[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Chevy Chevette (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 9/4/2010 2:25:55 PM EDT
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My car (2003 Ford Focus) is getting a little long in the tooth. It'll have a little over 200,000 miles on it by the end of the year. It will also be paid for.
I can and have replaced the simple things like wheel bearings and axles, but I don't know much about fixing a modern car engine. The engine controls to be more specific. So I'm looking for a replacement that doesn't come with payments. And something that when I open the hood I know what everything is for. I've still see a fair amount of Chevettes on the road. Any one have or had one care to share info? I've looked on the web for info but most of the forums and such are for the European versions. I'm looking for a car that is... cheap easy on gas American pre-dates automotive computers |
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Gonna drive you happy.
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/17517/ |
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Quoted:
My car (2003 Ford Focus) is getting a little long in the tooth. It'll have a little over 200,000 miles on it by the end of the year. It will also be paid for. I can and have replaced the simple things like wheel bearings and axles, but I don't know much about fixing a modern car engine. The engine controls to be more specific. So I'm looking for a replacement that doesn't come with payments. And something that when I open the hood I know what everything is for. I've still see a fair amount of Chevettes on the road. Any one have or had one care to share info? I've looked on the web for info but most of the forums and such are for the European versions. I'm looking for a car that is... cheap easy on gas American pre-dates automotive computers You're kidding right? 
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Quoted:
My car (2003 Ford Focus) is getting a little long in the tooth. It'll have a little over 200,000 miles on it by the end of the year. It will also be paid for. I can and have replaced the simple things like wheel bearings and axles, but I don't know much about fixing a modern car engine. The engine controls to be more specific. So I'm looking for a replacement that doesn't come with payments. And something that when I open the hood I know what everything is for. I've still see a fair amount of Chevettes on the road. Any one have or had one care to share info? I've looked on the web for info but most of the forums and such are for the European versions. I'm looking for a car that is... cheap easy on gas American pre-dates automotive computers You're kidding right?
Nope not kidding. I see one or two almost every day. Can't think of any other car that old that I see as often. |
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You still see them on the road? No shit, I havent seen one in a long time.
My first car was an 82. I think it had a wopping 80hp but aside from that it went when I turned the key. Before that Mom had a 77 with a 4sp, it was a reliable car as well sis had an 83 4door as her first car. It also went fine. She used to get pissed at me for doing brake stands and smoking the tires off of it 
The only major problem I know of with them is the shock towers would rust out and eventurally the shock would push through.. 
ETA with a decent set of snows and a bag of cememnt in the back, it went good in the snow as well |
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Had a Chevette in '88 or so.
Got almost 200k miles out of it, was reliable. IIRC, rear brakes had problems, just the design, if I can remember my cheap, permanent fix, will get back to you. Also had to run 91 octane, high compression engine; otherwise would 'diesel' terribly after shutting down. Also had a Cavalier 4 door SW, ran the balls off that for over 200k miles, liked Cavalier better. Have not seen a Chevette on the road for MANY years! |
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Nope not kidding. I see one or two almost every day. Can't think of any other car that old that I see as often. Just because you see a lot of shitty cars on the road, is not an indicator that these cars are the pinnacle of reliability. Maybe its a matter of the economic realities of your area. |
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I've had one, and two of my friends had one each. Mine made it to 200k with only oil changes before I sold it. my friends did 300k and 500k. They were more mechanically inclined then I am and did things like replacing the bottom of the car when it rusted out. I get 20 mpg city and 30 mpg freeway in my 2008 Grand Marquis. That's plenty of mileage for having a full sized car. |
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Be advised and this is the reason I got rid of mine.
