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The
1982 Corvette is probably destined to become a collector
car a few years down the line. Not only does it represent
the end of an era, it also ushers in the new. Under the
skin it features an entirely new drive train the one to
be used in the all-new 1984 model.
Traditionalists
will be reassured in that the '84 - like the '82 - has retained
a V8 powerplant and, while the Camaro has gone to the 305
cid (5 -litre) V8, the Corvette still has the 350 (5.7-litre).
The induction system is all new - instead of carburettors,
Chevrolet now mounts Throttle Body Injectors (TBIs) atop
the dual-carb intake manifold. These represent a sort of
space-age fuel injection, metering fuel into the airflow
electronically. Chevrolet calls this feature 'Cross Fire
Injection', which is a rather unfortunate name. (One Road
& Track tester said it sounded more like a malfunction than
a sales feature: 'Stand back, kid, that engine is about
to cross-fire"!') But there's no doubt that TBI is an important
improvement on the carburettor.
Compression
is back up on the 1982-84 V8 - to 9.0 instead of 8.2:1.
The camshaft has been redesigned with better performance
in mind, featuring higher lift and overlap. Stainless-steel
exhaust headers are new, and emissions are handled via an
exhaust-gas recirculating system, evaporative control and
a huge catalytic converter. The result is 200 net bhp at
4200rpm and 285lb/ft of torque at a low 2,800rpm - 'A far
cry from the 400bhp-plus days of the L88 and L-68', said
one road-tester, 'but not exactly a shrinking violet by
today's wheezing standards'. A late-1982 test of a Corvette
with automatic showed 0-60 acceleration in 7.9 seconds and
the standing quarter-mile in 16 seconds at 85mph. This is
a definite improvement from 1981. Combine that with the
fact that the new '84 model weighs 500lbs less and we can
see the progress that is being made.
Though
the 1982 Corvette was offered only with fou-speed automatic
transmission, the manual option has returned for 1984. The
automatic is governed by a black box - the Electronic Control
Module - which also decides how to govern the TBIs, water
temperature, throttle position, oxygen level and engine
knock.
ECM
'decides when the torque converter should lock up. providing
a standard-gearbox like mechanical drive when load conditions
are right'. Numerous bugs have been reported on the 1982s,
with transmissions failing to shift when they should and
locking up at less than opportune moments, so we should
hope that all these nits have been combed out of the 1984
model.
Marking
the end of a long run, the 1982 Corvette was offered in
a Collector Edition, a special which accomplished too late
what was needed for years - exterior luggage access through
a lift-up rear window. Production has been shifted, now,
from the old St. Louis factory to a new, modern plant in
Bowling Green Kentucky. This has apparently contributed
to improved fit and finish, though the '82 still rattles
and shakes with all the aplomb of the '68.
Lack
of torsional rigidity has been endemic to the breed since
then, and another thing we can hope is that they'll get
the shakes out of the animal by 1984.
Driving
the 1982 corvette is a familiar experience. The car sticks
well on corners, but is anything but nimble, and oversteer
can be readily induced at the limits of adhesion. The driver
is buried bathtub-style in the cockpit, and the space for
both occupants is still pretty limited. The ride is hard,
too much unsprung weight still being carried on a very tight
suspension. There's plenty of noise - engine, exhaust, wind,
body creaks - and fuel mileage is pretty dismal 13mpg (US
gallons), stretchable to perhaps 18mpg on a trip.
The
1984 Corvette (If any 1983's are sold they will be 'retitled'
1982's) represents an important improvement in virtually
all respects. Thus it will be as significant in Corvette
history as the 1956, and the 1963. Perhaps it is the most
significant Corvette of all time, its style and performance
better than ever. And despite the imperatives of corporate
bean counters, the mandates of Congress and the machinations
of the Arabs, that's what Chevrolet has been trying to do
all along. In 1984, for the first time perhaps since the
mid'-Sixties, they're being given a real opportunity.
It hasn't been easy, for sure. In a 1977 interview with
John Lamm, Zora Arkus-Duntov summed up his 25 years' experience
with the marque in one word - 'struggle'.
When
John asked him, 'With whom?' Duntov replied with a one-liner
that said it all: 'With whomever came to have an opinion
different than mine'.
Technical
Highlights
A pair of rear-suspension lateral links has been forged
in aluminum alloy. Three of these links plus a half shaft
(manufactured from aluminum tubing) will locate each rear
wheel in this corvette.
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