L82's

[81l82]

Does anyone know just how many L82's were made in 1981?;help

 

[Yoda]

81/82 Welcome ...

The records show NO L82's for 1981. The ONLY engine option for 1981 was the L81 (350 cid / 190 hp)..

I have "heard" rumors that a few L82's found there way into 4-speeds during early production, BUT I HAVE NEVER seen it documented anywhere

Welcome aboard, enjoy the

Bud

 

[81l82]

Thanks! I have owned the 81 since 1984, a one owner. I was told it was a L82, it has L82 badges on the front fenders. The stats always said 81's had a monoleaf spring, mine has a multileaf spring. It was born in 1980 in St Louis- Black on Black 4 speed. When I tried to get a build sheet from NCM was told the records were lost in the move from St Louis to BG. Someone, somewhere knows the facts. Thanks for your help.

 

[Yoda]

I will move this up to the L81Vetteregistry Forums

I won't bore you with details, If you car is a automatic it is very likely to have a mono rear spring, but being early S/N it could have a steel spring. The 4-Speeds came with steel springs, as did the FE suspensions options.

Here at the Action Center in the Tech Center drop down menu you can go to the Model Center and see specs and other useful information. ALSO the 1981 has it own Registry L81VetteRegistry

Lot's of L81'ers around here too Many very knowledgable, and a few NCRS guys into the 1981's

Welcome

Bud

Thanks! I have owned the 81 since 1984, a one owner. I was told it was a L82, it has L82 badges on the front fenders. The stats always said 81's had a monoleaf spring, mine has a multileaf spring. It was born in 1980 in St Louis- Black on Black. When I tried to get a build sheet from NCM was told the records were lost in the move from St Louis to BG. Someone, somewhere knows the facts. Thanks for your help.

 

[81l82]

Thanks for your help!

 

[GerryLP]

Does anyone know just how many L82's were made in 1981?;help

One quick way to check would be as follows:

!) Get the Vin number information from the engine block. Passenger side cylinder bank, and on that small edge surface just in front of the right-hand cylinder head's front end.

The suffix will help a lot on this situation. There should be a 3-letter code at the end of the block identification number.

For example, it will start with the engine factory code (either F = Flint, Michigan (they also used the letter "V"); K =St. Catherine, Ontario, Canada; M=Mexico; T= Tonawanda, New York.

Then, it will have the date code. If for example it was 0523, then that meant May 23rd.

And finally, it will have the suffix portion which usually ties the Regular Production Order (RPO) together with the short block configuration of the engine to a "stamp RPO" at the end of the engine identification number.

Therefore, if for example you have "V0215ZDD" and below that it matches your last Eight numbers of your vin, then that will tell you that the block was produced in Flint, Michigan, on the 15th of May, and it was configured for a 1981 Corvette with a "6" in position number 8 of the VIN, L81 RPO, and it was matched to a 4-speed manual tranny.

2) Block casting number and date can be used to fine tune what the pre-fix and suffix numbers are telling you. It is very useful to determine, for example, if the general years of use concurs with the stamp RPO.

Be ready with a bottle of simple green and a rag. The areas which contain the numbers are usually caked with oil and dirt from years of missing the pressure washer blast.

 

[Peer81]

Thanks! I have owned the 81 since 1984, a one owner. I was told it was a L82, it has L82 badges on the front fenders. The stats always said 81's had a monoleaf spring, mine has a multileaf spring. It was born in 1980 in St Louis- Black on Black 4 speed. When I tried to get a build sheet from NCM was told the records were lost in the move from St Louis to BG. Someone, somewhere knows the facts. Thanks for your help.

IMHO, if it is a L82 it should be a BG car and not a St. Louis, I think no L82 found this way to the St. Louis factory. As Gerry says check the engine suffix against the vin number on the window pillar. The date should be as close together as a couple of weeks max.
Also the L82 is a compleetly different engine, different transmission (4 speed auto not 3), different ECM etc etc. Maybe the previous owner has swapped the engine in the first years? And maybe I'm wrong
Good luck and let us know what you find out!

Groeten Peter

 

[6880 Mike]

The records show NO L82's for 1981. The ONLY engine option for 1981 was the L81 (350 cid / 190 hp)....I have "heard" rumors that a few L82's found there way into 4-speeds during early production, BUT I HAVE NEVER seen it documented anywhere ...

There were no optional engines for '81, so there were no L-82s.

As far as rumor control goes, (a few L-82s with 4 speeds) you are confusing 1980 production with 1981. Apparently a few very early 1980 L-82s may have gotten 4 speeds, but most of them were automatics.

Standard suspension cars in 1981 and 82 got the fiberglass rear springs. Cars with the optional FE7 package got steel springs. If your car has the optional FE7, it will have the steel spring and a rear sway bar.

A previous owner has added the L-82 badges. Pricey these days, but cheap back then.

PEER: No L-82s were installed at Bowling Green. The last L-82 was for the 1980 model year and that would have been St. Louis production.

