Odin
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,406
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Jun 21, 2006 20:35:13 GMT
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Ahoy there. Firstly, a bit of background. My daily driver Renault Megane (not my choice) has decided to throw a Gallic tantrum involving coolant loss and garage visits. As such, I've decided to replace it. Ideally I'd like something retro, that's not too small with decent economy and performance. However - here's the crunch...the Megane being my first modern car, I took out 'modern' insurance for it, so I need a group 4 retro for ease of policy swap. The Chevette seems to fit that criteria. So, the usual sort of questions: Parts availability? Are they good to work on? Usual breakages and what to look for? Any dos or don'ts? Can I stick in a five speed box easily? Can't really look at mod opportunities yet, because I'll be punished for them by Endsleigh. Bit of black steelage and cleaning maybe, though. And if you don't think a Chevette is a good idea, what else would you recommend? Or should I just sort the engine out on my Mk1 Golf? Thanks guys. ;D
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Jun 21, 2006 20:40:20 GMT
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Chevette is a w0000t idea. They rock a phat little rear wheel drive one. Bits are available at just about every level from stock 1256 stuff up to nutty 2600's and beyond. Rot is the enemy.... EVERYWHERE! I say do it. First time I drove one I thought 'how cool is this!!??', with the low seats, high transmission tunnel and stubby gearstick they are almost begging you to give them a damn good thrashing! 2-door saloon FTW, bedecked with the type of kit normally seen on German Kadett C's please!
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Jun 21, 2006 20:59:17 GMT
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Jun 21, 2006 21:15:04 GMT
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great little motors, and in my opinion better than the mk2 escort equivalent. 1256 is a doddle to work on, cos theres plenty of room to get at stuff, to the point of almost being able to actually get into the bay with it. had a chevette saloon as my second car back in 1990 (first being a 1300 mk2 essy) and loved it.super low, clean and rolling on wide manta rozzys.no pics of it though. ran out of talent on the college drive way in the snow and tw@tted it on the rear corner. sold it to phoenixC who thrashed it till the engine blew, swapped it then sold it on. so in summary, as the fine chaps above have said, doooooo it!!!
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zep
Part of things
Posts: 199
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Jun 22, 2006 10:47:38 GMT
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I don't own a chevette, but have had 3 from the same chassis platform, and from that I highly reccommend Chevettes If they are anything like the Geminis I have owned then you'll love it, you'll be hooked from the first drive (even if they do come out with an underpowered lump ). But that's not hard to fix, as Pogweasel said, there are soo many engines which will drop into one it's not funny, the GM-T platform is spoilt for choice. I can think of 10 engines off the top of my head that bolt into Geminis (and they're just Isuzus), then you've got everything that can bolt into a Chevette (bigger Viva engines? The 2.3?) and the Kadett (all that 1.9 goodness and 2.0 stuff you hear about) and then I've also seen Pintos in them with no effort at all. Rust... going by Geminis again, check the firewall, and make sure you look up under the guards (use a torch) and in the boot. Also, try see the floor pans just to be sure as well. Definately easy to work on. The diffs are a bit funny as they use a torque tube to link to the drive shaft and you need to make sure the rubbers on that aren't worn (as this can cause shuddering). Good things about them tho are that they are coil spring suspension all around so you can get a nice setup going. Another downside (well, here anyway) is wheel selection. Not much going round in 4x100 with the right offset. But you said you wont be doing mods for a bit so I think you'll be sweet, go for it!!
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Jun 22, 2006 11:14:28 GMT
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my first car was a chevette... and as has been said - they ROCK.... HARD!
Do it.
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Garry
East Midlands
Posts: 1,722
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Jun 22, 2006 11:52:48 GMT
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Last Edit: Jun 22, 2006 11:53:42 GMT by Garry
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Jun 22, 2006 11:58:10 GMT
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My mum had a brown coupe and a blue saloon. Happy memories
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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Jun 22, 2006 12:23:34 GMT
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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