FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

I've always wanted to start one of these threads and now I have a reason.

I picked up my dream third gen a few weeks ago -- an '82 CFI Pace Car with all factory options except the J65 rear discs. This is the car I've wanted to own since I was 12.

The car has 67,500 original miles and is bone stock. The previous owner had it since '84. The CFI is dirty but works great and is completely unhacked, which is practically a miracle. I know the CFI gets no love, but IMHO it represents the starting point for modern day fuel injection. Almost everything else acceossory-wise works (even the rear wiper) -- the only exceptions are the power pull down hatch and the power antenna.

The car spent its entire life in Florida, so the paint is shot, the interior carpet and panels are all faded so she needs some TLC. Aside from a few rust scabs on the body, the floor pans and rest of the metal is solid.

I won't be doing a 100 point, rotisserie restoration, but my plan is to completely freshen the car to take to shows and to just enjoy on the weekends.

Here are a few pics in all it's 30 year old, 165 HP CFI glory.







It feels great to have a third gen again after so many years (sold my '84 L69 Z28 back in '90). The only work I've done so far was to put new plugs and wires in. I'm already discovering how challenging it will be to find '82 specific parts (dash pads and door sills -- anyone? anyone? ).

Don't look for weekly updates from me, as I have a day job and family, but hopefully over the coming year I can make some progress and share the details. I'm amazed at what people here have accomplished with their restorations and it's good motivation for me.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Good luck. Cool car! There are more than afew Crossfire guys here.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Good luck with the resto. Us crossfire guys are definitely the minority, but I am in agreement. They definitely are an important part of thirdgen history. We will do our best to help out. I have owned my Crossfire for 22 years, so I have a bit of experience with it.

NCGuy68

Randy, you are one lucky man. Very few of these exist in such a unmolested state. According to the White Book, only 6,360 replica 'Pacers' were built. My guess is that 20 % have survived in various conditions.

Except for a few maintenance items to keep it running for those occasional cruz-ins and your pleasure, don't touch a thing. Yes, even the paint and original factory strips.

You have a true "Survivor" , and one that can be used as a referance point for the future.

Remember, they're only original once!

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the replies everyone.

NCGuy68, I hear you about the car being a survivor. I've been watching 82 Pace Cars for years and I cringe when I see how many have had the 305 tossed in favor of a 350, or the CFI ditched for a carb, or a number of other "upgrades" people have made. To each his own, but that's not the path for me. I actually saw one Pace Car here in the Denver area where the interior had been completely gutted, the rear end panels cut to fit rear tubs and a fuel cel and the car was turned into a full on drag car. It was awful. The originality of that car was totally destroyed, never to be stock again.

The pictures, for better or worse, make the car look infinitely better than it really is in person. I think if I went to a cruise as is, people might give me funny looks because the car does need a lot of help. I'd never enter it in a show unless there truly was a survivor category.

My intent is to keep as much of the car in tact as I can and to not replace things just for the sake of replacing them. I'll only replace those things that have completely worn out or simply can't be reused. As an example, the door panels are in great shape, but the lower carpet is faded horribly. My plan (some day) would be to re-dye the carpet portion of the panels back to dark blue versus discarding and replacing them with reproductions.

Same goes for the interior plastic panels. My plan is to refinish them because, frankly, they simply are not a good reference for anyone in their current condition. They've faded to a non-factory blueish gray and have 30 years worth of scratches, gouges and other defects. I know that would probably be acceptable in a true survivor category, but it's not what I bought the car for.

Even the paint, especially the few rust spots, has to be addressed for fear of it getting out of hand and taking away more of what the car is.

It's a tough balance. I will preserve the originality of this Pace Car as GM built it. I'm not capable of and can't afford a 100 point resto, and even if I could I don't think I'd go that route since I think that level of restoration takes away the factory originality.

I love stock and this car will stay as stock as I can keep it.

cerberus

GREAT advice

scottmoyer

Just a little motivation for you. This is my fathers car and it currently shows around 30k miles.

Here it is when I found it on eBay:


How it sits today:

scottmoyer

Now get working on that car and save it.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Awesome pictures Scott. I hope to have mine looking that sharp some day. Build date was 4/82 so it'll be exactly 30 years old some time in the next four months.

NCGuy68

Randy, a couple questions,

Does it have an SMC hood?

What condition is the dash pad in?

NCGuy68

Scott.....you're father's car is drop dead gorgeous! Rarely see them that complete and the light bar is icing on the cake. Is the bar period correct?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Those were such AWESOME cars when they were new.... blew me completely away the first time I saw one in late 81.

