Okay, this is my latest RWD idear. Since the 240Z one was terrible, I'm hoping this one is a little better. I found a little '82 Chevette gem in Utah for $600 that I really want to pick up (of course, I'm deployed, so that might be a challenge, but I'll be back soonish, so maybe he'll hold onto it for awhile if I asked nicely). Link:http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=0&nid=443&tab=list/view&ad=2282529

Anyway, they're light weight, the rear brakes are easily changed to discs thanks to Volvo 240's, and it seems like any engine can be made to fit into one with relative easy.

But beyond that, I have little idea of how good the American version of a Chevette is for rallying. The HR version has seen and continues to see lots of action in the UK, but that's the HR version.

Are the axles and diffs any good? If not, what can be swapped to replace 'em? How about engines, what is would be a good one to swap in? The more I type, the more
expensive this is getting time/money wise in my head.

For the time being, the car would be a daily driver, with occasional upgrades as money/time allow. The 1.5 in it get's like 50mpg on average! That's something I really like (for the daily driver part).

Or would I just be better off getting a Bimmer?

---

Ben Hetland
1973 Volvo 142 project car (with some cone-smashing on dirt in it's future, however)

"No. Rally Racing is a back alley sport filled with jackals, headhunters and thugs!"
-Pops Racer (Speed Racer movie)

www.utahrallygroup.com

Search Chevette in this forum and over at the other one. Lots of things can be done. Fiero front brakes, S-10 rear axle with locker and 4.6 R&P, four link rear, etc.

I've got a set of Group 4 type flares that will fit it.

Also google Chevette Engine Swap to find out what drops in easily or not so easily.

I've got the HSR build manuals which someone here is hosting at their FTP.

---

"Talk about drugs. Driving a car like that, going that fast, it’s like all the drugs at once." - Tommy Byrne

"Now, Pinky, if by any chance you are captured during this mission, remember you are Gunther Heindriksen from Appenzell. You moved to Grindelwald to drive the cog train to Murren. Can you repeat that?" - The Brain

How easy is it to find replacement sheetmetal and windows?

---

-Jason

I bet you could swap a 3.4 iron head and 5 speed from a 95ish camaro cheap and easy.

---

Michael LeCompte

Oh god, another wank fest.

Again, ask the question : What ADVANTAGE would building a POS junk crap shit like the Chevette be?

Why start with something that 99% were crushed 30 years ago because they were wretched junk?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

john vanlandingham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oh god, another wank fest.
>
> Again, ask the question : What ADVANTAGE would
> building a POS junk crap shit like the Chevette
> be?
>
> Why start with something that 99% were crushed 30
> years ago because they were wretched junk?
>
> John Vanlandingham
> Sleezattle, WA, USA
>
> Vive le Prole-le-ralliat
>
> www.rallyrace.net/jvab
> CALL +1 206 431-9696
> Remember! Pacific Standard Time
> is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Because he's got a lot of time on his hands and the wife never comes in the garage???


Apparently his sickness is not an isolated case:
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=195979

---

Zap zap my ass...

john vanlandingham Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
> Again, ask the question : What ADVANTAGE would
> building a POS junk crap shit like the Chevette
> be?
Advantage? NONE!

> Why start with something that 99% were crushed 30
> years ago because they were wretched junk?
That's a reason in itself! I for one think it is GREAT fun to take a POS crap-car, apply some spare sitting-around-parts, and proceed to flog the living HELL out of it, for cheap, with an ear-splitting grin the entire time. While the guys spending buku-bucks on "proper" builds don't run them hard enough, so as not to damage their investment!

The junk part was all in the drivetrain and suspenders. And metal outsides. And the seats. and carpet. the glass was great though. Ok, not really. Oh, and the wiring was really crappy. But the battery terminals are A-OK!!!!

Personally, i think a chevette body with some sort of 'other' suspension on it, with a Volvo turbo motor would be just plain fun. Everyone always does the 'volvette', the corvette drivetrain in the volvo. I want a volvette, but with the volvo drivetrain in the chevette. that car, I would enjoy quite a bit.

--sarge

---

---** To be in compliance with the Anarchy **---
Jorden R. Kleier
Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA
1990 Mazdog Protege 4WD
1973



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2010 03:11PM by SgtRauksauff.

I'd go with an Ecotec engine and Solstice transmission driving an FC-RX7 or a well mounted Miata Differential held in a Miata subframe and rear suspension. For the front, I'd either use Miata junk (weak bearings about the same as the original stuff) or convert to Mazda FC-RX7 Struts/spindle with their decently large bearings and great brakes.

Notice that the only Chevette part left is the outer shell and a portion of the floor.

---

Jason McDaniel



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2010 07:50PM by modernbeat.

modernbeat Wrote:
For the front, I'd either use
> Miata junk (weak bearings about the same as the
> original stuff) or convert to Mazda FC-RX7
> Struts/spindle with their decently large bearings
> and great brakes.

WHile you're grabbing the FC spindles, grab the strut towers too?

