1982 Chevrolet Corvette

1982 CHEVROLET CORVETTE – THE LAST C3
This was the last year of the 3rd-gen (C3) Corvette. The revolutionary C4 would arrive as a 1984 model, having skipped over the 1983 model year. In its final year, the ’82 Vette. To commemorate the passing of the C3, Chevy offered a limited Collectors Edition with silver-beige paint, alloy wheels designed to look like C2 ‘knock-offs’, an operable rear hatch window, and its own sequential serial numbering sequence. Another important benchmark: this was the last year you could order an 8-track tape player.

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1982 Chevrolet Corvette ENGINES

1982 CHEVROLET CORVETTE GETS CROSSFIRE INJECTION
The big news was the introduction of Chevy’s first fuel injection system since 1965. The new “Cross-Fire Injection” system used 2 electronically-controlled throttle bodies, which injected the fuel into the throttle bodies (Throttle Body Injection or TBI) instead of directly into the intake ports, as on later systems. The throttle bodies were sitting side-by-side, but staggered slightly front-to-back, giving the appearance of a 1960s-era “Cross Ram”-type intake manifold that would have mounted 2 big 4-barrel carburetors. This is probably what inspired the name “Cross-Fire”. Either way, this early attempt at Electronic Fuel Injection was both weak and problematic. It made only 200hp when installed on the 5.7L (350) V8, and was a bundle of problems from the start. They don’t drive well, they tend to idle very fast, and run hot. The throttle response isn’t always there when you want it. It was the only engine available in the C3s final year. Cross-Fire would rear its ugly head up one more time at the dawn of the 4th-generation, with the 1984 models, then it would be replaced in ’85 with the new Tune Port Injection (TPI) system. Also new this year was the 700-R4 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. It promised improved performance and fuel economy, but this early version proved to be weak, and suffered from reliability issues from the start. Later versions would solve these problems. By 1982 standards, peformance wasn’t bad, with a zero-to-60 time of 7.9 seconds and a 16.1-second quarter mile ET at 85mph. Shameful today, any Honda Accord can best that, but remember the times we were in, back then.

5.7L (350) V8 w/CROSSFIRE FUEL INJECTION

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1982 Chevrolet Corvette SPECIFICATIONS