The two doors had fixed windows in the back and there was NO air circulation in the passenger compartment at all! One day just for kicks, while doing about 60 down the road, I ripped off a postage stamp sized piece of newspaper and dropped it from shoulder height down onto the hump. With both door windows wide open, it fell almost straight down! That car was the hottest motherfucker I ever saw! Still a damn good car though and perfect for what you want! (Just get a 4 door!) |
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Nope not kidding. I see one or two almost every day. Can't think of any other car that old that I see as often. Just because you see a lot of shitty cars on the road, is not an indicator that these cars are the pinnacle of reliability. Maybe its a matter of the economic realities of your area. I believe you're wrong. These are about the only old cars I see. Rarely see a Pinto, Vega, Monza or any other from the same time period. I know of at least 3 of these still in use close to my home. Either these 3 get a lot of use or there's more out there. Seeing how my commute takes me thru 2 states and 4 counties I believe there's several still on the road. The only other vehicles that old I see still on the road are either Ford or Chevy pickups. |
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Nope not kidding. I see one or two almost every day. Can't think of any other car that old that I see as often. Just because you see a lot of shitty cars on the road, is not an indicator that these cars are the pinnacle of reliability. Maybe its a matter of the economic realities of your area. I believe you're wrong. These are about the only old cars I see. Rarely see a Pinto, Vega, Monza or any other from the same time period. I know of at least 3 of these still in use close to my home. Either these 3 get a lot of use or there's more out there. Seeing how my commute takes me thru 2 states and 4 counties I believe there's several still on the road. The only other vehicles that old I see still on the road are either Ford or Chevy pickups. Cheap ?? |
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Dude...
Why do you want to fuck around with a 30 year old economy car
Keep the Focus...even with 200K it is a much better car than a Chevette. Computer controls make your life EASY....no fucking with the carb or changing the plugs every 15K miles. It's also a hell of a lot more reliable. The reason you see so many Chevettes is due to the economy in your area as one poster put it. Other than that...it's like trading your ride for Model T Ford. |
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Had a Chevette in '88 or so. Got almost 200k miles out of it, was reliable. IIRC, rear brakes had problems, just the design, if I can remember my cheap, permanent fix, will get back to you. I know someone who had one in the mid 80's Rear wheel cylinders leaked BAD. His solution to the problem was to beat the brake lines going to the rears flat with a ball peen hammer. Problem Solved!
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| My mom bought one new in 83. We were kind of poor back then and I think it retailed for about 6k or so. Ours had AC and it would slow (way the fuck) down when u turned it on. It went out and we just bypassed the compressor with a smaller belt iirc. I learned to drive a stick on it and it eventually went through the entire family as a hand me down. Had over 200k on it when I last heard of it being in the family.Gone now sadly. |
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Quoted:
Dude... Why do you want to fuck around with a 30 year old economy car
Keep the Focus...even with 200K it is a much better car than a Chevette. Computer controls make your life EASY....no fucking with the carb or changing the plugs every 15K miles. It's also a hell of a lot more reliable. The reason you see so many Chevettes is due to the economy in your area as one poster put it. Other than that...it's like trading your ride for Model T Ford. The amount of Chevettes on the roads around here isn't due the the economy. These aren't ratted out clunkers. They are still nice looking cars, well care for. I'm going to keep running the Focus till something that I can't fix goes wrong with it. I'm replacing another wheel bearing Monday or Tuesday. I guess I should point out that before I bought the Focus I drove a 1971 Ford Galaxie to work. 120 miles round trip, 18 mpg. Wacked so many deer with that car I lost count. I needed to replace the transmission and the wife talked me into just buying a new car. I'm tired of payments. |
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Had a girlfreind who drove a '87 Chevette with a manual transmission. She got the bright idea of riding the shifter while I drove. One night she was enjoying all the bumps i was going over on a dark country road until I went over a set of rough rail road tracks a little fast. Damn near impaled her and when she lifted herself off the shifter the knob had unscrewed. took a little digging and pushing to get that knob back. good times
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The amount of Chevettes on the roads around here isn't due the the economy. These aren't ratted out clunkers. They are still nice looking cars, well care for. Dear God, of all the cars out there why a Chevette? My first car was an early 80s diesel Chevette. I would race my buddy in his diesel VW Rabbit, we would make a pretty impressive smoke screen... 
It did make a good beach car, and I couldn't complain about the 55mpg. Sold it to a neighbor for one of their kids and I heard it made it 150k before it got totalled. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I had a 1980 Chevette in college (along with a 71 GTO) some 20+ years ago, it did what I needed it to do but wasn't exactly built like a tank. No engine problems, the rear coil springs would fall out occasionally and the driver window shattered once when I slammed the door a little hard. And the headlights burned out every couple months. But I could fold down the rear seat and tilt the front seats forward and have room for cautious sex (some positions just didn't work, but it was better than nothing).
