Jim Shea

This topic has been discussed before: "Were there any production 1980 L82 4-speeds?"

I ordered a 1980 Corvette in the Fall of 1979. At the time I tried to order a L82 engine with a MM4 (4-speed manual transmission).

I was going through some of my old paperwork tonight and I found the Chevrolet Motor Division computer printout rejecting my order. The reason for rejection; "MUST HAVE RPO COMB L 82 MX1" (MX1 is the code for the Turbo-Hydramatic Automatic Transmission).

There is not a date on the printout. However, it refers to my order "XMF460 ENTRD 10/08/79".

The order was corrected to reflect a L 48 engine with MM4. My car was delivered on March 18, 1980.

I do remember that I did check after the corrected order was placed with Chevrolet to see if the L 82 and 4-speed manual might become available later in the model year. I was told that the combination had failed emission certification and that because of low volume, they were not even going to attempt to recertify.

I can scan the actual computer printout if there are any NCRS people that would be interested.

Paul Borowski

Jim, "supposedly", and I did say "supposedly" there were rumored to have been something like 18-24 of these made. I myself, of all the Corvettes@Carlisles, Bloomington Golds, FunFests, Chicago VetteFests for the last 14 or so years, I have yet to see one in person. There was a suffix code listed in the BlackBook for this combo too. A Brown one was for sale two years ago somewhere in Ontario,Canada and I "knew"(never saw it, but talked to the owner several times)of one in Indiana. Hard to imagine if GM could'nt get it "emission certified", why did they make any, if at all??? :confused:

gotchashawn

This is what i was looking for ! i settled for the L-82 auto after reading i could'nt get with the 4-speed . concidered & still considering the conversion to the Doug- Nash 6-speed ! :cool:

sbsuperfly

Sorry to raise a dead thread, but while looking to purchase my first L82, I came across something I cannot explain. I responded to an add for a 1980 L82 4speed and asked for the numbers--

VIN: 1Z878AS439989
Motor: Z0718ZBC S439989

The VIN reads L48, but the motor reads L82 and the numbers do match. Are these possible to forge?

Ganey

L-82 emblems could be added & valve covers changed.

sbsuperfly

The 5th digit of the VIN is an "8" indicating L48. The engine code is "ZBC" which i believe is designated only to L82 engines. The L48 4speed code should read "ZAM".

Ganey

Yes, I thought about that after posting & deleted it. I am not into the silly nos. thing though relevant for this. Does it have the L-82 emblems & valve covers?

sbsuperfly

The engine is a legit L82, there has been a lot of chrome added, but he still has the original L82 valve covers.

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/cto/2516969515.html

qwank

Probably was swapped in somewhere along the line. The VIN never lies

sbsuperfly

So, if this car was a rare L82 4speed, the VIN would definitely have a 6 as the 5th digit instead of 8? I still can't figure out how he'd get the serial number etched into the motor to match the last 7 digits of the VIN.

Mike Ward

ZBC is the code for L82 auto transmission and the car is apparently a four speed, so there's a mystery right there. The VIN could be wrong and should show an L for L82 instead of 8 but that does not explain the mismatch of transmission.

You said that the engine stamping was Z0718ZBC. Are you sure the first character was Z and not a V? Got a clear picture?

Yes, 'forgeries' are possible and not rare at all.

Jim Shea

Back 29 years ago I was looking for a 1975 L82, 4-spd, convertible. Now remember that was only 7 years after 1975 production. There was one advertised as having 4,000 miles and for sale, "From my personal collection." As I remember the car was in Iowa, (I am in Michigan.)

Now remember, this is before the internet, Corvette Forum, etc. Luckily, I had a friend who lives in Iowa. I asked him to take a look before I got on an airplane to inspect and possibly purchase the Vert. I told him to look at the valve covers, hood emblems, VIN on the A-pillar, and the numbers on the engine pad.

He got back with me that the car was very clean, in a large pole barn with other cars, and had the proper body identification including a VIN that indicated the L82 engine. But funny thing, the numbers stamped on the engine pad didn't match the VIN. The engine number did match some other 1975, L82, 4-speed but not the one in the barn. (It wasn't a service replacement engine.)

I called the owner and he gave me a line about having all the documentation and that he would forward copies to me. Never received the copies. Obviously, never bought the vert.

My buddy saved me from a one way ticket to Iowa and then another one way ticket back to Michigan, thanks to his inspection. He got Omaha Steaks for his efforts.

Jim

Jim

Easy Mike

I agree with Paul. It is possible some very early 80 L-82 4 spd cars were assembled but it isn't clear whether they were actually sold to the public.

Like Paul, I've never seen one.

