Troubled From the Start: The Tale of GM's 1982 "J" Cars & their 1.8L Engine (incl. Chevy Cavalier)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ค. 2024
- Learn more about why GM's "J" cars, the Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac J2000 (later Sunbird), Oldsmobile Firenza, Buick Skyhawk, and Cadillac Cimarron had an inauspicious beginning with their launch in 1982. The main culprit was a new 1.8L OHV engine that lasted just one year.
- ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
When I went to buy my first car in 1982 .. I considered a J car but they wanted $8000 ...they looked good and got good reviews in Car magazines ..I could only afford $6000 .. and also looked at 80-81 used rental cars .. I ended up buying a 82 Civic ..glad I did. It was a very small store next door to the Chevy dealer .. and they only had one car in stock ,,, sitting in the showroom was a Silver Civic DX, 5 speed. I salesman told me it was the only Honda car they had in stock and the very last 82 model they had... he told me that the 83 Honda were coming in a few more weeks but will be $1000 increase in prices .. I said I take the Civic - $5800 plus tax, tags. The car lasted for well over 300,000 trouble free miles and got 45-50 mpg...with a fun peppy engine.
We're always told that car manufacturers test their vehicles as they're being developed, but honestly, sometimes it seems like they just throw something out there and let the buying public do the testing for them.
Over the past 50 years it's always been my contention to never buy a first-year model car coming from Detroit; as invariably, quality issues arises.
@@bloqk16 I've heard that too. But I had good luck with a 1st year model 6th gen Honda Accord, 98' that was a 2 door model only made for north American market, to (eventually) replace the Prelude. Had it tell 265k and 21 years before it went to junkyard. (transmission done, typical failure at that milage for that transmission type..) Nothing unusual about it's maintenance, mostly just usual oil and milage related items. The inside never creaked or rattled, no electrical gremlins either. I think it only ever had one recall related to shifter interlock that I never experienced. Great car overall for a first redesigned model year. P.S. I realized you stipulated Detroit vehicle, so this might not be best comparison.
Microsoft must have learned from them. Every O.S. from Windows 95 on seems to have been a beta version.
That's software
@@marcusdamberger Sounds like your '98 Civic served you better than my '91 model, which, after 21 years and 235K miles, something in the drivetrain broke and could only power one wheel.
I was on a road-trip at the time, where, coincidentally, was visiting my old neighborhood, and managed to muddle the car to the service department of the same dealership I bought the car from 21 years before.
I suspected the car was on its last legs when doing the road-trip, so I carried the owner's certificate and blank bill-of-sale with me; along with a list of car rental agencies. It wasn't worth saving the vehicle, as there were many worn items with the car that were going to need service/replacement in the near future; so I signed it over to a Honda dealership mechanic and I went to a nearby car rental place to complete my road trip.
Upon returning home, my second vehicle, a Toyota pickup truck, became my daily driver.
A year later I was back in the area and visited the same Honda dealership. The mechanic had moved-on, but the service manager remembered me, saying the mechanic sunk thousands of dollars in parts alone to get the car back up to decent running condition, as the transmission, valve-train, and steering were on the end of their service lives.
But, while the parts of the Civic were worn out, the fit-and-finish of the car stayed intact, such as with the door mechanisms and the interior; with all knobs and switches functioning well. Which contrasted with late '60s and '70s Chevys/Olds I owned, where the fit/finish; interiors; knobs; and switches deteriorated badly in 10 years time.
These technical dives into obscure or forgotten cars and engines are my favorite videos of yours, Adam….please keep them coming!
I had one for 13 years, thought it was a good car. Thanks for featuring the 82 J cars.
My first new car was a 1983 Cavalier Coupe with 2.0 with TBI. I put 209,000 very trouble free miles on it...Sold it to a friend, they drove it til 2005. Original engine, clutch (5 Spd manual). I only put battery, brake pads, belts, plugs/cables and a starter on it.
I had an 83 stick also. Only issues were radiator and shifter. Replaced radiator easily, used a lock wrench to shift, and kept on driving it.
I had a 1984 Cavalier in college; it had the automatic transmission, rear defroster, AM radio, and little else. Basic transportation would be an understatement! But in 1992 it only had 46,000 miles and I drove that car everywhere, including trips from the Midwest to California, Florida, and countless trips to and from college between the Chicago area and Iowa. Rust finally did my car in; the area along the bottoms of the doors, and especially the driver's door by the bottom hinge, rusted like crazy. I had a summer job delivering pizzas in 1995 and one Friday night I went out on my first delivery and couldn't open the driver side door; it had completely rusted shut! So I had to deliver pizzas Duke's of Hazzard style that night! :-) I said goodbye to my Cavalier a few days later. Great memories of that car
I was a freshman in high school when they came out. And every car review was essentially saying, "wait until next year when we think better engines will be available."
How was high school back then ?
@@nathangordillo5869 Watch the documentary film _Fast Times at Ridgemont High._
I was about same era and had a sub to Motor Trend and remember being shocked at how shitty they looked.
