Questions about replacement items on my '80....

toolman tim

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2015
Messages
3
Location
Greer, SC
I am beginning to tear down and rebuild and modernize a 1980 L-82. I have some questions that i hope you experienced Vette owners can help me with:

1) Both my glass t-tops are broken. One has a fine crack only seen from inside. the other is shattered (tried to attach picture of it). Can I just get a auto glass person to replace the glass since I have all the hardware? Or do I need to purchase whole new t-tops?

2)I have read a lot about updating the suspension, i.e. changing the control arms and putting in coil over shocks. It appears that I would only need to change the upper conrol arms and not the lower. is it recommended that I go with aluminum or is there not that big a difference between aluminum and tubular steel? What about coil over shocks? Do I need to only replace front suspension items?

3) I am pulling the engine and having a well regarded local engine machine shop go through it and replace the heads and the cam. They said I should gain at least a 100hp. Any suggestions or ideas on this?

Thank you for your answers. I appreciate the time you took to submit them.
 
I am beginning to tear down and rebuild and modernize a 1980 L-82. I have some questions that i hope you experienced Vette owners can help me with:

1) Both my glass t-tops are broken. One has a fine crack only seen from inside. the other is shattered (tried to attach picture of it). Can I just get a auto glass person to replace the glass since I have all the hardware? Or do I need to purchase whole new t-tops? Pretty sure you will need to replace. Don't think a glass shop would be able to fix the old ones.

2)I have read a lot about updating the suspension, i.e. changing the control arms and putting in coil over shocks. It appears that I would only need to change the upper conrol arms and not the lower. is it recommended that I go with aluminum or is there not that big a difference between aluminum and tubular steel? What about coil over shocks? Do I need to only replace front suspension items? Probably want to change both upper and lower. The uppers will allow you to dial in more caster and you'll need lowers that are setup for the coil overs. Vansteel and Global West have pretty good setups.

3) I am pulling the engine and having a well regarded local engine machine shop go through it and replace the heads and the cam. They said I should gain at least a 100hp. Any suggestions or ideas on this? Starting with a stock engine? What heads and cam are they planning to go with?

Thank you for your answers. I appreciate the time you took to submit them.

My comments in bold above.
 
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