Daily Slideshow: 1980 Vette Gets the LS Treatment

Peak Malaise

If there's any era Corvette that begs for a performance makeover, it's the end-of-days C3 model. The difficult question of whether to keep a classic piece of automotive history stock and therefore, arguably, more valuable to collectors, becomes less difficult when the classic in question is pumping out in the region of 190hp (L48) to 230hp (L82). Even worse, in 1980 if you wanted a Corvette in California you had to settle for a 180hp 305, the engine that Car and Driver called "the 305 chuffer out of a Biscayne," as well as, "a semi-big American V-8." So, when Terry Beaty of Cleveland, Tennessee, bought this example of the Malaise Era from a family member there was never any question of which way he would proceed.

>>Join the conversation about this 1980 C3 Getting Some LS Love right here in Corvette Forum.

LS Decisions

Terry had the notion he'd be putting an LS between the frame rails of his C3, and after talking with Ryan Martin at LSX Power and Development, an outfit that specifies in highly-tuned LS swaps, he was convinced. Ryan chose a BluePrint Engines LS3-based 427ci stroker engine as the heartbeat of a new generation under the hood. The Blueprint's bottom end sports a Callies 4.125-inch crankshaft, 6.125-inch Callies Compstar connecting rods, and Diamond Racing pistons. The LS3 cylinder heads are BluePrint's own and feature Brian Tooley dual valve springs, Comp Cams pushrods, and stock rocker arms, actuated by a custom-ground supercharger-optimized Comp Cams camshaft. The Blower in question is an Edelbrock E-Force unit putting out 12psi, working in conjunction with dual Walbro 255 liter-per-hour fuel pumps and a GM Performance Parts ECM. In-Tune Motorsports set up the whole system using HP Tuners software, and on 93 octane gas, the LS3 makes 750hp—approximately 400% more than the original set-up!

>>Join the conversation about this 1980 C3 Getting Some LS Love right here in Corvette Forum.

More Modernity

Next in line for the modern touch was the transmission situation, which Terry handled with a 5-speed manual TREMEC TKO-600, that uses an LS7 clutch, and that he operates with a classic Hurst shifter. Ryan from LSX utilized an American Powertrain kit a to adapt the TREMEC for use in the 1980 Vette, and power is transmitted back to a cast-iron center section rear end with a 3.73:1 final drive ratio. The LS exhaust note is much improved compared to what Car and Driver called, "single exhaust systems terminating in "sporty" twin tailpipes," via the new Sanderson headers, 2.5" exhaust fabricated by Jimmy’s Pro Muffler, and MagnaFlow mufflers. Engine temps are kept under control with the addition of an uprated aluminum radiator.

>>Join the conversation about this 1980 C3 Getting Some LS Love right here in Corvette Forum.

Road Manners

Terry didn't stop with the powertrain, he backed that phase of the build-up with a suspension system to match. Hotchkis springs up front lower the car two inches and tighten up the ride with a higher spring rate, and Bilstein Touring shocks give just the right amount of damping, working in conjunction with a larger Eckler's sway bar. In the rear, a lighter 330-lb/in-rate fiberglass mono-leaf spring replaced the Vette's original unit, again working with a new sway bar and Bilsteins, but also with added strut rods to help eliminate wheel hop under hard acceleration.

>>Join the conversation about this 1980 C3 Getting Some LS Love right here in Corvette Forum.

Rollin' Rollin'

The more capable suspension called out for wheels and tires to keep up, and shiny 17x9.5 inch Boyd’s Junkyard Dog wheels shod with 255/55R17 Bridgestone Dueler H/L tires all the way around answered the call. A full set of Wilwood four-piston calipers, working with 12" drilled-and-slotted rotors, stops the whole concern, assisted by a newly-chromed brake booster and a chromed dual master/reservoir.

>>Join the conversation about this 1980 C3 Getting Some LS Love right here in Corvette Forum.

Period Look

Inside, and complementing the classic white paint, applied to the exterior by Bobby Ledford from Cleveland Collision Center, resides a striking, period-correct, red and white interior, refurbished and reupholstered by Kyle Wilson from Fully Loaded Interiors. The A/C blows cold courtesy of a unit from Vintage Air, blowing through a refurbed dash from Mid-America.  Aside from the showy Boyd's wheels, Terry kept the look of his C3 decidedly factory, using items like the original gas tank for the fuel system, and sticking with the stock hood. In the end Terry's decision to go fast and not look back saves his Vette from being the car that in 1980 Car and Driver said, "suffers from an energy crisis of its own," and the stroked-and-blown LS3 effectively erases any memory of the L48 that magazine lamented "won't pump up much adrenaline." Malaise, meet adrenaline. 

>>Join the conversation about this 1980 C3 Getting Some LS Love right here in Corvette Forum.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to page in the forum.