And highschool back then? I already had a beard by then and long hair plus u could smoke on campus with zero hassle! Good times
@@nathangordillo5869 Surely much less intolerable than today. I was there from '80 to '84 in a half suburban and half agricultural township. You definitely saw long guns in the back windows of pickup trucks in that parking lot during hunting season from what I've heard, in the '60s and maybe into the '70s, but I'm pretty sure that that was no longer an acceptable thing by the time I came along. The faculty there, in my day, definitely had a contingent of younger, city-slick, left-leaning types. But many of the rest were still rural folks.
@@nathangordillo5869 It was like Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
Was Service Manager at the local Pontiac dealership when the J car came out. The anemic 1.8 carburetor engine wouldn't start when it was bitter cold. Remember having to push new cars into the shop and replace spark plugs and make carb adjustments per a service bulletin, things still didn't start a few days later.
I had a loaded J2000 coupe with a 5 speed for a demo. At 500 miles developed an oil leak at the head gasket. Thought we had gone back to early Vega (Astre) days with those early J cars.
At least you could get an Iron Duke in an Astre.
I take a vega over any of that GM f.w.d. GARBAGE. I have a 79 monza now. With 200k miles on it.
My Cimarron would refuse to start in the bitter St. Paul winters. Loved the car, but hated the engine.
Oh the good old days... over at the Volkswagen store in the early 80s I had job security in the parts department because of the Rabbit/Scirocco. Plastic radiator tank separation, catalytic converters, EGR valves, etc. My favorite was rubber suspenders that held the exhaust system, until they broke and dumped it all on the road. What a market share gift to Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Isuzu, even Mazda and Mitsubishi.
I can't judge too harshly. I started work as a mechanic at a Ford dealership when this line up of cars came out. (i stayed working there until 2006). It isn't like Ford was selling anything much better than this. Remember the early Escort? I never understood why it was so wildly popular. The original 1.6L used in the early Escort had about as much horsepower as my lawn mower.
To be fair, none of the US automakers had much to work with. Faced with competition from Japanese imports, tougher emission standards, increased CAFE requiements, and tighter crash standards, it was hard to turn a profit. US automakers had to cut costs somewhere which meant quality suffered. Most of the warranty work at the time involved NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) and drivability complaints due to malfunctioning emission components.
After going through the 1980s I never dreamed I would live long enough to see cars like today that put out 500+ Horsepower while capable of 20+ mpg with nearly zero emissions.
It's remarkable that in the second decade of the 21st Century, that Detroit sedans, such as the Chevy Impala [rented them twice over the past 10 years], with V6 engines, are on-par in performance with the mid-range muscle cars from the 1960s; and those 21st Century sedans can do it on regular gasoline; get double the fuel mileage of the 1960s cars; and ride in comfort exceeding that of high-end luxury cars of the 1960s.
Now they want to say CO2 is a major pollutant and get rid of all gas cars no matter if that's the only thing coming out of the tailpipe.
@@bloqk16 True, but 1960s cars were far better than cars of decades past too, and it took decades to catch up to 1960s horsepower again.
A 1981 Ford Escort SS (pre GT) was a total joke, the 1991 Escort GT with the 1.8 DOHC is still better than most new economy cars Versa, Accent, Rio, etc. That decade made all the difference Chrysler had the Neon and everyone was chasing Ford's Taurus and yes GM was still confused 😕
You're right on the mark here as usual, Adam. I drove a 1.8/AT CS coupe when new. Let's just say it had a nice green velour interior and leave it at that.
Green velour interior!?Yech!
@@gideondingle9363 It matched the green exterior, so it wasn't so bad.
Kermit say 🎵 it's hard 2B green 💚
Ahhh....GM's " mousefur" velour strikes again 😒
Took my 1st D.L
1984: in cavalier 1982 gold paint sedan
Hi from the UK. I have a Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 OHC. It was a very reliable car and for the day handled and performed very well.
In 1982 I purchased a Honda Accord 5 speed manual sedan and what a great car it was! I kept it about 5 years until I got bored. I didn’t have it long enough for all of it’s vacuum hoses to fail and I lived in Los Angeles, so no rust, just choking smog and ozone to destroy rubber and my lungs!
So this has to do with J car how? But u did good buying a Japanese brand back then!
@@sableminer8133 You are correct, it’s got nothing in common with those cars and that’s why I didn’t buy one of them.
I had a 82 accord well into the 1990s. Ran forever and got 40mpg. Even after it rusted out and got hit by a drunk driver I got $700 for it
@@Wiencourager It was a fantastic year!
Great video Adam! Here in Brazil we had the J car, it was called Chevrolet Monza, 1.6L (early 80's), 1.8L and 2.0L. It was known as "the middle class dream" during the 80's and it was the best selling car in 84, 85 and 86. We had also a face lifted version, fromn1991 to 1996, who was known as "Monza tubarão" ("shark Monza", due it's font end resemblance with a shark head), made to extend it's life until the Chevrolet Vectra B launch. My father had a 1984 Chevrolet Monza sedan 1.8, fully loaded, and I had a 1994 Chevrolet Monza GLS 2.0 (ethanol engine), great cars. They are cherished in Brazil even today and there are many on the road!
