Hi all, This may have been asked before, if you know a good thread, please link it. I am thinking of buying a couple of cars.


Option 1) 1975 coupe, I think with the standard 350 (165 hp)

Option 2) 1982 Collectors Edition in good shape with good paint and seats


Question is this: Since both are "not quick" with the '82 being among the slowest Corvettes ever made. So I would like to explore a swap.


I haven't researched this very much, but I think I would like to either:


1) Do an LS swap of some kind, but would like to know the best option for which LS setup

2) Do a Chevy Turnkey 350 crate engine and auto trans combo swap.

This will be done in a shop. Is there a difference in hours expended for these?

Do you know roughly how many hours this would take in a shop? I know this is probably not answerable, but just a very rough ballpark would be great.


So:

1) Which one is best for each car (if there is a difference)?

2) Can both of these cars handle the power (350-ish HP) without major structural mods?


Note, this is being registered in CA. So will the '82 be a headache of some sort? I know I woudl ahve to maintain cats and pass smog and all, but anything else?


Thanks!

 

In Ca. Your only real option here is the 75 or older car.
a 350 crate is a direct drop in. A LS has a number of things to consider. An Automatic is a shame.
And I could be wrong, but I always thought the 75 model year was the slowest Corvette ever made. In stock trim that is. Hopping up a 75 is child's play.
edit, the 75 should be fine up to 400 HP. The 82 has a weak diff, maybe not so much.

 

What @4-vettes said, plus this.

If you are going to have a shop do all the work, you are probably better off buying a completed restomod at Bring a Trailer. Make sure it has a manual transmission.

GM still sells new LS3 crate engines.

EDIT: Link https://bringatrailer.com/chevrolet/c3-corvette/

 

You didn’t say what the condition of the paint and body on the 75 was like, but if it’s bad you might want to think about what you’ll spend on bodywork and paint. It can easily run more than the cost of the engine swap.

 

Thanks for all the info! I'm glad the 350 is a direct drop. The swap is going to be the first thing I'm going to do, I know the purist thing is to do the manual, but I've driven manuals and they just don't give me the same feel. Besides, dropping a manual in place of an automatic is child's play for anyone who wants to do it later. And on the speed comparison, in looking at the engineering history, they said the 74 had 10 less horsepower. I thought I saw something that the 80 Corvette was the slowest one ever but according to 0 to 60 times, that isn't the case.

True I'm going to get some quotes for doing it and see how it plays out.

The 75 looks in pretty decent condition. May need some touch-up on the bumpers, and will definitely need new carpet. No cracks in the dash and finish on the center console looks pretty good maybe with some touch up there. Seats are in surprisingly good condition. But I haven't seen it in person so I still have to check it out still. Not looking for this to be a show car, just something fun with a little zip to it.

 

If the engines are running fine right now, no appreciable oil consumption, good compression, consider just a bolt-on solution to get the engine to breathe easier. Aluminum heads, headers, larger exhaust, etc. A lot less expensive and a lot less intrusive than yanking the entire engine out of the car. Reach out to Forum member Jebbysan as he’s an excellent source of knowledge on this subject.

 

Thanks for the excellent alternative! Will this get it above 300? Ideally I'd like something between 350 and 400 but 300 would be the absolute minimum if I was going to undertake it. I would even consider mild forced induction if it was possible.

 

75 for numerous reasons.

 

The 75' is a better choice.......even with the L-48 (165hp) you can stuff a cam, long tube headers, a 2101 Performer intake and a true dual exhaust and the damn thing will run high 14's all day long.......the L-82 a bit faster as it had more compression (not to mention an all forged bottom end).......add the new Trick Flow DH175 heads and it makes over 400hp without breaking a sweat.....these heads have a 60cc chamber that is perfect for virgin L-48 engines.....
I have made L-48's run solid 13's without pulling the engine out of the car.......you could never tell what it started with.......
90% of people on FB and other sites like to talk about stuff they no nothing about and one of the biggest low hanging fruits is the "smog" 70's Corvette engines and their rating......but think think about how the top small block option (LT-1) didn't make it's advertised horsepower even with headers on a dyno......even the top Big Block (LS-6) wasn't all that either as installed in the car.......just about everything had headers bolted to it back then because they worked.....my 69' 427/400 came with 2" exhaust from the factory....no way it made anywhere near it's 400 horsepower......beware of too many people walking around with rose colored glasses too telling you how fast some of these cars were....they weren't......with a timing curve and exhaust...they were. The only difference the 350 165hp and the 1971 350/270 is the exhaust........the heads had a different casting number but didn't flow any better or worse......intake, cam, everything was the same.....some people know this, the rest write about it on FB......
The 82' can be made to run very well......but the intake is a real problem and holds the engine back 30 horsepower even stock......the core engine itself is a good one.....9.5 to 1 compression and a better cam than the L-48......it also had the first 4 speed OD trans.....but unless you shitcan the intake, there is little you can do short of changing the whole induction system......
There was an intake called the Renegade made by a member here but is out of production til further notice........it runs very well with this intake.......you can build a 13 second CFI car pretty easy, but not without the intake.....

Also...to me, the 75' still has the classic C3 interior......which I like a lot better.......the 82' is like Bridgett Nielson, great in 82' but didn't age well......

Jebby

 

Another consideration is how much are you gonna drive it? I had a 75 (destroyed in Hurricane Katrina) and I have a 77 now. The 75 had fiberglass floor pans as all Vettes did 'till they changed to steel in 76. The 75 would bake you out of the car after an hour even on nice 50 degree days. My 77 has no interior heat issue at all and I drive it 155 mile round trip to Perdido Fla and back every Monday year round and no heat issues.
I wish I still had my 75 and I'd have dealt w/interior heat eventually (many on here have posted how they insulated). None the less, just anther expense to consider,

I was hot and heavy on an 82 CE at my friend's GM dealership (he purchased it to look cool in the window of his showroom) but he talked mo out of it because of issues finding/replacing the on board computer. I've seen posts on here mentioning issue w/finding good rebuilt computers. I prefer the flat back window cars w/the exception of the 82 CE so it'd be a dilemma for me too