# Why no '83 Corvettes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444 "2002-10-23T00:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/1 "2002-10-23T00:32:45Z")
What more can I say? They made less than fifty, and those weren’t supposed to be for release. I wasn’t devastated, not being a huge 'Vette fan, but my buddy is. He doesn’t know why either. All I ever heard at the time were rumors, so I come to the Informed Few for an answer. So I can bring some peace to my friend’s tortured soul. 😉 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/2 "2002-10-23T00:45:20Z")
IIRC, Chevrolet was in the process of developing the C4 (what would become the '84 Vette) and did not want to spend the time (or money) to update the soon-to-be-defunct C3. The '83’s you see are actually left over '82’s. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/3 "2002-10-23T00:50:44Z")
What **Mr. Blue Sky** said, plus, IIRC the '84 was released in early '83 (March?), sort of like an '83 1/2. I’m guessing the '84 might have originally been slated for release as an '83 model, but because it was such a radical departure, they ran late getting them into production. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/4 "2002-10-23T01:30:24Z")
They took that year to retool the Bowling Green plant for production of the C4. They produced 47 1983 models, but none of them were sold. The Corvette museum has an 83 model. They have a very informative tour, also. ---
**Author:** ![Stccrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Stccrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stccrd)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/5 "2002-10-23T01:33:21Z")
Didn’t it have something to do with a failed “crossfire” injection that caused…umm…mild explosions? ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/6 "2002-10-23T05:19:38Z")
According to a quick Google search, the 83 Vette was actually the test of the design for the 1984 Vette. Somewhere between 44 and 47 were built, and the Museum holds the only surviving one, #23. These cars were the only Vettes with 1983 serial numbers, as factory problems pushed the cars back to the 1984 model year. -brianjedi ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/7 "2002-10-23T13:38:36Z")
There was supposed to be a '83 C4 Vette. However, the design was late and the process for building the car was significantly different compared to the C3 (68-82) model. This led to major quality control issues. The pre-production cars were not up to minimum quality standards. By the time the plant had solved the issues it was so late in the '83 production run that it was released as an early '84 instead. The national corvette museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky indeed has one of the very few remaining '83s. I looked at it when I visited the museum and the fit and finish of the body panels is horrible. Gaps between doors and fenders, and doors and rocker panels, as well as the hood are all large and uneven. Panels are wavy, etc. It’s easy to see why it couldn’t be released in '83. /Markus ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/8 "2002-10-23T15:14:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eleusis \* > \*\*What **Mr. Blue Sky** said, plus, IIRC the '84 was released in early '83 (March?), sort of like an '83 1/2. > > I’m guessing the '84 might have originally been slated for release as an '83 model, but because it was such a radical departure, they ran late getting them into production. \*\* Nope. The new 1984 model, which would normally be released in the fall of 1983, was release mid-1984…around March…and was often referred to as the 1984 1/2 Corvette. Notable: GooodYear Gatorback tires made their street debut, the 'Vette handled above .9 g’s, it had an awful pogo stick-like shock setting, and digital dash. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/9 "2002-10-23T19:44:54Z")
**Philster** [http://www.idavette.net/facts/83.htm](http://www.idavette.net/facts/83.htm) > [@](#): > > Officially, There were no 1983 Corvettes. There were forty seven 1983 Corvettes made but none were ever sold. The National Corvette Museum has the only 1983 known at this time. The new Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY closed in October of 1982 to begin retooling for the 1984 Corvette. Production began in January of 1983 and the press received their first view of the 1984 Corvette in January of 1983. In February, the first production 1984 Corvettes were sold to the public. **In March of 1983, the 1984 Corvette officially went on sale in the United States** , except for California and a month later, in April, the 1984 Corvette went on sale in California. By October of 1983, the plant was in full speed production. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/10 "2002-10-23T21:31:53Z")
And if you do happen to buy an '83 Corvette on the underground market, the Secret Service will confiscate it and throw you in jail because they were never officially released and are still considered the property of the United States Government. :smack: No, sorry, I’m thinking of the '33 Saint Gaudens double eagle. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/11 "2002-10-23T23:16:06Z")
Thanks to all. I’ll pass this on to Mike. BTW; Corvettes always (pre '84, anyway) did have problems with fit and finish. Have they resolved that issue in the newer models? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/12 "2002-10-24T03:46:23Z")
I recently sold my '95 vette, and while it was much tighter than the '77 my dad had when I was a kid, it was still a far cry from something like an Acura NSX. I can’t comment on the brand new ones. I think Corvette lovers just accept that this is a big heavy American car without Japanese tolerances. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-83-corvettes/133444/13 "2002-10-24T18:25:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*I think Corvette lovers just accept that this is a big heavy American car without Japanese tolerances. \*\* That’s because they are so much more fun to drive than the Japanese ones. 🙂 Yes, I own one. A 1971 with a 454 and a 4-speed. /Markus