Looking at buying my first vette. Looked at an 82 in decent shape. The starter would not even make noise. Felt around and shorted it, got it to turn over. Poured a little gas in the Tbody and and it hit a ran for a moment. The car had not been started in two years. I assure I should see some fuel squirting out of the two injectors. I did not see any from either.

IS the fuel pump in the tank, how hard is it to pull and drain the old fuel out.

The car needs calipers all arond, not working AC, needs a starter or switch, paint looked good at 15 ft (black). Seats good, some dash cracks, carpet had a strange rust tint to it everywhere.

Owner asked me to make an offer as is. He is a friend of a friend and is not dying to sale. He has owned it for 5 yrs and driven it maybe 2,000 miles, showing 120,000. BTW, great new tires, has been stored in a garage.

Just looking for thoughts and some help.

Thinking of offering him 5,000. He first said 8,000 but that was before he found it would not start and run.

Thanks,
New member,
Hawkshaw

 

Yes you should see gas spray from the injectors.

Yes the pump is in the tank and also has some fuses etc. that can impact it's ability to run.

If it hasn't move in two years I'd bet money the tires are flat spotted and of no use.

5k is not bad but doesn't sound like a good deal based on your description. Too many things that will c note you to death just getting it running, not to mention all the seals that will start leaking once you start driving it. Trans, brakes, rear main, rear diff. etc. etc.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have been told by several people now to walk away.

Thanks for the help. I can see this forum will be of a lot of help.

Hawk

 

That's a very bad sign......run away from this one.

 

Rust is the only thing that would make me walk on this one at $5k
Pull the kick panels and look in there at the #2 body mounts and use a mirror and light to luuk up thru the door pillar, see what you can see

 

Sounds like it might be in rough shape. I'd say 5k is about reasonable 8 is too much if it doesn't run. But, if it's a CE it's a deal. But check for all the normal C3 vette issues also, birdcage rust, rear bearings, steering slop, etc. You'll dump a 500 to a 1k into just getting it running well if it's nothing serious (the 100,000 mile tune up).

If you don't like to work on Vettes yourself, run don't walk.

If you like wrenching and want a nice cruiser it might be worth it. A word of caution though, 82's cost more if you want to increase the power, they only came with 200hp. If you want some more suggestions on getting it running you might ask the guys over at the Crossfire forum.

And,
The fuel pump is in the tank, but it comes out through the filler hole. Actually pretty easy. But I'd check the fuses first. Does the check engine light come on when the ignition is turned on but before you try to start? If not, first check the fuse in the bat compartment (behind the drivers seat). Its the first thing to check when an 82 won't squirt fuel. Clean and replace it if it's shows any signs of crud or carbon. Also, the injectors each have there own fuse, in the fuse box, under the dash.

 

to much money and a lot of work .theres better cars out there .

 

Don't get it, the crossfire is garbage. That's why they only used it for two years.

 

oh no i have one tell me what to look out for .

 

Riddle me this...how long did GM use TBI systems?

 

This is a very common statement about CFI. However, the most common reason for saying this is that people don't know how to work on or understand how the CFI works...hence the "garbage tag". Remember, they were only 200HP back then as well.

When work is done correctly on a CFI motor, they are rather realiable and will run forever. Notice I said "done correctly", you 'MUST" understand how to tune a CF correctly...its "not" a carb motor and that gets a lot of people in trouble when they start tweaking on the adjustments on the TBs.

I've owned my 82 for 13 years+ and is a great car, even better with the 383 thats in it now, but still using the CFI setup.

The rust looking stain has some merit though and you might want to walk away from this one at any price unless you can confirm the integrity of the chassis. The T-top is a major player in water going inside along with the windshield trim that can leak and let water run down the A-pillars on both sides and into the cab...carpet, fusebox etc... Take a VERY GOOD look at this area before you decide to buy.

Good luck and come on over to the Crossfire Fourm if you buy it. http://www.crossfire.homeip.net/

One more thing to mention right off the bat FWIW on that car. With 120K on the clock, the TB shafts are more than likely worn out and will need to be bushed, when worn they are a huge vacuum leak. They normally go bad at around 50k, once bushed they should last a very long time. you "CAN NOT" balance the TBs with worn shafts and the motor will run rough and poorly.

