Hey guys! My neighbour Peter stopped in with another from his Chevette Collection: This time it is a low-mile 1979 2 door with a 4-speed and custom bodywork and wheels! The hood is for another car, so the paint was not intended to match; he is just "keeping it safe" on this car for now! Hope you enjoy a look at this super-clean car that you just do not see anymore... Thank you to everyone who ordered a 1960 Fury T-shirt, our best-selling shirt ever! They are being printed now and will ship immediately when they are finished; I can't wait to get mine! Oh! I do not have a Telegram account or any bullshit contest going! Do not respond to any of these "contest winner" replies; they are a scam. Thanks to everyone who subscribed to our channel here, and thanks also for all of your "likes" and comments! If you would like to help keep our channel going, you can get a sticker, or a coffee mug at: www.coldwarmotors.com Or, please feel free to check out our Patreon page at : www.Patreon.com/coldwarmotors where we have extra videos and pictures and a bunch of people hanging out and bs-ing about cars! Mailing address: 253, 22169 TWP 530 Ardrossan, Ab Canada
Damn Scott! Man, if I were to venture a guess to the last car you would possibly feature, it would probably have be something like a Chevette or a Pinto! I'll be danged! Lol! Funny thing, my girlfriend's mom had a four-door Chevette of all things, in the late 80's. It was tan and brown jobbie. I just wanted to tell you that 'it's possible', if you know what I mean.. (here Nick's eyebrows go up and down a few times like a creep). She was about 5 ft. tall though..
You thought you opened a can of worms last week Scott with the Cordoba and the rich Corinthian leather comments... Everyone who owned a Chevette is chiming in on this one! 😆
Rare likely because it was one of the last rear-drive subcompact cars when, during its entire 1976-87 lifespan, its main competition was mostly front-wheel-drive cars by the likes of Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota.
In Germany, when the Opel brand belonged to GM, this model was built in the 70s and early 80s with a different front and some other different details. The model's name was Opel Kadett. It was very popular, especially in the longer Caravan station wagon. The smallest engine hat 1.2 litres the largest 2.0 litres with fuel injection. The latter were very popular as rallye-sport cars. And they were quite successful!
The most popular body style in Germany was the 2door notchback. I also have had a 2door hatchback. But as Opel Kadett, it was way more frugal in- and outside...
You also got the absolutely gorgeous 2 door coupe. We did get them over here in extremely limited amounts, as Buick-Opels. But they are exceedingly rare these days. Most having been beat to hell and scrapped, or left to rust into the ground. Still annoyed that GM decided that North American T-bodies needed the ugliest nose possible for 76-87.
My best friend had one. Same colour. We stuffed it into a snow bank in Quebec while drifting on way back from skiing. Crawled out and heaved it back onto the road. My girlfriend (wife now) was not amused. 😊
Thumbs up for vintage econobox coverage. Great to see such a well-preserved example. Gotta say I'm a little disappointed there was no Chevette/Le Car lap time comparisons around Jim's dirt track.
I remember seeing Chevettes everywhere when I was in high school. They were a good economy car, but they rusted away if you looked at them funny. Nice to see one still around. Thank you for sharing that one. Cheers!
My father worked for Brown Chevrolet on LI in the mid-'70's and I recall these cars like yesterday. Everyone laughed at them then, but, as kid, I loved these and the Vega. Now they're so uncommon and nostalgic.
About 20 years ago I got out my biggest shoe horn and fitted an '87 Monte Carlo 4.3 v6 in an '86 Chevette. It had a 200R4 AOD trans and I installed an Edelbrock 4bbl with aluminum intake and dual exhaust. I changed the running gear to a 7.5 rear with 3.42 posi gears and adapted Malibu front brakes. It had 15" Camaro mags with 205/60 radial tires. The engine registered 160hp on a chassis dynomometer and yes, it was FAST!
@@willythewave Thanks for the reply. I did it because it was a cheap way to build a real sleeper. The '86 Chevette with a bad engine was $150, The Monte Carlo had a bad body but ran like a dream $600, The rear axle from an S-10 was $100, The front brakes were from a junk yard $40. I built the caliper brackets and bearing spacers myself. The Camaro wheels and tires were about $600. (1996 prices) Other than the wheels and tires the car looked stock. The engine was completely stock except for the manifold, carb and distributor which meant I could really flog it without worrying about breaking anything. I drove it every day for eight years with no problems. It would eat 5.0 Mustangs for lunch.
@@ChevettesoftheCanadianNorth I took several pictures of the completed swap and I have them stored in my computer photo file. If you want to see them, send me your e-mail address and I'll forward them.
A nice trip down memory lane. My older sister bought a brand new 1978 Chevrolet Chevette in Dark Carmine Metallic with buckskin interior it had a few options such as color keyed seatbelts, color keyed floor mats, "full" 2 piece wheel covers, white sidewall tires, 1.6 liter engine with automatic transmission and am/fm radio. List price was just over $3400. It was a tough little car and she kept it for 6 years then bought a used 81 Monte Carlo T-top with air conditioning. Thanks Peter for sharing it brought back fun memories of long ago.
Everytime I see a Chevette, I always remember an employee of mine had an early one, probably a '77-'78 model. She hit a huge pothole in the road and the shock tower cracked, separating from the inner fender. This was in Southern California in 1987, so the car wasn't rusty or very old. The day it happened, she came to work with the front right side collapsed. Luckily there was a muffler shop nearby and I spoke to a mechanic there. He welded it up for a free lunch, I was a manager of an El Pollo Loco restaurant in San Diego back then, 22 years old at the time. The lady, can't remember her name, was so happy, she was afraid her sailor husband would kill her!
