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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 11:32 AM
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Default No 1983 Vettes

Was watching Made in American with John Cheers and he was at the
Vette plant in Bowling Green. Didn't know this but last Vette made in
St Louis was in 1982. Then to Bowling Green in 1983 thus took a year
to transfer/retool and make 1984 Vettes. Just thought this was interesting just another part of Vette history.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 11:35 AM
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Sorry - please move this to General.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 11:38 AM
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Yep, it's a neat yet well known fact. I'm kind of glad, the '84 was enough of a problem car even with two years of R&D.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 11:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Durango_boy
Yep, it's a neat yet well known fact. I'm kind of glad, the '84 was enough of a problem car even with two years of R&D.
Yeah, I know. I had one.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 11:42 AM
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Well, sort of. The last Vette built at St Louis was an 81 as the plant closed in July of that year. The Bowling Green plant was brought on line in May of 81 and so for 1981, Corvettes were built at 2 locations at the same time. There was really not much interruption in Corvette availability as the 81 and 82 production ran well past what is normal. Bowling Green built 1981 models into October of 81 and 1982 cars were built into October of 82. The 1984 Corvette debuted in March of 1983 so there was probably a 3 month or so period for retooling the plant for the C4s.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 12:28 PM
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If you check eBay, you'll get about 43 hits on "83 Corvette." You can buy car covers and all kinds of things for '83s...
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 01:52 PM
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Originally Posted by wfo76
Well, sort of. The last Vette built at St Louis was an 81 as the plant closed in July of that year. The Bowling Green plant was brought on line in May of 81 and so for 1981, Corvettes were built at 2 locations at the same time. There was really not much interruption in Corvette availability as the 81 and 82 production ran well past what is normal. Bowling Green built 1981 models into October of 81 and 1982 cars were built into October of 82. The 1984 Corvette debuted in March of 1983 so there was probably a 3 month or so period for retooling the plant for the C4s.
Mine was one of the last built in St. Louis
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 02:29 PM
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when i worked at Oreilly's we would often call Autozone up the street and pretend to be a customer, and ask them if they had a water pump for an 83 vette. Of course you can also do the same thing with an ols beatle and a radiator cap!
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 03:33 PM
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There were several test mules that were 83 and one of is on the floor at Bowling Green. Looks just like a 84.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 03:54 PM
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Just before the '84 was unvieled I was given a look at a silver '84 at Courtesy Chevrolet In San Diego. They gave me a quick look and I was ready to buy one, hovever I knew I could not afford it.

About a year later while driving my '64 vert., I was stopped by a C-4 driver wanting me to consider a trade. The problem came in when he wanted cash also.

Funny how things turn. That C-4 today wouldn't make a good down payment on a '64 Vert.

Last edited by Aggitated Monkey; Dec 13, 2007 at 03:56 PM. Reason: typo
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by c69vete
There were several test mules that were 83 and one of is on the floor at Bowling Green. Looks just like a 84.
40+ were built, all with valid 1983 VINs. One's left in the NCM.
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by PETKAH
Was watching Made in American with John Cheers and he was at the
Vette plant in Bowling Green. Didn't know this but last Vette made in
St Louis was in 1982. Then to Bowling Green in 1983 thus took a year
to transfer/retool and make 1984 Vettes. Just thought this was interesting just another part of Vette history.
You'd think the Vette plant would know when they started production. For the record, BG production began (and St. Louis production ended) in 1981.

The 1983 model year was scrapped because of line problems, but a few cars were rebuilt. This has to be the 20th time I've posted this link: http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2000...ry/83/83p1.asp
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 05:08 PM
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Here in Italy, a friend of mine got a 1984 C4 (crossfire) wich was manufactured in 1983 !

The GM Vintage certified this thing....

So with Batman !
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Old Dec 13, 2007 | 05:13 PM
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The first vettes built with base coat clear coat were at BG, while at St. Louis they were still painting them with lacquer. Just another little tidbit to add the the 81.
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Old Dec 17, 2007 | 05:54 PM
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Old Dec 17, 2007 | 08:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Eddie 70
The first vettes built with base coat clear coat were at BG, while at St. Louis they were still painting them with lacquer. Just another little tidbit to add the the 81.
There were also about 80 tan and brown cars built at St. Louis to check the BG painting proceedures.
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Old Dec 17, 2007 | 08:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Eddie 70
The first vettes built with base coat clear coat were at BG, while at St. Louis they were still painting them with lacquer. Just another little tidbit to add the the 81.
I had read that also
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To No 1983 Vettes

Old Dec 17, 2007 | 08:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Durango_boy
Yep, it's a neat yet well known fact. I'm kind of glad, the '84 was enough of a problem car even with two years of R&D.
Nothing wrong with a 84 Vette except just like all those before it for most on 10 years, no horsepower. A GM 151 camshaft fixed most of that issue. It had probably the best Z51 package ever on C4`s. The car sat square, no unsightly down rake that was noticeable starting with the 85`s. The ride was a little rough, but you didn`t need to buy the "51" package, it was a option.. They finally put a standard trans back in it and the Doug Nash 4+3 actually worked the way it was sup post to. A truly fun car on the freeways because of that OD. I know Vettes, and the 84`s are a damn good Vette. None of the rest of the C4`s until they started adding chunks of HP were any better.

In fact unless you owned one from new your opinion may be biased as on any used car that was not taken care of like so many Vettes

Last edited by Ironcross; Dec 17, 2007 at 08:44 PM.
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Old Dec 17, 2007 | 09:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Ironcross
In fact unless you owned one from new your opinion may be biased as on any used car that was not taken care of like so many Vettes

My uncle had one...new in '84, and even in low mileage form, it was a rough car with lots of failings. NONE of the switches worked right, the gauges weren't accurate, the ride was worse than my C3, and I hate the wheels.
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Old Dec 17, 2007 | 09:55 PM
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He must have gotten a lemon!
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