foundvettelifeisgood

I have a nice Navy Blue 1981 coupe. It's an honest car that runs and drives like a 1981 corvette. Having had a C5, a C6 and a 2017 Camaro 2SS, the 190hp stock 1981 motor and long throw stock 4sp gear box is just underwhelming. I'm contemplating a crate motor and 5 speed Tremec. Who has done this conversion? Has anyone paid to have it done? I'm wondering what I should expect in labor.

I could sell the car and move on to modern performance, but I'm a sucker for the 80-82 body style. Please chime in with your thoughts.

Douglas Mariani

I've done a few back in the day. Parts (8-10k) and labor (5-7+ k) will cost you more than the car is worth.

Big2Bird

There is a member here that bought a whole new modern chasis and ls conversion. $25k I think.

Dynra Rockets

Tons of people have done what you are describing. There is a very large difference in cost between doing it yourself and paying a shop to do it. If you pumped up your current engine yourself to 300-350 hp via good used heads and camshaft then found a junkyard Camaro t5 to put in with your own fabrication you could probably get away with a budget of $2000-3000. Having a shop do everything with a new crate SBC and a new tremec trans kit could be $15-20k.

.02

derekderek

Also, the trans itself is fine as long as you dont need overdrive for highway trips. A good Hurst shifter will make the sensation of rowing go away. Then engine upgrade is much less doing.

drwet

You may be able to fix the long throw on the gearbox for little or no cost. I had a '66 and the shift levers on the transmission had two holes in them. Converting to short throw was simply a matter of moving the shifter levers to the other hole in the shift lever. You have to readjust the shifter after but for a couple of hours work, you've got a short throw shifter. Not sure if your '81 offers the same option. My '79 was born with an automatic so I'm not sure what the factory setup looks like.

As for the lacklustre performance, a 427 small block makes a big difference.

PeterC3

What do you mean by a crate engine?

derekderek

A term that is being overused these days that means buying a complete engine and having it shipped in a crate as opposed to getting your engine rebuilt locally.

Big2Bird

PeterC3

Yeah.... this is the crate my GM 383 stroker came in.
Never do that again.

foundvettelifeisgood

Peter, this is what I meant by crate engine. What was the nature of your bad experience?

PeterC3

Here's the link to the thread:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ine-blues.html

I wouldn't buy another GM crate, quality isn't there in my experience. Chinese parts assembled in Mexico. Had to redo the valve train after slighting upping the cam.
I went the crate route for simplicity, if I could turn back the hands of time I'd have a custom engine built, it would have been cheaper and better all at the same time.

Good luck!

USMC 0802

So you modified your GM crate motor by installing an aftermarket cam that’s not compatible with Vortec heads, resulting in broken parts and you blame GM?

In fairness, perhaps you should have either done more research or started from scratch with the right parts.

PeterC3

Well, I was relying on my tech's recommendations since I know squat about such things. But everyone was relatively surprised that a mild cam change would break the valve stems like that. I'm told the mod did not exceed the range of the heads, there was not much margin in the strength of the parts.

And yep it's true, doing more research, a second opinion, would have been the wise thing to do. Ya live and learn.... and I've learned a lot in the last few years... :-)

USMC 0802

fair enough.

I have about 8500 miles on my GMPP (385/405) crate and beat the snot out of it with no issues to date. Can’t beat a warranty!

Good luck with the new bump stick.

corvetteronw

Several years ago I spun a bearing in my 81. I had never rebuilt an engine before. I got hold of a video tape (I said it was SEVERAL years ago), pulled the engine and followed along with the guy as he did his thing. I had a machine shop clean and bore the engine, install cam bearings, freeze plugs and install the wrist pins in my new pistons and rods. I bought all the parts from PAW in California. I bought all the speed parts such as the intake, plugs, distributor, cam and oil pump from the local NAPA store.
I bought used 70 Vette rebuilt heads and then had a local guy rebuild the alternator and starter. I removed the AIR inlets from the factory stainless headers.
To my great surprise she fired up immediately and after 20 min of break in time I took it to my mechanic for a tune.
The difference in power was very satisfying. I had a little trouble with a crushed spark plug (my fault) but after that she ran nicely.
I bought this used from a local fire chief and he did not know who converted it to a vert. Loved it even with the automatic tranny.

Eljay

I owned an navy/navy 81 4 speed that I sold in 96-97. Just curious about your car, how long have you had it? Where did you get it from? I sold mine in NJ to a woman also from NJ. Any more details or pics?

foundvettelifeisgood

I don't think this one is yours. Do you remember your vin?

Black4speed

I have a very similar car as you and I plan on starting with 3:55 gears and see if that helps.

Douglas Mariani