Seen the oldest yoyota carolla ive ever seen yesterday. It was a wagon, maybe even 2 door, but had 4 round headlights. Old lady driving around in the snowstorm with it yesterday. Looked solid
I get it. I grew up with cars that were all underdogs. I appreciate the simplicity of those cars. Nothing grates me more than a $250k 2023 Porsche at a car show. I want to see the cars that show where we all came from. I want to feel and celebrate the way it was “back in the day”. The sounds, the smells and the stories.
Hey Tony great video. I used to have a chevette back in the late 80's that my father gave to me. It was a fun little stick shift car to drive. He bought it to go back and forth to work in and then eventually gave it to me. We had a lot of fun Dad and I, gosh I sure do miss him as he's been gone for about 20 years now.
Never had a Chevette... I had an Acadian. 4 door, gold in color with an autotragic transmission. Bought it from Gary Lacey while in school. It did what it needed to do... start and run, but I was never struck by it. VW rabbits were my thing... Keep up the good work Tony!
Yeah Tony , I saw that last night . Uncle Tony and the chevette, amazing. But like he said people are looking for simple cars again. Good video Tony, I always e joy watching you! 😊
Value is in the eye of the beholder. There is a new wave of collectors that can drive up prices and push the real car guys away from the models that were affordable and fun projects.
My mother had the Pontiac version of that car and she loved it. She bought it new. It was a nice everyday dependability car. I agree with you about what you said. Thanks for reminding me about it. Cheers!
As a teen I built 4 different Pin tos with small blocks and 3 different Vegas with small blocks. We had a blast building and racing those little cars. My favorite was a Sunbeam Tiger, with a 289 and 4 speed. If you couldn't win a race and find a girl in that Tiger, you needed to go back to grade school! Lord, those were fun times!
The problem with cars like this selling for $30,000 is that people who have one that is absolute junk will now think they are sitting on a gold mine no matter what the shape.
@@grantr5417 Yup, except some people get really upset when they think they have gold and everyone else tells them it is iron pyrite. Conversely you pay what it is worth to you. Some people have told me I overpaid for my 1958 Austin Healey Sprite. Other's have said I got a deal. Fact is I paid what I could afford to get a car I had never actually seen before, despite the fact it was a rust bucket.
@@BugeyeBob-zt6ne Nice choice. It is true, I still have a couple of mopar projects that I have had for years, and their value has certainly appreciated over the years. I wouldn't give them away for sure.
Had two chevettes Good little cars The last of Compact cars That were Rear wheel drive Carbureted And NO Computers ! Also they were Easy to work on And good in snow too ! There was a guy in Seal Cove that had A Chevette on a Suzuki Sidekick Chassis 4-wheel drive Great video I watch Uncle Tony too
As a GM service advisor , I picked up broken down trade in or rusty ones, repaired them on weekends, and my wife used them in the meantime until it was sold. One time, she was using a nice 77 MonteCarlo, sold the Carlo, and came back home with a Chevette ( automatic) with rusted out floor pans. Oh boy ! She did not appreciate the drop. ( lol) love your videos.
Wow, I've been watching you for years and I didn't know you were into Chevettes! I've been driving them since 1980 and I still drive them to this day. My wife and I have three of them, had six at one time, and I drive my '84 to work every day. Starts right up in these Chicago winters. Great video, I enjoyed watching it and listening to what you had to say!
I had a “hand me down” 82 chevette scooter”with a 4 speed, it was a tuff little beater,I remember the carb was acting up on it, and one off a 2.2 dodge motor was the same,only difference was the choke lever was different , all in all, it was a great little beater, the recycled vette!thanks for the great little video Tony!👍🇨🇦
Had three Chevettes when I had a young family in the 80s. They were the best little cars I ever had. Easy to fix, rugged, reliable, and never let me down. The only issues I had was in the winter when it got very cold -30s or more it would be harder to start. And the foot room was kind of tight. Other than that it was great. I treated them like trucks hauling lumber and all kinds loads even hauled dirt in my little one. Two of them were automatics and despite people telling me I would have trouble with them. They worked great never burned up a tranny. They were what we should have available now instead of this crap they call cars now. Not ever buying new.
Had a Chevette back in the day, also had the Pontiac variant..both were good basic transportation, never had issues...Used to tell people i drove a Vette 🤣
From a mopar guy….I always wondered why Chevy guys were so hung up on Vegas when all these Chevettes were running around. I couldn’t agree with you more Tony! It’s all about what YOU like! I had a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 383…boy the fun and the memories! Bought it for $800 . Sadly I let it go many years ago and prolly could never ever get one again. Way too expensive! It’s getting to be a millionaires sport now. That’s the down side of all these auctions…..the little guys ….the common man …. can’t compete. Always wanted to build a V8 K car….Aries ,Horizon, Reliant….etc. They were considered junk in their time too! Maybe someday! Love the channel!
I like anything that’s old and different that you just don’t see anymore. A chevette can turn just as many heads as a corvette if not more when nobody’s seen one in 30 years 👍 I wouldn’t pay $30k for it but I’d gladly drive it around and enjoy all the smiles and waves it would produce.
I watched UTG yesterday and saw his Chevette Video. My wife had a ‘79 Chevette when we first got married. It was a neat little car. When our first son came along in ‘81 we traded it in on an ‘81 Citation. Yes, they were neat little cars. All the little, light cars, have following. I also owned a ‘72 Opel Cadet ( it had a TRANSVERSE LEAF SPRING under the front suspension. An absolute TANK of a car, you could not kill it. ( I can see the similarities between the Opel and the Chevette. ) Later on I had an ‘80 Fiesta….1.6 liters in a 1450 lb car…..lots of fun. I like the small cars with more powerful engine. I’d do a ‘80 Ford Fiesta with a turbo “tuner” FWD motor. You are right…..it’s the cars that you fell in love with when you were in grade school and high school. And Yes cars today have way too many gadgets and accessories ( to break ) we need to get back to the basic Impala with a bench seat, and a simple 283 or a Basic Crown Victoria with a bench seat, and a basic 302. Affordable transportation without all the bells and whistles.
