The Chevrolet Chevette...

[Night Wolf]

Gosh, does anyone remember them? :) I still see a couple running around too...

This is a tribute to the car. They were a good little car, they really were, they got put down alot by people, but that is from people not realizing the true design and intent of the car (get 1-4 people form place to place as cheap as possible)

How does the Chevette come into my life? My mother had 2 of them, ever since I could remember, up until 11 or 12, she had one, first a red one, then a beige one, both 4 door and both automatic.

Granted they had a 1.6L 4banger, which is a joke today, and even moreso around 1980, but it was great on gas at the time, I grew up with this car, I had a fondness for it. It got around OK, excpet when my mother had to go up a huge mountain for the Military discount food store, then it was pedal to the metal, blazingly fast speed of 30mph :)

So the other day I was thinking about the Chevette and decided to look at some on ebay... you know, to think back and stuff.... gosh, just looking at the car brings back memories of going places and doing things with my mother...

She got rid of the car only because it was too small, and we liked to go camping alot and she would have to make 2 trips for all our stuff, so she got an AMC Eagle so we could make 1 trip, and it had 4WD for the winter (never worked) but that car turned out to be problem after problem, then she got her '84 DeVille which she got into a bad accident with after only 4 months of owning it, then after she got better she got her '89 Brougham that she still has.

My father had a host of cars, the ones I remember since I was really young was his '79 Coupe DeVille that he had, that was also used to tow his boat, he then sold that and bought a Bronco to tow the boat (still has it) but around 1990 or so he bought an '88 Fiero Formula, that was his daily driver and only "car" until 2002 when he bought the '99 GP GTP. The Fiero has 167k miles on it now, he put about 100k or so on it, it was his daily driver too, when I was little he used to go on weekend trips with it. I also remember riding in the '68 GTO convertible that is still awaiting an engine rebuild, and some other cars.

But for me growing up as a kid, my mother had an '84 Chevette and my father had an '88 Fiero, my father still has the Fiero, but the Chevette is long gone.... I saw a few Chevettes with like 30k origanal miles, in decent shape on ebay... who knows, maybe one day I'll pick one up when I have the space.. you know, as the car your parents drove when you were a kid?

So here is my little tribute to the little car that could:

http://i1.ebayimg.com/02/i/04/bd/9b/c6_1_b.JPG

http://i10.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/c2/3d/1d_1_b.JPG

http://i3.ebayimg.com/02/i/04/c3/0b/bc_1_b.JPG

http://i19.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/bc/9d/21_1_b.JPG

http://i5.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/c2/c9/60_1_b.JPG

http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/bc/65/ff_1_b.JPG

[MysteriousGT1]

the chrome door pillars look a little out of place on that magnum!

My Grandpa has 3 chevettes...they all don't run now, and just sit in his backyard!

[RocketFast321]

here is a tribute to my friend's 92 tempo

Introduced for 1984, Tempo and the similar Mercury Topaz were facelifted in 1988. The front-drive 2- and 4-door sedans came in two trim levels for 1990: GL and GLS. A top-of-the-line LX edition came only as a 4-door. A driver-side airbag had been optional on 4-doors as early as 1986, though not many were installed. A part-time 4-wheel-drive option debuted in 1987, intended for use only on slippery pavement. This All-Wheel Drive system came only on 4-door sedans. A 98-horsepower 4-cylinder engine went into GL and LX models, while GLS and All-Wheel Drive Tempos got a 100-horsepower rendition.

http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/3662/dscf23225pw.jpg
No it has not flip yet
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/3711/dscf23233kg.jpg
custom two tone. Too bad it has the saggy ass syndrome
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/7561/dscf23327ag.jpg

http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/6786/dscf23251vp.jpg
96Hp 128Tq. Don't let that fool you. This car has some pretty good pick-up, with the a/c off that is :lol:
http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/3640/tempologo4oq.jpg

[Rayz]

this is like the car my dad had when I was 5
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1103/RAYZ97/ed164625.jpg
49 hudson, My dad would let steer it down the street sitting on his lap.
I'm sure they would lock you up for doing that now :lol:

[HeyDace]

I remember working on chevettes. To replace a starter you have to un bolt the driverside engine mount and jack up the motor on that side to weasel the starter out. I don't miss them.

[75thAnnGT]

Ahhhh, the "vette"...my 1st, 2nd and 3rd cars. Loved all 3 of em. I think they all had almost 100,000 miles when I traded them. They were great little cars. Grew up in northern Iowa and any time I would get stuck in the snow we could pretty much rock ourselves out of it.

Ann

[Rayz]

Shitvettes, if I remember correctly :lol:

[SilverGA2001]

We had a Chevette when I was born, in 1981. I think it was '83 when someone smashed into the back of it, luckily my mom actually used the car seat right.... :D

The dealer that did the repairs on it told my parents when they picked the car up "You probably have one of the best Chevettes around now... it's half hand built". They promptly sold it after that. :lol: Replaced it with a 1983 Buick Skylark.

