82?

[MR. T.]

In the humble forums opinion, is there a benefit to getting an 82 with the fuel injection. I would assume you would get a little better gas mileage and perhaps performance, but you also have a computer to contend with so modding the engine may be more difficult. I realize that there is a vast number of opinions, but I am stuck on the late C3 body style and was wondering about the fuel injection. I am on the road again next week and have a couple more to look at, even a super charged 81, but the price is a little steep, but man it would be a ride. Thanks again, and if you get sick of me do not be afraid to tell me to pound sand.

Michael

 

[bill81vette]

When I went down to carlisle I followed an '82,I had an '81 performance wise I didn't notice any difference between the the two,as I had no trouble keeping up with him!!! I did however stop on the way down to get fuel...I have been getting 13-16 MPG with mine I dont know what an '82 will get..


bill

 

[82X-FireVette]

The '82 has a 200 HP engine. The FI is very simple but not very well understood. It gets 19-21 MPG mainly due to the four speed overdrive 700R4 transmission. It is a little lighter in weight due to the use of lighter materials. Other than that, it is the same as an '80/'81. There are aftermarket mods you can make to the engine and crossfire system.

 

[Shaggyvette]

My 82 gets at least 20 mpg. The thing I liked about the 82, when looking for a Vete, was all the bells and whistles that you don't normally get on an 80 or 81. Power seat, mirror, rear window defrost, to name some. Just my thoughts.

Love mine.

Dave

 

[jdp6000]

I think the 81 also has a computer. Basically same body style for 80 to 82. I went for the 82 because its the last of the C3's and the first with injectors.I suggest that if you go for an 82 get one that runs real well. When something goes wrong it will be easier to find. it took me a whole year to understand the TBI system. i finally got mine running right.

If i had to do it again I would probably have bought the 82 Collector Edition.

Jim

 

[wishuwerehere82]

The last few years I took my 82 to Carlilse, going up and down the hills in PA, I got 24.6 MPG overall. That included sitting in the fairgrounds traffic, doing the Corvette parade, back and forth to the hotel in Rt.11 traffic. Temps. were rock solid at 205' at highway speed and in traffic.
My 98 C5 compared at 26.8 MPG for the same trip this year.
The 82 is a very comfortable highway car and just purrs along at 65 MPH with plenty of power left for hills, although downshifting out of overdrive is recommended for big hills.

For a do-it-yourself-er the 82 is pretty tight to work on inside the engine compartment. There is not a lot of extra space left between the engine and the sides of the car to get a wrench in. The front 2 spark plugs have to be removed from the top on both sides and the back 2 from below the engine. Spark plug wire routing is a real time consuming task as the plug wires are beneath multiple shields and the front 4 have to be routed between the motor mounts and the block.

The crossfire system is a somewhat difficult animal to diagnose if problems occur, but under the intake manifold it's just a small-block Chevy, and all parts are readily available at most auto parts stores. The only thing I had to special order was my springs, carpets, door seals and seats. Everything else was off the shelf.
Drive train service is the same as any other 68-82 Vette. And replacing the exhaust is real easy, and fairly inexpensive compared to the newer Vettes.

 

[tcolyer]

Our '82 has many mods (high compression, cam, roller rockers, mild porting work and it gets 23-24 mpg with mixed highway & stop & go traffic.

PLeasure to drive

 

[oceangal]

I find my 82 gets better mileage than my 2001 Dodge Neon!!!

 

[Rmodeler]

Just purchased an '82', got 20 mpg the first 200 miles-mostly on interstate @75mph+. At 80mph the tach only showed 2k rpm, is that right, figured it would be higher?

 

[gmjunkie]

I find my 82 gets better mileage than my 2001 Dodge Neon!!!

And Safer Too!! junk!!

 

[ratflinger]

In particular I bought a carb car, not because I'm afraid of FI, but no FI means no computer.

 

[JohnGrawcock]

Stock the 82 is a good car with less wieght, better mileage, and a little more power than the 80 and 81. However, if you want to get into extensive mods these difference won't matter. The TBI intake manfold on the 82 is rather restrickive. The best number I've seen using an original intake was 325hp. That's not bad but if you want more you'll have to go to a carb or different FI system anyway.

 

[Glensgages]

Just purchased an '82', got 20 mpg the first 200 miles-mostly on interstate @75mph+. At 80mph the tach only showed 2k rpm, is that right, figured it would be higher?

That is correct, with the OEM 2.87:1 gears, I saw about a 4-to-1 ratio (MPH vs RPM div/by 100 ):I got almost 24 MPG on a 236+ mile round-trip with the 2.87s without even TRYING (A/C on, T-tops off, 75-80 MPH +, etc. ).I now have 3.73 gears, and the MPH/RPM ratio is about 3:1 (2000 RPM = 60 MPH ), and I got about 18 MPG over 440+ miles of equal-parts city/back-roads/interstate driving.From what "I" can understand of the '82/Cross-Fire combination, it'll make you a GREAT road-car/cruiser, with better-than-expected mileage results, especially for a 25 year-old car, but straight-line acceleration is lacking somewhat:Marck/Twin Turbo is a CFI-guru, and can offer ideas as to make it run better while keeping that induction system.

 

[Tom Bryant]

The '82 has the FI and the 700R4 so it will deliver better mileage and drivability, assuming all is well. The Crossfire is torquey but not a high rpm package. The '81 was the first year for the computer and is the only year with a ecm controlled carb. We had some trouble with the ecm on our '81 years ago but after a new one with new prom was installed it has been perfect for at least the last 15 years. The '81 has all of th bells and whistles that the '82 has except for overdrive and efi. The light weight parts like magnesium valve covers, fiberglass spring ect were introduced mostly on the '81 also.

Guy had 2 NCRS Top Flight '82s And I would have loved to have bought either one. They would be a great touring car.

 

[Guy]

....Guy had 2 NCRS Top Flight '82s And I would have loved to have bought either one. They would be a great touring car.

They WERE great touring cars. With all the trips I took, they were very comfortable. In just one year I dove one 8k miles and that's a lot for a 2 -season car here in New England.


Guy

 

[kdlp]

The transmission is what made up my mind... '81 was the last 4 speed manual trransmission Corvette... for those who like to shift their own.

kdlp