 

I am with Buccaneer. The Crossfire has gotten a bad rap. It is the only C3 that requires a little diagnosis related to the ECM and its sensors for this car to run well.

Check the battery compartment and the fuse on the side wall. It is part of the junction box that may have some corrosion or is blown. If intact and you have a test lite, touch it to the fuel relay fuse in the fuse box and crank the car. If the test lite is lit, you are getting power to the fuel pump. But if there is no fuel in the TBs, it is likely the fuel pump.

How familiar do you want to be with the Cossfire? On the road, I get over 21 MPG because of this system and the 700R4 in torque converter lockup. I love this car. It is unique and a giant step forward and I think it worth the time and effort departing from the normal expertise associated with the carb models of the C3.

 

i would have liked to here what was garbage about the cross-fire .never had a problem with the cross-fire .have replaced the cam lots of chevys have had that problem.20-23mpg not bad for garbage .

 

Sorry about the snappy comment, I have an 82 which works well. I was just having one of those days where the timing chair and gears had just been replaced and then the compression was tested and was 70 on half the cylinders and 150 on the other and I was going to have to make a decision about whether to keep the engine and have it rebuilt or buy a new one. I really wanted to change the intake and get some more power out of the engine, but as it has been previously stated that the CFI needs to be adjusted by someone who knows what they're doing. I just got back from Iraq and wanted to take the car out for a ride and was just a little upset with it.
Anyway the engine is getting rebuilt right now and should be done in a week or so. The engine guy will be adding a different cam and a few other things that should give me some more power. I there is anyone in Western Mass that knows all the tricks to keeping the CFI going, then let me know so I won't be putting my foot in my mouth again.

 

I have an 82 cross fire for sale if you're interested. It's listed with pics under Red Vette Must Sell.

 

Check out the link below, You might find someone over there. Or if you can turna wrench, you'll find everything you need to know.

 

TestPilot, what cam are you installing in your CF...specs wise? Remember, you can NOT go too large with a stock ECM, it won't run right if you do and the ECM will wig out. On a side note, bring your vette out here to Arizona and we'll fix you up tune-up wise durng a CFI workshop that we hold every now and then.

 

I have an 82 with the original motor and CFI set up Oh yea it has 121K on the clock. I paid 8k for mine running. Running rough. I went throught the process of the tune up. The car is Idling ata much lower speed now. Around 800 warm in park and around 650-700 warm in gear. The car took about an hour to tune and I spent about $150 for the tools, (digital manometer and good timing light) I made the IAC plugs from duct tape and cardboard. The car still runs rich and the idle fluctuates a little indicating a small vaccum leak somewhere probably at the TBI shafts. The cars performance is good for a stock 82 and will chirp the tires. ( brand new Indy 500's). The fuel pump is simple to change and takes about 45 min including draining the tank and wiping it out. I have some rust issues in the doors only which I have teken care of most of it. My paint is original and looks great from 5'. The interior is an 8.5 out of 10. (prior owner had to have replaced some of it). I have A 2.5" exhaust system. (true duals) with flow masters. Sounds Great. My only concearn at the moment is the expense of changing out the rear wheel bearings. I dont want to do it myself. ( I will screw the trailing arms up). I love the overdrive transmission and how smoothly the CFI operates on the road. The car is a fantastic cruiser/driver. This is my fourth Vette. I have ahd 2-81 models a 72 vert and now my 82. I wish I had never sold my 72. However the drivability of the 82 is far superior to any of the other Corvettes I have owned. With this being said if you want an 82 then find one in decent shape unless you have time, money and patience to work on it or restore it. BTW You can increase the HP of an 82 significantly by installing an computer friendly cam ( There are several cams designed specifically for CFI) A set of better flowing heads, Headers and port the intake manifold. This will give you a little over 300 HP. Intake and exhaust flow is the key. Keep the compression on the lower end. I plan to do this in the next year or two when I rebuild the motor.