Ok I know they were only available in '82 & '83. But how many where put in f-bodies? And how much is a good running engine worth? Any help is appriecated.
Thanks, Garrett

 

#'s ???? Can't tell you that

Value, as with anything else, only what they're willing to pay.
They aren't really desireable, due to size (305 only in 3rd Gen's)
due to power (little to none).
You might find someone down the road trying to restore an 82/83Z back to O.E. and then someone Might pay $$$

The one in my 82 runs good, but still is far from a threat to most cars with any "sporting" intentions.

 

1982 Z28 LU5 : 24673
1982 T/A LU5 : 13037
1983 Z28 LU5 : 19847
1983 T/A LU5 : 9206

total LU5's approximately 66763. :hail:

 

And they're probably long gone too........

 

Nope there is some of us that still own CFI cars lol

 

I agree with Krazzycowgirl. Hard to believe, but a few people out there are more interested in preserving rarity and originality of these early thirdgen motors than having a modded out hot rod engine under the hood. Going aftermarket is the easy way out I'm one of those few that will always be about the factory specs. If I can achieve my long term goal of having my stock CFI running when I die, then I'll be happy. Hopefully it'll be immortal

 

Mines in my Pacecar & it runs & drives great but in the coming year or so the car is going to be ripped a part to be shipped in to the Paint shop to get a new paint job & Decals put on. Then the CFI will get some Minor mods to it but that way it breaths easier.
Thank *** the Paint shop is next to the Local Corvette shop (they will do any tune jobs the CFI Needs)

 

I'm also a firm believer in preserving originality. Sure a 300hp sb is nice....but the feeling of a purely original car is outta this world. Example: My no A/C, no radio, no nothing Iron Duke Camaro. Thinking of restoring it to original condtion.....just because! Glad to hear that a few LU5's are still with us.

Brandon

 

yeh the feeling of 96 hp HAHAHAHAHA. to a certain extent i could agree w/ you. Id love to heve an iron duke car, but i think i would just use it as a cool beater. My need for speed just over rides the whole originality thing. I like keeping "lookin" mostly original. ah different strokes for different folks i guess.

 

I should have read this thread before posting my question...LOL...
I just picked up a very nice all original LU5 82 T/A. I will post some pics as soon as I have them. The tranny is toast, but it runs. I am not sure what to do with this car. It would take no effort at all to make it a 100% original car. My original intention was to make it a pure drag car, but I may just restore it. All comments are very welcome.

Andrew

 

Andrew, don't be so sure about how easy it is to restore this car. You'll find that it's not really possible. If you plan on just replacing the worn out parts with random junkyard thirdgen parts from all different years, that's one thing, but that's not a restoration. The vast majority of the crossfire parts are long looong since discontinued, and the same goes for cosmetic parts. 1982 had a LOT of unique parts that are very hard to find anywhere. I've been following 1982-1984 Trans Am's for years now and I have never seen one that was in bad shape and then restored properly afterwards. Once they're gone, they're usually gone for good, unless the owner is really determined. I hope you do keep it original. There are plenty of other, more common and less valuable thirdgens out there you could use for a drag car. This car is worthy of living original. Just my opinion TTYL,
GT

 

The 83Z28 I had ran 10.3 in the 1/8th mile and ran like a top on the street. Hardly setting the streets on fire, but it ran well against many 305 TPI and 4 barrel cars. I certainly didn't think it deserved the bad rep or the Cease-Fire nickname. These cars are becoming harder to find, and it's nice to see ones that are well preserved.

 

This car is totally complete. Its not a junker. Just an original survivor. Its been stored for the past 2 years in a garage. It has always been garage kept. As I said in the previous post, I will get some pics asap.

Andrew

 

Certainly not leaving the engine stock. And to be quite honest with you...my need for speed might override the originaity (my 84 SC speaking) as well. The funds aren't there for anything else. Once an 82-84 Z comes along....the Iron Duke is probably outta or used as a beater.

Brandon

 

i just recently got an 83 camaro z28, all stock with crossfire injection. Got the car for a little under 500 bucks. Ive been a mustang man for years, but my wife change my mind about chevys. I got the car as my first real project car. I didnt even know what crossfire meant. I found this site and about 95% of the posts about crossfires are negative. So i started pricing out new intake manifolds and carb setups. But after working on the car for a few months ive decided to keep it stock. Im proud to have a stock set up like a crossfire. I think people dont like them because they never driven one. Its still the original engine and it still runs fine. I think once tuned and all finished ill be surprised at the results it will give me on the street and at the local strip. After my first run in the 1/4 with a stock crossfire ill let you know the numbers.

 

I'm going to keep my car mostly original. I want more power under the hood of course. I am not interested in aftermarkey rims or spoilers really. I plan on retaining the original color. I thought about keeping my 305 and just building it up and adding a supercharger to maintain my cars originality. Yet adding the power I want.

 

I am still up in the air about what to do with this car. I still don't have pics, but I am really leaning towards making it a drag racer. The tranny is shot, so what the heck. I might set aside the original engine with the crossfire and build a killer small block and hook it to a th350 with a brake. I will get some sub frame connectors and a 9 inch rear end and go pop some wheelies. WooHoo....