Hey Scott this brought a huge smile to my face. I took a year off between highschool and university to work in 1975-1976 and worked for a printing company in Toronto. My job was to deliver architectural prints etc to various engineers and architects and the company provided little company cars. At first they were using Toyota Corollas, then later Austin Minis and Marinas as delivery cars. Eventually they switched over to GM and got Pontiac Acadians (same as Chevettes) as their cars and I ended up driving each of these cars. I ended up going to University of Waterloo to study town planning and would work for my old boss at christmas, easter etc. He went through the cars fast and he let me buy a 1977 Acadian in 1978 for $1400 which was all the dealer was going to give him on a trade. As you can imagine it was high mileage and kind of beat up but it was newer than the 64 Impala sport coupe I was driving (which I hung onto). Anyway I drove the little beast all through school and when I started working I decided to pretty it up. Gave it a fresh paint job including the painted bumpers it had (it was the lowest trim level), put vega GT rims and trim rings on it and eventually put a sliding sunroof on it similar to what old VWs and Renaults had. Gotta tell you it looked sweet. The 1.4 litre eventually went for a shit so I dropped in a 1.6 from a 4door automatic which had a wee bit more grunt and it was suddenly a little bit of a performer. I know I have a picture of it somewhere in this house so if I find one I well send it along. Cheers, Rick Nethery
The Chevette we had was the best car we’ve ever owned. For some reason it never rusted-even in our salt-encrusted Minnesota winters. It was easy to work on but it never needed much attention. On our honeymoon we drove it up the side of a mountain in Canada to get to an Amethyst mine. It was a great little car that was trouble-free and you could trust.
Over in mainland Europe we got this GM body as the Opel Kadett City. They came with a 1.0L, 1.2L or 1.6L engines. Nothing earth shattering but very reliable. You could also have a coupe named the GT/E, it had a 2.0L 115hp lump. These were often used in rally's. (Just like the British Vauxhall Chevette HSR 2300.) There was also the Targa top Kadett Aero, rare and quite collectable these days.
"Chevy Chevette, it'll drive you happy." I remember that jingle. The Vega engine had a sound all of its own. My '78 AMC Gremlin had a 4-speed. I put a factory tach in it as well.
Omg how time flies. I remember back In the day when there were lot's of Chevette and Pontiac Acadian around they were very popular and inexpensive cheap on gas. Nice to see one in great condition almost like a time capsule
Fun visit guys-thanks! I had a Pontiac Astre back in '77, so I can relate to this-unfortunately, the Astre turned out to be a "Dis-Astre", and mercifully was lost due to an accident, and hopefully was recycled into a better car-Lol! Cheers from Ohio!
I drove one of these as a courier driver in the late 80's, what fun little cars they were! I havent seen one of these on the road in years! A lot of these dime a dozen cars from this era just vanished.....thinking back to the late 70's granadas, monarchs, pintos, the little dodge omni's and so on......great to see this survivor!
I had to smile thinking back when my Nephew received one of these for a Graduation gift . He is so tall , when he was driving , he would be looking out of the rear window !
*Cheers PETE!* Got to love any true enthusiast, no matter the specific model fixation of his "sickness"... He ain't a Barrett-Jackson guy, so he's ok by me! - Ed on the Ridge
Last month , I bought a 1998 Chev. Cavalier. Only 92 thousand miles on it , 4 door , 2.2L push rod motor and 3 speed automatic. Will be the cheapest transportation for me in years. At age 69 , my straight 8 and V8 days are probably over. Thanks for the memories , my friend bought a new Chevette in 1976 , it was fun to drive. Also , shows you guys care about cars that most criticize and over look. Can't wait to see your 37' Chev. running and rolling.
They borrowed from the Opel and Isuzu for the Chevette. Back in the day we had all three on the hoist at the same time. From underneath they were very similar.
This... is the first time I've ever been geeked about a Chevrolet Chevette. The first thing - that car has the nastiest rake I've ever seen on a Chevette! It just looks so cool rolling down the road. Second - what the hell, Man!? Lately, we have seen pristine examples of rides that have no earthly business looking as great as they do - and this Chevette is no exception! Just clean, clean, clean, CLEAN! Yeah, if I had an example like that, NO WAY I would sell it. Just a cool, mid-week video to tide us over until... Saturday! See the Gang then!
I had a 1 hour commute to work on a remote winding coastal road from '88 to '93 and I used an '80 Chevette with Scottish Shortbread cookie tins for door repairs and moved up a year later to the luxurious '86 Pontiac Acadian with velour seats and a 5pd. Dependable and fun to drive "swiftly" All the power all the time. Cheers 🇨🇦
We went through the Chevette rage back then as well. Father in law had a nearly Identical one, except the wheels and hood. Really good value for the money, tough as nails and held up well. That is till the rust Gods got it! Replaced it with a 4 dr version with AC. Finally sold them to folks wanting a first car for their teen drivers.
Nice! It takes me back too. My wife’s family had 5 of them when she was in high school. Hers was an orange two door automatic, with a black interior. It was a 1980 model.
Tel Peter thanks for bringing it down and taking us all for a ride in one of the nicest Chevettes around. The last time we rode I one was probably around lol the year 2000. Brings back memories.
I loved all those old cars growing up, not just the hot-rods, so it always makes me happy to see someone giving a shit about a car like that. You said it, those are the ones no one went out of their way to take care of, so they all disappeared - except for a few like this one. Well done, Peter!
I used to use those up as winter beaters. The last one and probably the nicest one, an ‘87, I paid $250 for it and as of 3 years ago it was still on the road in Ontario being driven by the lady I sold it to almost 20 years ago. The good ones just don’t die. I would love to find another, a red 87 Scooter 2 door 5 speed.
Hello friends, I live in Brazil and I have had a 1980 Chevette Hatch for over thirty years, it is very similar to this model, but with the front of the older models, it is a car that brings back many memories, it was with it that I brought my children of motherhood. hugs to everyone!