My 80 L-82 (March car) has AT.

sbsuperfly

When I called the guy the 1st time he had no idea where to look for the numbers or if the engine was original. He said he owned it for 1 year and bought it from a friend who told him it was original. After looking at the engine, he said the numbers were painted over and he had to use a pencil and paper and rub to get the numbers. He called back and read the numbers to me, so I guess it is possible I heard "Z" when he said "V". I live 3 hrs away and was just wanting to make sure I wouldn't be wasting a day driving out there and back to look at it. I doubt he tried to forge it since he's asking $15k and not $30k or more.

Mike Ward

Fair enough- can you post a pic nonetheless? I forgot that unlike the rest of the world, in the USA 'V' rhymes with 'Z'.

sbsuperfly

These are the only pics I have

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/cto/2516969515.html

Easy Mike

Hmmmm. Outside of the USA, what does "V" rhyme with?

Mike Ward

C,D,E,G, P,T but never Z

gbvette62

The "myth" of the L-82 4 speeds just won't go away.

Did Chevrolet originally plan to offer a 4 speed L-82 in 1980, YES. Did they build any, I doubt it. I've been hearing about those 18-20 L-82 4 speed cars forever, but I've yet to see one.

Part of the problem is that Chevrolet did announce that they were going to offer a 4 speed L-82. Early press materials listed the engine/trans combination, but both the sales brochure and dealer album (both printed before production started), only list the L-82/auto combo.

Starting with the September 1979 edition of the Corvette Parts Books, there are 5 engine 1980 engine suffix codes listed. Besides ZCA (CA 305), ZAM (Federal L-48 4sp), ZAC (Fed L-48 auto) and ZBC (Fed L-82 auto); ZBD was included for the Federal emission L-82 4 speed. Chevrolet never removed the L-82 4 speed suffix code from subsequent editions of the Parts Book, which is why the code shows up places like The Corvette Black Book.

It was well known by Corvette enthusiasts in 1980, that there were problems with the Certification process for the L-82, and that delivery of auto/L-82's was delayed and the 4 speed version was cancelled.

I had 2 friends that wanted 4 speed L-82's. One ordered one and received the same, or similar, letter to the one that Jim Shea did. The second person was told by the dealer that it wasn't available and could not be ordered. Both ordered automatic cars and waited some time to get them. I don't think that any L-82's were released to the public, much before February or March of 1980. I know I've never seen one with a build date prior to March.

GM's November/December 1979 issue of Corvette News, had a 5 page article on the new 1980 Corvette. In it it states, "The close ratio 4-speed has been discontinued, and it seems doubtful that the 4-speed manual will be available with the L-82 engine because of problems in meeting federal E.P.A. standards." This is right from Chevrolet.

In the November 1979 (Vol. 8, No. 5) issue of Vette Vues, they also had a preview of the new 1980 Corvette. The following was included as part of the article:

"As we go to press, there is a good chance that the L-82 engine will not be installed in [U]ANY[U] 1980 Corvettes. It is our understanding from a third party source that the L82/Automatic has not met EPA certification, and may be held back. We know for certain that the L82/4 Speed Manual Transmission will not be available (italics added), and that combination, last produced during the 1979 model run, will be the last of a long series of engine/transmission combos.

Again, we will just have to wait and see what happens. One thing is for sure, if you want a 1980 Corvette with an L82 engine, you had better get in line and get your car ordered as soon as possible, for if they are built at all, it will be for a limited time."

The time and cost associated with the federal certification process was quite long and costly. GM would never have done it for a run of 18-20 cars, and they could not legally sell a car that did not have federal EPA certification. Every engine/transmission combination, had to be certified separately.

I've had people try to tell me that the handful of L-82/4sp cars, may have been early cars, built before the certification process was complete, or maybe cars built for GM execs. This just doesn't fly. It was not legal for an automaker to sell cars, that have not passed the EPA certification process, without being liable for massive fines.

I'm sure people will still be discussing this, 20 years from now.

Rich's'78

I seriously doubt it is really a 4 speed. As a previous poster said, you can forge anything from that era.
I clearly remember there were a few years in the early '80s before FI when you couldn't get a manual trans in any GM "performance" car because they could not meet emissions. The problem was that manuals go rich on deceleration due to the high manifold vacuum. They weren't even available here in Canada (our emisssion restrictions used to not be as strict as in the US) but the cars were simply not made. A pre-production model had to pass US government tests before they were authorized to manufacture them.
Some cars were sold here w/o CCC on the QJs prior to '85 if I remember correctly (ie 'F' bodies) but you still couldn't get a stick.
I believe the serial numbers are stamped on several places on a car (and still are) to deter theft and fraudulent warranty claims.