[99GrandAMSE]

... I loved Chevettes/Acadians (the Pontiac version) ... I had several and you couldn't kill them ... anyway, I was sad when they stopped building them as they were CHEAP to fix and would last forever ... I bought a new one in 1987, the last year and it lasted until 1992 when I bought my Topaz XR5 (another nice beast :D) ... my Mom had one (learned to drive on that) and my GrandFather has 2 or 3 over the years as well :)

Here were my two :)

1981 (bought in 1984) ... cool Cragers, huh :)
http://www.gaownersclub.com/kbruce/1981 Acadian.jpg

1987 (bought NEW in 1987) ... just had to have white letters :)
http://www.gaownersclub.com/kbruce/1987 Acadian.jpg

Both of those were Acadians which I don't think were available in the States but I can't remember for sure :)

[75thAnnGT]

I believe it was a Pontiac 1000 down here.

Dang Kelly, you even make the cheap cars look awesome!

Ann

[99GrandAMSE]

Originally posted by 75thAnnGT
I believe it was a Pontiac 1000 down here.

Dang Kelly, you even make the cheap cars look awesome!

Ann

Thanks Ann! :) ... they both were great little cars and being I was young and they were "MINE" (you know the feeling) they were always spotless (hell, I was worse with those things than with my Grand Am believe it or not :lol: :D) ... funny you should mention about the 1000 (actually, I believe it was a T-1000) as that is really what the gray/silver one was even though it has Acadian badges on it, there was T-1000 manuals, etc in the glove box ... that little car had a bunch of stuff in it (well, a bunch of stuff for "them" :D) ... it had 5-speed, dual sport mirrors, power brakes, two-tone paint, trim rings and deluxe 'cloth' interior ... you could see the smile on my face for 100 miles the day I bought that ... December 13, 1987 to be exact :) ... HAHAHAHA ... get this, I paid UNDER $7,500 CDN tax-in brand new ... wish you could still buy something like that for such a low amount now :(

[Night Wolf]

yeah, the starters on those were a PITA.

But they really never died, and like was mentioned... CHEAP to run.

I thought the last year Chevette was 1984? so it is 1987 now?

Shitvettes.... thats what my father called them, once you realize it wasn't a sports car, and wasn't a muscle car.... then they really weren't that bad :)

[BBT]

Long line of slow moving cars? What's at the front holding up the line? A Chevette? Usually.

Had one once as a rental to get to Cornwall from Ottawa. Terrible highway car. It woudl change lanes all on its own when it crested a little whoop-dee on the 417.

Uncomfortable to drive. Steering wheel & leg alignment was off.

But yeah, best I can say about them is that they were cheap and lasted pretty well. Used to see a lot of them used as rolling ghetto blasters. The car cost $200 but it holds the $1500 sound system.

Not sorry to see them gone.

[SilverGA2001]

Originally posted by Night Wolf
Shitvettes.... thats what my father called them, once you realize it wasn't a sports car, and wasn't a muscle car.... then they really weren't that bad :)


I dunno, I saw a hot rod magazine drop an old 502 Caddy motor into one and put huge tires on the back. turned great times all day long. :lol:

[1996v6corsica]

ahh.. tempos
my friend had a tempo, we did all sorts of crazy stuff in that car
it got crazy good gas mileage too, he used to joke about it
"i gotta go out there every now and then and open up the gas tank a let a little out" like it was growing, we would take a fishing trip, put on like 100 miles and use less than a 1/4 tank

[Night Wolf]

Originally posted by SilverGA2001
I dunno, I saw a hot rod magazine drop an old 502 Caddy motor into one and put huge tires on the back. turned great times all day long. :lol:

the 500?

Yes, I have seen that.... that is one cool little Chevette :)

[SilverGA2001]

Originally posted by Night Wolf
the 500?

Yes, I have seen that.... that is one cool little Chevette :)


I just remember seeing them say a Cadillac 502 cubic inch. I wish I could remember the times they ran with it, but I think the goal of the article was to make a certain second capable car for 500 bucks or something. :)

[Night Wolf]

Originally posted by SilverGA2001
I just remember seeing them say a Cadillac 502 cubic inch. I wish I could remember the times they ran with it, but I think the goal of the article was to make a certain second capable car for 500 bucks or something. :)

Well, the 500 was a Caddy, the 502 is GM's corporate big block you can buy, along with the 572.

But while you could get a running 500 for well less then $500, you'd be lucky to touch the shipping on a 502 for $500 :)

[erimar77]

I was actually thinking about using a Chevette as a car to do some learning on. You can swap a 2.8L Camaro engine in with little modification except making some engine mounts. With the budget for both engine and car around 5 or 6 hundred dollars, it wouldn't be that bad of a project. Oh, and did I mention it'll run low 15's :)

[erimar77]

oh, i forgot

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme3/v6chevette/

check that out

[Night Wolf]

Wow, that is really cool!

all the other swaps I seen were big V8's with blowers out the hood and fat tires on the back.

But that keeps it stock, somewhat simple, and, decent proformance out of the box, but with a mild rebuild, you could get some pretty nice results....

Gosh, it makes me want a Chevette now...

