1982 Vette with carb .
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
1982 Vette with carb .
I've been looking at a 82 , it has had the cross fire injection replaced with a quadrajet... has anyone here ever done this , would it run better with the quadrajet ? The cross fire injection does come with the car .. Thanks for any info .
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
I have worked on 2 82s with the cross fire. When they came to me they were not running. I got them setup and running right. When the cross fire is working correctly it works very well. It's not going to be a performance system but for cruising it works very well. I go at to drive these cars for a bunch of miles and from a driving standpoint the 82 is nice. With fuel injection and an OD trans it is nice. The cross fire was probably replaced because they could not get it running correctly. My vote would be go back to the cross fire and rive it. Probably will be expensive the Qjet is working and will not cost anything. The cross fire could get expensive to fix but works well when done right. Just my .02.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
I have worked on 2 82s with the cross fire. When they came to me they were not running. I got them setup and running right. When the cross fire is working correctly it works very well. It's not going to be a performance system but for cruising it works very well. I go at to drive these cars for a bunch of miles and from a driving standpoint the 82 is nice. With fuel injection and an OD trans it is nice. The cross fire was probably replaced because they could not get it running correctly. My vote would be go back to the cross fire and rive it. Probably will be expensive the Qjet is working and will not cost anything. The cross fire could get expensive to fix but works well when done right. Just my .02.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
All Corvettes up thru 1981 had carburetors. The '82 had the cross-fire engine with 2 throttle bodies and ECM. As mentioned, the C/F system was a vast improvement over the carb, regarding starts, idle quality, economy, and emissions.
There is nothing 'wrong' with it having a carb...other than Corvette folks will look at it a bit oddly if you show the car. If that doesn't bother you, and the car is in good shape, go for it if that's what you want.
P.S. If you buy it, don't ever try to rebuild it as a cross-fire engine. It would be costly and not really give you any 'bang for the buck'.
There is nothing 'wrong' with it having a carb...other than Corvette folks will look at it a bit oddly if you show the car. If that doesn't bother you, and the car is in good shape, go for it if that's what you want.
P.S. If you buy it, don't ever try to rebuild it as a cross-fire engine. It would be costly and not really give you any 'bang for the buck'.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
All Corvettes up thru 1981 had carburetors. The '82 had the cross-fire engine with 2 throttle bodies and ECM. As mentioned, the C/F system was a vast improvement over the carb, regarding starts, idle quality, economy, and emissions.
There is nothing 'wrong' with it having a carb...other than Corvette folks will look at it a bit oddly if you show the car. If that doesn't bother you, and the car is in good shape, go for it if that's what you want.
P.S. If you buy it, don't ever try to rebuild it as a cross-fire engine. It would be costly and not really give you any 'bang for the buck'.
There is nothing 'wrong' with it having a carb...other than Corvette folks will look at it a bit oddly if you show the car. If that doesn't bother you, and the car is in good shape, go for it if that's what you want.
P.S. If you buy it, don't ever try to rebuild it as a cross-fire engine. It would be costly and not really give you any 'bang for the buck'.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 11,608
Likes: 780
From: Eustis ( Area 51 Bat Cave ) Fl
Cross fire is wonderful...when it works and when it doesnt its a lopo boat anchor, why gm ditched it for tpi,
I dont see how it would ever be effective in any way to return xfire to an 82 thats running well with a carb, kiss it and dont fix things that are working,
A purist should not buy a car that gives them any butt chapping so if that idea upsets you find an 82 with nice working xfire,
The high miles doesnt matter much as far as the engine itself goes if its well mantained, but as a car in whole, i hit 100k miles on one of my 81s and maintaining it as a dd in the 80s but still felt it needed a rebuild, in 88,
Not saying your 82 doesnt have a lot more miled left, im just speculating, never having seen your car,
I dont see how it would ever be effective in any way to return xfire to an 82 thats running well with a carb, kiss it and dont fix things that are working,
A purist should not buy a car that gives them any butt chapping so if that idea upsets you find an 82 with nice working xfire,
The high miles doesnt matter much as far as the engine itself goes if its well mantained, but as a car in whole, i hit 100k miles on one of my 81s and maintaining it as a dd in the 80s but still felt it needed a rebuild, in 88,
Not saying your 82 doesnt have a lot more miled left, im just speculating, never having seen your car,
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
Cross fire is wonderful...when it works and when it doesnt its a lopo boat anchor, why gm ditched it for tpi,
I dont see how it would ever be effective in any way to return xfire to an 82 thats running well with a carb, kiss it and dont fix things that are working,
A purist should not buy a car that gives them any butt chapping so if that idea upsets you find an 82 with nice working xfire,
The high miles doesnt matter much as far as the engine itself goes if its well mantained, but as a car in whole, i hit 100k miles on one of my 81s and maintaining it as a dd in the 80s but still felt it needed a rebuild, in 88,
Not saying your 82 doesnt have a lot more miled left, im just speculating, never having seen your car,
I dont see how it would ever be effective in any way to return xfire to an 82 thats running well with a carb, kiss it and dont fix things that are working,
A purist should not buy a car that gives them any butt chapping so if that idea upsets you find an 82 with nice working xfire,
The high miles doesnt matter much as far as the engine itself goes if its well mantained, but as a car in whole, i hit 100k miles on one of my 81s and maintaining it as a dd in the 80s but still felt it needed a rebuild, in 88,
Not saying your 82 doesnt have a lot more miled left, im just speculating, never having seen your car,
thanks for the advice, the seller says it does use a little oil, but it's not a smoker,, his words.
