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! 😆
Any Canadian of a certain age will have either owned one or had a sibling or friend that did. My sister had an '81 Acadian two door in silver with red interior and deluxe maroon and orange stripes on the outside. She drove it for years, and later saw frequent logging road action which unsurprisingly broke all the springs. Never stopped running, though. A friend was given his dad's old '82 four door with high KM in the early '90's. He drove it until the floors were rotten and the brakes gave out and parked it in his yard. One day a kid stopped by and asked him if he would sell it. My buddy stated "No. But I will GIVE it to you!" Happy kid drove it away... I could list many more Chevette/Acadian stories...
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.
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 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.
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. 😊
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
Lol how cool. I just bought a timing belt cover from Peter for my 78 Chevette Scooter (making its debut real soon on our channel). That is a beautiful 79 Vette Peter. And I think you're right with all my Forward Look Mopars Scott and I would get along well, lol. Thanks for featuring the Vette on the channel Very cool to see. 👍
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.
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.
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.
We had those in Britain under the Vauxhall Chevette / Opel Kadett label. The bonnet/ hood line (especially the front lip), and head and tail lights, were very different and bumpers were much slimmer than North American standard. Quite a good seller in the smal hatchback category, but we didn't have the diesel option. Vauxhall did offer a limited edition "hot" one - the 2300 HSR, I think. There was also the facility to take your Chevette independently to a tuning specialist like Blydenstein and come out with something noticeably more fiery. They're almost all gone now. When the Chevette was withdrawn, Vauxhall replaced it (eventually) with the Nova / Corsa.
I remember reading a review of one of these in an old car magazine wherein it was described as, and I quote, a "shitbox." I am also a Pontiac T-1000 survivor, myself.
The Canadian market got the Chevette, Acadian (upgraded and lot more options), and the Pontiac 1000. The US market got the Chevette, Pontiac T1000, all the cars were built off the same assembly lines, in Wilmington Delaware, and Later in Atlanta Georgia
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.
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.
"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
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
I had a 1987 Pontiac Acadian. I always preferred the 1983 and newer model years, I feel they looked more modern with the blackout trim and newer style badges. I am now appreciating the pre 1980 models style now. Great find, it's in great shape. I have never seen speakers installed in that position in the front doors. Usually in the rear sides in the hatchback area - either from factory or aftermarket. I put 6x9's in the lower armrest in the rear seat of my 2 door Acadian.
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.
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!
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.
Now there's a flashback! Everyone had a Chevette or Acadian as a winter beater back in the early to mid 90s when you could pick one up for $250-$500. Then overnight, they all disappeared.
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!
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.
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!
*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
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 !
I checked in the internet. The Chevette was actually based on the Opel Kadett C. I realised how much of the interior was kind of similar, but other things were different.
Scott, thanks for the look at the Vette oops Chevette (bad 1980s joke!). We had a few in the 1980s in my family. Weren't bad cars but not great. I had a 1978 four door automatic when I was in college in the mid 1980s. Last year of the round headlights. I was going back to college with a loaded down Chevette and was on the the interstate here in Maine. I was fighting a headwind on a slight incline. Had the sucker floored and topped out at 39 MPH! Car was running fine too. I had the automatic rebuilt twice on the car which was around $800 in 1987 . First time it wasn't rebuilt right. It also had rusted through driver side floor boards my dad patched. Still has have good memories though of it now in my mid 50s. Miss my 'Vette and appreciated the look back. Miss the simplicity of the car and it was rear wheel drive in the FWD 1980s. George from Maine
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 !!
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 had a farming neighbor many years ago that bought a new Chevette. Likely '80 or '81. HIs only previous car was a '61 Biscayne that he had purchased new. His son removed the body from the rusty Biscayne on a hard stop. He had that Chevette as a sole car until his death about 21 years later. His widow wasted no time trading it. I can't recall that it ever had many difficulties other than the exhaust falling off a time or two. I think they were known for that. Their car use was pretty much to church on Sunday and an occasional trip to the market. I found it noteworthy that the owners had gotten more than 40 years of use on two entry level vehicle purchases.
Good day brother new subscriber here. The wife and I started our channel a few months ago and one of my subscribers suggested your channel so you have a new subscriber from dawson creek bc. Looking forward to watching your channel brother have a great weekend.
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.
A friends GF had a near duplicate to this car back in the mid 80’s I remember having to occasionally replace the clutch cable adjuster “C”clip they would pop off and you wouldn’t have any clutch, I replaced the cable that wasn’t the problem the GM clips were under $2 so I had her keep a few spares in the glove box it took like 3 minutes to replace one including opening and closing the hood.
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!
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 🇨🇦
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.
These are so familiar to anyone from the uk, it was one of Gm's first "world cars" the platform that was designed to be sold world wide. They had a 1256cc motor in as standard in the uk and were really good cheap economical cars, the rusted out terribly though. Very sucessfull rally cars, both with the 1256 and the 2300 twin cam lotus head motor!!! That was a dynamite little car
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.
