I agree to your assertions to a point. Except this one < " A competent diagnostician with the right tool can greatly reduce troubleshooting time (which is why OBD2 is standard on ALL cars sold in the US since ~96.)> The REASON for the things you listed was the EPA, NOT ease of maintenance or a genious at GM. I have no doubt at all had they gone another way with technology that anything could have been done. I would never tell someone FI is bad to the contrary, it is awesome, however, as I and others are just saying is, the car is easy to go to an old school setup, WITHOUT the need of a mechanic. Most of the guys here that want to do all of thier own maitenance prefer carbs, for the simplistic nature of troubleshooting, you will NEVER convince me no matter how hard you try that a computer controlled car with throttle body injection is as easy to work on as a carb car.And you ask what the comp controls on the 81? It controls all of the carb functions, it controls timing, it controls the torque converter lockup. It has an O2 sensor. Sounds simple yet it looks hideous and once it goes south I differ from the guys who sings its praises, it is a pain to repair. I am glad you love it, but thank the EPA not GM. More reliable? Nah, thats just a comment, a properly tuned and maintained carb car is every bit as reliable, and I say more so. More efficient? well possibly, but I get over 21 on the highway, with no smog stuff, headers, a mild cam upgrade, and no computer, so I will take my added ponies and stick to a carb. But like I said in a previous post, I am 47 yrs old, I grew up building hotrods with my dad the old school way. He passed away 2 years ago and never saw this car. I am building it as a tribute to him. He hated fuel injection, so Dad here's to carbs forever!!! :O) ( He would love the stroker thats going in it). But let me say this, I love any cool Vette and that included Crossfires and even some C4's (haha). So whatever the OP finds, I say to him to make it the one that takes his breath away, and that he feels a bond with regardless of what it is. These are not cars, a Corvette is an experience, and a lifestyle. Ride on Brother!

 

I believe we are pretty much in agreement then. I appreciate the KISS principal. Plus they had some pretty good songs too.
I would just hate to see someone buy an 82 with the intention of getting rid of the cfi and computer, as I think that is what makes the 82, in particular, most special (collectors edition aside.)

I'm curious if you did any mpg comparison with and without the ccc in your 81? I can't imagine it would make a big difference (if any) if the carb is properly tuned. maybe 2% better in optimal conditions? Is there a good website showing the workings of the 81 carb/ccc setup? Curiosity has got me...

Oh, and if we had an electric Corvette (think Tesla), *then* I might think about thanking the EPA! haha but even in their slimy grip, the oil industry has us firmly in hand!

 

Well, when I got mine only about a year ago. it ran great but I could barely get above 10 MPG. I am sure there was an issue somewhere. However really tweaking a CCC 81 to squeeze a few more ponies out is almost impossible. She now runs incredible and I get great mileage without a single computer controlled anything. And I know how to work on it now. I bought it knowing I would remove the computer stuff. And I agree about an 82, thats why I didn't buy one, the Crossfire is what makes them unique. The computer stuff on an 81 made them unique alright as in one of a kind....yuck. I saw an electric car at the track last summer run a 10 second quarter mile, but it made no sounds! You could hear the tires during the burn out! Very wierd!!!

 

as pictures speak louder then words here is a before and after shot. the first pic is when i bought my 81 in year 2000 . i drove it like this for 3 years before deciding to give it a makeover. i could not have kept the ccc and achieved my finished product cosmetically or in terms of performance. best thing i ever did was dice anything and everything to do with that brick of a computer.

 

Wow, beautiful job!
In that position I'd probably do the same... either that or go the opposite direction. Full multi-port with a homemade megasquirt setup.

Yes, that's something I would do.

 

My 82 Cross-Fire

before..................




after.....................

 

See, not that many wires or hoses as compared to earlier cars with carbs.

 

The question about how reliable the 1982 is comes up regularly. The responses are usually the same, they are pretty darn good Corvettes.

I've owned mine for almost 5 years. The biggest problem I had was my cam shaft developing a flat spot on one of the lobes. This problem was not because of the Crossfire setup but due to the crappy cams that was originally installed.

The car has 285 lbs of torque which makes it a blast to drive from 0 to 80. At 200HP it's definitely not the least powered C3.

If the engine is unmolested by Bubba, the 82's are as reliable as any 30 year old C3 out there.

 

when you decide that an 80 is the way to go, send me a pm or email- i have a bone stock 80 with 31.6k on the meter that i will sell for what i got into it-has the highly sought-after m1131 blue glass tops with it.
perfect candidate to do an old school street rod on...

 

Looks good man! I assume you just wanted More Power!?
I think it looked good before too though. That would clean up nicely, just a lot of elbow grease and some time. Did you modify the original engine or replace the whole thing?