boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8 
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May 19, 2017 14:24:28 GMT
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Hi all, just gone out and bought a Chevette saloon, which I love.  I want to do an engine conversion relatively soon but I’m just trying to figure out what to choose. There are a few threads on here and other forums about Chevette engine/gearbox options but they are all a few years old so I'd thought I'd open up the question again.. I know someone selling a rear axle from an Opel GT 1900, which I think should fit straight onto the Chevette and handle the power increase? I’m looking for 130hp or more.. I currently have a couple of options in mind: - Punto HGT 1.8 16v, I wouldn’t have thought of this as there seems to be very few rwd fiat examples around, but I currently own a low mileage HGT which I now need to get rid of due to the chevette, so I thought it might be nice to recycle instead! Does anyone know of any rwd gear boxes that will go onto one of these? Or any experience using this as a donor engine? - mx5 1.8, after reading this awesome thread: retrorides.proboards.com/thread/152623/1-16v-vauxhall-chevette-saloon I think this was my preferred option before thinking about using the punto.. Are there any more well documented examples of this conversion? I’m not really tied to either of these options, they just seem the easiest for my situation at the moment, so any other suggestions would be great! Cheers! |
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May 19, 2017 17:17:54 GMT
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If you have Facebook, join the chevette owners group.
They're the guys and gals that will have seen almost all the different engine options.
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Chevette engine conversionBenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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May 19, 2017 18:07:29 GMT
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What about a C20XE? It's a fairly well-trodden path but you'll have tons of info at your fingertips on how to do the conversion, off the shelf gearbox adaptors etc and heaps of tuning parts for when you get the urge for more horses. Any pics of your Chevette?  |
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Last Edit: May 19, 2017 18:10:00 GMT by BenzBoy
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May 21, 2017 12:23:59 GMT
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I would do the 1.8 MX5 swap and take it a step further by adapting the rear suspension to the Chevette. If you are really good, you could graft the front suspension on also.
If you buy a donor MX5 (highly recommend this for cost reasons) you can harvest pretty much everything you need to do the swap. Buying an engine and gearbox separately is going to eat you up financially as you buy all the bits and bobs that you cant yet imagine you will need.
In my experience, a donor MX5 can be parted out for about what you paid for the entire vehicle while you keep the bits you want. PITA if you don't like selling to random buyers, but saves on the budget.
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May 21, 2017 16:29:09 GMT
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I would think the problem with the punto engine is finding a gearbox to fit it in a RWD car. Not that up on them so no idea if they are available easily or not.
How much power are you looking for and how much time and money are you wanting to invest in the engine conversion project?
If you can do the work yourself and have no issues with fabrication/wiring etc then the world is your oyster for engines. If not then look for the simplier bolt in conversions that have been done often in chevettes etc. ALmost anything that fits in a Manta A will fit in a chevette (well 4 cylinder engines anyway) so there's some other places to look for idea's.
If it was me i'd stick a c20xe in there, its virtually a bolt in conversion with little wiring and a very nice 150bhp engine on injecton. Parts sould set you back about £1000 ish and a whole load of people have already done it so plenty of advice out there on how to do it.
For a bit less you could go 8v SRi130 engine on injection, another easy conversion (infact easier than the XE apart from finding the donor engine)
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,337
Club RR Member Number: 84
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Chevette engine conversionmylittletony
@mylittletony
Club Retro Rides Member 84
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May 22, 2017 11:39:04 GMT
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I would do the 1.8 MX5 swap and take it a step further by adapting the rear suspension to the Chevette. If you are really good, you could graft the front suspension on also. The potential issue with this in the UK is alterations to the monocoque, opening you up to a suite of registration issues. How about getting your hands on a 2.0 16v manual Omega? That's a complete package with 135hp |
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boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8
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May 22, 2017 14:00:24 GMT
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Cheers for the advice! bjornagn that was my thinking with the mx5 route, but without doing the suspension. I’m not a welder so trying to do as little cutting as possible Mantasport I chatted with a friend over the weekend who also said finding a rwd gearbox for the punto engine may be tough, and I think I’d spend more money trying to make it work than I would saving on not having to buy one.. so I think that option is out the picture. In terms of budget I’d say as cheap as possible but probably 1000-1500. I like the idea of c20xe now, I’ve found a bunch of threads which have given me some good inspiration. Would it be easier to set up on carbs though? I did a zetec conversion on an xr2 a few years ago and remember it being a massive hassle adding the swirl pot/fuel pumps for injection. Also do you think the opel gt axle will be able to cope with the power from c20xe? Some pictures:   |
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May 22, 2017 14:42:57 GMT
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I have a Opel Gt and used to have a C20xe in it. Great engine but about the limit power wise for the Opel 1.9 axle and very costly to get a lsd for it.