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!
This is a very nice Chevette, and the guy Peter in this video is who I have been speaking with about purchasing some parts~ It was cool to see him in another channel's video~ I've only known of him a short time, but he has already been extremely helpful, and nice with me~ I have watched nearly all of his videos now, as I am a first time Chevette owner~
...hi Scott.....I'm one of the sad bastards that got excited when I saw the thumbnail...used to own one, the four door flavor, same color....thanks....
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.
These were a real 'world car' on the quiet. Check out the Chevette HS and HSR rally cars from the UK and the various body styles of the Opel Kadett ín Germany. They even got a cool fastback version.
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.
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.
I worked with a woman many years ago that owned a diesel Chevette but a four door sedan, when they first came out my insurance man owned one in a loud lime green color, liked it so well he bought another one a few years later
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🇺🇸
Any Canadian of a certain age will have either owned one or had a sibling or friend that did. My sister had an '81 Acadian two door in silver with red interior and deluxe maroon and orange stripes on the outside. She drove it for years, and later saw frequent logging road action which unsurprisingly broke all the springs. Never stopped running, though. A friend was given his dad's old '82 four door with high KM in the early '90's. He drove it until the floors were rotten and the brakes gave out and parked it in his yard. One day a kid stopped by and asked him if he would sell it. My buddy stated "No. But I will GIVE it to you!" Happy kid drove it away... I could list many more Chevette/Acadian stories...
I love me a good old Chevette. Had so much fun bombing these cars back in the day.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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. 😊
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!
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.
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!
My shop teacher in the 80s had a car magazine where some guy installed a chevy big block in the rear of the car and turned it into a drag racer.
Sweet car , beautiful condition . Can see the mix of Vauxhall Chevette and the Isuzu/Holden Gemini we had here in New Zealand and Australia
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.
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 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
Great looking bit of nostalgia!!! WOW!!
Gotta say, I'm shocked I like it!! LOL
Tell Pete thanks for showing it off for us!!!
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.
I did my first ever bit of driving in a european model chevette, different front end, less speccy wheels but basically the same!
Lol how cool. I just bought a timing belt cover from Peter for my 78 Chevette Scooter (making its debut real soon on our channel). That is a beautiful 79 Vette Peter. And I think you're right with all my Forward Look Mopars Scott and I would get along well, lol. Thanks for featuring the Vette on the channel Very cool to see. 👍
Chevy Chevette, it will drive you happy!
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.
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.
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.
We had those in Britain under the Vauxhall Chevette / Opel Kadett label. The bonnet/ hood line (especially the front lip), and head and tail lights, were very different and bumpers were much slimmer than North American standard. Quite a good seller in the smal hatchback category, but we didn't have the diesel option. Vauxhall did offer a limited edition "hot" one - the 2300 HSR, I think. There was also the facility to take your Chevette independently to a tuning specialist like Blydenstein and come out with something noticeably more fiery. They're almost all gone now. When the Chevette was withdrawn, Vauxhall replaced it (eventually) with the Nova / Corsa.
Remember the commercial? Chevy Chevette - it’ll drive you happy! 😊
I’ve never ever wanted a Chevette. Until today.
I owned a couple of them back in the day. You could not kill them - they didn’t have enough power to break themselves.
I remember reading a review of one of these in an old car magazine wherein it was described as, and I quote, a "shitbox." I am also a Pontiac T-1000 survivor, myself.
In later years, the Chevette, in U.S, was also called a Pontiac 1000, Acadian in Canada.
The Canadian market got the Chevette, Acadian (upgraded and lot more options), and the Pontiac 1000. The US market got the Chevette, Pontiac T1000, all the cars were built off the same assembly lines, in Wilmington Delaware, and Later in Atlanta Georgia
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.
It'll make you happy!
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.
Dean needs a Chevette
The 'vette that was affordable lol. Jewel found and appreciared
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. 🙂
My family went everywhere in a Chevette when I was a kid. Cool to see one still alive
"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 thought all those were pop cans now! I never thought I'd say it but....that's a beautiful Chevette! Pete should be proud.
I fear my old Bob-Omb may be pop cans now too, Randahl...
"Cevette's of the Canadian North". Great page name.
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
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
coldwarmotors What a Nice Chevette Hard to believe how Nice it is Thanks for sharing. A Perfect example.
My girlfriend back in high school drove one of these. Thanks for that trip down memory lane.
Exact car I learned to drive on, It was fun on back gravel roads in the old strip mines in PA.
I Owned a brown ‘79 chevette back in the day. This video brings back many memories in that thing! ❤
I had a 1987 Pontiac Acadian. I always preferred the 1983 and newer model years, I feel they looked more modern with the blackout trim and newer style badges. I am now appreciating the pre 1980 models style now. Great find, it's in great shape. I have never seen speakers installed in that position in the front doors. Usually in the rear sides in the hatchback area - either from factory or aftermarket. I put 6x9's in the lower armrest in the rear seat of my 2 door Acadian.