CFI wasn't, but the CAR sure was...It's a real shame the L69 didn't come out until the next year. That's what they REALLY needed. Which is why I didn't buy one; regardless of how great they looked (especially for the time!!!) or how stunning the handling and all that was (for the time!!!!! I'm comparing it to the 79 Z28 land barge I was driving at the moment) the motor completely underwhelmed me. My first experience with TBI was some rental car, a Citation or Celebrity or some one of those forgettable things; the CFI ran EXACTLY like that, except there was twice as much of it. 5.0L instead of 2.5L, 2 TBs instead of 1. It reminded me of driving a tractor. A big tractor, maybe, but a tractor just the same. That motor just had no pep to it, not even when one only had like 6.7 miles on it. Ran smooth, cranked right up no matter what, got good mileage, had somewhat OK power, but just ... no ..... ,,,,, .... hot-rod.

Still, if you have one that's original, keep it that way; no matter how crappy CFI was especially in retrospect, hacking one of those up is ..... just .... hacking one of those up.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Yes, it has the original SMC hood with working flaps.

The dash pad is also the original and correct '82 style. There are two 1/4" cracks on either side of the defroster vents, but that's it. I'm thinking I might be able to fill the cracks with some kind of epoxy to keep it from spreading. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. Aside from the two cracks, the dash pad is perfect.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

The CFI is totally underwhelming performance wise (especially when compared to my '84 L69 with 3.73s) but it was one of the must-have options I wanted when I went looking for one of these cars. I'm not out to win any races. This car will strictly be for non-competitive show and warm cruise nights. The CFI and the 305 aren't going anywhere!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Think of the CFI as an L69, but without the good exhaust, without the good gears, without the stick, and a slightly more finicky induction. At least we get the cool functional hood flaps.

NCGuy68

The vinyl, in most cases, is what cracks first. Usually, the underlying urthane is ok. Although I understand your desire to 'check' them, I wouldn't mess with them just yet. Unless of course, if somone can post a 'miracle cure' in which case I'am all ears.

Finding a crack free 82 style pad is gonna be tough but maybe not impossible. Take your time, search around and one might show up. You've got the car and your intentions are good, no need to be in a big hurry.

I've got an NOS dash pad. Unfortunity, its the 84-92 style.

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

FormerL69 congratulations on a nice find and welcome to the CFI Club. One thing to do ,if you haven't already, is replace all the vacuum lines (with reproduction if possible and save the old ones). CFI motors don't like any vacuum leaks. I've done mods that either keep the stock appearance or an easily be undone. Your car is a different case as she's a piece of history and as said only original once.

I like that chazman. And we both know with just a bit of work while still keeping and entirely stock look CFI runs really well.

Scott your Dad's car looks awesome. And she has the 140mph Z28 speedo like i have in my '83

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Thanks. The CFI actually works very well. It fires right up and runs very smooth. I've been reading up on CFI care and feeding and vacuum hoses are high on my list. I think my first order of business will be to pull the motor and clean it up. The head gaskets are leaking and there's just 30 years of gunk under the hood. Getting the engine out will make replacing the vacuum lines a lot earlier. I'll also want to get the TBIs bushed.

My other big, immediate need is to find plastic connectors for the wiring harness. Despite the low miles, the plastic bits are totally cooked. The EGR solenoid connector, for example, is falling apart and needs to be changed out before it breaks completely and won't seat.

As I've said, the car will stay 100% stock.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

I've been in touch with someone else over on the Crossfire forum who used some kind of vinyl repair kit on his dash and he was happy with the results, so that may be an option. I would definitely try it out on donor dash pad first before trying it on my '82.

A big problem is that there aren't many good salvage yards here in CO, and the few that I'm aware of don't have any third gens. It'll be a time consuming search for sure.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Let us know how the dash repair goes. The '82-'83 dashes are VERY hard to find in excellent condition. Actually, very hard to find in any condition.

scottmoyer

The light bar on my father's car is period correct. Earlier this spring, I found an ad for one that has been listed for a couple years. I contacted the seller and asked if it was still available. He said it was and was willing to sell it for less than his asking price. The lens was red and clear. I contacted Federal Signal and asked if the yellow lens was still available for the Mini AeroDynic. It was. We had them manufacture the new lens and we fabricated some magnetic feet so it can be mounted for shows and removed for driving. He is in the process of hardwiring the IROC-Z fog light switch under the headlight switch to activate the light. Not 100% sure if he wants to add that though as it was not how the real pace car was configured. The real pace car had a toggle switch mounted to ash tray lid. He doesn't want to do that either. At the back of the hatch, he is planning on installing a quick disconnect so that the wiring can stay in place when the light is removed. The light changed over the years and in 82, it had 4 rotators. Later on, it was made with two rotators and a reflective "V" to make it look like there were 4 lights. Now, it's made with LEDs. My dad's light is a four rotator. All I need now is the flag poles. He also has the original GM headlight covers for the pace car that he modified to be installed at shows but can't be driven with. The factory covers require holes in the headlight bucket and he isn't willing to drill the urethane.