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Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 19,610
Likes: 778
From: Forked River NJ
The oil usage could be just valve seals which is an easy cheap fix. As said above 93K well maintained should not be a problem. If it runs well just drive it and don't worry about the cross fire. I like the system but again as said above it works when it works and is a dog when it does not. There is not a lot of interest in these so they were pretty much shelved. It would cost a lot to go back and honestly if you want FI there are a bunch of kits out there that are way better than the cross fire. after all it is 35 years old also so technology has far surpassed it.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 11,608
Likes: 780
From: Eustis ( Area 51 Bat Cave ) Fl
I remember when xfire came out i thought how darn cool a flash back to the old camaro xram
,
It did what it was made to do and i cruised many a care free mile in my buddies 82 ce,
I recall stories of a xfire guru getting a bit over 300 hp out of them, but admitted how much cheaper that same power could be made with a carb,
Xfire has an old school cool factor,
A heck of a lot of chevies smoke a little, my dad daily drove his morning smoker avanti with 400 sb for well over 30 years,
He was always gunna do the valve seals,
If the 82 vette is what you like at a price you like grab it, but keep in mind its a buyers market for c3s....lots out there
,
It did what it was made to do and i cruised many a care free mile in my buddies 82 ce,
I recall stories of a xfire guru getting a bit over 300 hp out of them, but admitted how much cheaper that same power could be made with a carb,
Xfire has an old school cool factor,
A heck of a lot of chevies smoke a little, my dad daily drove his morning smoker avanti with 400 sb for well over 30 years,
He was always gunna do the valve seals,
If the 82 vette is what you like at a price you like grab it, but keep in mind its a buyers market for c3s....lots out there
Last edited by The13Bats; Aug 28, 2017 at 03:36 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
I remember when xfire came out i thought how darn cool a flash back to the old camaro xram
,
It did what it was made to do and i cruised many a care free mile in my buddies 82 ce,
I recall stories of a xfire guru getting a bit over 300 hp out of them, but admitted how much cheaper that same power could be made with a carb,
Xfire has an old school cool factor,
A heck of a lot of chevies smoke a little, my dad daily drove his morning smoker avanti with 400 sb for well over 30 years,
He was always gunna do the valve seals,
If the 82 vette is what you like at a price you like grab it, but keep in mind its a buyers market for c3s....lots out there
,
It did what it was made to do and i cruised many a care free mile in my buddies 82 ce,
I recall stories of a xfire guru getting a bit over 300 hp out of them, but admitted how much cheaper that same power could be made with a carb,
Xfire has an old school cool factor,
A heck of a lot of chevies smoke a little, my dad daily drove his morning smoker avanti with 400 sb for well over 30 years,
He was always gunna do the valve seals,
If the 82 vette is what you like at a price you like grab it, but keep in mind its a buyers market for c3s....lots out there
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 11,608
Likes: 780
From: Eustis ( Area 51 Bat Cave ) Fl
Likely bushing are well worn if they havent been replaced,
I believe things i consider normal maintenance some people neglect, then blame the car for being in poor shape,
At this point, i would believe it best to have a vette savvy person check the car out....
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Unless the paint is in VERY GOOD condition, $7500 for an '82 with nearly 100K miles and no documentation of maintenance history sounds high to me. If you buy it, you should do a THOROUGH testing of the car and all the mechanical systems: inspect the rotors and how much pad material is left on the brakes; evaluate any slop in the steering at center position and in the middle of turning; check condition of engine & trans fluids, brake fluid, P/S fluid; test the transmission up through ranges at low throttle and at WOT; determine how old the tires are; evaluate underside and birdcage for rust (you have to remove a few things to do this correctly; if the owner won't let you do it, take a walk). You might even take it to an alignment shop or mechanic you know to check out the steering and suspension hardware.
A knowledgeable person could evaluate a car for condition by doing the things listed above. If you don't feel you can do that task well, take someone with you who can. Otherwise, take a pass.
It could be a good deal, if it has been maintained well. Or, it could be a pig-in-a-poke, if it hasn't.
A knowledgeable person could evaluate a car for condition by doing the things listed above. If you don't feel you can do that task well, take someone with you who can. Otherwise, take a pass.
It could be a good deal, if it has been maintained well. Or, it could be a pig-in-a-poke, if it hasn't.
Last edited by 7T1vette; Aug 28, 2017 at 06:33 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 423
Likes: 6
Unless the paint is in VERY GOOD condition, $7500 for an '82 with nearly 100K miles and no documentation of maintenance history sounds high to me. If you buy it, you should do a THOROUGH testing of the car and all the mechanical systems: inspect the rotors and how much pad material is left on the brakes; evaluate any slop in the steering at center position and in the middle of turning; check condition of engine & trans fluids, brake fluid, P/S fluid; test the transmission up through ranges at low throttle and at WOT; determine how old the tires are; evaluate underside and birdcage for rust (you have to remove a few things to do this correctly; if the owner won't let you do it, take a walk). You might even take it to an alignment shop or mechanic you know to check out the steering and suspension hardware.
A knowledgeable person could evaluate a car for condition by doing the things listed above. If you don't feel you can do that task well, take someone with you who can. Otherwise, take a pass.
It could be a good deal, if it has been maintained well. Or, it could be a pig-in-a-poke, if it hasn't.
A knowledgeable person could evaluate a car for condition by doing the things listed above. If you don't feel you can do that task well, take someone with you who can. Otherwise, take a pass.
It could be a good deal, if it has been maintained well. Or, it could be a pig-in-a-poke, if it hasn't.