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Hello all, I just purchased a 1981 black on black four speed with 57k miles. Made an account to ask questions on issues I have with it and posting fixes I find on issues.
The car drives really good and the engine still has all of the electronics on it, the only modification the car has to my knowledge is a CD player.
Im in MD and I’m going to daily drive the corvette on Historic Tags since I only live like 3-4 blocks from work.
Any suggestions on maintenance I need to do on it? Things to look out for?
Welcome to the Forum! Check the Mfg. Date on the tires.
(My 10 year old "Like New" tires came apart with only 20,000 miles on them from previous owner)
Gorgeous car, OP. And 81 is a great year - before the dreaded Crossfire injection....haha. I shrug, however, to read that you intend to make it a daily driver. in Maryland. The issue with that is the design of the box frames on C2's and C3's where they tend to collect water, snow, salt, etc in places where that stuff shouldn't be....stuff that will rust the frame and chassis, often from the inside out. Maryland, like the rest of East Coast (along with the Midwest) salt the roads in the Winter when it snows, and that is no bueno for our cars. Sadly, frame and birdcage rust, in varying degrees of severity, is a common ailment for this generation of Corvette...
Since it snows in Maryland, and it's that time of year, I would recommend caution. I guess what I'm saying is if you must daily drive your C3, perhaps consider taking an alternate form of transportation during adverse weather conditions.
All things considered, it's an old Chevy, so maintenance isn't terrible, assuming the previous owner(s) kept up on regular maintenance items (fluid - trans, brake, engine) and addressed issues as they came up. It would help if you provided more history on the car (was it stored in a climate controlled garage and periodically driven without sitting too long, or was it stored in a garage for years without being driven for months/years at a time, etc). Tires and fluids age-out over time...
Also, how about sharing more pictures....?
Last edited by Corvette-ZL1; Jan 27, 2023 at 09:59 AM.
Gorgeous car, OP. And 81 is a great year - before the dreaded Crossfire injection....haha. I shrug, however, to read that you intend to make it a daily driver. in Maryland. The issue with that is the design of the box frames on C2's and C3's where they tend to collect water, snow, salt, etc in places where that stuff shouldn't be....stuff that will rust the frame and chassis, often from the inside out. Maryland, like the rest of East Coast (along with the Midwest) salt the roads in the Winter when it snows, and that is no bueno for our cars. Sadly, frame and birdcage rust, in varying degrees of severity, is a common ailment for this generation of Corvette...
Since it snows in Maryland, and it's that time of year, I would recommend caution. I guess what I'm saying is if you must daily drive your C3, perhaps consider taking an alternate form of transportation during adverse weather conditions.
All things considered, it's an old Chevy, so maintenance isn't terrible, assuming the previous owner(s) kept up on regular maintenance items (fluid - trans, brake, engine) and addressed issues as they came up. It would help if you provided more history on the car (was it stored in a climate controlled garage and periodically driven without sitting too long, or was it stored in a garage for years without being driven for months/years at a time, etc). Tires and fluids age-out over time...
Also, how about sharing more pictures....?
The car was garage kept from 1997 to 2013, that owner hadn’t worked on it, so the guy who bought it off of his restored it and then later sold it to this guy I bought it from, he kept it for a couple of months driving it and enjoying it with his younger son, and then put it up for sale at his dealership, where I bought it. The dealer had topped off fluids, done and oil change, and put new front calipers and a new master cylinder with a brake flush. I’m having to flush the brakes again unfortunately, I’m not sure why, maybe a leak?
CCC carb. computer command controlled. 81 only setup. you need to know if your car still has it. and if the distributor that goes with it is still there. 2 electrical plugs on carb and no vacuum advance on distributor. many hate the setup. if it is there and working it is fine. when it fails, car still runs but gas mileage goes way downhill. also known as E4ME carb. do some research on it. welcome aboard and nice car.
CCC carb. computer command controlled. 81 only setup. you need to know if your car still has it. and if the distributor that goes with it is still there. 2 electrical plugs on carb and no vacuum advance on distributor. many hate the setup. if it is there and working it is fine. when it fails, car still runs but gas mileage goes way downhill. also known as E4ME carb. do some research on it. welcome aboard and nice car.
not still has the CCC set up, how do I know when it goes bad?
not still has the CCC set up, how do I know when it goes bad?
check engine light on dash is the first sign. and you can use an old points dwell meter on the carb mixture solenoid to verify it is still operating. when it goes bad, it shuts the solenoid down and jet rods stay at full rich. pretty sure you also lose timing advance when in fault mode. and those two cost you quite a bit of gas mileage. look for flyskidsup on here. he is pretty conversant in the E4ME setup. google e4me dwell meter and there is a lot of info. this is basically a primitive efi setup. it uses exhaust O2 readings along with rpm, throttle position, engine vacuum (aka MAP) to dial in the idle and part throttle mixture settings and ignition timing.
Last edited by derekderek; Feb 4, 2023 at 07:00 AM.
First time Corvette owner, 1981 C3
Have an '81 myself.