Here's the original pace car with the headlight covers and the flag poles.

NCGuy68

Scott, thanks for the detailed info and photos about the light bar. You're hard work has really paid off. However, I certaintly didn't mean to hi-jack the op's thread.

Randy....please continue to tell us about your car and you're future plans with it.

scottmoyer

I wouldn't look at it as a hijack. This is all information that FormerL69 might be interested in also for his restoration. It's all pertinent.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Hijack away.

Scott, I think a while back I forwarded you a YouTube link showing the actual pace car at the Indy museum and the toggle switches in the ash tray. Might have been over on camaropacecars.com.

No flags or light bar for my car, but it is part of the history of these cars so the more info about them that we can get out there the better as far as I'm concerned.

For those who are really interested, here's a link to a site with dozens of pictures from a guy who did a full on rotisserie resto on his '82 Pace Car.

http://www.meierproductions.com/1982...ject/index.htm

I've contacted him about his experience during his resto. He responded to me with an offer to help or give info based on what he went through. His car is stunning. It's amazing how generous people are with their time and knowledge.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for posting that link. What a phenominal effort. Hopefully, more 3rd gens will get that kind of serious restoration.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Wow - that guy really put some effort into that resto!

cerberus

Amazing photogallery. not only is that a great piece of history, make me feel proud to own a 3rd gen

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

I've been emailing back and forth with this guy tonight. He said he used four donor cars (not pace cars) for mechanical and interior bits. Very similar challenges that we all have been talking about here relative to the unique parts used on the the '82s (not just the Pace Cars), matching colors for carpet, sill plates, etc. etc.

It's great to have someone who went to that level of detail as a reference. When you get down to refinishing the heat shields on the exhaust manifolds, you're in deep. He seems like a super guy and really loves his pace car.

Really wish I had the time, tools and talent do something on that level. Time will tell...

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Is he a member here? That would be a great thread for him to start about his restoration. I can't believe how clean he got the exhaust.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

I don't think so but I'll encourage him to sign up.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I hope that he does sign up. I'd like to hear more details to go with the pics.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

I emailed him and and asked him to sign up here at TGO. He really has some great insight having gone through his project. I'm kind of amazed that, having not even formally started on mine, that a lot of questions and concerns I have are exactly the same things he had to address with his project.

Jason E

What an incredible restoration...I too would like to see more done like that to these cars. Maybe the time is coming soon.

Makes me want to go out back to the garage, pop the hood on the 86 and start scrubbing some more

marokid

iTrader: (1)

this is a sweet car....i have one myself....but its a hardtop pace car

82_Indy

Hello All,

Member FormerL69 invited me to your forum. Dad and I did the work some of you have seen in the -meierprodutions- link to my 82 pacecar restoration project that FormerL69 mentioned.

First, I'd like to thank all for your kinds words towards our efforts on my project.

As an life long "Olds 442" guy, this pace car is my first personal Chevy project and I am not an expert on 3rd gens. But, I have done a bunch of research and learning during my project. Please field any questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer them. How I fell off of the "Oldsmobile wagon" for this project was simple.... I've always loved the looks of 3rd gens. I graduated high school in 1980 and have always thought they were neat looking cars. A 350 TPI Iroc may be quicker... but... I love the looks of the 82 pace car and found this one at the right price. So... the story began.

I look forward to visiting with you guys. Yep - I'm a crossfire guy too. Mine is still not working perfect, but I'll keep chiping at it. Over the past 3 years, I've seen many, many people recommend junking them and going to a carb. Naa. I'll get the bugs out of the crossfire and go. My last issues seem to revolve around ignition timing and the e.s.c.. Maybe you guys can help me with it. At this point, I have the knock sensor unhooked and the base timing 10 degress ahead of specs. It likes this, but I know it's not correct. We will continue to work at it. Anyway, if there is anything I can answer to help, let me know and I'll try.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to TGO - your car looks fantastic!

82_Indy

Thanks! Some (non 3rd geners) thinks it kinda -got out of hand-, but I like it!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to the site, awesome job!

Just a couple of quick questions, what color did you paint the interior blue plastics? Was it a custom color or something from a supplier like SEM? Where did you get the headliner material?