I like Tainá Bergamaschi from Brazil. So pretty! 🥰
@@drippinglass
And Sonia Braga.
Bom encontrar outro br que acompanha esse canal 🇧🇷
@@pablobarbizan9463 opa, tmj 🇧🇷👍🏻
Nice explanation, you got it !
The j-car started in 1981 in Germany as the Opel Ascona C.
The Ascona was a very popular and robust car! Its reputation is still strong today.
Engines were from 1.3 to 2.0 litres, output from 60bhp up to 130bhp.
Alle european build j-cars (Opel and Vauxhall) had completely different engines (all OHC) and transmissions.
The Ascona was build from 1981-1988 and was successed by the Opel Vectra A.
Great details I've never heard before. Never knew the 2.8 V6 and this engine family shared parts! Too bad they didn't take it one step further: creating a compact, 3.6, 176 HP V8. That would have been quite competitive in the early 1980s!
I don't know how compact they could make it to shoving these little cars.
That would've been cool!
@@B0xlife1 Not for the compacts but it may have worked for X-body and larger FWD vehicles. Not that it would have made sense given the 3.8 V6 (and larger 3.1/3.4 V6s) but it's fun to imagine.
A 60° V8 would have required a lot of engineering work to run smoothly compared to a 90°, however.
No idea where you came up with this idea.
1.8L > 2.8L > 3.6?
Also what cars have a spectrum of 2L or 4 cylinders?
I had one, it was my first new car after college. Mine had the manual and the F41 package. I liked the car overall, but you are right about the engine, it was buzzy and rough. The manual was faster than the automatic, but when the A/C kicked in it really killed the power.
Feel free to poke around my page, but I actively and exclusively drive 80's Cavaliers. I have a wagon, sedan and a Cimarron. All have the same LQ5 2.0L engine, I'd say mine are the third revision to this engine family. It got aluminum heads in 1987, and then was punched out to 2.2L which the later Cavaliers are famous for. I can confirm that spark knock sound, is very close to sounding like rods, but the thing is, all three of them make the noise in that certain rev range which means they never really resolved it even when they punched it out to 2.0. I've been able to almost entirely eliminate it by finding the right configuration of modern plugs, stronger ignition coils and a minor tweak to the timing.
The displacement change to 2.0L also came with the addition of TBI Fuel injection for the US Market. Canada Cavaliers still ran a carb until 1984. Ever year J body has blatantly different changes year to year. Some are so subtle that they only reveal themselves during refurbishment of the cars, trust me, it's annoying.
The 1.8L is the least desirable engine in J bodies and I kinda do mean both. The OHC 1.8L did not like neglect and was also pretty sluggish. The OHV 1.8L is basically just 1982 crap. Front drive GM stuff for the 1982 year model is always wildly slapped together and rushed to market highly unrefined. As a rule personally I avoid 1982 GM's for this reason of it just being such a rough year for the.
I drive nothing else but vintage J Bodies. I just can't figure out how to make content for my page about it but I've been doing this since 2020. They're nice cars for what they are; Honest, simple and reliable. They're not offensively slow or miserable to drive for long stretches at a time, they drive on modern highways at modern speeds fine, with good mpg, parts aren't impossible to find cause the J body lasted until 2005, and yes many core components never changed from 1982-2005.
Dude, you are like a modern-day flagellant. I am not sure if I ought to be admiring or appalled. Good luck with your J-platforms.
One of the few good points about the Cadillac Cimarron was the fact the devaluation rate went off a cliff. So it gave some people a chance to pick up a fully optioned out compact/midsize car for a good price.
And those ppl could legitimately claim to own a Cadillac; as it was a status symbol among sedan owners back then.
Junk. Junk and more junk. All the front weel drive cars GARBAGE on wheels.
Until it was discovered that it was a Cimarron….
I mean yeah BUT the cost was still relative to all other used compacts with similar equipment, so it wasn't so much of the "steal" some assume it was.
@@averyparticularsetofskills
But it was for a Cadillac
At least, Cadillac got its first-ever taillamps with amber-colour turn signal indicators for the domestic market. Not to mention the first four-cylinder engine fitted to Cadillac since 1914 and manual gearbox since 1950s. By the way, we hired a 1982 Opel Ascona, which is more or less European version of J-Car, and we thought it was better designed and built than American J-Cars.
Yeah but Amerikans be like " Amber taillights? We don't want no stinkin' amber in our taillights"! 😆
We had them in Australia as the Holden Camira. They had cosmetic changes to give them a more european look and more inline with the bigger car in the stable the Holden Commodore whose styling and platform had been originally based on the Opel Omega. They launched with much fanfare and some sales success, before quickly earning themselves a reputation as a dog of a car. The later fuel injected cars were better, but by then the damage was done. It could be argued they were the start of the decline and eventual end of GM in Australia. The greatest crime wasn't just that the J cars was launched as a ready made fail in the US market, but GM thought it would be a good idea to export that same flawed car design to the entire planet. Thus ensuring every GM division around the world had a terrible car in its lineup, that took a lot of time and money to tool up for.