Awesome video! Tony ! I grew the same time as you ,when the gas crisis was here ! Yes too me it was better back then where you could buy cars for less than $500 put them on the road ! Go to the scrap yard and get yourself a good engine for $100 ! Now people watch these actions and figure out that they own say a vehicle 1980 and ask $10,000 to$15,000 ad you still have to do repairs ! They’re nuts ! I sure miss the good old days ! I enjoy all your videos ! 👍🏻
My first car was a four door 1981 Chevete. I bought it for 125 dollars, had a blown rear end. Got a rear end from the junkyard for 75 dollars. Drove it for a couple years. Loved that little car. Ended up having to sell it for 500 dollars when I was moving out of the town I was living in.
I had one (Pontiac Acadian, Canadian version) as one of my early cars and my mom drove a Chevette for a few years in the late 80’s. Glad you mentioned the ice racing - I raced one for a few seasons 2014-17. Tons of fun, and we still have a strong contingent of Chevette racers. Toughest part now is finding shells and parts. I think OE spec engine rebuild kits are also NLA now.
Tony, as someone who worked on all those different makes of rust buckets in the 70s... you said so many things that made me smile. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. 30 grand? Wow. It must be nice to have money to burn. But we do pay up for sentimental things, if we can.
You and Tony hit the Nail on the Head. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. One mans Treasure is another man's Junk. I had a couple of Vega's they were fun little cars. Had a Dodge Challenger that was Really fun. Got a lot of Tickets. I liked El Caminos 70 - 72 Bench Seats. Worked on Corvettes and some Exotic cars. Would I own one, NO, they can Float someone elses Boat. Keep up the Great works and Level Headed Opinions and Remarks
We all have cars from our youth that we love. For me it’s square body Chevy trucks (I have 3), 2 door, curved glass, early box caprices, any ford fox body, and first gen rangers.
I look back and remember my 67 Opal Cadet wagon and loved that little car. It had a 1.1 L engine and barely did 60 mph going up a big hill, but it was cheap on gas, and my friends fit into it going out and about. What memories!
When I was young we were terribly poor and my dad daily drove a tan 2 door chevette for years, then one day he upgraded to a 4 door tan chevette 🤣 I remember riding with him one day when a pulley went flying off, I just remember him walking down the side of the road cussing and trying to find the parts that fell off 🤣
i owned a chovit i loved it. 5 bucks drive it all week. my truck was20 bucks a day. i also loved the fact it was rear wheel drive.to change the motor you didnt need a cherry picker you just picked it up and put it on your work bench. as good as the chevette was i cant see me paying $ 30,000 bucks for one. (great commentary )
Had one that I bought for my son. He hated it. Drove it from Ontario to BC and back many times. Lived in a remastered area and used it to haul firewood to heat the cabin. Still hated it and he gave it to a young lady who drove it home tot he east coast and back to Ontario for tree planting season several times. Who knows, it may still be out there being abused and hated
My friend had a used $300 Chevette 4 spd in high school and while nothing special at the time, it never left us stranded. Five of us picked it up the entire rear of the car one time when it was stuck in a ditch after beating through a corn field with it... not proud of that one but we had been sipping on a bottle of Yukon Jack that night after football. I can see where someone would pay good money for a perfect car... similar to those Datsun 210's people love so much.
Most people don't think about this... The classics were not controlled by computer chips. You could work on them and not wonder why this isn't working. EMP wouldn't phase them a bit if it were ever deployed. No control modules, etc., etc., etc. I also remember a lot of racers around here who fell in love with the Chevy Vega because of its lightweight body design. I have a 72 PU that I can sit under the hood and work on with room to spare. It would crush a tin can that is produced today if it ever hit one because the steel was a lot thicker back then. The only thing modular about my truck is, that you can disassemble all major sections with a ratchet and wrench because the entire body is bolt-together sections and they are all original.
"Chevy Chevette, it'll drive you happy!" 😂 Back in '83 or so, I was working at a NAPA auto parts store..one of our delivery cars was a two door '78 Chevette that looked pretty much like the one that just sold. It was slower than..well, it was slow. It took about three days to get up to sixty mph, so I was in the habit of four wheel drifting it around turns rather than scrubbing off speed with the brakes, ya know? But it was a nice little car, in much better shape than the rest of the beaters the boss had us driving.. Put the store name on the quarter panels in big NAPA blue lettering, and I sorta liked that as well...looked racy, ya know? Then we got one of those big blue & yellow baseball caps for the roof..made it look like a clown car, and altogether too recognizable for a guy who drove like me. I told the boss I was gonna find a low bridge to drive under and scrape that damn hat off...three weeks later I stuffed it into the rear end of a stopped semi trailer going forty-five miles an hour. Sure as hell wasn't intentional, I came within a couple inches of becoming a headless NAPA guy! Boss was convinced I did it on purpose.. 🤣😂🤣 And that's my Chevette story. Good times..
Some people go berserk at auctions. One time I was bidding on a used motorcycle and another guy was bidding against me. I went as high as I was prepared to go and he outbid me, so I let him have it. Another time I was bidding on a car and someone was bidding against me. He wanted it more than I was prepared to pay, so he got it. Then another time I was bidding on a van and an auto wrecker was bidding against me. I got that one for a price I was still comfortable with. The van I got had four almost new eight ply tires on it and two of them are on my trailer with two on standby for later. It's a matter of sticking within your budget at auctions and only bidding what something is worth and not over-paying for something just because you want it.
Thanks Tony for the memory, as a mechanic in the 80's i worked on alot of the chevettes, monza,vega, hyundai pony. but the one that sticks out was a chevette with a 4 cylinder diesel engine in it. Dont know if you ever seen one but it was a one of a kind for me.