Watched this last night - did you know CWM look s better on a 55" TV?? 😁 What memories! I first got married in October '80 and immediately drove from Boston, MA area to Torrance, CA to live in a ... wait for it - '79 Chevette. Not even a std. though - my first wife had an automatic (and didn't want to learn to drive my stick Super Beetle). Had that car loaded with Ready-to-Assemble Furniture, and actually jumped it. A lightning strike had piled up about 3 feet of the surface into a ramp. Although semi's lined both sides of the road, I forged on at 60 mph, saw that too late to stop, and - ZOOM! - into who knows how much air, crunch - landed, and kept on going. I may be the only "Thrill Driver" to ever use a stock Chevette 🤣 Thanks for helping me to remember that poor, gutless old Chevette automatic. Peter's car is certainly a rare survivor, and isn't she mint? See you Saturday!
I knew a girl who had the chevvette’s cousin the pontiac 1000 I believe.never see anymore and when you do brings a smile . As Scott said there are only so many mustangs cameros and cheveeles that a person can look at.
Would love to have one...get in to the vintage club, yet still get reasonable gas mileage. I owned one back in the 80's.... and a good friend currently has an Acadian of the same basic design.
What a treat! I had a few of these in the late 80's and early 90's (including a diesel stick shift car). Great little cars! Thanks for this look back at a great little piece of history!
Did your diesel model fare well? An uncle of mine had consecutively owned a couple of Ford Escorts with the Mazda diesel engine. He would get about get about 150k mi. on each one and the cylinder heard would crack. A replacement head and off for another 150k. I drove it a couple of times and despite having far less horsepower that the gas engines, it seemed to have very good torque.
Super easy car to work on. I changed the timing belt on the side of the road for a friend. It took twenty minutes. That same Chevette was parked at a friends shop. We all got drunk, welded fog lights to the roof and painted it up like a frog. It came out great. The owner was super pissed, but drove it for years after..... We offered to remove the fog lights and repaint it, but he said no way, because everyone loved it. I had a Vega...... The Chevette was way more superior mechanically!
A beautifully preserved icon of the 70s! I've driven a couple of Chevettes from that era, good basic transportation. They were Colorado cars so rust wasn't a problem. A friend's Chevette back in the early 80s needed a clutch. I'd changed clutches over the years, no problem. But GM chose to throw a land mine in that one. They bolted the trans to the bell housing from the bell housing side. You had to pull the entire trans and bell housing as a unit and there was preciously little room to get to the bell housing bolts in that tight floor pan . It was a total heavy pain to get back in. My friend and I worked a whole afternoon getting it done. Then we discovered the supplier sold him a bad pressure plate. Had to do it over again! Not a good memory. Still a fun little car, though. Peter's is a beautiful example.
Take us on a visit to Peter's Chevette collection. My sister's second car was a 1980 Chevette. I spent some time with her to teach her how to drive the 4 speed. Great memories!
When I was a meter reader for the power company we had a chevette in the fleet. It did not go very well , and when it got going, it did not stop well! However it kept going in spite of the abuse we gave it! At least it had an AM radio!
Hat's off to a guy who keeps a car going that is not known for reliability and has no aftermarket support... Pretty neat that it has survived this long and it was the last of the rwd econo boxes ! 😎
Most people who had one will tell you they wouldn’t die. They were rock solid dependable and would go hundreds of thousands of miles with the most basic maintenance.
Damn that’s nice! I learned to drive stick on my mom’s 78 Beige 4 door, 4 speed Chevette. Fun fact, a double bass will fit in it with the rear seat folded down.
Scott, very neat little car-nicely kept and with your Bud has to call it his "SMILE CAR". evey shot of him- he was busting with joy and smiling! Thank for sharing! Rich
So excited lo see this 79 Chevette! We had a ‘81 four door, same colors! It was slow but good dependable car. my aunt had it new in Bethel Alaska and she drove it down along the Alaskan pipeline all the way to a Philadelphia, PA suburb were we lived. My Dad bought it from her. He later totaled it and I was sad he did, I really liked that car.
Sometime in the late eighties or early nineties, I was charged with driving my daughter's boyfriend's Chevette, left at my house during the winter. It was eighties vintage, with 5-speed, and an Isuzu diesel. What I mostly remember about it, was how slow it accelerated. It never failed to start.
That is a sweet car. I liked them since they were new. My mother had a Pontiac version of it. It had nice styling and handsome to look at. It is roomy inside for a small car. Good Luck to Pete and his Chevettes.
Wow! That is amazing! Worked on ‘a ton’ (hundreds actually) of those in the 70’s-80’s. Only had problems when the cooling system was neglected or the customer didn’t change the oil 😂! Replaced many head gaskets because of lack of maintenance. Cool to see one still preserved!
My brother had a 77 Chevette, which he bought new and it served him well. I love seeing survivors like this, thanks to Peter for sharing. Besides the ones that just wore out & were tossed away, I wonder how many of the remaining ones have been LS swapped. Here's a Chevette trivia question, if you want to test Peter (I don't know the answer) - is the front windshield interchangeable with the other T cars, like Opel Kadett C and Isuzu Gemini.
My folks needed a car and a local Chevy dealer had a stripped down Chevette for 3K. They couldn't pull off the deal. However, a couple weeks later I found a 62 Falcon with 42K miles on it for $850.00. We had that car for 10 yrs and was one our favorite family cars!
Peter the Chevette “geak”😂! How awesome!!! And thanks to you and Peter for sharing! Would have been fun to see a 1/4 mile drag race. I don’t think you would have broken any laws. I raced a Mack u model with 3208 cat against a Ford Louisville gas 461. No laws or or speed limits broken. Neither truck was fast enough to break any speed limit laws.
Thats just awesome. Call me sad but those cars are up there in my top 10 favourite cars . See if you can go to his house and check out his entire collection. That would be a real treat 👍
That's a awesome little Chevette, I had one when I was a young man. It was a good little car very economical got great gas mileage but man was it gutless. I haven't seen one on the road in decades here in Washington.
My first car, a Uk built 1978 Jamaica yellow GLS Chevette. So much was similar to that one, right down to the fender badges (but without the Chevy emblem). Happy memories. Thanks for the video.