This must be the worst car ever sold in Australia.
I was born after the Camira ended production, but even I know how horrendous they were. It’s almost legendary. I remember my non-car knowing mum telling me Camira’s are lemons. I think it really damaged Holden’s reputation
@@danieltillett1526 I’d give that award to the Holden Sunbird Torana.
Yet here in Europe, the Cavalier and Ascona were well thought of and pretty successful; nice to drive, comfortable, economical, reliable, easy to work on, and the engines were really perky compared to some of the opposition. Even the 1.3 could get out of its own way. I owned several 80s Cavaliers in the 90s and they were all great. Maybe they were better suited to European conditions (and manual gearboxes).
@@siwynjones the 1.6 JB Camira (first model) was gutless but the 1.8 and 2 litre JD and JE models were much better and designer Leo Pruneau did a great job making them look quite different as well as copying the Citroen GS on the wagon so the rear bumper was part of the tail gate.
mk2 Vauxhall Cavalier was a popular car back in the day. I'm liking the version with the Trans Am style front end.
my dad traded in an 83 cavalier wagon in 1993 on a lumina. the dealer couldn't believe the odometer had flipped over and had 130K plus on the original engine and transmission because they simply wouldn't last that long. when he told them it was actually 230K, they nearly fainted.
My parents bought a cavalier and I remember thinking the name was appropriate: zero to 60 in a cavalier fashion.
Not sure why it had four doors. If you added people it only slowed the acceleration.
Weren't the X cars/Citation GM's first compact front wheel drive cars?
This engine was referenced in Paul Ingrassia’s book Comeback. Specifically the piston height and construction was discussed as a perfect example of why GM and Detroit in general was losing to the Japanese. It wasn’t just that Toyota and Honda would pick already equal weight pistons. It was that the piston height impacted the entire design of not only the engine but the car itself. The fact that GMs piston were oversized for manufacturing convenience meant the engine weighted more and had to be taller. This meant the cowl height of the car had to be taller. Also the cruder the engine meant you had to add more sound isolation in order to achieve the same quietness from the foreign makes. Therefore the engines were cruder, less efficient, less sophisticated because of a lack of overhead cam, less reliable, and the Design of the car was compromised with less visibility. Plus taller cowl heights meant less mpg because the design presented more of a brick to the wind.
The Comeback is a great book and really discusses the reasons why Detroit lost and is still lost.
A friend of mine had an 82 Cavalier. I think the first year styling was good. His had a number of breakdowns. It was on a flat bed back to the dealership multiple times
We had an '87 Sunbird Safari wagon. By 1987, the OHC 1.8 was enlarged to a 2.0 with 96hp. Still unreliable. Example was that at 50,000 miles, the steering wheel started becoming very loose where you could wobble it all over the place. The dealer needed to re-tighten the tilt-wheel mechanism. The oil pressure gauge would frequently register off the dial and then go back to normal oil pressure readings. Those were just a couple of the quirks. The engine was a whole another story. soon after delivery we get a note in the mail from Pontiac asking that we bring the car back for the dealer to install a lead shield around the distributor. Speaking of the distributor, the cap needed to be changed every 8-10k miles, or else the car would run poorly if at all. Oh yeah, first summer, the a/c compressor exploded (really) and dumped oil all over the place. This was in May and the new compressor finally came in - in October. Got rid of it a couple of years later and started buying Nissans (when Nissan was still making outstanding vehicles).
Adam; LOVE the " _History of Powertrain_ " type vid. & wouldn't mind at all for many more like it!
Be Well
✌🏽
Stay Safe
My mom had a 1982 Buick Skyhawk custom (4dr beige) never had any problems with it. Then she bought a 1986 Skyhawk T-type (2dr two tone ) no trouble with that car either. She keep the 4dr until late 90’s .The couple was rear ended 🥺 I loved that little car 😊
Very interesting insight into the internal decisions that are made when designing a platform!
I worked at a huge Chevrolet dealership in that era - I can still remember my disappointment in the short sighted design and engineering choices. I felt like there there were both good and bad people running the show at GM - and that the good people couldn’t do anything about the bad people.
Kinda like our government today 🤔
Nice. My mother had an 83 Sunbird and just loved it. It was a blessing for her after driving my father's 74' Parisienne which was an incredibly large car. My father was delighted to see my mother's happiness driving the Sunbird..
They were produced in Brazil, from 1982 to 1996. It was 😅 Chevrolet Monza. The outsider em was almost identical to the German Opel Ascona. From Brazil, it was exported to almost every South American country, mainly Chile and Venezuela.
Those at least, had better styling than the crappy N.Amer. cousins! Viva S. America!
@@sableminer8133 Indeed, the north American styling was the worst of the lot. No composite headlamps available due to regulation, (86' would be first year for composite headlamps in U.S...) bigger bumpers also due to crash regulations, both probably contributed to its lackluster styling.