My first car in 1975 or 6 was a 69 Mustang square back . I paid a whopping $75 for it . the safety was about $200 . I wish I had it now. I wish I owned a 67 Camaro . that was my all time favourite . I also owned a Chevette, can't remember the year , maybe a 79 . it was a great car for what it was . When I was in auto parts, we had a customer that owned a diesel Chevette .He loved it. the air filter for it was like $50 or $75 back then .
I too like the compact cars but my love was the Datsuns, I've had 510's around since 1982. Same story with the auctions, now they are worth a lot but I've never paid more than $500 for one.
Just rewatched your video patching the chevelle quarter panel from 4 years ago. You've done a great job building your chanel and sorting out lighting and audio. Good work Tony.
You are a wealth of information as usual Tony..and for you to rat yourself out on disconnecting the speedo was hilarious..been there , done that. Your observation on these auctions as to bringing all the millionaire car guys together for a p*ssing contest was spot on! These auctions with all there hype are like click bait to a teenager on a porn site....
I grew up building Chevelles then jumped into Camaros then 280,z's. The Z's were really cheap in the 90's and i had a lot a fun with the little cars. Its guys like you that fuel it while providing ideas and tips never available before.btw love your Crusty.Thanks Tony
You know me and small cars Fitz! LOL I was so close to putting a Chevette on the road before the coupe came along. Had a rust free shell from Labrador and actually had the back half frame and ladder bars welded together but not in the car. The coupe put a stop to that...but I still wonder how it would have turned out if I had of carried on. Would have been fun I'm sure. Several years later I built the Datsun 210 V8 and that was big fun! Anyway....all good memories. BTW...I heard Dougs garage where the guys and myself were building our cars back in the day has been torn down. I haven't been able to bring myself to drive in to look. Too many good times there to want to see it as an empty lot.....
Bill what ever became of that chevette project? I had a second one I was going build into a tubbed BBC car. Was shell of the recreation of the one Gary had the Pauly rebuilt. Had too much stuff and sold it off ended up being crushed. Worse thing I ever did. Should just poked it away somewhere.
@@fitzeesfabrication.thefl-nf7hp Yes, Paul built a replica of Garys car several years later! I wondered where that ever went! The one I had went back to the scrapyard and was also crushed I guess. It was perfect too...just a few dents. I repurposed the tube frame into something else...can't remember what. Maybe the crossmembers for the coupe.
It's the same thing here in Australia with these old cars selling for thousands of dollars when they are total wrecks. I have a GM 1964 EH Holden ute (small pickup truck) and mew parts are mostly unavailable and used parts cost a fortune. I'm planning to restore it one day and trying to collect a few parts in the meantime.
Excellent video RIP Reg Morgan and all the chevettes he sold,can not forget the AMC gremlin,hornet,matador,concord and ambassador we had around back then and who didnt have an aspen or volarie with a slant six lol with rusty dogs legs lol
I grew up in Detroit so it was heartbreaking to see those cars taking over, the insult they called a charger was criminal and the nova returning as a piece of luggage was just sad, I was driving 68 and 70 model cars all thru the 80s and now with the useless technology im building trucks of the 30s and 40s, a new car isn't even a dream anymore, they'll never make anything worth my money again
Alright my friend. I'm going to bore you to tears with this story. My first car was a 64 Impala 2 door sport coupe. It was a rusty car but I got it fixed and it looked terrific for a few years, but it wasn't a quality job. First and second year at University I drove the car to school year round (this was around 1976 to 1979) and it was hard on it in the salty winter roads here in Ontario. Before I went to University I took a year off between high school and University and worked for a printing company in Toronto as a delivery driver. The company at that time had a fleet of Corollas, a bit earlier than crusty but still terrific little cars. The man I worked for was great and he'd hire me back at Christmas time to do some work while I was off school and it really helped my finances. Eventually he switched from the Toyotas to GMs for the delivery cars. He had about 15 cars in the fleet between his various locations. The cars were all red base base base Pontiac Acadians which as a fellow Canadian you would know was a badge engineered Chevette. These were equivalent to the Scooter model and were stripped down. Cardboard door panels, some had no back seats and none had glove box doors. They were powered? by the 1.4 litre 4 banger instead of the 1.6. Anyway he was trading them in around 1978 for Pintos and the dealer would only give him $1400 each for the little buggers. He told me I could buy one from him for that amount if I wanted and I thought it would help keep the old Impala on the road if I did. That little car got me through school and into my first couple of years in real working life. The 1.4 blew up so I got a 1.6 from a wreckers (4dr auto so it had way more hp than the 1.4) and it dropped right in. Drove it for years. Never any rust oddly in that car but around 1981 or so I decided to get it cleaned up now that I was a working man lol. Fresh paint job, Vega GT style wheels and a sliding canvas sunroof (think of early 60s VWs or Renaults). It was a sweet looking little car that of course nobody appreciated but me in those days. I have pictures of it somewhere and if I find one I will send it along. Kept it until 1982 when I decided to get a brand new Camaro. It was an awful car but I won't bore you with that anymore than I already have. All the best Tony! Rick
I purchased a cheap UK Chevette having sold my previous nicer car to pay for my wedding! It had a noisy rear axle which I swapped from a scrap yard car just a few days after purchasing it. Two weeks later it seized up on the way to work. It got towed to the same scrap yard a few days later. The shortest car ownership I ever had, I have had hire cars for longer 🙂 $30k! well a lot of the Escorts from that era are now well over £20k these days.
Hi Tony. My sister-in-law had a Chevette which she bought new and she drove the wheels off it. As far as I know, it never left her stranded and got her back and forth to work for not a lot of money. You are right about the way older car pricing is going. I'm a little older than you and was in high school in the 70's. All the guys had 60's muscle cars and they were in good shape, not rotted out and I don't think one of them paid more than &1200 dollars US, for it. I'll let the millionaires have bidding wars over whatever. It's their money and they can do what they want with it. I'll keep my 15 year old daily going as long as I can. There is nothing new that I like enough to spend what a new car or truck costs these days.
