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I have a 1980 Corvette Claret on Claret 4spd 40000k and all original ( original brakes had to drill out rivets) factory install performance skirting.
I wanna clean her up and make here shine . Question is do i leave her as she is "original or get more horsepower. Interior is staying original and i am even going to install original radio.
Any thought , insite, opinions welcome
I bought my clapped out 1980 vette with 75,000 miles showing on the odometer. The 180 HP motor was very very tired. Car would not even turn the tires. After 2-3 years and a $25K investment total rebuild. The 350 now has 350 hp and 400 tq and 3.55 gears. Way more fun to drive.
Depends what your want to spend and what your goals are. Fun cost money, doesnt matter if your building a C3 vette or going to the stripper bar, lol you gotta pay to play.
Get more horsepower Headers, ignition upgrade and a Holley carb. Won’t break the bank, but you will improve the cars performance.
NOT really, it might sound a little better, but these will not help that much, maybe 15HP at the most. dual exhaust might help just a little, cam & heads will help the most, if the bottom end stays together, crate motor would be the best investment, IMO>
I have a 1980 Corvette Claret on Claret 4spd 40000k and all original ( original brakes had to drill out rivets) factory install performance skirting.
I wanna clean her up and make here shine . Question is do i leave her as she is "original or get more horsepower. Interior is staying original and i am even going to install original radio.
Any thought , insite, opinions welcome
Every response here is spot on. What would you like to do with it, weekend cruiser? Car shows, Drag Racing ?.... they all have requirements and costs to go along with them.
Mine was in the same shape as yours. High mileage 350. I'm lucky enough to be able to do a lot of my own work and for me it's non-work related therapy. I love the high horsepower sounds and only plan to drive it on weekends, parades and local car shows so i put money into it to accomplish those. The costs will add up quickly so go into it with a goal and a plan.
And if i had to do it all over again, i would definitely have gone the crate engine route, way quicker and most likely cheaper. I keep telling myself "Therapy aint cheap" which helps with the total bill.
I have a very tired 1980 L48 4-speed, and it is crazy fun to drive as is.
Any investments in suspension, brakes, steering, and tires will pay bigger dividends immediately than more horsepower. I'd drive her and enjoy her, while researching engine swaps. Don't do anything major this year, or you'll risk missing driving season.
Any pictures? A PO of my car changed the red interior to black. I'll keep some of that, but any new interior parts have to be red. I bet the claret looks even nicer.
This is a question that YOU will have to answer. And I suggest that you make this decision early on so that you can maintain focus on that decision as long as you keep the car.
It is only original ONCE! But, to be honest, there is not a great interest in going to see an 'original' 1980 C3. ANY C3 that is cleaned up nice and shows well will draw reasonable attention, of course. But my point is that you should keep your car "stock" only if YOU want it to be stock.
Should you choose to modify the car, then you can "have at it" any way you choose. But having made that choice with careful consideration, you will not regret it in the future.
I have a 1980 Corvette Claret on Claret 4spd 40000k and all original ( original brakes had to drill out rivets) factory install performance skirting.
I wanna clean her up and make here shine . Question is do i leave her as she is "original or get more horsepower. Interior is staying original and i am even going to install original radio.
Any thought , insite, opinions welcome
Factory installed performance skirting?? I'm not sure what that is, pics?
I started with a diff gear swap to 3.54 (plan for a 5-speed down the road), fiberglass rear spring, new shocks, bushings, adjustable strut roads, etc. New tires of course (stayed 15” because I like the look); new brake calipers and lines, spreader bar in front, LOTS of cleaning and minor maintenance inside and out... I’ll tackle the front suspension next, then perhaps transmission and engine down the line. I’m not a stickler for original, but never want her to stray too far from the original look.
My claret interior is mostly stock as well. I did swap speakers for newer, PO had already changed the head unit, and I added a small powered subwoofer in the jack compartment. Rear speakers fit behind factory grills and sub is small and hidden so most of the changes don’t stand out too much.
The '80 is an ideal late C3 candidate to modify - no ECM. Consider that there will be some trade-offs as already noted. The one I might add from reading fellow-forumer's postings after adding headers is "hot feet". There are usually a half dozen new posts started on this topic every year . Headers and hotter running engines are sometimes referenced as a contributing factor in an already marginal foot-well. A couple of forum posters have mentioned that this excess heat has kept their wives or girlfriends from cruising with them. Some have reported that their spouses don't like the added NVH from a more lopey cam and other mods (suspension) - and, God forbid if she gets a burn on her calf from side pipes. Bottom line, some noticeable heat and NVH increases may come from performance upgrades that may affect your wife/friend's enthusiasm for going on long cruises with you as reported by some forum member. Especially on a warm Summer day. They are never the topic of a dedicated posting, mostly mentioned as side-bar comments from experienced tuners - but valuable intel all the same.
Last edited by Lakeside49; Mar 2, 2018 at 09:42 AM.
1980 Corvette
