For over three years now I have been searching for a Silver 82 to call my own, but so far the search has been elusive. Here is what I have been looking for:

1982 Base Corvette Sport Coupe (not a Collector Edition)
Code 13 Silver Exterior, or Code 13/39 Silver/Charcoal Two-Tone
Code 182 Charcoal Leather Black Interior
AG9 Power Drivers Seat
AU3 Power Door Locks
C49 Rear Window Defogger
DG7 Electric Sport Mirrors
K35 Cruise Control
N90 Aluminum Wheels
QXH P255/60R15 Tires
U75 Power Antenna
V08 Heavy Duty Cooling
Has less than 50,000 miles

They only made 711 Silver Corvettes in 82, and only 1,239 in Silver/Charcoal, but I would have thought that by now I would have been able to locate what I am looking for, but no luck yet. So far all of them that I have found have either been really high mileage and in poor condition, or are missing options I desire.

I have found one that is close to what I want, and even ordered the build sheet and window sticker from the Corvette museum to confirm what it does and doesn't have. It is missing the Electric Mirrors, Heavy Duty Cooling, and P255/60R15 Tires, but it has everything else, and only 48K miles. For some reason, these missing options really bug me though.

So, am I being too picky, or should I just learn to live with it and get the one above?

Oh, in additon to my daily internet searches, here are my WTB threads:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3s-...r-edition.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3s-...r-edition.html

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Craig

 

Don't think you will find one in Alaska. But if you don't mind traveling, check Bloomington Gold in St Charles IL in June and Corvettes @ Carlisle PA in August. That is where the best selection shows up.

 

Thanks Tom, no I haven't been searching only locally here in Alaska. Kodiak is an island, and the only Corvette here is a non-running beat up 76 Stingray. I am moving back to the lower 48 this summer, so I will try to make it to some of the big shows you mention when I return. In the meantime, I spend about an hour a day searching the internet for what I want, but so far no luck.

Craig

 

Yep, too picky.

All things being equal I'd be more concerned with the overall condition of any corvette that I'd be buying and much less concerned with it's options. To me the only options that would make me think twice would be 4sp vs auto, coupe vs convertible, sb vs bb, ps/pb, and possibly color......all the rest is just window dressing.

 

as long as you have another Corvette, be it not exactly the prefect one you dream of, so that you can still enjoy and be involved with with your passion....I see no problem with your search...you might still get lucky someday and have it fall into your lap

however if its a choice between no Corvette vs having the exact one your are going OCD on, that just isn't functional...as you may live your whole life with nothing being good enough and thus miss out on many things that would still be very rewarding

I'm not saying: "settle for something you don't want"
...but I am saying: "operate within acceptable tolerances"


I don't see why you have to have all that on the build sheet...couldn't it be just as rewarding, or even more, to create the car just how you want it by adding those parts to a good car yourself? ...like what if you find that car and its trashed(and you have to replace that stuff anyway), or evil(and tries to kill you, or just make your life horrible), or even just that combo of parts isn't all you thought it would be cracked up to be?
...once you find that car, would you then start all over again looking for something else 'unpossible'?

 

Hello
I would say yes, you are being too picky. I looked at your requirement list, and then thought about the number of 1982 Silver Corvettes -711 or in Silver/Charcoal-1239- and considered that for a relatively small population to choose from, it is almost as if you are trying to factory order a 29 year old car.

If the requirement is for the 711 silver only corvettes, then how many of those met ALL your requirements. Then subtract out the number that may be out of commission due to wrecks, crashes, theft, etc. and the number gets smaller. Then out of the remaining number, the owners of these silver vettes have to have them listed for sale. So the final number of available silver 82 vettes with all the options is very small.

To meet your requirement put the options in order of importance to you. I think silver is your top priority. So when you find a silver 82 vette, then you need to consider buying it. If it doesn't have the N90 aluminum wheels, then you can buy those and put them on. The U75 power antenna can be added later.

But to pass up on a silver 82 vette when the available pool is so small because it doesnt have all of these options.....that is being too picky.

kdf

 

Find a descent one, add your options. No 82 in ever gonna be worth that much where a few changes on your part are gonna make a difference, so add the tires you want and the mirrors u want. Way too picky. The car condition is so much more important than a few small options.

 

3 years searching for a Corvette is too long. You limit the number of suitable candidates when you are color specific, but when you start to get option specific your search will continue far too long. As others have said, condition, mileage, correctness, price and transmission type should guide your search.

 

Gentlemen,

Thank you all very much for your thoughtful responses. Yep, I am guess I am looking for what I would have ordered back in 1982. For some reason, I am always torn between trying to find exactly what I want so it will be "correct" per the build sheet versus modding. The "correct" part of my OCD must come from the NCRS influence of the hobby, which is odd, since I plan on doing some mods anyway. Even if I found exactly what I wanted, I would still add headers and sidepipes, a higher reading speedo, crossfire intake upgrades, etc., so I guess it really shouldn't matter that it is missing a few options.

The current owner has already added the P255/60R15 Tires to the N90 Aluminum Wheels. Until I got the build sheet, I didn't even know you could get the N90 Wheels with P225/70R15 Tires, but that is the way it came from the factory. So, I would only need to add the Electric Mirrors and the Heavy Duty Cooling to meet my list of criteria anyway.

I would probably find that I don't need the Electric Mirrors since it has remote manual mirrors anyway, and I am sure modern radiators with electric cooling fans would work better than the factory Heavy Duty Cooling option anyway.

The car in question is in very good shape overall, and only needs the nose repaired/repainted. Like most 82's I have looked at, it has been bumped and has some spiderweb cracking and chipping of the clearcoat and pinstripe on the nose. I assume that will be a pretty easy fix?