I agree with one thing you said, for sure. Why don't they build a simple car withOUT all the electronics. My car is 10 yrs. old and I still don't know how to use many of the features that are on the car. When the car was new, the original owner had to pay for those features, and it still made the car more costly for me in the used car market. To me they aren't necessary or even used, but often they go bad and I have to pay to have them repaired because even the most capable mechanic have to subscribe to a service that they go to for added knowledge that they haven't been privileged to. Another thing, up here junk yards hardly exist because everything gets crush very quickly.
I just got my 5th July 2024 I love my 87' Chevette! (I only paid $1000 but I've put about as much into her). She's in great condition, maybe not 30K good though. LOL
It’s funny how the “disposable” cars from 40-50 years ago were better built than most of the junk we got today. Now they’re built to last as long as the warranty is up and don’t even have a dipstick to check anything yourself, planned obsolescence!
I always wanted to build a V8 Chevette but never did. Tony did you ever build a V8 Vega? I lost count of how many Vegas I had as they were 50 bucks back in the day and I would just buy another one for the engine and have another parts car. I ended up building a mint 76 Vega with a V8 and a 74 Pontiac Astre with a 283 which I still have. My Astre is probably a very rare car as it is a GT and they had not started selling them in the US yet. I have never seen any at any of the shows. Another very common car that I have is a 75 Honda civic with only 48k miles on it. Almost rust free except two little spots. It is a little hot rod too with the original 1200 cc with high comp pistons, head work, intake, headers and a few other goodies.
Tony I was 18 I always liked the big cars I built a 1966 Impala 427 BB with a Muncie 4 speed 9" Ford rear. I've built a lot of different cars but the one I wish I could find and get it back is my Dad's 80 Pinto it would walk all over Mustangs and Camaros . I would give every car I have to get back his pinto and I hated that car back then .
Owned one I emphasize one anyway your wright a car or whatever is only worth what one is willing to pay. Love the end of video hey has anyone ever told you "you outta be in pictures" 😀
My wife had an 85 Acadian, she bought from a senior with 6000k on it. She blew the motor!!!!! Apparently there was an issue with a blocked oil passage.!! Got another engine for NS and ran forever. As for a basic vehicle….just bought a Ford Maverick …basic as my 81 Monte….really enjoying it. Cheers buddy, Keep’em coming!!
Growing up a friend of mine his mom had one it was brand new kind of a medium brown with a manual transmission, cloth seats and an am/fm radio that was it
I was working at a Chevy dealership we got our first Chevette came off the truck I remember thinking this is a piece of junk. They were so tinny. They went from Vega to Monza to Chevette.
In another life, I had a 32 Ford 3 windows chopped top (real one) that I bought for 2500$ from a auto mechanic school teacher. I sold the car for 2500 bucks because I didn't have space to store it during winter, (I lived in Montreal, winters are pretty hard on hot rods LOL ) Then I bought a 69 Road Runner, 383 4 speeds, second owner, for also 2500 bucks and sold it for the same reasons, no space to store the car for winter. Do I regret those 2 cars? HELL YEAH! But I found a 72 Vette big block 4 speeds matching numbers, NOT selling the car this time soon LOL
What I remember about our Vegas and Chevettes is they rusted horribly. We don't have the winters you do Tony here in Vancouver but actually everything rusted out back then.
Agree with you Tony ! don't like these millionaire auctions they have been driving up the cost of the car hobby to the point were a lot of people can't get into it and enjoy the fun of having and working on a older car ! ( car up so are the parts to fix them )
I thought I had recognised the car!! Ffs it was my first ever car. The Vauxhall chavette in the uk!!!! The MCM lads have just rebuilt one in Australia too
This subject fits into other conversations about the future of "hot rods". I was having a similar discussion with a car-guy friend of mine just a few days ago, our subject was that Fat Man Fabrications had recently closed. Bottom line is that cars are too expensive, parts are too expensive, labor is too expensive, etc. The old car guys are dying out, young guys or folks without disposable cash can't afford the hobby. Like Tony said, the prices are being set by millionaires in auctions. It doesn't appear to be sustainable for the hobby. "Now ... back to work".
Seen the oldest yoyota carolla ive ever seen yesterday. It was a wagon, maybe even 2 door, but had 4 round headlights. Old lady driving around in the snowstorm with it yesterday. Looked solid
Another excellent video, really enjoyed it
I get it. I grew up with cars that were all underdogs. I appreciate the simplicity of those cars. Nothing grates me more than a $250k 2023 Porsche at a car show. I want to see the cars that show where we all came from. I want to feel and celebrate the way it was “back in the day”. The sounds, the smells and the stories.
Hey Tony great video. I used to have a chevette back in the late 80's that my father gave to me. It was a fun little stick shift car to drive. He bought it to go back and forth to work in and then eventually gave it to me. We had a lot of fun Dad and I, gosh I sure do miss him as he's been gone for about 20 years now.
I so enjoyed this fireside chat. The ending was priceless! Thank you Tony
It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow!
Never had a Chevette... I had an Acadian. 4 door, gold in color with an autotragic transmission. Bought it from Gary Lacey while in school. It did what it needed to do... start and run, but I was never struck by it. VW rabbits were my thing...
Keep up the good work Tony!
Yeah Tony , I saw that last night . Uncle Tony and the chevette, amazing. But like he said people are looking for simple cars again. Good video Tony, I always e joy watching you! 😊
Value is in the eye of the beholder. There is a new wave of collectors that can drive up prices and push the real car guys away from the models that were affordable and fun projects.
My mother had the Pontiac version of that car and she loved it. She bought it new. It was a nice everyday dependability car. I agree with you about what you said. Thanks for reminding me about it. Cheers!
As a teen I built 4 different Pin tos with small blocks and 3 different Vegas with small blocks. We had a blast building and racing those little cars. My favorite was a Sunbeam Tiger, with a 289 and 4 speed. If you couldn't win a race and find a girl in that Tiger, you needed to go back to grade school! Lord, those were fun times!