Nice Chevette. The Holden Gemini was a second cousin of it but we didn't get a 3 door hatch, which is a shame. Nice to see someone preserving a car that most people wouldn't even remember. 😊
Man those cars were so much fun to drive after you heated the brake and clutch pedals to separate them. Glad to see such a good one. There is a guy that used to race one on a dirt track in Ontario and win, weekly
Said it before, and I’ll say it again. We never know what we are going to see when Scott posts a video. This is one that I never expected. Thanks Pete! Beautiful ride. 👍💯
Minus the modified hood, I had one just like this back in the day. Same color, same body style. Wow does this bring back memories. Though to be honest I always wished I'd bought the Honda Civic instead! Thanks for sharing.
love it! my grandmother had a 79 5 door 'vette 4 speed that she drove for years! being a Texas car it wasn't rusty at all, just a 10 year old car by the time she passed away, I was too young to inherit it.
For a 43 year old Chevette amazing condition. The inside looks amazing. Love the color. I would change the wheels. That’s about it. Thanks for sharing!
Chevette collection is something you rarely have enter into your mind, basically because they don't really exist , they were considered throw away vehicles... I never owned one because the women I dated wouldn't fit into the back seat LOL, very nice of him to share his knowledge of this economical time capsule. Cool old ride.
Hey we had those in Blighty! Badged the Vauxhall Chevette, the front end treatment was slightly different but apart from that seemingly very similar. Most dissolved almost instantly on UK roads, nice to see one - especially so pristine! A car of my childhood
I saw the diesel he has when it was for sale on Kijiji. I wanted it bad but couldn't get out there due to the pandemic! Glad to see it went to a good home.
The 82 diesel belonged to my friend John. He owned it for at least 16 years. I did put up the white 4-door 1986 diesel on Kijiji, for a while, but then I decided to keep it. I had 16 diesel Chevettes and a few or parted out. Still have lots of diesel runners here.
Love that little car. My friend wanted to GIVE me his diesel Chevette (he said it was a 3 cyl and got 45MPG) ...about 25 years ago. Cause I've done him a lot of favors, but I had 4 cars and the Chevette needed some rockr repair, so I said Thanks, but I've got too many to work on . i WAS SO STUPID ! Ahhhhh ! Now I have my 2004 Ford 4L Sporttrac with 74k on it, and its about to throw the timing chain!!!!! You have to pull the engine to get it out !! It has one in the back near the bell housing !!! I'm too old now !! God take me now !!
I bought a 1981 Chevette in about 1987, and it was already getting pretty rotten, after a few more years the bottom six inches of the body pretty much turned back to iron ore. It's amazing to see one in such rust free condition. Good on Peter for keeping these alive and kicking!
My mom had one of these in 1976. Not a car that will throw you back in the seat unless the clutch slips hahaha. This is a nice preserved example for sure. Cheers!
So cool to see such a nice example! My late brother bought a 2 dr Chevette in 1981 brand new after engineering school. A stripper, we added a Pioneer cassette radio and off he went to work @ GMC truck and bus in Pontiac,MI The T-body was actually GM's world car designed by Opel. After the Vega debacle and before the Saturn debacle, it was just a good little car. I had a very sad and beat 1976? "Buick Opel by Izuzu" 4 dr sedan around that time. One day a front ball joint broke (previous owner had been a wreck). Anyways a Chevette ball joint fit the Izuzu fine! Wow this brings back fond memories of road trips with my brother, thanks.
Hey guys! My neighbour Peter stopped in with another from his Chevette Collection: This time it is a low-mile 1979 2 door with a 4-speed and custom bodywork and wheels! The hood is for another car, so the paint was not intended to match; he is just "keeping it safe" on this car for now! Hope you enjoy a look at this super-clean car that you just do not see anymore...
Thank you to everyone who ordered a 1960 Fury T-shirt, our best-selling shirt ever! They are being printed now and will ship immediately when they are finished; I can't wait to get mine!
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thanks for the vids! best to you and the crew and queen frankers.
Damn Scott! Man, if I were to venture a guess to the last car you would possibly feature, it would probably have be something like a Chevette or a Pinto! I'll be danged! Lol! Funny thing, my girlfriend's mom had a four-door Chevette of all things, in the late 80's. It was tan and brown jobbie. I just wanted to tell you that 'it's possible', if you know what I mean.. (here Nick's eyebrows go up and down a few times like a creep). She was about 5 ft. tall though..
You thought you opened a can of worms last week Scott with the Cordoba and the rich Corinthian leather comments... Everyone who owned a Chevette is chiming in on this one! 😆
Not going to see a better Chevette
that diesel has to be super rare for sure ,
treasure !!!
Thanks Scott for showing👀 Peter's very clean rust free Original 1979 Chevy Chevette 👍.....
Show🇺🇸
Wow, if that Chevette is not the embodiment of 'rare and no one cares', I do not know what is. It is magnificentish.
Well said.
Rare likely because it was one of the last rear-drive subcompact cars when, during its entire 1976-87 lifespan, its main competition was mostly front-wheel-drive cars by the likes of Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota.
In Germany, when the Opel brand belonged to GM, this model was built in the 70s and early 80s with a different front and some other different details. The model's name was Opel Kadett. It was very popular, especially in the longer Caravan station wagon. The smallest engine hat 1.2 litres the largest 2.0 litres with fuel injection. The latter were very popular as rallye-sport cars. And they were quite successful!
It was badged Vauxhall Chevette in Britain, but essentially identical. Good cars that could cope with the mundane tasks every day
The most popular body style in Germany was the 2door notchback.
I also have had a 2door hatchback. But as Opel Kadett, it was way more frugal in- and outside...
You also got the absolutely gorgeous 2 door coupe. We did get them over here in extremely limited amounts, as Buick-Opels. But they are exceedingly rare these days. Most having been beat to hell and scrapped, or left to rust into the ground. Still annoyed that GM decided that North American T-bodies needed the ugliest nose possible for 76-87.