Which didn't have much better reputation than actual Cavalier. Here in Venezuela it gained a spotty reputation for reliability along with the Ford Sierra (which in change was a much better car with RWD). Matter of fact in 1990 The Monza was changed to the USDM Cavalier with the 2.2 and that was much better loved and sold (the cavalier was eventually made in Venezuela until it's last gen in 2000)
It was also available in Uruguay and Argentina, even with Diesel engines sourced mostly from Isuzu. AFAIK in Uruguay there are some Monzas of the '97 model-year, mostly Diesel, while the Monza was phased out in Brazil in mid '96 because it wouldn't be compliant to emission standards in '97 due to the absence of a catalyst.
I bought JP cars exclusively during this time period. The JP cars were smooth and high reeving with tight steering and nice gearboxes while the US vehicles driving sensation felt more like farm implements adapted for road use. Also the JP cars had firmer suspension that could be driven harder in corners while the US cars seemed more like scaled down large cars and with softer suspensions more optimized for driving straight lines on an interstate for example
I miss my little Red 91 Sunbird it wasn't the fastest thing on the road but it went through Snow and anything you threw at it and I didn't know enough about timing belts and when it let go everything came together and I had to sell it, lots of fun and sporty.
Best comment, had a 91 charcoal gray with turbo rims, best city car I have ever driven.
Another informative video.... thanks! Enjoyed watching it. Grew up with these cars..... sooo bad really looking back. But at the time they were Fresh and NEW!! LOL
9:00 Cool 80's, futuristic EPCOT type music.
Great video Adam. Thank you.
Very good video only one small info mistake it was the Isuzu Aska that was built on the J platform not the Isuzu Florian. Would love to see a video on the Isuzu / Lotus / GM partnership that created some very interesting things like the Canadian exclusive "Asüna" car brand.
I had a friend whose mother won a Chevy Cavalier in a church raffle and the car they awarded to her was as bare bones as possible, it had a manual transmission and NO air conditioning, we lived in South Florida and the no a/c was brutal!
Enjoy very much these development history videos, especially from the 80s
I had an 82 J2000, with the TBI option, I remember replacing that rubber tbi base plate several times. The heat and vibration would cause the rubber to split from the mounting plates and then it had a huge vacuum leak. It was an pretty expensive part too if I remember right. I did like the interior, nice buckets and the dash was cool. Also rockers and door bottoms rusted out.
While in highschool I had a Olds Firenza while my girlfriend drove an 83 Cavalier. How I survived all that early GM drama is still a mystery. (Drove that Cavalier to Florida for a Spring break trip. Spent 2 weeks prior to the trip throwing as many parts as I could afford at it. Some how it made it, only overheated once.)
Well done for GM when got involved in the planning, design and production programs for all 4 J`s cars, even, to the Cimarron sample, in a particular area where they were masters that I`d discover when selling spare parts: A community within the cars and its parts related, bringing down costs for tooling and training stuff. I love this fact over the Euro and Asia products as well. Once again, Colombia had its own J World Car, the brazilian Opel Ascona unit, bumper to bumper, 4 door sedan only, and the rebadged name known as Chevrolet Monza, from 1985/1991, 5 speed manual, an auto 3 shifts, 1.8 liter 4 in line engine, one barrel carb, replaced for mid 86 model with a two barrel unit, rising the HP from 83 to 93, and last engine, the 2.0 liter, same carb but reaching 100 HP. The better ones were the SL/E trim and the upscale top line Classic, but qith the 5 speed trans for better mileage and overall highway performance. In my opinion,all J Cars family were excellent, right for the people and the time when launched.
Your neighbours from Chilie aslo got "Chevrolet" Aska - the LHD Isuzu actually.
Oh yes. My first car. 1982 Cavalier 1.8L 4 speed. Holy crap that thing was SLOOOWWW but it did always run.
In the US the CAFE regulations were/are the bane of performance car enthusiasts at all price points.
Thank you again Adam. You have had some interesting and informative topics. I thought the Oldsmobile version the Firenza was cool but under powered. I know that grille design it got in 1988 later appeared on the Olds 98 and 88 in the 1990's. I thought the Pontiac Sunbird GT turbo was a good one. It had that turbo charged 1.8 liter engine that had 150 hp. It looked good too. GM in North America used this platform the longest into the 1990's. I know Toyota sold a version of the Cavalier in Japan too. I do recall the Pontiac J Car commercials. That is the one J Car that kept changing names. It went from J2000, J2000 Sunbird, Sunbird to Sunfire. GM and Ford were really trying to do the global thing like they do now back then. I liked the fact you mentioned all the global GM versions as well.
The story behind the engine and that finale of the dealer video just bring to mind that that was a depressing time for the economy, car styling, and GM. This is the family car for the 1980s? This is what they were offering us when I was learning to drive.
When I was a kid. Everyone had cavaliers and ford escorts. Alot smaller cars I seemed back then. The only people that owned a truck useally was people that used them for work.