I built a 1969 Datsun pickup, built 327 6,000rpm redline, and raced V8 Vegas and Novas. (in 1976)
The problem with cars like this selling for $30,000 is that people who have one that is absolute junk will now think they are sitting on a gold mine no matter what the shape.
And would they be incorrect in ratcheting up its value? You can always ask what you want, getting it is another story
@@grantr5417 Yup, except some people get really upset when they think they have gold and everyone else tells them it is iron pyrite. Conversely you pay what it is worth to you. Some people have told me I overpaid for my 1958 Austin Healey Sprite. Other's have said I got a deal. Fact is I paid what I could afford to get a car I had never actually seen before, despite the fact it was a rust bucket.
@@BugeyeBob-zt6ne Nice choice. It is true, I still have a couple of mopar projects that I have had for years, and their value has certainly appreciated over the years. I wouldn't give them away for sure.
Love your passion for the Chevette and for compact cars. Liked this insight view talk. Cheers and thanks Tony.
Peace 👍💪✌
Had two chevettes
Good little cars
The last of
Compact cars
That were
Rear wheel drive
Carbureted
And NO
Computers !
Also they were
Easy to work on
And good in snow too !
There was a guy in
Seal Cove that had
A Chevette on a
Suzuki Sidekick
Chassis
4-wheel drive
Great video
I watch
Uncle Tony too
One in seal cove was lengthen and turned into a mini El Camino and on a toyota 4x4 frame. Remember it well know the builder and where it is to today.
@ didn’t see that one !
As a GM service advisor , I picked up broken down trade in or rusty ones, repaired them on weekends, and my wife used them in the meantime until it was sold. One time, she was using a nice 77 MonteCarlo, sold the Carlo, and came back home with a Chevette ( automatic) with rusted out floor pans. Oh boy ! She did not appreciate the drop. ( lol) love your videos.
Wow, I've been watching you for years and I didn't know you were into Chevettes! I've been driving them since 1980 and I still drive them to this day. My wife and I have three of them, had six at one time, and I drive my '84 to work every day. Starts right up in these Chicago winters. Great video, I enjoyed watching it and listening to what you had to say!
Over here in the UK Vauxhall had a rally team racing 2.3L Chevettes. They looked stunning and went like stink.
I had a “hand me down” 82 chevette scooter”with a 4 speed, it was a tuff little beater,I remember the carb was acting up on it, and one off a 2.2 dodge motor was the same,only difference was the choke lever was different , all in all, it was a great little beater, the recycled vette!thanks for the great little video Tony!👍🇨🇦
Had three Chevettes when I had a young family in the 80s. They were the best little cars I ever had. Easy to fix, rugged, reliable, and never let me down. The only issues I had was in the winter when it got very cold -30s or more it would be harder to start. And the foot room was kind of tight. Other than that it was great. I treated them like trucks hauling lumber and all kinds loads even hauled dirt in my little one. Two of them were automatics and despite people telling me I would have trouble with them. They worked great never burned up a tranny. They were what we should have available now instead of this crap they call cars now. Not ever buying new.
Had a Chevette back in the day, also had the Pontiac variant..both were good basic transportation, never had issues...Used to tell people i drove a Vette 🤣
I have owned every years Chevette except for 76 and 77, like you I have a soft spot for em! They were fun little cars in the snow!!!
From a mopar guy….I always wondered why Chevy guys were so hung up on Vegas when all these Chevettes were running around. I couldn’t agree with you more Tony! It’s all about what YOU like! I had a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 383…boy the fun and the memories! Bought it for $800 . Sadly I let it go many years ago and prolly could never ever get one again. Way too expensive! It’s getting to be a millionaires sport now. That’s the down side of all these auctions…..the little guys ….the common man …. can’t compete. Always wanted to build a V8 K car….Aries ,Horizon, Reliant….etc. They were considered junk in their time too! Maybe someday! Love the channel!
I like anything that’s old and different that you just don’t see anymore. A chevette can turn just as many heads as a corvette if not more when nobody’s seen one in 30 years 👍 I wouldn’t pay $30k for it but I’d gladly drive it around and enjoy all the smiles and waves it would produce.
I watched UTG yesterday and saw his Chevette Video. My wife had a ‘79 Chevette when we first got married. It was a neat little car. When our first son came along in ‘81 we traded it in on an ‘81 Citation. Yes, they were neat little cars. All the little, light cars, have following. I also owned a ‘72 Opel Cadet ( it had a TRANSVERSE LEAF SPRING under the front suspension. An absolute TANK of a car, you could not kill it. ( I can see the similarities between the Opel and the Chevette. ) Later on I had an ‘80 Fiesta….1.6 liters in a 1450 lb car…..lots of fun. I like the small cars with more powerful engine. I’d do a ‘80 Ford Fiesta with a turbo “tuner” FWD motor. You are right…..it’s the cars that you fell in love with when you were in grade school and high school. And Yes cars today have way too many gadgets and accessories ( to break ) we need to get back to the basic Impala with a bench seat, and a simple 283 or a Basic Crown Victoria with a bench seat, and a basic 302. Affordable transportation without all the bells and whistles.
Awesome video! Tony ! I grew the same time as you ,when the gas crisis was here ! Yes too me it was better back then where you could buy cars for less than $500 put them on the road ! Go to the scrap yard and get yourself a good engine for $100 ! Now people watch these actions and figure out that they own say a vehicle 1980 and ask $10,000 to$15,000 ad you still have to do repairs ! They’re nuts ! I sure miss the good old days ! I enjoy all your videos ! 👍🏻
My first car was a four door 1981 Chevete. I bought it for 125 dollars, had a blown rear end. Got a rear end from the junkyard for 75 dollars. Drove it for a couple years. Loved that little car. Ended up having to sell it for 500 dollars when I was moving out of the town I was living in.
I had one (Pontiac Acadian, Canadian version) as one of my early cars and my mom drove a Chevette for a few years in the late 80’s. Glad you mentioned the ice racing - I raced one for a few seasons 2014-17. Tons of fun, and we still have a strong contingent of Chevette racers. Toughest part now is finding shells and parts. I think OE spec engine rebuild kits are also NLA now.
