Fheyr

hello everyone. i hope i'm in the right section.

i'm looking to buy an 82 that is stock and i was wondering how hard/expensive it would be to get it up to 300-350rwhp without turbo/sc. and what modifications would be needed to the body/suspension/transmission.

any info would be greatly appreciated. i wont be buying for atleast 6 more months because i'm still in iraq. so right now i'm just massing info so i can start as soon as i find the appropriate car.

thanks in advance

p.s. is the 82 the way to go? i have a 10k budget in mind.

pauldana

an 82 is a nice car, I have a 79, two of the differences between the 2 are the 79 has a stronger rear for more power... but 300-350 will probably be ok... the 82 is lighter due to thinner fiberglass and a aluminum rear end housing... ....

10K for the car you will probably be able to do,,, and it should run good and be in decent condition, imho.

that said... Most of us have put way more money on upgrading than we could buy the car for....

my ball park figures for upgrades are~:

1. Engine ~ 5-10k depending on how much, power, parts and who does the work and R&R

2. Suspension... ~2K

3. Brakes....~1k

4. and figure ~5-10k for everything else... interior, paint... etc

Now, it could be a LOT more if you go wild.... and it could be less if you do most of the work and cut corners where ever you can...

I bought my 79 in ~81... 12K at that time for the car.... over the last year and to this date I have put about 15-20K in her... and still figure I have about 5-10k to go before complete...

My wife calls her my red headed G/F....

in any account, these are not reliable cars, but they are the most beautiful car on the road,,,, and you will never get the looks like you do in a C3.... good luck, and welcome aboard!!

Fheyr

thanks for the reply!

i'll take all of that into consideration while i window shop online

Gordonm

The 82 was the first year and only C3 to use the Cross fire fuel injection. 300 to 350 RWHP is not going to happen with that motor. Now you can transplant anything you want into the car but the cost goes up. It was also the first year for the 4 speed automatic. Not very durable trans in stock form for higher HP. The 82 is a nice driver in stock form and can be made to have some more HP but like any other car. How fast you want to go depends on how much money you are willing to spend. The 10K should get you a decent 82 driver.

MN80Vette

The easiest way to get 300-350 hp is to just drop in a crate engine and put your CrossFire engine in storage. I've had a 330 hp GM Performance 350 HO Deluxe engine in my '80 for almost 9 years. IMO, the 350 HO and its bigger brother, the ZZ4 are a couple of the most reliable engines available for the money. Check them out.

Fheyr

hmm i forgot about the crossfire. so what if i went with 79-81?

Stu's81

There are real good deals out there right now because of the economy,people selling off items they don't use everyday.
I shopped around for 2 monthes and did alot of driving,most of the time to be let down by people claiming to have better cars than what they were.
Some people think, it's a corvette it has to be worth alot,bulls..t.
I found a car over a 1000 miles away in Arizona,seen pictures of every area on the car,talked to the owners and got a good sense of it being what i wanted and bought my 81' for $8700. Car is all stock and in great condition for a car with 85 thou on it.
In process of doing exactly what you want to do,more power on a budget project. Going up a few steps on the camshaft,dual plane intake,non-computer distributor,new carb,dual exhaust with headers.
Probely won't see 300hp but should be a noticable improvement that you can feel.
Then i will be deciding while driving the car wheather to go with a big block or a 383 stroker engine. Stu

Fheyr

hmm thanks for that insight stu . i'll deffinately take all that into consideration

Rebelrob

I got a newer beefier 700r trans installed and re-built the rearend with new gears. Thats where you want to start in IMHO. Start from the rearend and go forward and do the engine last.
Its a blast. Good luck...

WhiteC3

I have a 81 with the computer removed, earlier Q-jet and distributor and performance exhaust. 190 hp is plenty for me but i drive car as summer toy and care about fuel mileage. To make/have more HP it takes more fuel and possibly higher octane. Had a previous 81 with 350 350 in it. It was a amazingly fast car but was thirsty. Second 81 vette is pretty much bone stock with mid-upper teens for milage verses low teens at best with the other one.just my 2 cents....

RushThruLife

80 is the last year without a computer. And if you can find one with a L82 engine, might be the way to go. The 80 has thinner glass to lighten it up a little,and the engine(L82 is rated at 220 hp...some have it rated at 225.splitting hairs). Getting to the 300-325 hp(engine) rating should not be to hard....heads and cam swap,headers. Keep the Q-jet on it. Just have it rebuilt properly. The hard part is finding one in good shape. 80 or older IMO. Good luck.

hugie82

Maybe I can change your thinking a little The Crossfire vettes are great drivers!!! The OD trans with its low 1st gear launches just as fast as any 300 hp car. A chip, cam, a head swap makes a world of difference. The gas mileage is in the mid 20's with the OD. If the car has any miles on it (over 80k) the trans is most likely rebuilt with the better upgrades.
In a nut shell, the torque on a crossfire is BRUTAL but runs out of steam at 5k. Where street cars rarely see on a steady basis. There are many mods available if you fell the need I beat the crap out of my 82 and I can tell you I'm rarely disappointed