I had the 2.0 in the automatic Daewoo Espero. It used a lot of timing belts and head gaskets. But contrary to what I hear here, it was reasonably fast and very silent. 0-60 in 12 sec with automatic. The rest of the car's reliability was also crap. But it was the best driving car I ever had.
And to think that Opel had good CIH 4-cylinder engines since 1965.
I had a new 1984 Pontiac Sunfire Turbo 4 speed. It was a hot car literally! The 1.8 turbo had faulty exhaust manifold gaskets. What would happen is the gasket would fail and you could see the flames shoot out. The heat would ruin the spark plug wires and one by one you would loose a cyclinder. It could run on 3 poorly but not 2 cyclinders. I had mine back to the dealer 3 times. Each time under warranty was 50 dollar deductible. That was alot of money for a young man making 5 bucks an hour. I remember taking a triple from PA to Ft. Lauderdale. Got to Florida and the gasket failed I wrapped the spark plug wires in pie pans foil and exhaust heat tape. Drove it back up I 95 with flames shooting out but made it home. I told my dealership I was done playing games. New gasket was on back order. The 85 models had the new gasket. I told them to tear apart a new 85 sunbird and fix mine. They did!
My Brother in law was a service adviser for Matthews-Hargreaves Chevrolet in Royal Oak in the early 80's,(now the exit ramp for I-696) I remember him saying after the first cold morning the place was packed and phone was ringing off the hook because the J cars where issued too small a battery for cars sold in Michigan. That was only the beginning...
Interesting info on the development of the 1.8.
II got mine in 1987, 2.0 mid year, it was great to have. I had it for 15 years,
At that time I was in college and had a 1979 Honda Accord hatchback. I was very happy with it. No problems at all.
Our friends had a j 2000 station wagon version with a stick
I was impressed with it in a good way
I think it was a later model as it was quiet inside and roomy
"It was cheaper" that was all you had to say
“The viewer should not confuse…” that line in your script made me laugh Adam. 😊
My parents had a Cavalier, about 1987. Very unreliable.They never bought a GM car again.
Indeed. The big 3 had caused some irreparable damage to themselves during their weak efforts of the '80's. Chrysler now owned by Stellantis is not doing themselves any long-term favors these days either based on the quality of the products they have been churning out.
@@cardo1111The only limited models and the RAM trucks all sell sufficient for them to hold on. Ram just reported excellent sales quarter. Chrysler never recovered after Mercedes screwed them over!
Alternators were a problem on Cavaliers.
They should have used the OHC engines mounted in the Opel J Cars in Germany and Vauxhall in England. They were ultimate reliable
They did on later pontiac models. It was a better engine.
My dad and mom both had 4 door cavalier 1st gens and I had an 87 sedan and my sisters all had wagons all of the 1st Gen cavis and we liked them. My dad and mom and myself all had Cimarrons and loved them . I'm very fond of 1st Gen cavi's I prefer them with 2.2's from the 95-99 cavi's. .
Oh wow, I totally forgot about the wagons!
The Cavalier and its cloned cousins definitely were better packaged and styled than one competitor that comes to mind - the Ford Tempo.
The "J" body Cavaliers came to fruition when the North American automakers didn't have an abundance of readily available 1.8 to 2.0 liter engines that hit the Goldilocks sweet spot for a FWD compact car. I believe that Chrysler sourced engines from VW for a period. Over at Ford the engineers simply lopped off two cylinders of an existing inline 6 to power the Tempo and Mercury Topaz. In the case of Ford, this newly developed 2.3 liter "HSC" inline 4 still had an old cam in block design.
I don't remember what year it was, but the Cavaliers with 2.0 liter throttle body injected engines were very durable. You couldn't kill them. My inlaws had one.
Great vid!! 👍👍
7:53 I love the picture on the air cleaner of the fuel injector spraying fuel into the intake! Well - to their credit, they figured out that customers did not like this engine, so they created a replacement engine, and got rid of the problematic one quickly. It hardly seems to matter now. How many 1982 Cavaliers are even around anymore? I liked the details about what led to the engine having excessive vibration.
Never knew these were global cars. Adam is Awesome !
Even the lsuzu was a "dog" to put it mildly. It had lsuzu 1.8/2.0 timing belt engines that were reluctant to rev past 5,000rpms, an odd bouncy ride(stiff springs, soft dampers)and that infamous GM "mousefur" velour interior trim. Honda and even Toyota product planners did not have to lose any sleep whatsoever 😆
The Holden Camira in Australia suffered early plastics issues, but by the end of the series, the JE , with the quite powerful 2.0 Family 2 engine, was a fantastic car .
The announcer man in the dealer film so popular back then. I’ve heard his voice in everything for Chevrolet to Sears productions.
Hehe, did you get the demo video from my channel? That LD is quite something. "Enough power for today's traffic!"
"From GM to America with Quality!"
Great video. But the J82 Opel Ascona and Vauxhall Cavalier in Europe had the GM Family l & II 1.3 and 1.8 OHC engines from launch in 1982. These engines weren't sourced from Brazil. They were engineered by Vauxhall / Opel in Europe, although engines supplied to the US may have been built in Brazil. I worked in GM engineering in Europe at the time, and I can tell you no European J car ever had an OHV engine - maybe in the US or Asia, but not in Europe.
