California Special Vette

[C6driver]

A friend of mine told me about a Vette that was supposedly one of the 10 worst cars of 1982. It was called a California Special and was powered by the mighty GM 305. Anyone ever heard of this? I had an 82 which I thought was a pretty good car and would keep up with anything on the road a the time. The only California Special I have ever heard of was a Mustang.

 

[6880 Mike]

It's an 80 model. 80 models going to California all got the LG-4 305 with computer controlled emissions stuff. I've never heard of them referred to as "California Specials."

Everybody got the computer in 1981, but the regular 350 was certified for use in California.

All the 82s are TBI 350s.

 

[Yoda]

Your friend is pretty close... The California Corvette is actually the 1980 Corvette and it was as mentioned Automatic and 305 CID ... if you can take a bit of time and visit our Tech Center (drop down menu "Model Center") you will see the specs and a brief writeup

Oh... in 1980 there were NO 4-Speeds sold in California, but the 4-speed was available BUT only in the L48

Welcome aboard, enjoy the

Bud

 

[BLACKDOG]

Rare81 is right on.
In 1980, Corvettes sold in California came with the 180HP LG-4 305 CID.
Chevy couldn't get the 350 to pass the standards set by the smog nazis out here, so we got the 305.
I still have one of the 3,221 Corvettes born as an LG-4 ... but the 305 is now gone, and so is the TH350 for that matter.