The NCM does not have records for St. Louis cars. Contact Allied-Vaughn through the forum here and see if you can obtain a copy of the dealer invoice for your car. If they have your VIN on record, they will charge your credit card. Worth the cost. I was able to obtain a copy of the dealer invoice for my 80.

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/infosearch/index.php?cmd=area

 

[Yoda]

Mike

At my age I'm lucky I remember how to get home from the Coffee Shop otfl

Great information and precise..
Thanks Mike

Bud

There were no optional engines for '81, so there were no L-82s.

As far as rumor control goes, (a few L-82s with 4 speeds) you are confusing 1980 production with 1981. Apparently a few very early 1980 L-82s may have gotten 4 speeds, but most of them were automatics.

Standard suspension cars in 1981 and 82 got the fiberglass rear springs. Cars with the optional FE7 package got steel springs. If your car has the optional FE7, it will have the steel spring and a rear sway bar.

A previous owner has added the L-82 badges. Pricey these days, but cheap back then.

PEER: No L-82s were installed at Bowling Green. The last L-82 was for the 1980 model year and that would have been St. Louis production.

The NCM does not have records for St. Louis cars. Contact Allied-Vaughn through the forum here and see if you can obtain a copy of the dealer invoice for your car. If they have your VIN on record, they will charge your credit card. Worth the cost. I was able to obtain a copy of the dealer invoice for my 80.

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/infosearch/index.php?cmd=area

 

[6880 Mike]

...At my age I'm lucky I remember how to get home from the Coffee Shop....

I resemble that remark....

:L

 

[pbcanney]

to add confusion to the mystery, it sounds like you may have an 80 (to me)

a few things to check.

If you have a vacuum line running from the distributor to the carb for vacuum advance, (and you havent changed it in the past) it's not an 81. Distributor advance was (is) handled by the CCC (Atari for the corvette) computer.

On the front wall of the battery well, there should be a silver metallic box. Thats the 81 CCC. (and California 80's - just to add to the mystery)

My research tells me that 81's with the gymkhana option and the 4 speeds that were produced, retained the 7 leaf rear steel spring. All other 81's had the fiberglass monoleaf.

Additionally, the valve covers were finned magnesium units on the 81. On the 80, they were stamped steel.

an 80 engine:

an 81 engine:

 

[Evolution1980]

to add confusion to the mystery, it sounds like you may have an 80 (to me)

Additionally, the valve covers were finned magnesium units on the 81. On the 80, they were stamped steel.

Ooohhh!! I want to add confusion as well!!!

When I got my 80 (and to this day I still don't have a definitive answer), my engine setup had the dual snorkel setup with the full duct work. Your engine pic of the 80 is missing the front duct work. I've never determined why some ("mine") had the full dual-snorkel setup and other 80's only had a single snorkel.

The idea that anyone would mix and match Corvette parts or even remotely modify their cars is simply blasphemous!!! :cool

 

[Peer81]

PEER: No L-82s were installed at Bowling Green. The last L-82 was for the 1980 model year and that would have been St. Louis production.

Sorry my mistake! I thought it was a L83 from a 82 Corvette but where talking about a L82 from a 80 In that case.. I don't know

Groeten Peter

 

[6880 Mike]

...

...

This is an L-48 base engine. As pointed out, some of the underhood plumbing is missing. Stamped steel valve covers only on the base engine cars. L-82s got the finned aluminum covers shown below.

Everything else looks otherwise factory correct.

...an 81 engine:

This looks like an L-82 but the year could be tricky. Dual snorkel air cleaner is correct for 1980 L-82s. There should be an auxillary electric fan in front of the seven blade for L-82s and a trap door in the bottom of the fan shroud. The 81s had the auxillary fans, but not the trap door in the shroud.

Easy to resolve: all 1981 engines ran with the computer and the "electronic" Quadrajet. None of the 1980 cars had computers or the "electronic" Q-Jet except the LG-4 305 cars sold in California.

VINs are coded A for the 1980 models; B for the '81s.

 

[pbcanney]

many possible solutions here


1. There was one previously undocumented L82 produced in 1981 and we just now learned ot this rare shark. :bash

2. It's really a 1980 Corvette

3. Someone stuck L-82 badges on your 1981 Corvette

4. Somewhere between 1981 and 1984, someone slipped an L-82 in the engine bay.


There's enough here to create a poll!


I'm stickin with # 2 but # 3 seems the most logical

 

[81l82]

Mine does look like the 2nd picture, I will ck numbers and for the trap door. It does also have aux fan, and it was made in St Louis. Thanks!

 

[81l82]

Short of taking off heat shields, the only numbers I found were a small 5 then 0207.

 

[6880 Mike]

Pic is not an '81 model, but check the pad on the block at the front of the right head. You should find two numbers stamped on the pad. 1981 Corvette engines will have suffixes of ZDA, ZDB, ZDC, or ZDD depending upon the type of original transmission (4 spd or AT) and California emissions package.

Post what you find.