True. Sorry I was focusing on the US variants.
@@RareClassicCars The Australian Camira had a family II 1.6 L, built in Australia. then went to 1.8 L then 2.0 L
This was the car we drove in driver's ed at my school in early 1983. When I was on permit, I learned to drive in my dad's cars, a 1969 Mercury Monterey, a 1972 Chrysler Newport, and a 1966 Lincoln Continental. It was kind like Jack Lord's House of Used Autos. All those cars did great donuts, even the Lincoln. When driving the Cavalier, my driver's ed teacher told us to STOMP on the gas on the freeway onramp and it took forever to get to 55 mph. Because everybody in the car knew how to drive already, the driver's ed teacher had us go to the dealer once to get something fixed on the car even though it didn't have many miles. This car was 100 times worse than a rusty Merc with 100K+ on the odo.
This is a great story and that ref to Hawaii 5-0 is a riot. It pretty much sums up my feeling at the time (I took driver's ed. in high school ca. 1981-'82 and we practiced in a Chevette that shifted through all the gears to climb the long, long hill up to the license testing place). We were stuck in the early '80s with such disappointment and yet we knew what kind of cars we had to leave behind for this wonderful new frugal, ugly future. The actual fulfillment of technology producing performance was yet to come.
My best friend had an early 83 Skyhawk. Brakes were horrid! His 1.8 had tbi. Yes, It WAS a 1.8, not the trusty 2.0. Yes it did have tbi, not a carb! I forget the 8th VIN as it's been nearly 35 yrs since he had it. Anyhow, it managed to somehow back fire through the tbi and started a fire. The injector, harness, and lots of vacuum hoses and plastic tubes got melted. He junked the car. Luckily things got better as time went on for the J cars. The Z24s with the 2.8 and 5 speed were actually kinda fun to drive!
Our family's car from 1987 - 1990: an Olds Firenza sedan... with a 5-speed manual!
Hello Adam. hope your doing well. I have been moving so I haven't kept up will your Excellent tech on GM and brands . I rented a gold Cavalier from Hertz in 1982, for one week. I took it with my mother and my two nephews to St. Louis from KC, too the St. Louis Zoo and the arch. That car couldn't keep up with traffic. Top speed was 70 going down hill in central Missouri on I-70. That Monday I took that death trap back to Hertz and demanded a different car, which they did. I got a 6 cylinder Ford 4 door Fairmont. A MUCH better driving car, not by much thou....
Toyota Japan also sold a Toyota cavalier. It was identical to the US cavalier but with Amber turn signals in the rear.
And right hand drive
Made the 2.2l in the k cars seem smooth and refined
The Vauxhall Cavalier was a runaway success in the UK, credited with not only saving the company it also pushing it to number one; the UK spec cars were all OHC with high power outputs for their size, the Cavalier soon gained the reputation as the car most often seen in the outside lane!
I’ve owned a number of these cars, they were excellent, great to drive, it’s hard to believe we are talking about the same car, a Purposefull, Dependable car with a lively performance
Had two 2nd-gen S-10 pickups with the 2.2L variant, and learned a lot about it... namely, how to build-up one, and what to do to avoid a PITA cam-timing related issue.
The original intent of this engine was for FWD cars with a transverse power-train arrangement. As such, the life-extending oiling the timing chain was to receive came from "splash" from the oil pan's sump. When GM decided to replace the venerable "Iron Duke" with a "more modern design" as a base-model engine for the 2nd-gen S-10, they chose the RPO-code LN2 (OHV 2.2L I-4) and merely relocated the sump to the rear. This starved the chain-set of oil, and resulted in timing chain set failures around 80k-100k miles. This was corrected with further improvements made to the LN2 for '98, which came in the form of a galley plug with orifice, which was included with all GM Replacement timing chain sets for this engine, to be installed in the forward end of the main lifter feed galley.
As a young teenage car enthusiast back in the early 80s, I remember reading in Motor Trend, Consumer Reports, etc, that the only real bad point of the J was their curb weight - it was too close to 3,000#, whereas I think the goal was under 2,500#.
Other than that fault causing disappointing gas mileage, I thought generally they were a good car coming out of the 1982 landscape, correct....?
I'm a Ford guy, but I respect GM for staying with the J, such that by the early 90s those cars were ubiquitous and well-liked.
The Cavalier and J2000 also offered convertibles, I think.
My Dad drove an '83 Skyhawk, and was surprised how peppy it was.
I also thought the wagons, particularly the Olds Firenza, was beautiful. Good for GM offering wagons!
Good, thorough post as always, Adam.
Good cars? We called them crapaliers for a reason.
@@Henry_Jones They sold in huge numbers for even better reasons.
@@67marlins cuz they were cheap. They also a big fleet car. I test drove an 01 and every interior part you put your hand on felt like it would break, the dash shook, and the seats were the worst ive ever sar in. No way
Really interesting to think about these motors in the context of the Toyota 1.8L that is so common today.