I feel the same way about the 1978 olds starfire I had! I too had a 1980 Chevet, tell people I had a Vet, Chevet that is!
Tony, as someone who worked on all those different makes of rust buckets in the 70s... you said so many things that made me smile. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
30 grand? Wow. It must be nice to have money to burn.
But we do pay up for sentimental things, if we can.
You and Tony hit the Nail on the Head. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. One mans Treasure is another man's Junk. I had a couple of Vega's they were fun little cars. Had a Dodge Challenger that was Really fun. Got a lot of Tickets. I liked El Caminos 70 - 72 Bench Seats. Worked on Corvettes and some Exotic cars. Would I own one, NO, they can Float someone elses Boat. Keep up the Great works and Level Headed Opinions and Remarks
Tony I couldn't agree with you more. I grew up in the seventies in the 80s .
We all have cars from our youth that we love.
For me it’s square body Chevy trucks (I have 3), 2 door, curved glass, early box caprices, any ford fox body, and first gen rangers.
I look back and remember my 67 Opal Cadet wagon and loved that little car. It had a 1.1 L engine and barely did 60 mph going up a big hill, but it was cheap on gas, and my friends fit into it going out and about. What memories!
Holy crap Tony, I didn't think there was anyone else like me. Old compact cars were my thing too, pintos for me.
The local power co had thousands of white chevettes with blue interiors. I loved the piles of them you could buy dirt cheap.
When I was young we were terribly poor and my dad daily drove a tan 2 door chevette for years, then one day he upgraded to a 4 door tan chevette 🤣 I remember riding with him one day when a pulley went flying off, I just remember him walking down the side of the road cussing and trying to find the parts that fell off 🤣
i owned a chovit i loved it. 5 bucks drive it all week. my truck was20 bucks a day. i also loved the fact it was rear wheel drive.to change the motor you didnt need a cherry picker you just picked it up and put it on your work bench. as good as the chevette was i cant see me paying $ 30,000 bucks for one. (great commentary )
Had one that I bought for my son. He hated it. Drove it from Ontario to BC and back many times. Lived in a remastered area and used it to haul firewood to heat the cabin. Still hated it and he gave it to a young lady who drove it home tot he east coast and back to Ontario for tree planting season several times. Who knows, it may still be out there being abused and hated
My friend had a used $300 Chevette 4 spd in high school and while nothing special at the time, it never left us stranded. Five of us picked it up the entire rear of the car one time when it was stuck in a ditch after beating through a corn field with it... not proud of that one but we had been sipping on a bottle of Yukon Jack that night after football. I can see where someone would pay good money for a perfect car... similar to those Datsun 210's people love so much.
Most people don't think about this... The classics were not controlled by computer chips. You could work on them and not wonder why this isn't working. EMP wouldn't phase them a bit if it were ever deployed. No control modules, etc., etc., etc. I also remember a lot of racers around here who fell in love with the Chevy Vega because of its lightweight body design.
I have a 72 PU that I can sit under the hood and work on with room to spare. It would crush a tin can that is produced today if it ever hit one because the steel was a lot thicker back then. The only thing modular about my truck is, that you can disassemble all major sections with a ratchet and wrench because the entire body is bolt-together sections and they are all original.
Massive following in Europe with big big prices. I loved mine
"Chevy Chevette, it'll drive you happy!"
😂
Back in '83 or so, I was working at a NAPA auto parts store..one of our delivery cars was a two door '78 Chevette that looked pretty much like the one that just sold.
It was slower than..well, it was slow. It took about three days to get up to sixty mph, so I was in the habit of four wheel drifting it around turns rather than scrubbing off speed with the brakes, ya know? But it was a nice little car, in much better shape than the rest of the beaters the boss had us driving..
Put the store name on the quarter panels in big NAPA blue lettering, and I sorta liked that as well...looked racy, ya know?
Then we got one of those big blue & yellow baseball caps for the roof..made it look like a clown car, and altogether too recognizable for a guy who drove like me.
I told the boss I was gonna find a low bridge to drive under and scrape that damn hat off...three weeks later I stuffed it into the rear end of a stopped semi trailer going forty-five miles an hour. Sure as hell wasn't intentional, I came within a couple inches of becoming a headless NAPA guy!
Boss was convinced I did it on purpose..
🤣😂🤣
And that's my Chevette story.
Good times..
Some people go berserk at auctions. One time I was bidding on a used motorcycle and another guy was bidding against me. I went as high as I was prepared to go and he outbid me, so I let him have it. Another time I was bidding on a car and someone was bidding against me. He wanted it more than I was prepared to pay, so he got it. Then another time I was bidding on a van and an auto wrecker was bidding against me. I got that one for a price I was still comfortable with. The van I got had four almost new eight ply tires on it and two of them are on my trailer with two on standby for later. It's a matter of sticking within your budget at auctions and only bidding what something is worth and not over-paying for something just because you want it.
Agree with your statements. Won't mind owning a muscle car with 3 pedals, but can't afford one. I'll keep driving my 76 air-cooled Beetle vw for now.
Thanks Tony for the memory, as a mechanic in the 80's i worked on alot of the chevettes, monza,vega, hyundai pony. but the one that sticks out was a chevette with a 4 cylinder diesel engine in it. Dont know if you ever seen one but it was a one of a kind for me.
I seen them was one for sale here awhile back. Find one with power steering and power brakes was even harder to find
My first car in 1975 or 6 was a 69 Mustang square back . I paid a whopping $75 for it . the safety was about $200 . I wish I had it now. I wish I owned a 67 Camaro . that was my all time favourite . I also owned a Chevette, can't remember the year , maybe a 79 . it was a great car for what it was . When I was in auto parts, we had a customer that owned a diesel Chevette .He loved it. the air filter for it was like $50 or $75 back then .