Chevettes look neat but that is about it... and swapping engines into them isn't all that simple. IIRC the common V6 swap headers actually route the left side around the front of the engine to the right. Not a problem if you're sticking with a four, but, gosh, why bother?

edit because I thought you said FB spindles

---

Pete Remner
Cleveland, Ohio

1984 RX-7 (rallycross thing)
1978
Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2010 07:54PM by Pete.

SgtRauksauff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> john vanlandingham Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> ----
> > Again, ask the question : What ADVANTAGE
> would
> > building a POS junk crap shit like the
> Chevette
> > be?
> Advantage? NONE!
>
> > Why start with something that 99% were
> crushed 30
> > years ago because they were wretched junk?
> That's a reason in itself! I for one think it is
> GREAT fun to take a POS crap-car, apply some spare
> sitting-around-parts, and proceed to flog the
> living HELL out of it, for cheap, with an
> ear-splitting grin the entire time. While the
> guys spending buku-bucks on "proper" builds don't
> run them hard enough, so as not to damage their
> investment!
>
> The junk part was all in the drivetrain and
> suspenders. And metal outsides. And the seats.
> and carpet. the glass was great though. Ok, not
> really. Oh, and the wiring was really crappy. But
> the battery terminals are A-OK!!!!
>
> Personally, i think a chevette body with some sort
> of 'other' suspension on it, with a Volvo turbo
> motor would be just plain fun. Everyone always
> does the 'volvette', the corvette drivetrain in
> the volvo. I want a volvette, but with the volvo
> drivetrain in the chevette. that car, I would
> enjoy quite a bit.
>
> --sarge
>
>
>
>
> ---** To be in compliance with the Anarchy **---
> Jorden R. Kleier
> Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA
> 1990 Mazdog Protege 4WD
> 1973
>
>
>
> Edited 1 times. Last edit at Apr 7, 2010 by
> SgtRauksauff.


And what advantage would this morphodite car have over just leaving the Volvo powerplant in the Volvo and flogging the shit out of the Volvo and saving the time/energy/money to swap it into an obviously inferior shell?

We don't rally on squiggely 6 foot wide 1st and second gear tracks, so there is no advantage is the smallness and shortness of the car so what is the advantage?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

john vanlandingham Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> And what advantage would this morphodite car have
> over just leaving the Volvo powerplant in the
> Volvo and flogging the shit out of the Volvo and
> saving the time/energy/money to swap it into an
> obviously inferior shell?
>
> We don't rally on squiggely 6 foot wide 1st and
> second gear tracks, so there is no advantage is
> the smallness and shortness of the car so what is
> the advantage?
>
>
> John Vanlandingham



Lightness. Make it flyweight and run in G5.

---

Jason McDaniel

Here's what you need to look at, from both expense and effort for any car you choose.

Merkur. $500-1000 for a good runner.
Brakes. You can get Porterfields all around and just use stock setup. There are some cheap options for upgrading to discs all around. There is also my setup, which is a damn near duplicate of what they ran on the WRC cars but more expensive.
Gearbox. Ford T5 swap with fairly close ratios and super strong can be done for under $1000.
Final Drive. The JVAB/Steel Solutions Supra swap kit is done. I think it's like $295, plus you'll need to modify the driveshaft with a cheapish Ford to Toyota yoke (maybe $50), and pick up a Supra diff (i've paid around $54 average for the three I have). 4.3 final drive and clutch type LSD in a nice strong package.
Engine. You already have like 190 hp stock. 3" exhaust, intercooler, cone filter, and turn up the boost. There's some decent aftermarket radiator/intercooler combos out there these days that are quite affordable. There are other options, like Sean who uses a Volvo intercooler and radiator, or others use the Cossie 2WD intercool and Saab radiator.
There are plug and play stand alone engine management options out there. Big valve aluminium heads, swaps to Volvo DOHC 16V heads, ported stockers with big cams, etc.
Getting a decent car on stage is easy for a Merkur and there is a ton of room for growth. You'll probably never land NOS as a sponsor, but you'd probably never do that anyhow. Oh yeah, the Ford Sierra has a huge history in road racing and can be fun in multiple venues. A Merkur won one of the classes at autocross nationals this year. There's a Targa Newfoundland one. There's a 200+ MPH salt beds record holder one. There's at least four built rally ones (me, Sean, Colin McLeery, and Matt Smith), with a few others in progress. There's not a ton of them in the junkyards, but there are some good suppliers/specialist junkyards that are very reasonable. The guy in Chicago offered to bring me out a cache of spare parts a few weeks ago (doors, fenders, etc) but I didn't want to find somewhere to store them in the meantime.

---

Grant Hughes

I keep looking an the one across the hiway in the neighbors yard...

The Ecoteks are a great emgine. 2.0, 2.2, 2.4 for G2 or put the factory supercharger or turbocharger for G5. No need for a V6.

John..the world is full of individuals with wonderous unique ideas. Building a Chevette isn't any more work than building a MkII Escort and there are 1000 times more parts available in the states for a Chevette.

G2/5 is really a hodge podge of cars in the states. The dominant marque being VW not Volvo. I'm betting Dave Clark the Lesser had as much fun in his old Celica as Al did in the Volvo or Sean in the Merk.

IF you have to change the 4 wheel suspension out, add 4 links, change diffs, change or modify powerplants and transmissions, change steering racks then the donor shell becomes somewhat irelevant. Just get a couple of extra shells for 'storage units' until you need parts. Chevy is a time honored, world renowned racing marquee since the early 1900s.

If he was going to just blend in and be the same for any reason the car of choice sure wouldn't be a Volvo. Subaru would be the obvious choice.

http://www.chevettes.com/forum/

---

"Talk about drugs. Driving a car like that, going that fast, it’s like all the drugs at once." - Tommy Byrne

"Now, Pinky, if by any chance you are captured during this mission, remember you are Gunther Heindriksen from Appenzell. You moved to Grindelwald to drive the cog train to Murren. Can you repeat that?" - The Brain

---

"Talk about drugs. Driving a car like that, going that fast, it’s like all the drugs at once." - Tommy Byrne

"Now, Pinky, if by any chance you are captured during this mission, remember you are Gunther Heindriksen from Appenzell. You moved to Grindelwald to drive the cog train to Murren. Can you repeat that?" - The Brain