you will have the on-board diagnostic (OBD) system to help identify problem sources if you ever do have problems. If I wanted to buy a C3 car that needed to be reliable, an '82 is the way I would go.