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.
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.
Good GOD I haven't thought about a Chevette in 30+ years! Nice to see one in such fantastic condition after all this time!
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.
Wow what a cool car that is
That car put a smile on my face!
Now there's a flashback! Everyone had a Chevette or Acadian as a winter beater back in the early to mid 90s when you could pick one up for $250-$500. Then overnight, they all disappeared.
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!
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.
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!
*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
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.
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
I can't remember the last time I saw a Chevette, much less one as nice as that.
Had a friend with a diesel one with plexiglass windows he was to cheap to fix the vandalism from years before lol
I had a chevette back in the 80s for all the bad press they got, mine ran well, no problems.
I checked in the internet. The Chevette was actually based on the Opel Kadett C. I realised how much of the interior was kind of similar, but other things were different.
Came out in New Zealand as a Vauxhall Chevette. They were quite popular.
Cool, you got yourself a unicorn “Vette”.
Wow! A Chevette still running! A friend had a couple of those, and there's one around my city which I see every now and then.
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.
Scott, thanks for the look at the Vette oops Chevette (bad 1980s joke!). We had a few in the 1980s in my family. Weren't bad cars but not great. I had a 1978 four door automatic when I was in college in the mid 1980s. Last year of the round headlights. I was going back to college with a loaded down Chevette and was on the the interstate here in Maine. I was fighting a headwind on a slight incline. Had the sucker floored and topped out at 39 MPH! Car was running fine too. I had the automatic rebuilt twice on the car which was around $800 in 1987 . First time it wasn't rebuilt right. It also had rusted through driver side floor boards my dad patched. Still has have good memories though of it now in my mid 50s. Miss my 'Vette and appreciated the look back. Miss the simplicity of the car and it was rear wheel drive in the FWD 1980s. George from Maine
Clean Chevette.....👍👍
I remember when those were everywhere on the road!!
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 !!
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!
Always nice to visit Cold War Motors. See you Saturday.
I had a farming neighbor many years ago that bought a new Chevette. Likely '80 or '81. HIs only previous car was a '61 Biscayne that he had purchased new. His son removed the body from the rusty Biscayne on a hard stop. He had that Chevette as a sole car until his death about 21 years later. His widow wasted no time trading it. I can't recall that it ever had many difficulties other than the exhaust falling off a time or two. I think they were known for that. Their car use was pretty much to church on Sunday and an occasional trip to the market. I found it noteworthy that the owners had gotten more than 40 years of use on two entry level vehicle purchases.
Good day brother new subscriber here. The wife and I started our channel a few months ago and one of my subscribers suggested your channel so you have a new subscriber from dawson creek bc. Looking forward to watching your channel brother have a great weekend.
oh, man.. i loved my chevette!! it owed me nothing!!
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.
Cool. With those wheels it reminds me of something you'd see in LA in the late 80's. Lil' trooper.
This old mechanic wants to know if the master cylinder and the firewall are still in contact with each other.
A friends GF had a near duplicate to this car back in the mid 80’s I remember having to occasionally replace the clutch cable adjuster “C”clip they would pop off and you wouldn’t have any clutch, I replaced the cable that wasn’t the problem the GM clips were under $2 so I had her keep a few spares in the glove box it took like 3 minutes to replace one including opening and closing the hood.
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!
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 🇨🇦
The 'Gemini' was the Australian version of that. I don't think any are left except maybe in private collections of yard art.😁
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.
that's a real piece of chevette there:) my grandfather had one very similar to it.
I bought an 80 Scooter new for a work car. I was a repairman on the road and it made a great work car..........Jay
These are so familiar to anyone from the uk, it was one of Gm's first "world cars" the platform that was designed to be sold world wide. They had a 1256cc motor in as standard in the uk and were really good cheap economical cars, the rusted out terribly though. Very sucessfull rally cars, both with the 1256 and the 2300 twin cam lotus head motor!!! That was a dynamite little car
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.
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
This is a very nice Chevette, and the guy Peter in this video is who I have been speaking with about purchasing some parts~ It was cool to see him in another channel's video~ I've only known of him a short time, but he has already been extremely helpful, and nice with me~ I have watched nearly all of his videos now, as I am a first time Chevette owner~
...hi Scott.....I'm one of the sad bastards that got excited when I saw the thumbnail...used to own one, the four door flavor, same color....thanks....
An 81 Chevette was my first car and it had quite options for a Chevette. Kudos to whomever maintained this one.
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.
These were a real 'world car' on the quiet. Check out the Chevette HS and HSR rally cars from the UK and the various body styles of the Opel Kadett ín Germany. They even got a cool fastback version.
I remember those from my teens
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.
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
It brings back memories when I was a kid my mom had a 4 door chevy chevette diesel it was black
I worked with a woman many years ago that owned a diesel Chevette but a four door sedan, when they first came out my insurance man owned one in a loud lime green color, liked it so well he bought another one a few years later
That green looks awesome! It was a 1976 color only.