One of my old age regrets is having bad-mouthed those cars back in the day and realizing now they were better than I gave them credit.
I remember so well disliking all the Chevettes around back then. Now I want one!
Yup, I have them no respect back then. Only now I realize what a dummy I was, for me back then it would have been a perfect car.
My family went everywhere in a Chevette when I was a kid. Cool to see one still alive
My best friend had one. Same colour. We stuffed it into a snow bank in Quebec while drifting on way back from skiing. Crawled out and heaved it back onto the road. My girlfriend (wife now) was not amused. 😊
Thumbs up for vintage econobox coverage. Great to see such a well-preserved example. Gotta say I'm a little disappointed there was no Chevette/Le Car lap time comparisons around Jim's dirt track.
Make it a Chevette / LeCar/ Fulvia comparo and you've got a deal.
I'm continually amazed there are so many of your friends and neighbors who own so many offbeat cars. Must be something in the water up there. 🙂
Good GOD I haven't thought about a Chevette in 30+ years! Nice to see one in such fantastic condition after all this time!
I thought all those were pop cans now! I never thought I'd say it but....that's a beautiful Chevette! Pete should be proud.
Clean Chevette.....👍👍
I remember when those were everywhere on the road!!
I remember seeing Chevettes everywhere when I was in high school. They were a good economy car, but they rusted away if you looked at them funny. Nice to see one still around. Thank you for sharing that one. Cheers!
One reason they rusted was because they were cheap economy cars that the people that bought them were not the type to save them!
@@charlesatwell6658 Very true.
@@happyjohn8256 They got the job done. My mom had a Ford Fiesta. She managed to keep it for 12 years.
@@happyjohn8256 An extremely boring era in the automotive industry for sure.
My father worked for Brown Chevrolet on LI in the mid-'70's and I recall these cars like yesterday. Everyone laughed at them then, but, as kid, I loved these and the Vega. Now they're so uncommon and nostalgic.
Wow!
That's all I can say. I can't remember the last time I saw one, let alone this nice.
Thanks for sharing Scott.
About 20 years ago I got out my biggest shoe horn and fitted an '87 Monte Carlo 4.3 v6 in an '86 Chevette. It had a 200R4 AOD trans and I installed an Edelbrock 4bbl with aluminum intake and dual exhaust. I changed the running gear to a 7.5 rear with 3.42 posi gears and adapted Malibu front brakes. It had 15" Camaro mags with 205/60 radial tires. The engine registered 160hp on a chassis dynomometer and yes, it was FAST!
Thats cool. Never heard of anybody modding a chevette...or as we used to call them shitvettes or shoveits. lol
@@willythewave Thanks for the reply. I did it because it was a cheap way to build a real sleeper. The '86 Chevette with a bad engine was $150, The Monte Carlo had a bad body but ran like a dream $600, The rear axle from an S-10 was $100, The front brakes were from a junk yard $40. I built the caliper brackets and bearing spacers myself. The Camaro wheels and tires were about $600. (1996 prices) Other than the wheels and tires the car looked stock. The engine was completely stock except for the manifold, carb and distributor which meant I could really flog it without worrying about breaking anything. I drove it every day for eight years with no problems. It would eat 5.0 Mustangs for lunch.
The 4.3 is a fairly nice fit. Lots of 2.8 V6, 3.1 V6, and lots of V8s haven't fitted. Definitely needs an s10 rear end to hold up to any power
@@ChevettesoftheCanadianNorth I took several pictures of the completed swap and I have them stored in my computer photo file. If you want to see them, send me your e-mail address and I'll forward them.
A nice trip down memory lane. My older sister bought a brand new 1978 Chevrolet Chevette in Dark Carmine Metallic with buckskin interior it had a few options such as color keyed seatbelts, color keyed floor mats, "full" 2 piece wheel covers, white sidewall tires, 1.6 liter engine with automatic transmission and am/fm radio. List price was just over $3400. It was a tough little car and she kept it for 6 years then bought a used 81 Monte Carlo T-top with air conditioning. Thanks Peter for sharing it brought back fun memories of long ago.
Everytime I see a Chevette, I always remember an employee of mine had an early one, probably a '77-'78 model. She hit a huge pothole in the road and the shock tower cracked, separating from the inner fender. This was in Southern California in 1987, so the car wasn't rusty or very old. The day it happened, she came to work with the front right side collapsed. Luckily there was a muffler shop nearby and I spoke to a mechanic there. He welded it up for a free lunch, I was a manager of an El Pollo Loco restaurant in San Diego back then, 22 years old at the time. The lady, can't remember her name, was so happy, she was afraid her sailor husband would kill her!
Hey Scott this brought a huge smile to my face.
I took a year off between highschool and university to work in 1975-1976 and worked for a printing company in Toronto. My job was to deliver architectural prints etc to various engineers and architects and the company provided little company cars. At first they were using Toyota Corollas, then later Austin Minis and Marinas as delivery cars. Eventually they switched over to GM and got Pontiac Acadians (same as Chevettes) as their cars and I ended up driving each of these cars. I ended up going to University of Waterloo to study town planning and would work for my old boss at christmas, easter etc. He went through the cars fast and he let me buy a 1977 Acadian in 1978 for $1400 which was all the dealer was going to give him on a trade. As you can imagine it was high mileage and kind of beat up but it was newer than the 64 Impala sport coupe I was driving (which I hung onto).
Anyway I drove the little beast all through school and when I started working I decided to pretty it up. Gave it a fresh paint job including the painted bumpers it had (it was the lowest trim level), put vega GT rims and trim rings on it and eventually put a sliding sunroof on it similar to what old VWs and Renaults had. Gotta tell you it looked sweet. The 1.4 litre eventually went for a shit so I dropped in a 1.6 from a 4door automatic which had a wee bit more grunt and it was suddenly a little bit of a performer.
