1981 Corvette

[exdeath]

Stay away from US 80's and 90's "performance" vehicles?

Mmm 80s... the decade of 150 HP V8s....

 

[power_hour]

Mmm 80s... the decade of 150 HP V8s....

Gas was cheap, traffic good and driving wasn't such a chore.They were good times.

I wouldn't touch a 80s Vette unless it was being sold by a Mechanic I trusted who already did the work. Too much risk for little potential upside. They are neat to look at when mint. Nice piece of history but not so much for driving.

 

[Jimzz]

I have a 73 Corvette, Last year of rear chrome bumper.

The C3's are based on Tech from the 50's and 60's. The brake calipers need to be updated with o-ring seals. ANY old car like this will need electrial work (I am completly re-wiring mine). The head lights are vacuum but I am switching mine to electric. and so on...

I do not like the late 70's to early 80's C3's myself. The have emissions and if you want them to be legal it must stay on. That and the body just got to big faced in the 80's ones.

Try to get a 74 or older if you want a C3. Little to no emission equipment so you are more free to mod but still has same brakes, suspension, etc... as later C3's.

Prices have started to hold now on the older C3's. So a middle child 73 or full plastic bumper 74 are the best prices right now. 72 and older are front and rear chrome so they still hold well.

Watch out for frame and bird cage rust. People think fiberglass and don't look for rust.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Mmm 80s... the decade of 150 HP V8s....

I had an '86 Mustang GT Vert that was rated at 200hp and a '94 Mustang GT coupe that was rated at 225hp. Both responded well to simple and cheap bolt on mods, were fun to drive and chicks dug them... especially the convertible.

 

[AdamK47]

The 1981 Corvette has a fantastic interior.

 

[AMCRambler]

I had an '86 Mustang GT Vert that was rated at 200hp and a '94 Mustang GT coupe that was rated at 225hp. Both responded well to simple and cheap bolt on mods, were fun to drive and chicks dug them... especially the convertible.

Commiefornia. Nuff said.

My preference would be more toward a late 70's car. Not as much aero kit going on makes them look like more of a classic. The 81 had that big nose hanging low on it which was pretty ugly.

That said, you gotta find one that's in good shape and well cared for. Unless you've got the skill, the tools and the work space to be able to repair it yourself. My dad had a 78' and it suffered the pop up headlight prob as well as issues with the e-brake hanging up. Motor and trans were solid though. It wasn't that fast but still made a nice noise when driving.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Commiefornia. Nuff said.

My preference would be more toward a late 70's car. Not as much aero kit going on makes them look like more of a classic. The 81 had that big nose hanging low on it which was pretty ugly.

That said, you gotta find one that's in good shape and well cared for. Unless you've got the skill, the tools and the work space to be able to repair it yourself. My dad had a 78' and it suffered the pop up headlight prob as well as issues with the e-brake hanging up. Motor and trans were solid though. It wasn't that fast but still made a nice noise when driving.

I'm curious, is there any difference between a car sold in CA and the same car sold in some shithole flyover state that I'll never visit?

 

[AMCRambler]

I'm curious, is there any difference between a car sold in CA and the same car sold in some shithole flyover state that I'll never visit?

Not anymore but there used to be throughout the 70's and 80's mfg's had to make special smogged California cars.

My reference was to what you mentioned about bolt ons. Never pass inspection in California from what I understand. That includes headers and any other performance changes to the motor.

And on this specific topic, in 1980 Chevy made a special version of the Vette to be sold specifically in California. It had been neutered swapping in a 305 for the 350 available elsewhere, just to meet California emissions. This resulted in a 125 hp corvette. Sickening.

 

[MagickMan]

The 1981 Corvette has a fantastic interior.

For me to poop on!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Not anymore but there used to be throughout the 70's and 80's mfg's had to make special smogged California cars.

My reference was to what you mentioned about bolt ons. Never pass inspection in California from what I understand. That includes headers and any other performance changes to the motor.

And on this specific topic, in 1980 Chevy made a special version of the Vette to be sold specifically in California. It had been neutered swapping in a 305 for the 350 available elsewhere, just to meet California emissions. This resulted in a 125 hp corvette. Sickening.

I had some mods on my '94 GT. Never had a problem passing smog.

 

[exar333]

I'm curious, is there any difference between a car sold in CA and the same car sold in some shithole flyover state that I'll never visit?

Yeah. In the other states you can drive the car faster than 5mph in bumper to bumper traffic and avoid so many douches on the road.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Stay away from US 80's and 90's "performance" vehicles?

Mid to late 90s wasn't bad at all. Corvette C5, 4th gen Camaro with the LT1 then the LS1, etc... Ford didn't have it all together yet but GM did. And of course can't forget the Viper

 

[MrWizzard]

Mmm 80s... the decade of 150 HP V8s....

Yea, heh my 4 cylinder neon had more power than that. The 80s were the years that made the Porsche Turbo legendary. Corvette V8 150hp or a Porsche flat 6 330HP.

Those days have come and gone though.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah. In the other states you can drive the car faster than 5mph in bumper to bumper traffic and avoid so many douches on the road.

One of the reasons I have a motorcycle. I can lane split and/or zip around the douches.

 

[Pinepig]

I have a 73 Corvette, Last year of rear chrome bumper.

The C3's are based on Tech from the 50's and 60's. The brake calipers need to be updated with o-ring seals. ANY old car like this will need electrial work (I am completly re-wiring mine). The head lights are vacuum but I am switching mine to electric. and so on...

I do not like the late 70's to early 80's C3's myself. The have emissions and if you want them to be legal it must stay on. That and the body just got to big faced in the 80's ones.

Try to get a 74 or older if you want a C3. Little to no emission equipment so you are more free to mod but still has same brakes, suspension, etc... as later C3's.

Prices have started to hold now on the older C3's. So a middle child 73 or full plastic bumper 74 are the best prices right now. 72 and older are front and rear chrome so they still hold well.

Watch out for frame and bird cage rust. People think fiberglass and don't look for rust.

If you are moving to Kali you'll definitely want a pre 76 ( 75 or earlier ) C3 just so you can avoid having to smog the damn thing every two years. It can be tough DDing an older car, it's so tempting to mod the crap out of it and then it's not so DD friendly any more. I made that mistake with my 2002 ( pic related, my now sold 75 2002 and my C1 ),

I really enjoyed the 2002 back when I just had fuel injection, didn't make a crap load of power but it was a fun easy car to drive. After a couple of redo's of the engine bay I ended up with this ( @25psi ) and it's just wasn't that easy to have fun in any more, you had to pay attention or it would bite you.

If you plan on it being a cheap and fun DD leave it stock, as a bonus it will hold it's value much better. The biggest upside of having a semi-classic DD is you don't ever loose any money unless it has some catastrophic failure.

Good luck man.