Hey, my dad just bought an 81 vette that the previous owner claims has an L82, so i gave my dad all the casting numbers for everything that would make it an L82 and had my friend from home go with him (I'm up at college)
long story short they couldnt find any casting numbers, at least anything that matched a number I gave them (I have them all the casting number for L48, L81 and L82) but my friend did say it had a stock looking aluminum intake manifold (only came on L82)
to top it off it has an L82 emblem on the stock gauge cluster that the previous owner claims has never been changed and it stock from 81 (hes the 3rd owner and knows the first and 2nd)

I have yet to see the car but will when I go home for Thanksgiving break when I can give it a good once over, my dad paid 4600 for it and said its the nicest one hes seen that we've looked at (spent the summer looking at 70-73 camaros and 79-82 vettes all around 3-6.5K asking price)

main reason I'd like to see if its the L81 or L82 is because i built a ~400hp SBC for him in a class I took last semester here at college, he says if its the L81 hell swap it in, if its the L82 hell just leave it (we'll see how long he says that when I spank him with my 98 Z28)

heres a pic of the car that he sent me


Thanks for reading!

 

There were no 1981 Corvettes built with L48 or L82 engines, only the 190HP L81.

 

Ask him if the carb is still an E4ME computer controlled carb, or if the dist is still hooed to the computer. If it was swapped for an L82 I doubt the swapper would leave the computer stuff hooked up. But that does not mean the computer stuff was not pulled, I pulled mine and swapped all of the computer stuff for non CCC parts. But the truth is from the factory, none of the 81's were L82 cars, they were all L81 cars. Have him check the VIN number against the number on the passenger head on the front, under the A/C bracket there is a set of numbers on the front of the head, if it is a numbers car, those will jive with the VIN, or you can look up the VIN code, it will say that it came with an L81.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-corvette.html Post 13 and 17
anyone know the RPO code or anything that could justify this?

 

The L81 came from the factory with a aluminum intake manifold and L82 style valve covers. Check the numbers to be sure.

 

No L-82's in 1981 just the L-81 with 190 HP which was basically equivalent to the 78-80 L-48's. Last year for the L-82 was 1980 with 230 Net HP and only with the automatic, no manual trans cars-approximately 5,000 vettes in 1980 had the L-82.

 

There's always somebody with a far fetched non-verifiable story trying to make a car sound like a one of a kind exotic. You'll note that in any of these threads, nobody produces the actual car?

BTW- The term 'L82' like all options is a derivative of the RPO code.

 

ok so I'm convinced its an L81, (now a little weary about the L82 badge in the gauge cluster, maybe someone just put a decal in there? maybe someone changed out the cluster and mileage is wrong? if thats the case what else is he lying about?)

so what does everyone think it will do to resale value if next May I put the motor i built for him in the car and when the time comes to sell it, sell it with the numbers matching motor on engine stand and the 400hp motor in the car... heres what done to the motor:

4 bolt main bored to 4.060, decked .020, all machine work done
reground stock crank
glass blasted and magnafluxed forged rods
keith black silv-o-lite pistons
arp main studs
arp rod bolts
vortec heads with all machine work done for the high lift springs, screw in studs, guide plates, and minor port n polish (bowl blend, unshrouded chamber, cleaned up runners, minor pocket porting)
comp .490/.490 230/236 cam n lifters
HEI 50,000 volt distributor
Weiland Stealth intake
new 600 edelbrock carb with mech secondaries
all name brand parts went into the rebuild, almost no bolts were reused, and everything that was needed to be replaced was, and everything was reconditioned

 

anyone?

 

I also have an 81 with an original engine. It runs fine but I really don't care about a numbers matching car any way. What I was going to do is pull out the original, pickle it and store. I have a 383 vortec brand new ready to install this fall. If I ever plan to sell I will just reinstall the original engine. No big deal really. Al

 

First off, if your dad got that car for $4,600, L-82 or not he STOLE IT! Congrats to your dad on a good find.

Second, as said before, no L-82 in 1981. Clusters, gauges, badges, etc can all be swapped out and a cluster is much easier to swap than a whole engine. My '81 had L-82 badges on it and I knew they were false.

Third, the value of the car with a 400hp small block. Definitely keep the original engine on a stand for the next owner along with everything you pull out of it. If the next owner does not want it you can always sell it and believe me, '81 stuff brings money because I have been selling mine. Another thing, keep all the creature comforts like AC, heat, and cruise working if possible or at the very least complete. As long as the new motor is street friendly and does not have some radical cam then you could easily add $2K - $3K to the value. Put in a better transmission like a 700R4, 200R4, or a 5spd, put in some deeper rear end gears, and it will really bring some good money since it will be so much more fun to drive and feel like a true Vette.

Finally, we want more pictures of that Vette!

 

haha, best response yet! my dad is picking it up today and were going to have a long convo while i make him go through the car to find any and all casting #s and RPO codes... ill make him take some more pics as well...

i to pull the motor out from carb to pan and put the motor i built in from carb to pan and call it a day and when it comes time to sell, sell it as a whole kit. I think hes ganna wanna keep the 350 and stock gears just to keep it original though... hes being a pain in my butt and wants to get the quadrajunk rebuilt

 

with Hardway. Gm made a bunch of these cars and I dont think a numbers matching car will get as much as one that is modified. My 81 has a different engine and I could care less where the weak L81 went. Put the 400hp motor in and have some fun buying tires.

 

Quadrajunks do pretty good if set up right on a small block.