Fascinating
The mighty Isuzu Florian was sold in NZ in 1.8 and 2.0 litre forms.
Badged as a Holden Camira, it meant we didn't get the JE Camira.
Likely a blessing.
It was also sold as the Isuzu Aska, (JDM only).
A later version of the Aska was a rebadged version of the Subaru Legacy/Liberty.
The 1.8 was a bloody good car, except it rusted as you watched.
BTW, I believe the first iteration of the Camira had a 1.6 engine, and was horrendously underpowered. It also leaked oil, both externally and internally.
Talk about smoke!
My first car was an 82 hatchback with the 1.8 carb engine. Bought with 100k miles on it and a blown engine due to excessively overheating it when the cooling fan switch went bad. Tossed in a used engine and beat the crap out if it through high school, sold it to another kid who beat the crap out of it (until he caught it on fire working on it), he sold it to another kid who got it back running and continued to use it. That thing just wouldn’t die… my dad used to say it didn’t have enough horsepower to kill itself 😜
I remember The carburetor version being a dud. But when they changed to 2.0 and added fuel injection the next year or so. It changed the entire dynamic . It still didn’t have a lot of power. But drivability was drastically improved. It just felt more refined.
I grew up in those carburator days where you would have to keep the butterfly flap open with a pencil while my dad stomped on the gas pedal to get the car to start so I could get a ride to grade school. Lol, the 74 Plymouth duster backfired and singed my eyebrows at age 8
And the 2.0 injected car would start easily when below zero
@@michaelkehm3663 I live in North Florida. Typically the Lowest we have to deal with are the upper 20s and the very rare upper teens. But typically the thirties and forties are the regular Lows. And those carbureted 1.8s would stumble for several minutes even at those temperatures. Fuel injection was a godsend.
@@robertdiehl9003 Chrysler products Were notorious for cold start issues. When I was in grade school, our neighbor across the street had a 65 valiant. While I was waiting for the bus, I looked forward to her 15 minute ritual for getting that car started and running on a winter morning . And that whiny gear reduction starter add it to the entertainment Factor. My sister had a 1969 Plymouth valiant. That was a little better. I would sometimes drive my brother's 67 Dodge Coronet with a 225 slant 6. The choke did not work at all. I would get a cramp in my foot from pumping the gas pedal so quickly in order to keep it running. Thankfully our driveway allowed us to get a semi running start so we were already going about 10 miles an hour when we got on the road. But my mom never got the hang of it. Her 1977 Chrysler Cordoba would sometimes stall just as the school bus was coming around the curve. I can still hear the air brakes on the bus and the screech of her tires as she got the car started and dropped it in gear 🤣.
Like the boxy style of this model Cavalier. As mediocre as they were I still look at them as an important past of automobile history !
Went to the Thousand Oaks Cadillac dealer with my father in 1982. He could not believe the Cimarron was marketed as a Cadillac.
The 1.8 OHC problems-Oil leaking valve cover, flywheel teeth stripped, starters that were tough to access, and crazy timing belt set up. The timing belt set up with the crank pulley at 10 degrees rather than 0 so at the dealer we spent a lot of time repairing a lack of power because someone else replaced it. Then there was the crazy use of the water pump as the timing belt tensioner and a special wrench to turn it on an eccentric. I hated that motor. Couldn't believe it when they threw a turbo on that design later on.
such a difficult engine to repair!!
Our j2000 wagon introduced us to Toyota/Honda. Super thx.
Here in New Zealand the first Camira was a 1.6, the advert on TV said it had the power of a 2 litre.We got a larger engine but it wasnt enough to save the car it was dead on arrival.
Yep a heap of crap. I w
As given a 1.8l Camira work vehicle. Turn the AC on it was like hitting a brick wall. The later 2.0l was not much better.
I remember, 30+ years ago renting Pontiac T1000 with the Chevette motor. I always thought they put a ''governor'' on rental car engines because it was the slowest car I ever drove. Today the slowest rental car I have found is the Chrysler 200 , but fast when compared to the J2000.
worked on a boat load of them back in the day !
I knew people who had a loaded, Cavalier, Firenza wagon and a Skyhawk. They had pretty nice interiors when they were optioned out.
Good God I Love This Channel 👌
I drove a rental Chevy Cavalier, where I aptly referred to it as the Chevy _Cadaver._
Quality Assurance to Front Office: "We have a problem". Front Office to Quality Assurance: We'll catch it in recall".
thanks, it's sad to think about GM's engine development in the late 70s and early 80s. GM's engines from the late 40s thur the early 70s were second to none!
0:47 That Isuzu variant, up front at least, strongly resembles a contemporary Renault Allliance!
Might be good to review the foam cast blocks, allegedly some of the best engines out there. Like in the saturns
My first car was a 1988 Chevy Cavalier. It had the 2.0L engine with 90 hp and a 3-speed auto. It was the absolute base model - had no power anything - not even power steering! But it was actually a decent, reliable car for a first car.