RufusMN

I'm new to Corvettes and am looking for some opinions on how much difference an L82 makes. I'm looking at a couple of '77 and '79 cars, and found a very nice one with an L48. Is there a noticeable enough difference in perfromance with the L48 to pass on it and wait for an L82? Thanks for your suggestions.

mr303

Your better off with a nice L48 vette than a crappy example L82. Its not hard to add a bit of HP later on.

jlelec

Roughrider

If all you want is a nice cruiser than an L48 will do all you need. If you want more power, then look for an L82. There's lots of C3's out there, you can afford to wait for the right one.

Glensgages

I think you need to qualify exactly 'WHAT' you are looking-for in owning this Corvette.....
a low-production / numbers-matching collectors car, a fun street-cruiser that is good for getting ice-cream on weekend evenings, or a heavily-modified hot-rod / street-machine?


If it doesn't HAVE-to be an L-82, and you plan-on making significant changes to the drive-train, why spend the extra money for stuff you won't use:
a low-mileage /well-maintained L-48 can be built into a 400-HP pump-gas friendly motor, and can save you a few bucks on the initial purchase-price over an L-82.

Attfay Elleybay

isn't it about 40 HP between the two engines?
185 and 225?

mrvette

IMO, U find a nice L48, take it, wether numbers or not....

then depending on what conditions you drive the car under, you maybe want an overdrive, OR DPFI, OR both....any and all of which can be found a ton of information here....

Glassbowtie77

In 1977 it was 180 vs 210HP, hardly worth the difference in money IMHO. I did a few basic mods to mine and it runs quite nicely. It's a perfect weekend cruiser with a little bit if ***** and that's perfect for me, I'm not looking to race anybody. I know I can do a cam and heads to get more HP and torque out of it, and maybe someday I'll think about doing that, but for me right now the car does exactly what I want it to do, give me great driving pleasure and turn heads.

my mach 5

Looked a both and settled on the L-48 because the car I found was in great shape for the age (body, paint, brakes, lights, even the clock works!!). Swapped out the engine by choice. Didn't have to so much, but the balance of the car is what i looked at.

hotshot79

You say you are new to corvettes and your question is a good one. I think a nice L -48 would be fine, more to choose from, you will want to get a vehicle in the best condition possible. As you learn more and really get into vettes you may be of the opinion you need the
L 82, but selecting the best condition vette and really enjoying the experience of vette ownership is important. The quest for more horsepower and performance is ongoing with a lot of members, others are happy with the car as it is and all the pride and enjoyment that comes with it. You will have to decide your preferences as you go along. good luck.

Oldguard 7

Better a good L48 than a bad L82. That is a corvette rule (I'm sure I read that somewhere)

NJVette77

L48 is rated at 200 HP.

bytor

Just happened across this link today. It's a good comparison for a 78 wiht lots of detail.

http://www.vettefinders.com/78Registry/1978spec.html

RufusMN

Thanks for all you responses. I'm not really looking for high performance (which probably makes sense since we're talking about C3's) but rather fulfilling a want I've had since I was a kid. SO, the L48 souds like it woudl be just fine.

Jay-Dog

Incidentlly, I always felt a little bad about modifying my old L-82 figuring it was worth more if left alone. If you're like, me, I want to improve things a little, so an L-48 is a great choice.

Jay

ETM

It depends what year.77 were rated at 180hp and 79s were rated at 195hp.

NJVette77

Naturally, and I'm specifically talking about my 72.

NHRalph

L-48 is a good engine, difference is minimal, if you want a lot more power, get a crate motor. My 77 has an L-48 and after ceramic coated headers, it was like a new engine, both L-48 and L-82's suffer from restricted exhausts.

Ron R

I have an 81 L-48 and an 80 L-82. The redline on the L-48's tach is lower. That's it. When they were both all stock, the L-82 was slightly more responsive but it really wasn't anything to brag about. Although I will admit that after removing both vehicles catalytic converters and converting to true dual exhaust, I noticed the L-82's hidden power a lot more.

I would imagine that other modifications to the restrictive aspects of C3's (like the ridiculously low gear ratios, for example) would continue to push the performance of the two further apart, but like I said, when all stock they're pretty close.

Next week I'm putting 3.70 gears and a 700R4 transmission in the L-82, which is basically going to make it perform like a completely different vehicle. I hadn't planned on doing anything else to my 81 (the L-48) but if anyone else has done the same thing on an L-48 I'd be curious to see the dyno results.

Tim H

L-82s have forged crank and forged flattop pistons, big valve heads.
There is a difference.