l_bilyk

I'm new to the wonderful world of vettes, so i havent purchased one yet :(

but i do have a question
what is the horsepower rating of the l88, l82, and l48 when installed in the earlyer C3 vettes with true dual exhaust
i heard that the chevy specs drastically underrated these engines :chevy :chevy

ddn

I can't tell you on the L82 or L48, but I can tell you about the L88.

The L88 was "rated" at 430 HP @ 5800 RPM. They just neglected to mention that it made more power over 5800RPM. People will still argue about it, but you can guess it put out about 560HP. The L71 motor for the same years was rated at 435HP. This basically tricked new buyers into opting for what they thought was the most powerful motor, and it worked.

What a piece of legendary metal.

:chevy

Ganey

L-88 is race engine, headers are needed.
Mopar & Ford guys say Chevys are underrated.

:cheers:

Andy1983

All horsepower was underrated from about mid 60s- mid 70s on ALL types of muscle/performance cars. This was done mainly to lower the cost of insurance and fool the insurance company. 100% stock cars have been dyno tested and ran much much higher.

And your question on the L48 and L82, it all depended on what year you bought it.
The L48 ran about 180-190 hp
The L82 ran about 220-230 hp
This was in late 70s and early 80s when gas economy was the most important thing over performance. It is actually one of the highest horsepowers for those years (stock that is).

l_bilyk

yeah, the info that i had was the same info as andy1983 posted
i am still shocked that the l48 is rated as highly as some 4banger toyota engine
ugh :bs

does anyone know more realistic values for these engines? or are they pretty much on par with their chevy ratings if left stock?

& another question, how hard are l88s to find?

warhovs

L88s arent that difficult to find. The cash to buy a real L88 is usually harder to find!

dshrack

It seems as though my stock L81 engine in my '81 lived up to it's rating of 190 hp- and no more. It had good torque though.

As for an L88, there was a 1969 one for sale here in Austin this spring, I don't know if it has sold yet, but I do know that they were asking $117,000 for it.

75rat

If your talking about early C3 horsepower, don't forget about the LT-1.

a smith

*crew horsepower.Everybody talks about HP.But what you feel when you drive is torque!Would you rather have 385 HP at 440fts tq or 425 HP at 390fts TQ.Build and buy torque,the horsepower with take care of itself! :yesnod:

nunus79

Stock ratings are pretty close based on my experiences. The thing with a Chevy Vs. Toyota is that you can get a 100 hp increase from your Chevy for x$ while you'd need 4x$ or more x$ to get that out of a Toyota. Getting that 100 hp is easy, fun, and rewarding. To me thats what I like about my Vette (finding the most bang-for-the-buck). That is the beauty of Corvettes being a Chevy, you have soooo many ways & options to acheive the same goal of better performance.

l_bilyk

so if i want more power (because 190 hp just wont do) what kinda of things should i look at?

& yes i agree, torque is definately what you feel when you drive a car

nunus79

Both L48 & L82 will respond well to free-er flowing exhaust, especially if originally fitted w/ pellet-style catalytic converter. Then add a mild cam to an L48 with power rating up to 5000-5500 rpm range. L82 already has enough cam. Then get a set of "higher compression ratio" aftermarket cylinder heads that has good combustion characteristics. That will allow you to run a decent performance timing curve. And then you'll be smiling.

Sounds simple enough, right. In general it is, but certain parts do work better with other certain parts. Knowing which combo works better than another will give you the racers edge. But this edge may not be necessary for a good, decent street setup. Keep your selections moderate or buy a pre-designed package and heed the advice of the other far more knowledgeable forum members and you'll be real happy.