Thanks again for all the input guys. I will keep looking until I move out of Alaska in a couple of months, and if I haven't found something even better by then, I will most likely just purchase the vehicle mentioned above.

Craig

 

I was going to say that the tires would probably need age related replacement anyway but I see that has been remedied.

 

I can't help but notice this. The first paragraph, you mention your picky, OCD, NCRS influence. I get that. The next paragraph you say that "modern radiators with electric cooling fans would work better anyway."

Sooooo... you havent bought a car for 3 years because you cannot find exactly what you want as correct from the factory.... but missing 1 or 2 options hasn't been a possibility so far.... but switching the cooling system to something completely non-stock and aftermarket, and clearly looking wrong... is?

 

Hence why I also say "I am always torn between trying to find exactly what I want so it will be "correct" per the build sheet versus modding."

I guess in my ideal world I would find one exactly like I wanted it, and then do all the mods myself. That way I would know they were done right, and I could always return it to stock if I wanted to do so.

Craig

 

You can't order a used car so........you have a couple of choises.

1) Keep looking on the very slim chance you will find the car you are looking for and maybe never find the "right" car.

2) Be a little more open minded and find something that has a lot of the "must haves" and accept that finding the car with all your desires was almost impossible.

3) Forget the NCRS stuff and build the exact car you want from a suitable project car which is also most likely the most expensive alternative.

Good luck in your search.

 

Me thinks you enjoy the search more than the ownership. You actually know in you head that you can't buy the specific car you would have ordered in 1982 now because that would be unreasonable, but you continue to try. That tells me you don't really want to buy one as much as you want to look for one. You admit that you would want to modify the car once you bought it, but you are looking for a specific set of options right down to the power windows, power mirrors and power seat. Any or all of these items could be added to a car without them. It wouldn't match the build sheet, but we are talking about an 82 here, aren't we? It's going to be a long time, if ever, before you (or your heirs) would regret your having deviated from the original equipment in the name of convenience. I think your off on some quixotic quest for the perfect car. Good hunting.

 

I enjoyed the hunt for the first few months, not the last three plus years. Being stuck up on an island in Alaska meant I had the time to continue looking for just what I wanted, but for the last year it has just been a disappointing quest.

No, I do not enjoy the search more than the ownership. For instance, at the same time I was also looking for a specific 98 Mustang Cobra Convertible to have as a daily driver for when I returned to the lower 48. I made a very specific list of options for the Cobra I wanted, just as I did for the 82, but they only made 224 of the color combo Cobra that I wanted. The difference was that I found exactly what I wanted in less than two months, flew down to California, bought it, and put it in storage. I have not had the same luck with find the 82 I want, and I am sure it is because it is a much older car, and many have probably been junked by now.

Thanks again for the input and well wishes guys.

Craig

 

There's nothing wrong with wanting a 'factory correct' car (give or take a bit). But, your odds would be better if you opened the window a bit wider. Look through the available colors and interiors for that year and see if there are some other combinations that would be "acceptable" to you. As far as the options are concerned, most of those you listed are on most of the vehicles produced that year. The higher capacity cooling system is probably the 'kicker' of the bunch.

Also consider that changing the color of the interior is not that big a deal, if you don't mind expending some "elbow grease". Elastomeric recoloring agents (aka, SEM ColorCoat vinyl dye) can change any color interior to any other color interior in short order and for little money.

Below is a 'fact sheet' on the '82 car. It is not all the detail of the GM spec sheet, but has the pertinent data you need. Good luck on "expanding your horizons".

http://www.100megsfree4.com/corvette/1980/vet82.htm

 

Thanks Charley, I think one of the biggest problems is that they built so many darn Collector Editions in 1982--a color combo I just can't embrace, at the sacrifice of color combos I do like. Plus, the Charcoal interior--a must have for me, seems to be pretty rare in 82 with the exterior colors I like.

While Silver, and Silver/Charcoal are my top two color combos, I have also considered, Silver Blue (1,124 made), Silver Blue/Dark Blue (1,667 made), Charcoal (1,093 made), and Dark Blue (only 567 made), all without luck. I did find one Charcoal/Charcoal that was perfect, but it sold right after it went up for sale.

I have found several cars that I like, but they don't have the Charcoal interior. The Dark Blue ones, and the Silver Blue/Dark Blue combos for example couldn't even be ordered with the Charcoal interior. I have considered dyeing an interior Charcoal Black, but I wonder how well that would hold up on the steering column, steering wheel, etc.? The heavy duty cooling I wanted is because this car will probably always live in the South, but I doubt an 82 with it's SB is going to have many heating issues anyway, so it is the option I could live without the easiest.

Thanks again, I appreciate the support.

Craig

 

Give up the optional tires. I can understand wanting a car which may have originally had them, but if you found the tires these days, they would be unsafe to drive on.

Hang in there; she'll show up.

 

For metal interior components, you can just have a good quality paint mixed to match the vinyl dye you get for the plastic parts. If mixed properly, you won't be able to tell the difference. If the charcoal interior color is what is holding you up, that's an easy one to resolve.

The same pro auto body paint supply store can do it all with ease. They can even put the paint into a spray can for you for an extra $10 or so.

 

Thanks Mike, I only had the tire option on there, because I thought that you had to have those tires to get the N90 Wheels. After getting the original build sheet, I now know that is not the case, so that is one less option I have to worry about.

I have a few more months to keep looking while I am still stuck in Kodiak, but I really want to buy as soon as I make it back to the lower 48. The military would only let us ship one car up here, so that of course had to be our AWD SUV, so I have been walking everywhere for the last three years!

Thanks again,

Craig