I have owned an '80 from new and it is completely original. It now has 250,000kms on it and the engine's getting tired, or the occasional time I get to drive my wifes '87 has spoilt me. I'd like the extra HP without customizing and cosidering the swap to an L82 crate engine. Have you any advice to offer and does anyone know of a supplier here in Ontario.

Personally, because you have owned the car from day 1, I'd recommend overhauling the engine and tweaking it a bit to get some more horsepower rather than swapping it out. There are many, many threads in here that discuss the options for breathing new life into an engine.

But should you ultimately decide to do an engine swap, definitely keep the original one. If and when you decide to part with the car you (or your estate) should be able to get more for it because the original engine is available.

My two pennies worth.

Corvette Fever did an article on how to get 326HP out of an L-48 and still keep it looking totally stock for NCRS judgeing. Just by rebuilding the motor and selecting the right cam you can gain more HP than a L82.

I agree with the others. An L82 sould be a drop-in. but you can certainly tweak that L48 for excellent performance with no change in appearance or originality. As I've seen said elsewhere...there's no shortage of small block Chevies out there, but there is a shortage of numbers-matching small blocks for your car.