I know I have a picture of it somewhere in this house so if I find one I well send it along.
Cheers, Rick Nethery
Up until now I have never heard of a Pontiac Acadian. I just looked it up and see that was a canadian thing. They were known As The T1000 Stateside.
@@willythewave another thing that's a bit interesting is Canada actually got both the Acadian AND the T1000 at the same time lol
The Chevette we had was the best car we’ve ever owned. For some reason it never rusted-even in our salt-encrusted Minnesota winters. It was easy to work on but it never needed much attention. On our honeymoon we drove it up the side of a mountain in Canada to get to an Amethyst mine. It was a great little car that was trouble-free and you could trust.
I had a chevette back in the 80s for all the bad press they got, mine ran well, no problems.
I love me a good old Chevette. Had so much fun bombing these cars back in the day.
Over in mainland Europe we got this GM body as the Opel Kadett City. They came with a 1.0L, 1.2L or 1.6L engines. Nothing earth shattering but very reliable. You could also have a coupe named the GT/E, it had a 2.0L 115hp lump. These were often used in rally's. (Just like the British Vauxhall Chevette HSR 2300.)
There was also the Targa top Kadett Aero, rare and quite collectable these days.
I miss my Chevette. They're just great little cars
"Chevy Chevette, it'll drive you happy." I remember that jingle. The Vega engine had a sound all of its own. My '78 AMC Gremlin had a 4-speed. I put a factory tach in it as well.
I never even looked at those things back in the day, but gotta say it’s kinda neat to see one in such good shape now.
Omg how time flies. I remember back In the day when there were lot's of Chevette and Pontiac Acadian around they were very popular and inexpensive cheap on gas. Nice to see one in great condition almost like a time capsule
Fun visit guys-thanks! I had a Pontiac Astre back in '77, so I can relate to this-unfortunately, the Astre turned out to be a "Dis-Astre", and mercifully was lost due to an accident, and hopefully was recycled into a better car-Lol! Cheers from Ohio!
I drove one of these as a courier driver in the late 80's, what fun little cars they were! I havent seen one of these on the road in years! A lot of these dime a dozen cars from this era just vanished.....thinking back to the late 70's granadas, monarchs, pintos, the little dodge omni's and so on......great to see this survivor!
I had to smile thinking back when my Nephew received one of these for a Graduation gift . He is so tall , when he was driving , he would be looking out of the rear window !
Maybe he should've done like Bubba Smith in Police Academy, take out the front seats and drive from the back
Came out in New Zealand as a Vauxhall Chevette. They were quite popular.
*Cheers PETE!*
Got to love any true enthusiast, no matter the specific model fixation of his "sickness"...
He ain't a Barrett-Jackson guy, so he's ok by me!
- Ed on the Ridge
that's a real piece of chevette there:) my grandfather had one very similar to it.
Last month , I bought a 1998 Chev. Cavalier. Only 92 thousand miles on it , 4 door , 2.2L push rod motor and 3 speed automatic. Will be the cheapest transportation for me in years. At age 69 , my straight 8 and V8 days are probably over. Thanks for the memories , my friend bought a new Chevette in 1976 , it was fun to drive. Also , shows you guys care about cars that most criticize and over look. Can't wait to see your 37' Chev. running and rolling.
Cool. With those wheels it reminds me of something you'd see in LA in the late 80's. Lil' trooper.
My girlfriend back in high school drove one of these. Thanks for that trip down memory lane.
Remember the commercial? Chevy Chevette - it’ll drive you happy! 😊
I have thought to myself more than once that I would love to find a good Chevette somewhere
A good Chevette? Do you hunt Unicorns too? Good Luck!
Really?
I have thought to myself more than once that I'm glad somone else owned a Chevette! 😆
@@n1r0l you obviously never owned one. Most people who owned one remember them fondly as they hardly ever broke down.
I had one identical to this one. Drove it for 7 years got me through school and then some. Awesome car and so reliable. Thanks for the memories.
That car put a smile on my face!
They borrowed from the Opel and Isuzu for the Chevette. Back in the day we had all three on the hoist at the same time. From underneath they were very similar.
Nice looking Chevette, I don't remember even the ones back in the day looking as good as this one does👍
This... is the first time I've ever been geeked about a Chevrolet Chevette. The first thing - that car has the nastiest rake I've ever seen on a Chevette! It just looks so cool rolling down the road. Second - what the hell, Man!? Lately, we have seen pristine examples of rides that have no earthly business looking as great as they do - and this Chevette is no exception! Just clean, clean, clean, CLEAN! Yeah, if I had an example like that, NO WAY I would sell it. Just a cool, mid-week video to tide us over until... Saturday! See the Gang then!
I had a 1 hour commute to work on a remote winding coastal road from '88 to '93 and I used an '80 Chevette with Scottish Shortbread cookie tins for door repairs and moved up a year later to the luxurious '86 Pontiac Acadian with velour seats and a 5pd. Dependable and fun to drive "swiftly"
All the power all the time.
Cheers 🇨🇦
We went through the Chevette rage back then as well. Father in law had a nearly Identical one, except the wheels and hood. Really good value for the money, tough as nails and held up well. That is till the rust Gods got it! Replaced it with a 4 dr version with AC. Finally sold them to folks wanting a first car for their teen drivers.
An 81 Chevette was my first car and it had quite options for a Chevette. Kudos to whomever maintained this one.
What neat little car. Chevy gave it a real go for the mini car back in the day.
Nice! It takes me back too. My wife’s family had 5 of them when she was in high school. Hers was an orange two door automatic, with a black interior. It was a 1980 model.
Tel Peter thanks for bringing it down and taking us all for a ride in one of the nicest Chevettes around. The last time we rode I one was probably around lol the year 2000. Brings back memories.
I loved all those old cars growing up, not just the hot-rods, so it always makes me happy to see someone giving a shit about a car like that. You said it, those are the ones no one went out of their way to take care of, so they all disappeared - except for a few like this one. Well done, Peter!
