The seats starting in 1979 - 1982 years were a very comfortable seat for the first time. The interiors became a bit more user friendly and featured a very big back window. You could store more luggage in the back area. The driver visibility made the car feel a lot safer to drive. The 1980 Corvette experienced many changes that made this style very attractive.
Chevrolet redesigned the body starting with the front bumper. The 1980-1982 Corvettes all had a very sharp pointed urethane bumper that accented the body lines of the front fenders. This new nose was nothing like the 1973-1979 soft look where the fender lines just seemed to fade into the rounded front bumper cover. The 1980-1982 cover had very sharp edges that gave a definite sharp centerline of the nose.
The front edges above the LH + RH grills were sharp and wrapped around the sides of the front fenders. This gave it a very aerodynamic look. The hood was redesigned to flow with the sharp nose to bumper accents. The raised area in the center of the hood had a very distinctive sculpted look to it. It no longer had the rounded soft lines of the 1973-1979 hoods. The new design of the rear bumper cover now had a flip tail instead of the soft look. It always reminded me of a dog with its tail between its legs.
It now had a rear profile similar to the proud looking 1968-1972 Corvettes. The 1980-1982 Corvettes were about 110 lbs. Lighter than the 1979s because the government mandated fleet gasoline standards to try and get auto manufacturers to conserve gasoline in the cars they were building.
In today's market a very nice 1980-1982 Corvette that is in excellent condition can usually be purchased for about $15,000. You could expect to find one without a ton of deferred maintenance and not really needing any restoration.
These cars drove very well with the optional Gymkhana suspension package. During these years there was quite a large percentage with this option. If you have a Corvette made with this package, it is a great option. You can purchase these parts from America's Finest Corvettes. Almost every one of these Corvettes came with luxury options such as Air conditioning, power steering, tilt and tele-column along with a few more unmentioned here.
So in my opinion, if you really want to buy a Corvette and want to get a classic that probably does not need more than minor work, there is no better choice than a 1980=1982 Corvette.
Michael Mermelstein
Owner of America's Finest Corvettes
corvetteUSA.com