Hi, Can anyone help me out with this? I have a chance to buy a 1982 Z28 cfi thats been wrecked. I was wondering if it would be worth fixing it up since it would require a lot of time and cash. The asking price is 500 to 600 hundred dollars. Thanks for your help.

 

Sorry it took so long....24,673 LU5 305 CFIs were made in '82.

So while it isn't an extremely rare car, it is worth it to invest in this car. Many CFIs ended up in boneyards, and others were converted to carbs by their owners who got sick of the sometimes-troublesome CFI setup. Supposedly, there were problems with water getting into the air cleaners through the fresh-air hood. Also, I've heard of a few electronic maladies with these cars.

However, if this is a car that won't be a daily driver, and you don't mind some tinkering, I'd definitely go for it. Its a unique motor in a 1st year 3rd gen...its worth the $$.

 

i have CFI. and i love it. it has ALOT of low-end torque. i changed mine to a 350(4-bolt main)(about 2 years ago) and i just put a Corvette 5.7L CFI chip in today. it gave me more power. look at my mods. i get to 60mph in about 6.0s without going over 4000rpms..

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RED82TA5.7L

1982 Pontiac Trans Am
Cross-Fire Injected 5.7l V8
Eldebrock Headers, 3" Hooker Cat-Back, duel outlet with quad tips.
Mods: 1.6 Proform Roller Rockers, electric fan, Corvette 5.7L CFI computer chip.

[This message has been edited by RED82TA5.7L (edited November 27, 2000).]

 

Nice!! Just out of curiosity, ever have any electronic problems with the CFI setup? Everyone I have talked to with one has had some sort of minor setback...of course, that is to be expected in a car almost 20 years old!!

 

yea, my idle goes up and down. but the dealership i bought the Corvette Chip from said that i dont have enough air. they said to get some K&Ns. so i ordered them and they should be coming soon. ill let you know how it works

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RED82TA5.7L

1982 Pontiac Trans Am
Cross-Fire Injected 5.7l V8
Eldebrock Headers, 3" Hooker Cat-Back, duel outlet with quad tips.
Mods: 1.6 Proform Roller Rockers, electric fan, Corvette 5.7L CFI computer chip.

 

the problem with cfi is they work great when they are syncronized but allways get out of sync after a while, there is a reason gm only used them for three years , two for the f bodies and one for the vette. the system is unreliable, works great for a while but not worth the headache

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Pino
91'Formula
LB9 305 TPI 5-speed
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/5654/mur91.jpg

 

the only problem i have is like i said, the idle goes up and down. other then that it runs perfect. my CFI is 18 years old. and it has alot of torque. i would never give up my CFI for any TPI.. TPI has alot of upper power, but who needs upper power for daily driving. upper is good for drag

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RED82TA5.7L

1982 Pontiac Trans Am
Cross-Fire Injected 5.7l V8
Eldebrock Headers, 3" Hooker Cat-Back, duel outlet with quad tips.
Mods: 1.6 Proform Roller Rockers, electric fan, Corvette 5.7L CFI computer chip.

 

tpi does not have a lot of upper RPM power, its a torque motor and redlines at about 4500 to proove it. Saying the TPI doesnt have as much low end as a CFI is ludacris.

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91 RS W/carbed 350, Vortec heads, performer rpm, Comp cams Xtreme energy 280 grind. BFG Drag radials. 3.42 posi,Corvette servoed 700r4, ****ty stock converter
13.24@104

 

Thanks everyone for you replys. Sorry it took me so long to respond but ive been on the road. Sounds like it will possably be a good investment. Its all original and complete. Anyhow, Thanks again for your time.

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Sorry I haven't seen this post sooner. I had an 82 Z with the CFI and it was a fast carin it's day. I got rid of the car after 1 year because of all the problems I had with it. I bought thecar used and the local Chevy dealer was fixing it under warranty because of the problems being found. The engine block had problems with oil flow in the colder regions due to a ported area not being ported enough. (If I remember correctly) And as faras electrical problems, I had tons! The day I sold it to a Dodge dealer, I drove it, parked it next door to the dealer for an hour to let it cool down, pulled it into the dealers lot, let it cool while I shopped, let them test drive it, and then sold it. The salesman got stranded that night when he took it home. I never had that problem, but the guages and idiot light would go crazy and the engine would start acting up after it got warmed up.

1 month after I sold it, GM contacted the dealer that was doing all the repairs and offered to replace the motor with a TPI unit from an 85. If only I knew that was coming!!

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87 IROC 350 TPI with less than 10k original miles
www.users.uswest.net/~smoyer/iroc.htm

 

TPIs are designed to be a torquey engine. However, redline on them is 5000 RPM for 305 TPIs with an automatic, and 305 TPI/5 speeds and 350s are 5500 RPM.

 

What about an 82z28 CFI with T-tops and the
rear disc brake setup? Are these any rarer
and worth anything? I bought mine in 1987
while in high school and still own it! Thanks

 

They weren't particularly rare. They are becoming more so nowadays because the CFI is so hard to keep working right, and it was so slow so nobody cared about it then as a performance piece or cares about it much any more. The 83 HO carb car was rated at 20 more HP than the CFI, and it really waxed the CFIs pretty bad when they were all new, like alot more than the ratings would suggest. Personally I think the CFI HP rating was a bit optimistic. Those cars were barely faster if they were faster at all than the LG4s, which they usually weren't because the injection hardly ever worked right. It's basically 2 4-cylinder TBIs stuck on mile-long runners, so they ran about like a Cavalier of the day with a restricted air filter except that you got twice as much of that.

If you have one that works, and you want to keep it that way, you need to store it and only drive it a few times a month. DON'T let it sit up for long periods and don't wear it out. Someday it might be interesting to someone, as GM's first attempt at performance fuel injection.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."

 

So I had gotten a fixer 1982 Z28 Camaro with CFI, and I was also hitting the same question of if it is worth fixing it up. It has an automatic transmission and a T-top.
The car is clean of rust. The issues are with the interior, the weather stripping, some patchy paint issues, and a wire that seems to not get great connection when the computer is up in the dash. The car just past 40k miles 2 weeks ago. Everything with the car is original. I runs great when the, I'm assuming, CFI calculations go right. At some points it can't decide to put power to the ground or not, which also causes it to act funny in second gear or drive. I can only use drive above 30 mph so I use second gear to that point. In drive it bogs under 30mph and at 30 it starts jerking the car a little bit.
How much would you guys assume the price of the car is now as it is and if i fixed it up.

Funny note, I was born 3 months before this forum topic was started.

 

I think so! Here is what I would do:

Plugs, Wiring, Fuel filter, and run a can or two of injector cleaner through the LU-5 for starters.

Have the TH-200-C serviced, It could be low on fluid.

 

My grandfather got me the car 5 years ago for my 13th birthday. He had to go through everything because it wasn't running at that time. The people that owned it let it set for a long time because the car was a bit much for them. He has went through most things even replacing the computer to get it to start. The car has been acting funny for a long time, and we feel that it might just be a wiring issue where some wires are not connecting right. I would believe he has went through the transmission by now, but I will have to ask.

 

Check your fuel pressure. The fuel hose inside the tank may have rotted from the blended fuels we use today.