plus the tranny is probably a pretty solid base also
My mom had a '76 L-82. It had a th400 and 3.42’s. We freshened it up one winter with new bearings, had the crank turned, honed with new rings, ditched the cat and went true duals, and a holley quadrajet replacement carb. The car would move real good for it’s day (late 80’s). We never dragged it or anything, but I would say it was a low 9 second car at Lancaster. It would just annihilate the tires if you got on it hard (no drag radials back then). It was neck and neck with 350 IROC’s and 5.0’s. Not that THAT is saying a lot but back then the FASTEST thing you could buy off of the showroom floor was a TPI 'Vette or a GN, and those were both bottom 9 second cars too. So, our L-82 was pretty much right in the mix.
With todays cylinder heads, a roller cam, and Performer RPM manifold, these motors could make some serious power.
I have a 1980 L82 that needs to be freshened up. I haven’t touched it because I can’t decide what to do. Swap an LSx into it or build up the 230hp V8. The car has a crappy single cat that then splits into dual exhaust. I have been looking for the cross frame support that has the dual cutouts to run a true dual exhaust.
I like the C3 vette way more then the Barbie C4 vette’s. Would love to update to a C4 rear suspension.
Your car has the exact same frame as a '68. If you crawl underneath it you should see holes in the frame for exhaust pipe to go through, even on the driver side. Those holes are for dual exhaust. I wasn’t aware that '80’s didn’t have them. My mom’s '76 had them, and there was no dual exhaust option for her year. Maybe they updated it for your year, it’s worth a look.