1980 CORVETTE
Production: 40,614 coupes

Abbreviations: at=automatic transmission, ce=california emissions, ci--cubic inch, hp=horsepower, lp=Iate production, mt=manual transmission, uu=uncertain usage.

• A 350ci, 190hp, 350ci (180hp, 305ci in Californiafor$50 credit), 4-speed manual transmission or automatic transmission, T-tops, and leather/vinyl or cloth/vinyl interior trim were included in the base price. - The Corvette's base price increased four times during 1980, increasing from $13,140.24 to $14,345.24. Option prices were not affected.
• RPO A31 power windows, RPO C60 air conditioning, and RPO N37 tilttelescopic steering column, all optional for part of 1979, were included in the 1980's base price.
• RPO C49 rear window defogger included UA1 heavy-duty battery.
• RPO LG4 305ci, 180hp engine was required for California and not available elsewhere. It was not available with manual transmission.
• RPO V54 roof panel carrier mounted to the rear deck for external transport of removable roof panels. It was new for 1980.
• RPO ZN1 trailer package included heavy-duty radiator, not available as a separate option, and RPO FE7 gymkhana suspension.

• Suggested interiors shown. Additional combinations were possible.
• Paint quantities exceed actual units sold.
• Records show no primer only, but additional special colors coded "spec" were used.
• Code 492 for green leather interior was released, but cancelled early.

Interior Codes: 12C=O/C, 122=0/L, 192=Bk/L, 29C=Db/C, 292=Db/L, 59C=Ds/C, 592=Ds/L, 722=R/L, 79C=CUC, 792=CLJL.

Abbreviations: Bk=Black, C=Cloth, CL=Claret, Db=Dark Blue, Ds=Doeskin, L=Leather, O=Oyster, R=Red.

1980 FACTS

• For the first time since 1974, two engine displacements were available in Corvettes, but not optional. Because of tightened California emission restrictions, Chevrolet did not certify its 350 cubic-inch engines there in 1980.
• California Corvette buyers were required to purchase a 305ci engine, the RPO LG4, with a $50 credit. This was a standard passenger car engine, built at Chevrolet's Tonawanda, New York, engine plant. In Corvettes, it could be combined only with automatic transmissions.
• The4-speed manual transmission was not available with the optional L82 engine, with the possible exception of a few early production builds.
• The 1980 model featured new front and rear bumper "caps" with integral spoilers. Radiator air flow increased by nearly fifty-percent. The integrated spoilers improved the drag coefficient from.503 to.443 compared to the 1979 model equipped with optional, non-integrated spoilers. -The crossed flag emblems for 1980 were a new, more elongated design. - The speedometers for 1980 Corvettes read to a maximum of 85 mph, a new federal requirement. These were phased in during 1979 production.
• The three behind-seat storage compartments were changed to two in the 1980 model. The battery remained in its own compartment behind the driver, but the center and passenger-side compartments were combined with one access door.
• After several years of weight increases, the Corvette was lighter in 1980 as engineers trimmed weight by using lower density roof panels, reducing the thickness of hood and outer doors, and using aluminum for the differential housing and crossmember.
• For the base L48 engine, the L82's aluminum intake manifold became standard.
• The California RPO LG4 305ci engine included stainless-steel tubular exhaust headers with an oxygen sensor in a "closed loop" system. Despite its lower displacement and more restrictive emissions equipment, the Corvette application of this engine developed 180hp, just 10hp less than the 350ci, L48 base engine for other states.