That's my primary memory of the thing |
| Like others have said, since the Focus is about to be paid for, keep it until it blows and then replace it. Don't just do a preemptive strike on it. If it's still reliable and you don't have to put much money into it, why get rid of it? The Duratec engines they come with are good, long lasting engines. And these days, most computers and electronics in a car are pretty reliable, assuming it's not inside a VW. In all the old shitter cars I've had, the electricals were about the least problematic thing. |
| I had an 84 Chevette with manual transmission. It was not reliable, it was a POS, it was about as much fun to drive as a shopping cart (handled almost as well as one anyway). I hated the car, everything about it was terrible. It had a carb, but it was one of those craptastic computer controlled carbs, so if the battery was good and dead you still couldn't push start it. |
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Quoted: I'm looking for a car that is... easy on gas pre-dates automotive computers Those two do NOT go together. Remember: 'Old-timey' gas-milage (and HP, too) were calculated using a less-stringent standard... Kind of like how MPG on British cars is exaggerated... You are far better off getting a 1997 or later small car, and a book on how to work with OBD2 (The computer)... They are actually much, much easier to work on than the old shit... |
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Quoted: I had a 84 Prelude in college. Sure do miss it. 4 banger with two two barrels and a 5 speed. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/70122492_9a10d5a88a.jpg Unfortunately for the OP, if he wants no computer, he's going to have to look pre-1982... Post 82 (until the (long overdue) death of carbs in cars) you had 'Computer Controlled' carbeurators... All the PITA of an old-style carb, with a rudimentary (eg, easily befuddled) computer tacked on.... |
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Dude... Why do you want to fuck around with a 30 year old economy car
Keep the Focus...even with 200K it is a much better car than a Chevette. Computer controls make your life EASY....no fucking with the carb or changing the plugs every 15K miles. It's also a hell of a lot more reliable. The reason you see so many Chevettes is due to the economy in your area as one poster put it. Other than that...it's like trading your ride for Model T Ford. The amount of Chevettes on the roads around here isn't due the the economy. These aren't ratted out clunkers. They are still nice looking cars, well care for. I'm going to keep running the Focus till something that I can't fix goes wrong with it. I'm replacing another wheel bearing Monday or Tuesday. I guess I should point out that before I bought the Focus I drove a 1971 Ford Galaxie to work. 120 miles round trip, 18 mpg. Wacked so many deer with that car I lost count. I needed to replace the transmission and the wife talked me into just buying a new car. I'm tired of payments. Yeah, I've owned many older cars over the years. And I remember all of the maintenance and reliability issues I had. I've been driving for over 20 years... Cars these days are one hell of a lot better than what was available in the late 1970's, early 1980's.... They were a sick joke compared to today's cars... Power, safety, reliability have all improved remarkably.... Hell. the V-6 in the Mustang I just bought has twice the horsepower of the V-8 in the 1979 Cougar that I drove ih highschool. Handles better, has better brakes, and is a lot safer car. Switching to Chevette is like trading your Focus for a Soviet era trabant. Just buy a new or slighlty used car, take very good care of it and drive the piss out of it. |
| Back in the 70's and 80's I worked for a company that had a small fleet of them for delivery vehicles, only problem I remember was several of them would lose the harmonic balancer bolt, as long as the bolt didn't break or shear the key you were ok, the dealers stocked a coated replacement bolt. |
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I had a Pontiac T-1000 (Chevette) One fine automobile! They sold that car (the T-Car) in Latin America with a grafted on trunk for years under the Opel brand. It's rugged for what it is and, while no joy to drive, the pushrod I4 will last forever, running crappy and inefficiently the entire time. |
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Learned how to drive in one of those. Felt up my first chick in it also. Risking the ban hammer... If you were from West Virginia by chance you could have been doing both with a female relation  No doubts. I haven't thought about that car or chick in years upon years. |