1982 CORVETTE
Production: 18,648 coupe, 6,759 collector coupe, 25,407 total

• A 350ci, 200hp engine, automatic transmission, T-tops, and leather/viny or cloth/vinyl interior trim were included in the base price.
• There were no optional Corvette engines in 1982.
• Manual transmissions were not available.
• Corvette Collector Edition Hatchback Coupe included RPOs CCII, C49 QXH, U75, special silver-beige paint, graduated hood and side bod decals, commemorative aluminum wheels, frameless glass hatchback with manual remote release, accent pinstriping, multi-tone silver-beige leather seats and doortrim, leather wrapped steering wheel and horn cap cloisonne exterior and interior emblems, and luxury carpeting. If UN5 radio was selected, it cost $695 instead of $755.

• Suggested interiors shown. Other combinations were possible.
• Nine 1982 Corvettes had primer only.


• Exterior code 59 Silver-Beige, and interior code 592 silver-beige leathe were exclusive to the Collector Edition Hatchback.

• The 1982 Corvette was the last of a generation. Its basic body shape dated to 1968 and its chassis to 1963. To honor the 1982 model's special status, Chevrolet offered a "Collector Edition." It differed from base models in several ways. In addition to a higher level of standard features optional on base models, the Collector Edition had a lifting rear hatchback glass, special wheels styled similarly to the 1967 "bolt on" optional wheels, unique silver-beige paint, unique silver-beige leather interior and special cloisonne emblems.
• The Collector Edition Hatchback Coupe carried a special code (zero in the sixth digit) in its vehicle identification number, but didn't have a separate serial sequence. At $22,537.59, it was the first Corvette with a base price exceeding $20,000.00.
• A manual transmission was not available in 1982 Corvettes.
• The automatic transmission in 1982 Corvettes was a new four-speed unit with a torque converter clutch operating in the top three gears. It used a higher first gear ratio (3.07:1) for improved acceleration.
• Hoods of 1982 models had solenoid-operated doors to direct fresh air directly into the air cleaner during full throttle. o Chevrolet introduced "cross fire injection" on the 1982 Corvette. This wasn't fuel injection of the type available in 1957-1965 Corvettes; rather, it combined two "injectors" with Chevrolet's Computer Command Control system to achieve better economy, driveability and performance through more precise metering of the fuel. The Computer Command Control itself was refined in 1982 so that it was capable of making eighty adjustments per second compared to ten the previous year.
• The new fuel metering system used in 1982 included a positive fuel cutoff to prevent engine run-on (dieseling).
• The charcoal air filtering element of the 1981 model was replaced with a paper element in the cross-fire-injection 1982.
• The exhaust system of 1982 models was redesigned with a smaller and lighter catalytic converter. The exhaust pipes leading into the converter were redesigned to deliver hotter exhaust gases to the converter to increase its efficiency.
• All 1982 Corvettes were built in the new Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Production was initiated in 1981 when 8,995 models were built.
• The 1982 Corvette was the last model with optional radio packages that included an 8-track tape (RPO UM4), and Citizens Band (RPO UN5).
• All '82s previewed the next-generation engine, which dropped the L81 code for L83. The 350-cid V-8 itself was unchanged, but traded its 4-barrel carburetor for a hybrid carb/fuel injection system Chevy called Cross-Fire Injection.
• Horsepower increased by 10 to 200. Unfortunately, an automatic was the only transmission available for '82, but at least it now had four speeds instead of three.
• Total model year output fell from 40,696 in '81 to just 25,407 as buyers awaited the redesigned Corvette due, by all accounts, for 1983.