[ChevelleSSLS6]

heck, I'd take a chevette for $250. Cheep transportation, simple to fix (no computer bs), and I dunno, old school simple appeal. If a Honda beats ya it's nothing for him to brag about.

[ChevelleSSLS6]

as usual a pic

[ChevelleSSLS6]

a peek under the hood...

[RocketFast321]

anybody remember the big brother to the chevtte the Citation
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/12/web/264000-264999/264588_1_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/12/web/264000-264999/264588_14_full.jpg

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by MysteriousGT1
the chrome door pillars look a little out of place on that magnum!

My Grandpa has 3 chevettes...they all don't run now, and just sit in his backyard!
If they are in deent shape I'll help him clean up his back yard. I still have a 305/T5 combo I want to drop into something.
Originally posted by SilverGA2001
I dunno, I saw a hot rod magazine drop an old 502 Caddy motor into one and put huge tires on the back. turned great times all day long. :lol:
Car Craft did that low buck build up for under $2000. It was a Caddy 500, the 502 is a modern GM block as Rick mentioned. Only Car Craft would build a buget beater like that and slap it on their cover doing a nasty burnout. IIRC they had to push the firewall back or trim some out to get it to fit and all. ANd alot of it was so getto rigged that if i twas the normal JOe Dirt driving it that the track wouldnt even let you run it. :)
Originally posted by ChevelleSSLS6
heck, I'd take a chevette for $250. Cheep transportation, simple to fix (no computer bs), and I dunno, old school simple appeal. If a Honda beats ya it's nothing for him to brag about.
I'd buy one for a toy, but not a daily driver. Good luck getting parts when needed.



Damn Will, that Citation is the titz!

[erimar77]

that's just it... i've called several junkyards around here and they have all the parts i needed. since i only drive 6 miles a day to and from the mass transit... it'd be sweet

[99GrandAMSE]

Originally posted by erimar77
I was actually thinking about using a Chevette as a car to do some learning on. You can swap a 2.8L Camaro engine in with little modification except making some engine mounts. With the budget for both engine and car around 5 or 6 hundred dollars, it wouldn't be that bad of a project. Oh, and did I mention it'll run low 15's :)

Yes, I have known many guys who have done this ... in fact, if you can find a 79/80 vintage Sunbird with a V6 and a standard, everything transfer over really easy including the engine, tranny and rearend ... cool thing was the factory Chevette rims were identical to the Sunbrid rims except for the Sunbird being 5-bolkt hole so in short, you ended up with a real cool sleeper ... low 15's seems about right provided you could get a little traction being the car is so light :)

Oh yeah, a 305 with stock manifolds can fit with very little work too but getting the transmission to fit in the factory 'small hump' is tricky without enlarging it :(

[99GrandAMSE]

... I bet that Citation hauls a$$ :lol: ... my Grand Father has a 80 (I think it was) Pheonix with a 4-speed :)

[erimar77]

i know low 15's doesn't sound special, but what would you think about the chevette hangin' with your ga... lol

[Night Wolf]

Originally posted by erimar77
i know low 15's doesn't sound special, but what would you think about the chevette hangin' with your ga... lol

Well, thats just the thing, when talking sleepers, that is perfect.

That is like my '79 DeVille, if I can get it to run mid 14's with little work (realitive) I'd be very happy, people say to me "blah blah is faster, 14 seconds is slow" yeah, true.... but when was the last time you seen a '79 DeVille hang with a Mustang?

Thats the joy with sleepers, keep it looking and sounding like a slower or stock car, but when it comes time to hit the gas, the furry comes out :)

[doobiess]

Well here is a chevette that is still on the road all stock orignal engine never rebuilt... never had intake even off.. but just replaced the carb. but heres a pic of it.. but sorry was taken at night...

[doobiess]

another shot

[MantaGreen97]

Originally posted by RocketFast321
[B]anybody remember the big brother to the chevtte the Citation


I do! (I was gonna ask the same thing!) My dad had a Citation back in the early 80s. Good ol' 2.8L V6. I can't believe someone put [what looks like] a 3800 L67 in a Citation--that's really something!

I can't really say how good of a car it was because back then I was a kid and knew nothing about cars. Pontiac version was the Phoenix I think, as someone mentioned. I do remember that for some reason people always confused the Citation with the Chevette, calling Citations Chevettes as well... :rolleyes:

(Funny enough another car my dad had later on, the Plymouth Caravelle was always confused with its "little brother", the K-Car...)

[ChevelleSSLS6]

Caravelle... makes me think part Chevelle, part dodge minivan...
*ugh* that is horrible to think about.

[lamonpat]

Here my brother's Pontiac Acadian before he crashed it in a concrete block... while doing some burnout in a contest.
It had a 305 in it. Now that engine is in his 90 Sunbird.

Those car were made only to do burnouts.

[lamonpat]

Originally posted by 99grandamse
..they were always spotless (hell, I was worse with those things than with my Grand Am believe it or not :lol: :D)...

Damn, you mean you bought them only to stare at them?
That's crazy! :P