I remember the diesel powered Chevette my in-laws had back in the early 80s.
Thanks for that, Fitzee - I enjoyed the toolbox chat.
I was with Falcons like you were with Chevettes
I was a Ford guy working at the Chevy dealer.😂
I too like the compact cars but my love was the Datsuns, I've had 510's around since 1982. Same story with the auctions, now they are worth a lot but I've never paid more than $500 for one.
Just rewatched your video patching the chevelle quarter panel from 4 years ago. You've done a great job building your chanel and sorting out lighting and audio. Good work Tony.
You are a wealth of information as usual Tony..and for you to rat yourself out on disconnecting the speedo was hilarious..been there , done that. Your observation on these auctions as to bringing all the millionaire car guys together for a p*ssing contest was spot on! These auctions with all there hype are like click bait to a teenager on a porn site....
I learned how to drive manual in my dad’s 1983 Chevette. I was 11.
drove one to work in the late 80s, couldnt get out of its own way downhill with a tailwind
I grew up building Chevelles then jumped into Camaros then 280,z's. The Z's were really cheap in the 90's and i had a lot a fun with the little cars. Its guys like you that fuel it while providing ideas and tips never available before.btw love your Crusty.Thanks Tony
You know me and small cars Fitz! LOL I was so close to putting a Chevette on the road before the coupe came along. Had a rust free shell from Labrador and actually had the back half frame and ladder bars welded together but not in the car. The coupe put a stop to that...but I still wonder how it would have turned out if I had of carried on. Would have been fun I'm sure. Several years later I built the Datsun 210 V8 and that was big fun! Anyway....all good memories. BTW...I heard Dougs garage where the guys and myself were building our cars back in the day has been torn down. I haven't been able to bring myself to drive in to look. Too many good times there to want to see it as an empty lot.....
Bill what ever became of that chevette project? I had a second one I was going build into a tubbed BBC car. Was shell of the recreation of the one Gary had the Pauly rebuilt. Had too much stuff and sold it off ended up being crushed. Worse thing I ever did. Should just poked it away somewhere.
@@fitzeesfabrication.thefl-nf7hp Yes, Paul built a replica of Garys car several years later! I wondered where that ever went! The one I had went back to the scrapyard and was also crushed I guess. It was perfect too...just a few dents. I repurposed the tube frame into something else...can't remember what. Maybe the crossmembers for the coupe.
Got to agree with your analogy 100%, its the 78 corolla that I once had that brought me to your channel
It's the same thing here in Australia with these old cars selling for thousands of dollars when they are total wrecks. I have a GM 1964 EH Holden ute (small pickup truck) and mew parts are mostly unavailable and used parts cost a fortune. I'm planning to restore it one day and trying to collect a few parts in the meantime.
I will keep my eyes open for a chevette, Tony.
Excellent video RIP Reg Morgan and all the chevettes he sold,can not forget the AMC gremlin,hornet,matador,concord and ambassador we had around back then and who didnt have an aspen or volarie with a slant six lol with rusty dogs legs lol
My dad little brother and I had a couple dozen of them a couple we drove the rest we turned into dirt track cars they were great easy to modify
Tony
I loved the video. Very informative and very interesting. Thank you
Bruce Williams
Hersey Michigan
I grew up in Detroit so it was heartbreaking to see those cars taking over, the insult they called a charger was criminal and the nova returning as a piece of luggage was just sad, I was driving 68 and 70 model cars all thru the 80s and now with the useless technology im building trucks of the 30s and 40s, a new car isn't even a dream anymore, they'll never make anything worth my money again
Great video I Loved your personal stories of your chevettes. Hopefully if you do a chevette roadtrip you make a few videos to post
Alright my friend. I'm going to bore you to tears with this story. My first car was a 64 Impala 2 door sport coupe. It was a rusty car but I got it fixed and it looked terrific for a few years, but it wasn't a quality job. First and second year at University I drove the car to school year round (this was around 1976 to 1979) and it was hard on it in the salty winter roads here in Ontario. Before I went to University I took a year off between high school and University and worked for a printing company in Toronto as a delivery driver. The company at that time had a fleet of Corollas, a bit earlier than crusty but still terrific little cars. The man I worked for was great and he'd hire me back at Christmas time to do some work while I was off school and it really helped my finances. Eventually he switched from the Toyotas to GMs for the delivery cars. He had about 15 cars in the fleet between his various locations. The cars were all red base base base Pontiac Acadians which as a fellow Canadian you would know was a badge engineered Chevette. These were equivalent to the Scooter model and were stripped down. Cardboard door panels, some had no back seats and none had glove box doors. They were powered? by the 1.4 litre 4 banger instead of the 1.6.
Anyway he was trading them in around 1978 for Pintos and the dealer would only give him $1400 each for the little buggers. He told me I could buy one from him for that amount if I wanted and I thought it would help keep the old Impala on the road if I did. That little car got me through school and into my first couple of years in real working life. The 1.4 blew up so I got a 1.6 from a wreckers (4dr auto so it had way more hp than the 1.4) and it dropped right in. Drove it for years. Never any rust oddly in that car but around 1981 or so I decided to get it cleaned up now that I was a working man lol. Fresh paint job, Vega GT style wheels and a sliding canvas sunroof (think of early 60s VWs or Renaults). It was a sweet looking little car that of course nobody appreciated but me in those days. I have pictures of it somewhere and if I find one I will send it along. Kept it until 1982 when I decided to get a brand new Camaro. It was an awful car but I won't bore you with that anymore than I already have.
All the best Tony! Rick
Loves that story. So cool. Thanks for sharing
My high school parking lot back in the 80’s was full of chevettes.
I purchased a cheap UK Chevette having sold my previous nicer car to pay for my wedding! It had a noisy rear axle which I swapped from a scrap yard car just a few days after purchasing it. Two weeks later it seized up on the way to work. It got towed to the same scrap yard a few days later. The shortest car ownership I ever had, I have had hire cars for longer 🙂 $30k! well a lot of the Escorts from that era are now well over £20k these days.