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boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8
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May 22, 2017 18:04:57 GMT
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Ah ok, any recommendations for axles then? I'm aware of piazza and manta a series but finding it almost impossible to find either of those..
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May 22, 2017 19:15:36 GMT
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The Isuzu Piazza axle is apparently stronger & LSD as standard, still a few around as well.
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May 22, 2017 20:18:33 GMT
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The Isuzu axle isn't an easy fit by any means. You'll need a whole lot of cutom work to get it in there, plus custom prop, sorting handbrake cable, different spring rates etc etc. I'm not 100% up on my chevettes but if i'm right it has the same axle as the Manta A. In which case you can fit the Manta B axle which is far stronger (good for 250bhp ish) but it is a tad wider than the A from memory its 2" wider. However if you run FWD offset rear wheels they fit inside the arches perfectly. The B axle is a direct replacement using the existing mounts/bolts (there's a Manta A sat in my back garden with the B axle in and fwd rims so i know that works on them) C20xe on carbs does make the fuel tank a whole lot easier as you don't need a return line or swirl pot setup. But you need to work out a way of doing the igintion. Now a lot of people use a bracket and front mount the manta 1.8 dizzy, but this is a compromise as its advance is setup for a 1.8 with 90bhp, not 160 odd bhp on a 16v. The other way is fit a mapped ignition like NoDiz, if you do this with a late C20XE (DisPak engine) it plugs into the existing cam/crank sensors and needs very little wiring in. Lots of people running the XE, Carbs and NoDiz now so plenty of advice. But carbs will add to your price quite a bit especially if you buy a proper bikecarb inlet manifold for it all. You could always get your fuel tank modified and fit an intank pump directly to it. Keeps everything neat and tucked away so no external swirl pots or similar. Then run the XE on onjection for a reliable 150bhp that is very very driveable and gives great fuel consumption (ok i know on this site that last one isn't a selling point but thought i'd mention it. My xe on injection in a Manta B used to do 35mpg on a run down the motorway going with the flow in the outside lane  |
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boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8
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May 23, 2017 14:19:22 GMT
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Good to know about the manta b axle, I'd written it off because of the width, but any ideas on where I can get hold of one? Finding it hard to source anything online..
I have just found a manta a axle I can get shipped from Germany from £300 - I was under the impression these were stronger than the chevette axles and a direct fit, unsure of how much bhp they would handle though (probably the same as the opel gt 1900 axle?).
And I think injection would be my preference if I can find an easy way to get the tank done - do you know anywhere who would modify a tank like you suggested?
Cheers for all this help!
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May 23, 2017 15:28:46 GMT
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May 23, 2017 16:12:00 GMT
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Is the manta b axle 5 stud and not the prefered 4 stud axle like the opel gt. I have an opel gt and have never in 10 years come across the correct izuzu turbo axle.
I have an early bmw axle, 1 inch wider than a 1.9 axle, for my Gt and this is irs and can be easily converted to lsd. Same 4 stud and pcd. It only cost 50 quid but I think a good bmw lsd is about 300. I am looking into using an lsd rx8 diff. You can find lots of info on different axles at opelgt.com forum.
Try the UK opel Gt club for a 1.9 axle.
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boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8
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May 23, 2017 21:12:39 GMT
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bjornagn That tank pump is great! Yea a bit pricey but nice to know there is an option. sunbuilder I've only been looking a couple of weeks for the piazza axle but had the same results! Might stop now then.. what bmw is your axle from? Was it a difficult getting it to fit?
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May 24, 2017 12:46:03 GMT
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The manta B axles are 4x100 same as the chevette so thats nice and easy. There are a few B axles around for sale currently, where are you in the country?
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boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8
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May 24, 2017 13:25:04 GMT
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I'm down in Brighton, where are these axles for sale?
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May 24, 2017 14:23:17 GMT
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Ask on the Opel Manta forum or ebay for manta axle
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May 24, 2017 14:51:21 GMT
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PM sent re axle
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boba
Kinda New
Posts: 8
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May 24, 2017 16:10:53 GMT
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Cheers mate just replied, as it happens shortly after I wrote that message one came up on the chevette owners group..! Complete set up which is good. First part collected..!  In light of this I'm thinking I'll go for a manta gearbox, does anyone know how easily these go onto the c20xe? Can they handle 150hp? |
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I want to do an engine conversion relatively soon but I’m just trying to figure out what to choose. There are a few threads on here and other forums about Chevette engine/gearbox options but they are all a few years old so I'd thought I'd open up the question again.. 