I used to use those up as winter beaters. The last one and probably the nicest one, an ‘87, I paid $250 for it and as of 3 years ago it was still on the road in Ontario being driven by the lady I sold it to almost 20 years ago.
The good ones just don’t die.
I would love to find another, a red 87 Scooter 2 door 5 speed.
Hello friends, I live in Brazil and I have had a 1980 Chevette Hatch for over thirty years, it is very similar to this model, but with the front of the older models, it is a car that brings back many memories, it was with it that I brought my children of motherhood. hugs to everyone!
Watched this last night - did you know CWM look s better on a 55" TV?? 😁 What memories! I first got married in October '80 and immediately drove from Boston, MA area to Torrance, CA to live in a ... wait for it - '79 Chevette. Not even a std. though - my first wife had an automatic (and didn't want to learn to drive my stick Super Beetle).
Had that car loaded with Ready-to-Assemble Furniture, and actually jumped it. A lightning strike had piled up about 3 feet of the surface into a ramp. Although semi's lined both sides of the road, I forged on at 60 mph, saw that too late to stop, and - ZOOM! - into who knows how much air, crunch - landed, and kept on going. I may be the only "Thrill Driver" to ever use a stock Chevette 🤣
Thanks for helping me to remember that poor, gutless old Chevette automatic. Peter's car is certainly a rare survivor, and isn't she mint?
See you Saturday!
That is Sharp , makes me miss my 81 Chevette.
It brings back memories when I was a kid my mom had a 4 door chevy chevette diesel it was black
I knew a girl who had the chevvette’s cousin the pontiac 1000 I believe.never see anymore and when you do brings a smile . As Scott said there are only so many mustangs cameros and cheveeles that a person can look at.
Would love to have one...get in to the vintage club, yet still get reasonable gas mileage. I owned one back in the 80's.... and a good friend currently has an Acadian of the same basic design.
What a treat! I had a few of these in the late 80's and early 90's (including a diesel stick shift car). Great little cars! Thanks for this look back at a great little piece of history!
Did your diesel model fare well? An uncle of mine had consecutively owned a couple of Ford Escorts with the Mazda diesel engine. He would get about get about 150k mi. on each one and the cylinder heard would crack. A replacement head and off for another 150k. I drove it a couple of times and despite having far less horsepower that the gas engines, it seemed to have very good torque.
Super easy car to work on. I changed the timing belt on the side of the road for a friend. It took twenty minutes. That same Chevette was parked at a friends shop. We all got drunk, welded fog lights to the roof and painted it up like a frog. It came out great. The owner was super pissed, but drove it for years after..... We offered to remove the fog lights and repaint it, but he said no way, because everyone loved it. I had a Vega...... The Chevette was way more superior mechanically!
Thanks Peter for the awesome Chevette....it was giving me vibes of my 71 Vega wagon....I had years ago...that my Dad bought new.
A beautifully preserved icon of the 70s! I've driven a couple of Chevettes from that era, good basic transportation. They were Colorado cars so rust wasn't a problem. A friend's Chevette back in the early 80s needed a clutch. I'd changed clutches over the years, no problem. But GM chose to throw a land mine in that one. They bolted the trans to the bell housing from the bell housing side. You had to pull the entire trans and bell housing as a unit and there was preciously little room to get to the bell housing bolts in that tight floor pan . It was a total heavy pain to get back in. My friend and I worked a whole afternoon getting it done. Then we discovered the supplier sold him a bad pressure plate. Had to do it over again! Not a good memory. Still a fun little car, though. Peter's is a beautiful example.
Take us on a visit to Peter's Chevette collection. My sister's second car was a 1980 Chevette. I spent some time with her to teach her how to drive the 4 speed. Great memories!
My sister had the Pontiac Acadian version of this car when we were teens. It was a simple car but I really liked it.
In the US it was called a T1000 for Pontiac.
That tachometer is so cool, never seen it before - would have guessed it wasn't even available on the 'Vette
When I was a meter reader for the power company we had a chevette in the fleet. It did not go very well , and when it got going, it did not stop well! However it kept going in spite of the abuse we gave it! At least it had an AM radio!
Hat's off to a guy who keeps a car going that is not known for reliability and has no aftermarket support... Pretty neat that it has survived this long and it was the last of the rwd econo boxes ! 😎
Most people who had one will tell you they wouldn’t die. They were rock solid dependable and would go hundreds of thousands of miles with the most basic maintenance.
Damn that’s nice! I learned to drive stick on my mom’s 78 Beige 4 door, 4 speed Chevette. Fun fact, a double bass will fit in it with the rear seat folded down.
Scott, very neat little car-nicely kept and with your Bud has to call it his "SMILE CAR". evey shot of him- he was busting with joy and smiling! Thank for sharing! Rich
So excited lo see this 79 Chevette! We had a ‘81 four door, same colors! It was slow but good dependable car. my aunt had it new in Bethel Alaska and she drove it down along the Alaskan pipeline all the way to a Philadelphia, PA suburb were we lived. My Dad bought it from her. He later totaled it and I was sad he did, I really liked that car.
I'm curious...Where do you find cars like this? It's a gem for its age. Thanks for sharing.
Sometime in the late eighties or early nineties, I was charged with driving my daughter's boyfriend's Chevette, left at my house during the winter. It was eighties vintage, with 5-speed, and an Isuzu diesel. What I mostly remember about it, was how slow it accelerated. It never failed to start.
Was it diesel?
@@Project_Low_Expectations 4 cylinder diesel
That is a sweet car. I liked them since they were new. My mother had a Pontiac version of it. It had nice styling and handsome to look at. It is roomy inside for a small car. Good Luck to Pete and his Chevettes.
Wow! That is amazing! Worked on ‘a ton’ (hundreds actually) of those in the 70’s-80’s. Only had problems when the cooling system was neglected or the customer didn’t change the oil 😂! Replaced many head gaskets because of lack of maintenance. Cool to see one still preserved!
