So a guy I know has a 1982 C3 with a 700r4 he is planning on getting rid of that needs to be painted. I have been trying to research to see what all can be done to a 82 to bring the performance up to par with some more modern cars. I will end up doing a build thread on the car since I have big plans for it, but there are a few uncertainties in the planning stage. The car has a 383 stroker in it and I plan to do a swap to a tremec 5 speed and regear the rear end to 2.86. The 5 speed would easily hit 60 in 2nd, drastically increase the top speed, and allow cruising at 65 mph at just 1600 rpms.
I want to fit 245/6015 and 295/50r15 tires with a wider fenders. If I can go wider front and rear I would like to, but keeping the height between 26 and 27 inches total.

It seems like the steering needs to be upgraded to rack and pinion which from the best I have been able to find would allow 2.5 turns lock to lock.
From what I have seen, there are kits for C6 brakes which would take care of stopping power.
The biggest issue I have seen is suspension for the rear. I like the sharkbite coilover system, but they did not make it for the 80-82, so I do not know which coilover kit would work the best for it.
The frame needs to be stiffened and roll reduced so spreader bars, if needed 4pt roll bars, and after playing with rebound and compression sway bars.

Any advice or knowledge on C3 performance, especially on reducing roll, and increasing handling would be appreciated.

 

Honestly....buy a C-5 or C-6. You are about to go down a rabbit-hole of untold dimensions.

 

I've got stock fenders and 295/50 R15 tires on my 79.

 

Send it! Someone already got rid of the Crossfire. A manual transmission swap would turn an 82 into something I'd actually drive.

Check out Silver State Transmissions for the swap. I love my 4-speed, it makes the car, but if I found a Tremec TKX 5-speed in its place tomorrow, I wouldn't complain.

The frame mods are outlined in the Corvette section of the Chevrolet Power book, which you can read here:
https://www.duntovmotors.com/Corvett...wer%20Book.pdf

 

there was a guy put a c3 body on a c5 or 6 car. i think that is what you are looking for. it runs and drives and you want to upgrade everything. buy it and paint it. and by paint, i mean Maaco or home brew. not 10k and 2 years in a body shop. wear points in the stock suspension. pads, seals and flex hoses in brakes. then drive it. you will find it steers and stops pretty well. then decide if you wanna turn it into a c6, which all the upgrades in the world will not do...

 

You may be better off finding a nice C5’s or C6 and just drive it.
It would be much cheaper and you would probably be more satisfied in the end.

 

I can't speak for the OP, but for me a C5 or C6 just wouldn't be an option because they have no visual appeal compared to the C3.

 

After re-reading your list of planned mods, i think you'd come out ahead finding a C3 with a modern tube-frame chassis like SR-III etc. that has the C5/6 steering/suspension mounts -- preferrably a project someone lost motifvation for.

OR you could upgrade-as-you-go like the rest of us dumping 10X into the car than originally planned............................$.02 added

Just for the record, you've been warned
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