Eewwww.
$3,000 for a '83 Chevy Chevette Scooter?
- Thread starter Jim 5
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I've got a better one for you. 75 Vega, $1800/OBO,
saw it on the way to H,e,l,l, Michigan. Pics are in the camera. Will post same when I get back.
saw it on the way to H,e,l,l, Michigan. Pics are in the camera. Will post same when I get back.
I drove my grandmother's '77 two door for some 7 to 8 yrs. I kept tinkering on that thing, having to replace the entire braking system along with the fuel lines because of it's previous years in her dirt floor garage. The exhaust system has left me with a sour taste in my mouth - the tail pipe would last no more than a year or two!
I liked the fact that I could do some of my accessory buying from the local scrap yard - an am/fm radio to change out the am unit, new knobs, another set of rims for snow tires...I'm slowly coming across part possibility for the new vehicle I have now.
The vehicle was a training exercise for me in refurbishment, rebuild and repair - thanks to my working within reasonable walking distance. It has proven to be my autoshop 101 exercise.
And FWIW - the highest mpg I got from the gas 1.6l-4 with AT and no air, was around 24 city...and that was after carb metering and ignition curve changes. Also swapped out the engine fan with a thermostatically controlled electric unit mounted infront of the new radiator. I'm not sure there was much I didn't work on in effort to overcome rust and ineffectiveness/inefficiency while I was supposibly trying to save up for my first car purchase.
I sold the thing for $300 some 5 yrs ago after aquiring a used 850 volvo wagon, with some tuning instruments and a box or two of spare parts and manuals. The th-200 transmission needed some work/replacement because of a clutch slip that was starting to occur going into 2nd gear...this was the straw that broke the camel's back!
I liked the fact that I could do some of my accessory buying from the local scrap yard - an am/fm radio to change out the am unit, new knobs, another set of rims for snow tires...I'm slowly coming across part possibility for the new vehicle I have now.
The vehicle was a training exercise for me in refurbishment, rebuild and repair - thanks to my working within reasonable walking distance. It has proven to be my autoshop 101 exercise.
And FWIW - the highest mpg I got from the gas 1.6l-4 with AT and no air, was around 24 city...and that was after carb metering and ignition curve changes. Also swapped out the engine fan with a thermostatically controlled electric unit mounted infront of the new radiator. I'm not sure there was much I didn't work on in effort to overcome rust and ineffectiveness/inefficiency while I was supposibly trying to save up for my first car purchase.
I sold the thing for $300 some 5 yrs ago after aquiring a used 850 volvo wagon, with some tuning instruments and a box or two of spare parts and manuals. The th-200 transmission needed some work/replacement because of a clutch slip that was starting to occur going into 2nd gear...this was the straw that broke the camel's back!
My step father is a really extreme, somewhat irrational person. In the 1970's he owned a couple of larger cars - a 1974 Buick Century with 350 V-8, and then a 1976 Pontiac Laurentien, also with a 350. Pretty big cars for a single guy who didn't haul anything, but he just liked larger cars, and they were pretty average size for the 1970's.
Anyway, in 1981, with gas prices going up, etc... he suddenly decides he needs to be more 'environmentally friendly', and get a more fuel efficient car. Reasonable idea. So he goes to his local Pontiac dealer, and he buys a 1981 Pontiac Acadian, with the 1.6 and an automatic.
To this day, he still moans to anyone who brings it up what an aweful car that Acadian was - how it was so small, tinny and gutless it was, and how cars that small are actually a safety hazard to people, and how automakers are endangering the public by still making small cars. Given his choice, we should all be driving Cadillacs, Marquis, and Suburbans!
The thing that always got me, that I tried to bring up to him, is of course he would have felt that - he went from one of Pontiacs biggest cars, to its absolute smallest, in one move. I always thought he should have lessened the shock by going down to a slightly smaller car - maybe a LeMans with a 301, or if he insisted on going small, he could have gotten a Phoenix with a 4 or V-6. These still would have been a decent size, and gotten much better mileage. Oh well, some people!
I've never owned one of these cars, but have been in plenty - I always thought they had a very 'odd' feeling interior - so narrow, long, and low to the ground - kinda sporty, but w/out any power to back it up!
Anyway, in 1981, with gas prices going up, etc... he suddenly decides he needs to be more 'environmentally friendly', and get a more fuel efficient car. Reasonable idea. So he goes to his local Pontiac dealer, and he buys a 1981 Pontiac Acadian, with the 1.6 and an automatic.
To this day, he still moans to anyone who brings it up what an aweful car that Acadian was - how it was so small, tinny and gutless it was, and how cars that small are actually a safety hazard to people, and how automakers are endangering the public by still making small cars. Given his choice, we should all be driving Cadillacs, Marquis, and Suburbans!
The thing that always got me, that I tried to bring up to him, is of course he would have felt that - he went from one of Pontiacs biggest cars, to its absolute smallest, in one move. I always thought he should have lessened the shock by going down to a slightly smaller car - maybe a LeMans with a 301, or if he insisted on going small, he could have gotten a Phoenix with a 4 or V-6. These still would have been a decent size, and gotten much better mileage. Oh well, some people!
I've never owned one of these cars, but have been in plenty - I always thought they had a very 'odd' feeling interior - so narrow, long, and low to the ground - kinda sporty, but w/out any power to back it up!
I'm not sure 5 Chevette's would be worth $3,000
'79 2D was my first car. Rejet the carb, recurve the distributor and exhust mods. Autocrossed several times per year for 4 years. Actually won my class most of the time. Clutch changed every 10/20K miles(7 in clutch?). Threw a rod on I95 @ 93K. Sold to junk yard for $50.
Several oval tracks in Tennessee and Kentucky actually run a Chevette class! I don't know where in the world they're still finding the things!!
I do occasionally see a Chevette on the road though. My wife and I always make a comment when we see a running Chevette. There's actually one around here, but I haven't seen it in awhile! Maybe it finally died? You see one in someone's yard or in a junkyard from the road MAYBE, but even that's pretty rare.
Nobody has mentioned the Pontiac T-1000!!
I do occasionally see a Chevette on the road though. My wife and I always make a comment when we see a running Chevette. There's actually one around here, but I haven't seen it in awhile! Maybe it finally died? You see one in someone's yard or in a junkyard from the road MAYBE, but even that's pretty rare.
Nobody has mentioned the Pontiac T-1000!!
I'd say the Hyundai Excel was the best budget car out of the three.
My mother drove one for nearly 15 years - the only problems in that time period was a radiator leak. Obviously, it was lacking in a lot of areas; no power steering or brakes and was totally gutless. However, you couldn't knock it for durability, at least ours. If I remember correctly, parts were dirt cheap for it too. It certainly wasn't an exciting car, but it did work well at getting from point A to point B reliably and cheaply. My parents ended up giving the car away, with it running completely fine, since we were bequeathed a vehicle by grandparents who could no longer drive it anymore.
Mike
Mike
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