Andrew

 

If it comes out as clean as your goat, it will be a sweet car. That 70 was one of my favorite cars at the Bristol Bash, except on the autocross course. J/K

 

Thanks...I am going to make this a fun car. Just something to take to the track and enjoy. Its not going to be pretty at all. I will most likely paint it a nice dull shade of black.

Don't remind me of the autocross fiasko at Bristol. Its not the cars fault, it was definitely operator error. I could not even figure out where the damn course was. The fact that it was wet did not help with my already high anxiety level.

Andrew

 

Don't worry, man. I had a tough time in the rain too. The cones were getting out of place on top of that. That GTO of yours sure does make me want to finish the Formula and start on my 70 LeMans. Weren't you part of a shoot for Car Craft?

 

Andrew, that is a sharp GTO. Anyhow, don't be so quick to throw the CFI away. The system will feed a 350 no problem (82 & 84 'Vette), and can be modified easily. The first and easiest mod is to replace the computer with a TBI ECM from an 87 and newer pickup (7747). there used to be a guy from Houston who custom made a plenum for use on a Weiand X-celerator manifold and called it the X-ram. I had one on my 82 Vette and it worked very well. There is a website called the Crossfire Injection Vault that has a lot of good info. I think it would be killer to see a CFI TransAm as nice as your goat (hint, hint).

 

Thanks for the compliments and ideas guys. I was not part of the Car Craft Real Street Eliminator shoot out. On Saturday night, I had the opportunity to have dinner with Johnny Hunkins and a very nice gentleman from Year One named Keith. The whole Car Craft editorial staff was there as well. I asked Matt King why he did not choose me for the RSE competition. One of the reasons stated was that they did not think I was going to have the car finished in time, the other was that they did not like that I put a BB in a Pontiac. Oh Well...

Anyways, this next project is going to be done on the cheap. I just want something fun. I thought about an LT1 swap. I even thought about a turbo buick v6 swap. Still up in the air.

Andrew

 

Oh well. LT1 all the way on your next project, IMO.

 

For $500...what condition is the body in? I picked an 83 Z as well after this thread was started. It's a former crossfire car. Owner removed LU5 accessories in favor for Edelbrock 550 carb/performer intake. Would like to eventually restore mine back to crossfire.

Brandon

 

Well I have gone and done it now. Tomorrow I am going to go pick up an LS1 engine for my 82 Trans Am. Looks like this is going to be a nice sleeper. I can't wait.

Andrew

 

The body is in great shape, one small dent on rear fender from the wrecker. No rust at all but some surface rust on the T-tops. I just replaced the middle part of the T-tops from another car. Floor boards in perfect condition. The interior needed to be recovered and carpet replaced. Had the dash recovered because of a small crack. But all interior peices are in good shape. A little armor-all and they looked brand new. The rims in good shape, but the hubs are a little beat up. Im ordering some replacement parts for them. I had to replace the gas tank. That had more rust in it than the rest of the car. Replaced fuel pump, lines, filter. Replaced injectors from a pickup truck. Not sure if they are the right size injectors but i got it running. Its a little rough but it runs strong. Its hard not to spin the tires. Ive been looking at rebuilding the 305 to give it a fresh start. Then all i need to do is some minor work insided and out. And finaly get it painted the way it came from the factory. Its not a total restro project. But its my first project so im keeping it simple. And for 500 bucks i could pass it up. I really wanted to build up a 5.0 mustang, but im glad i got this camaro. The peopel that drive chevys seem to know more about mechanics and car knowledge. They seem to like doing it themselves. Ive learned so much about cars in the past seven months from everyone one this site. The ford people I know just pay someone to put the same bolt-ons as everyone else has on their mustang. And talk trash about how much HP they have.

 

I almost bought an 83 Z28 with a cross fire motor at the Englishtown swap meet a year ago for $350. the car had T-tops and it ran too! I really should have bought that.

 

All I know is, I think it would be awesome to have an original Cross-Fire car. Sure, it isn't overly quick, and it can be a pain in the butt. But if tuned right, it should run good, and be peppy enough to be fun. Then again, I always have been all about originality. Despite the myriad of bolt ons and such for my LT1, the way I see it, its only original once, and why mod what will most certainly be a rare car? Then again, it is pretty quick as is

Why get rid of cross fire when all you have left is just another carbed third gen? There's plenty of those...be original! (pun fully intended )

 

i need a few parts for my 82 Z/28 CFI car. it was an indy pace car rep that the previous owner painted black. i got a set of gold 16" iroc rims for it. i want to keep the intake original but put in a 383 stroker with some juice and a T-5. the 200 metric is POS imo cause i went thru 4 of them 2 sets of trans mounts 1 fly wheel cracked in 3 places and a rear with 3:42 gears now. i've owned the car since i was 18 and am 30 now. want to keep it original looking but with a bigger momo.

i'll be picking your brains in the near future when i start putting this all together.