BTW, the right folks are here to help you get your CFI running right. Mine used to like an extra 8-10* of initial timing too. It kind of worried me, but it just plain ran better that way. It wouldn't ping either. So one day I removed both my IAC's to check them out and clean them. They were carboned up really bad. I cleaned them off and reinstalled. It made my Crossfire idle as smooth as a Buick. And when I took it for a test drive, it pinged like a ****. When I dialed the timing back it ran great. My theory is the gunked up IACs were stuck open and running the car pig rich.

82_Indy

The plastic paint came from "JustDashes.com" I sent in a piece of plastic, they color matched from the back side. I was VERY PLEASED with the color match. The painted finished is not extreamly durable, but will hold up if one is carefull. I would do it again, no doubt. I believe the cost for the match and 2 quarts of paint was $225. I colord all of mine, plus a couple of mistakes with 1 quart. They may now have the color in their records and you might be able to get it cheaper/quick without doing the match. You can try. I don't know if/how they may do that.

The headliner - I had received color samples from several vendors. Sorry, I'm not sure who this was from, but the closest sample was color# 2092. However, when my upholstery guy ordered it, the color seemed different than the sample. We reordered and I used #1871 "Shadow Blue". I got mine from Auto Upholstery in Salina KS. 785-825-8955. This was not what I thought was a perfect match, but after many hours, and samples, seemed to be the closest I could find. Hope this helps!

NCGuy68

Welcome 82_Indy to the forums. Detailed info about your restoration endeavors are exactly what are needed here. Thanks goes out to FormerL69 for encouraging you to join and post.

Feel free to post at will. And most importantly, enjoy your car.

cerberus

Welcome, for these exact reasons is why 3rd gens will get stronger in the market.
I graduated in 84 and I remember IROCs whooping butt. Now I own a 30k mile original.

Awesome job!

I would love to fInd a cherry factory exhaust!

coolram62

iTrader: (2)

82_Indy welcome to TGO and congratulations on fantastic restoration work. I wish I could do the same for my '83. That gives all of us inspiration.

Chazman is right there are many here ,including myself, that are members of the "Unofficial CFI Club". Any questions will be gladly attempted at answers.

82_Indy

Thanks! My car is currently in storage and in the middle of installing a project engine in my sons car. Once that is behind me, I'll get my car out and check some things over, trade some msgs and see what we may be able to "make right" on my crossfire. To summarize the issues, with the timing set as called for, it runs great cold. But after a short warmup is has a terrible off idle stumble. It felt like it was lean. Replaced fuel pump with a higher volume vet pump, set the pressure about 13.5 psi. Balanced the throttle bodies and such. Still off idle stumble and even backfire through the intake at times. Tried different ECM, same thing. Some times it would give a 43 code. Disconnected the knock sensor and that helped some. Threw a bunch more initial timing at it and it is the best it's ever run. Cant hear any pinging. Cranks hard sometimes because of the timing. The mechanical advance works freely. So in a nut shell that is where it is. It's performing fine, just I know it's not as designed. Again, when I can get back on it, I'll beg for input. Thanks again!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Make sure the the intake manifold top plate bolts are tight.

scottmoyer

82_Indy,
I noticed that you installed the door wedge backwards. That wedge is designed to maintain the door gap on TTop cars.

82_Indy

Thanks Scott! Kinda obvious huh. I'll correct this the next time it's out!

82_Indy

Thanks for the tip chazman. I've look for vacume leaks. Have not found any. I'll check again when it's out next.

When I redid the car, I put in a new aftermarket (carter) fuel pump. It would give 10 psi, but would drop off quick when taping the throttle. After changing to the corvette pump that was recommended on the cfi forum, I can peg my 14 psi guage, and almost unmeasurable drop-off when tapping the throttle. I have the regulator set between 13 and 13.5 psi. Now, I have issues with the pump squeeling during - after a highway run, it gets worse with warmer the weather. I'm also d guessing that I'm heating my fuel tank becuase of the volume of fuel being circulate between the tank and engine with the added volume of the vet pump. Anyone with thoughts / opinions?

Thanks!

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I doubt you would be heating the fuel anymore then that pump would in a Vette. You are just circulating the fuel through the return line. It should be a higher pressure pump, but I doubt the volume increased enough to cause any issues.

FormerL69

iTrader: (2)

Here's a really dumb question: should my car have hood light? I just realized it doesn't have one, which seems odd....

82_Indy

The under hood light is part of the RPO code TR9 (Auxillary Lighting). This is the under hood and luggage light. My pace car has it. (I never did find the RPO codes in my car.)