I took driver's education in high school in '76, and the car we had to drive was a new Chevette.
I owned three Chevy Chevettes, GM US made all with a manual gear box, so much fun to drive. I wish Id still had them today! :-D
My brother had a 77 Chevette, which he bought new and it served him well. I love seeing survivors like this, thanks to Peter for sharing. Besides the ones that just wore out & were tossed away, I wonder how many of the remaining ones have been LS swapped. Here's a Chevette trivia question, if you want to test Peter (I don't know the answer) - is the front windshield interchangeable with the other T cars, like Opel Kadett C and Isuzu Gemini.
My folks needed a car and a local Chevy dealer had a stripped down Chevette for 3K. They couldn't pull off the deal. However, a couple weeks later I found a 62 Falcon with 42K miles on it for $850.00. We had that car for 10 yrs and was one our favorite family cars!
Dw854, Dw1023, Chevette, Acadian, t1000, 1000
Peter the Chevette “geak”😂! How awesome!!! And thanks to you and Peter for sharing! Would have been fun to see a 1/4 mile drag race. I don’t think you would have broken any laws. I raced a Mack u model with 3208 cat against a Ford Louisville gas 461. No laws or or speed limits broken. Neither truck was fast enough to break any speed limit laws.
Thats just awesome. Call me sad but those cars are up there in my top 10 favourite cars . See if you can go to his house and check out his entire collection. That would be a real treat 👍
That's a awesome little Chevette, I had one when I was a young man. It was a good little car very economical got great gas mileage but man was it gutless. I haven't seen one on the road in decades here in Washington.
My first car, a Uk built 1978 Jamaica yellow GLS Chevette. So much was similar to that one, right down to the fender badges (but without the Chevy emblem). Happy memories. Thanks for the video.
Nice Chevette. The Holden Gemini was a second cousin of it but we didn't get a 3 door hatch, which is a shame. Nice to see someone preserving a car that most people wouldn't even remember. 😊
Don't see them anymore. 😎👍❤cheers.
Man those cars were so much fun to drive after you heated the brake and clutch pedals to separate them. Glad to see such a good one. There is a guy that used to race one on a dirt track in Ontario and win, weekly
Said it before, and I’ll say it again. We never know what we are going to see when Scott posts a video. This is one that I never expected. Thanks Pete! Beautiful ride. 👍💯
This old mechanic wants to know if the master cylinder and the firewall are still in contact with each other.
My high school parking lot was filled with these in the mid 80s. Worked on a few in auto shop class.
Minus the modified hood, I had one just like this back in the day. Same color, same body style. Wow does this bring back memories. Though to be honest I always wished I'd bought the Honda Civic instead! Thanks for sharing.
Always nice to visit Cold War Motors. See you Saturday.
love it! my grandmother had a 79 5 door 'vette 4 speed that she drove for years! being a Texas car it wasn't rusty at all, just a 10 year old car by the time she passed away, I was too young to inherit it.
For a 43 year old Chevette amazing condition. The inside looks amazing. Love the color. I would change the wheels. That’s about it. Thanks for sharing!
Chevette collection is something you rarely have enter into your mind, basically because they don't really exist , they were considered throw away vehicles... I never owned one because the women I dated wouldn't fit into the back seat LOL, very nice of him to share his knowledge of this economical time capsule. Cool old ride.
Exact car I learned to drive on, It was fun on back gravel roads in the old strip mines in PA.
Hey we had those in Blighty! Badged the Vauxhall Chevette, the front end treatment was slightly different but apart from that seemingly very similar. Most dissolved almost instantly on UK roads, nice to see one - especially so pristine! A car of my childhood
I saw the diesel he has when it was for sale on Kijiji. I wanted it bad but couldn't get out there due to the pandemic! Glad to see it went to a good home.
The 82 diesel belonged to my friend John. He owned it for at least 16 years. I did put up the white 4-door 1986 diesel on Kijiji, for a while, but then I decided to keep it. I had 16 diesel Chevettes and a few or parted out. Still have lots of diesel runners here.
My first car here in the U.K was a 2dr 1981 Vauxhall Chevette, essentially the same car.
Love that little car. My friend wanted to GIVE me his diesel Chevette (he said it was a 3 cyl and got 45MPG) ...about 25 years ago. Cause I've done him a lot of favors, but I had 4 cars and the Chevette needed some rockr repair, so I said Thanks, but I've got too many to work on . i WAS SO STUPID ! Ahhhhh ! Now I have my 2004 Ford 4L Sporttrac with 74k on it, and its about to throw the timing chain!!!!! You have to pull the engine to get it out !! It has one in the back near the bell housing !!! I'm too old now !! God take me now !!
Back in the early to mid 80's two of my favorite 1/4 mile drag cars were Chevette's. one of them was the same color as the car you're showing.
I bought a 1981 Chevette in about 1987, and it was already getting pretty rotten, after a few more years the bottom six inches of the body pretty much turned back to iron ore. It's amazing to see one in such rust free condition. Good on Peter for keeping these alive and kicking!
We had '80 Chevette four door manual when we were kids. We dove it into the ground Good basic little car. It owed us nothing.
My mom had one of these in 1976. Not a car that will throw you back in the seat unless the clutch slips hahaha. This is a nice preserved example for sure. Cheers!
So cool to see such a nice example! My late brother bought a 2 dr Chevette in 1981 brand new after engineering school. A stripper, we added a Pioneer cassette radio and off he went to work @ GMC truck and bus in Pontiac,MI The T-body was actually GM's world car designed by Opel. After the Vega debacle and before the Saturn debacle, it was just a good little car.
I had a very sad and beat 1976? "Buick Opel by Izuzu" 4 dr sedan around that time. One day a front ball joint broke (previous owner had been a wreck). Anyways a Chevette ball joint fit the Izuzu fine! Wow this brings back fond memories of road trips with my brother, thanks.