Hi Tony. My sister-in-law had a Chevette which she bought new and she drove the wheels off it. As far as I know, it never left her stranded and got her back and forth to work for not a lot of money. You are right about the way older car pricing is going. I'm a little older than you and was in high school in the 70's. All the guys had 60's muscle cars and they were in good shape, not rotted out and I don't think one of them paid more than &1200 dollars US, for it. I'll let the millionaires have bidding wars over whatever. It's their money and they can do what they want with it. I'll keep my 15 year old daily going as long as I can. There is nothing new that I like enough to spend what a new car or truck costs these days.
I agree with one thing you said, for sure. Why don't they build a simple car withOUT all the electronics. My car is 10 yrs. old and I still don't know how to use many of the features that are on the car. When the car was new, the original owner had to pay for those features, and it still made the car more costly for me in the used car market. To me they aren't necessary or even used, but often they go bad and I have to pay to have them repaired because even the most capable mechanic have to subscribe to a service that they go to for added knowledge that they haven't been privileged to. Another thing, up here junk yards hardly exist because everything gets crush very quickly.
Too true 🙂👍
lol about disconnecting the speedo! I did the same to my dads ‘90 Camaro, good times.
And I thought I was the only one not to hook the speedometer back up 😯😂
I just got my 5th July 2024 I love my 87' Chevette! (I only paid $1000 but I've put about as much into her). She's in great condition, maybe not 30K good though. LOL
It’s funny how the “disposable” cars from 40-50 years ago were better built than most of the junk we got today. Now they’re built to last as long as the warranty is up and don’t even have a dipstick to check anything yourself, planned obsolescence!
In europe that car was called opel kadett C city. I have a kadett C sedan.
I always wanted to build a V8 Chevette but never did. Tony did you ever build a V8 Vega? I lost count of how many Vegas I had as they were 50 bucks back in the day and I would just buy another one for the engine and have another parts car. I ended up building a mint 76 Vega with a V8 and a 74 Pontiac Astre with a 283 which I still have. My Astre is probably a very rare car as it is a GT and they had not started selling them in the US yet. I have never seen any at any of the shows. Another very common car that I have is a 75 Honda civic with only 48k miles on it. Almost rust free except two little spots. It is a little hot rod too with the original 1200 cc with high comp pistons, head work, intake, headers and a few other goodies.
Never built one but worked on a few. I had a couple of local cars that started my love of compacts and one was a V8 vega.
Tony I was 18 I always liked the big cars I built a 1966 Impala 427 BB with a
Muncie 4 speed 9" Ford rear. I've built a lot of different cars but the one I wish I could find and get it back is my
Dad's 80 Pinto it would walk all over Mustangs and Camaros . I would give every car I have to get back his pinto and I hated that car back then .
Tony, I had a 79 Scooter. I traded it for an 83 Camaro. I wish that I could find another 79.
Owned one I emphasize one anyway your wright a car or whatever is only worth what one is willing to pay. Love the end of video hey has anyone ever told you "you outta be in pictures" 😀
My brother and I used to unhook the speedometer in dads 82 Chevette lol
My wife had an 85 Acadian, she bought from a senior with 6000k on it. She blew the motor!!!!! Apparently there was an issue with a blocked oil passage.!!
Got another engine for NS and ran forever.
As for a basic vehicle….just bought a Ford Maverick …basic as my 81 Monte….really enjoying it.
Cheers buddy, Keep’em coming!!
Growing up a friend of mine his mom had one it was brand new kind of a medium brown with a manual transmission, cloth seats and an am/fm radio that was it
I was working at a Chevy dealership we got our first Chevette came off the truck
I remember thinking this is a piece of junk. They were so tinny. They went from Vega to Monza to Chevette.
In another life, I had a 32 Ford 3 windows chopped top (real one) that I bought for 2500$ from a auto mechanic school teacher.
I sold the car for 2500 bucks because I didn't have space to store it during winter, (I lived in Montreal, winters are pretty hard on hot rods LOL )
Then I bought a 69 Road Runner, 383 4 speeds, second owner, for also 2500 bucks and sold it for the same reasons, no space to store the car for winter.
Do I regret those 2 cars? HELL YEAH!
But I found a 72 Vette big block 4 speeds matching numbers, NOT selling the car this time soon LOL
Going to high school in the 80's that was the joke. I drive a 'vette....a Chevette!
Some people have too much money and not enough common sense.
What I remember about our Vegas and Chevettes is they rusted horribly. We don't have the winters you do Tony here in Vancouver but actually everything rusted out back then.
Nice Video. I never owned any. But i Sure did work on MANY OF THEM.
#STAYSAFE
#PHILLYPHILLY 🇺🇸 #FLYEAGLESFLY
Agree with you Tony ! don't like these millionaire auctions they have been driving up the cost of the car hobby to the point were a lot of people can't get into it and enjoy the fun of having and working on a older car ! ( car up so are the parts to fix them )
Well Said Tony
My first car was a chevy chevette scooter. I told everyone I drove a vet 😂
The guys that built them in Oshawa used say at the time they were the best car they building
Had a Vega seems like long ago and I enjoyed it
Good one Fitzee
Great video!
I put 25 miles on my 72 Pinto today.
I thought I had recognised the car!! Ffs it was my first ever car. The Vauxhall chavette in the uk!!!! The MCM lads have just rebuilt one in Australia too
The Datsun B210 another rear wheel drive
Loved the compact GM cars but today I'm not such a "compact" guy anymore.
This subject fits into other conversations about the future of "hot rods". I was having a similar discussion with a car-guy friend of mine just a few days ago, our subject was that Fat Man Fabrications had recently closed. Bottom line is that cars are too expensive, parts are too expensive, labor is too expensive, etc. The old car guys are dying out, young guys or folks without disposable cash can't afford the hobby. Like Tony said, the prices are being set by millionaires in auctions. It doesn't appear to be sustainable for the hobby. "Now ... back to work".