We drug this bad boy home yesterday. It's been sitting for over 20 years and it shows. I'm not sure what the plan is yet, I was thinking an engine and trans from an early 4th gen body with a 60 degree v6 would be the way to go with it but I'm not locked in yet. More to come (maybe)
Start looking for info and rally parts for a Vauxhall Chevette. I always wondered how one would go with a Miata motor and transmission.
Its' weird European cousins always seemed to work pretty well.
Friend stuffed a 2.8V6 and 4-spd into his 79 chevette from a totaled S10. stupid thing was a one wheel peeling mofo.
3400 V6 from a front wheel drive Impala made it to a 3800 T5 from a later f body with a 2.2 S10 collection flywheel how to make that thing rip pretty hard
Live my dream. Put a Quad 4 in it
Dusterbd13-michael said:3400 V6 from a front wheel drive Impala made it to a 3800 T5 from a later f body with a 2.2 S10 collection flywheel how to make that thing rip pretty hard
Isn't the 3900 the same exterior dimensions with more power?
After sitting in the car a bit yesterday honestly I can see why people hated them. Compared to the big luxo-barges that filled the market at the time this thing feels like a tin can death trap. But when I used to race a beretta I always thought "If I could change anything about this car, I would make it 6 inches narrower and 1000 pounds lighter." That's roughly what this is.
My engine goal is 150-175 reliable hp that fits in the car without major re-engineering of the car required.
A manual trans would be preferable, but the car is currently an automatic and I'm not sure how difficult adding the pedals would be. Chevette parts cars are non existent around here, and even if they were available I dont know that linkage would work for a swap. Maybe a pedal set from something else could be made to work. Honestly I think an automatic wouldn't be bad, especially if we get it in the 10 or 15:1 power to weight ratio. Also because the footwell is tiny and working a clutch in there might be tricky.
My race partner has an amc20 rear axle from a narrow track jeep cj that has 4.56 gears that we think the width will be correct width, that will probably be the first mod that happens.
Dusterbd13-michael said:3400 V6 from a front wheel drive Impala made it to a 3800 T5 from a later f body with a 2.2 S10 collection flywheel how to make that thing rip pretty hard
Why this combo instead of a 3.4 that came in the f-bodies? I thought there was a difference in starter mounting that made the fwd engines difficult or impossible to with rwd transmissions.
In reply to gearheadmb :
Couple of reasons. Major one being the 3400 has a roller cam and way better heads and is much easier to find the 3800 transmission takes care of the starter pocket issue and puts it on the correct side and bolts up the wheel drive block. 2.2 S10 clutch and flywheel package makes the two together without issue. It gets you 180 horsepower out of the box with gear ratios in a readily available package that is quite cheap. It's what I'm running in my Miata, and Rob has done in his RX7. If you are able to Source the F body 3.4 accessories it makes the swap much easier from the accessory Drive perspective, but that's on the non DVT engines. The later 3500 and 3900 engines I don't know much about except that they have their own issues to swap due to VVT
Ideas......Chevette HSR Tarmac Rally Car – Retropower
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
It seems like I remember seeing a thread for your miata swap but I cant find it now. Could you direct me to it so I can read up on it? Thanks
I vote 2.2l from S10/Cavalier and T5. Not biased or anything...
gearheadmb said:A manual trans would be preferable, but the car is currently an automatic and I'm not sure how difficult adding the pedals would be. Chevette parts cars are non existent around here, and even if they were available I dont know that linkage would work for a swap. Maybe a pedal set from something else could be made to work. Honestly I think an automatic wouldn't be bad, especially if we get it in the 10 or 15:1 power to weight ratio. Also because the footwell is tiny and working a clutch in there might be tricky.
A 4l60e (mated to your choice of GM 60deg V6) could be manually shifted using some microswitches and relays - even paddle shifters if you're not afraid of some DIY circuitry.
There are switch controlled manual shifters available from the 4x4 community: Example
I'm also seeing plug-and-play manual shift wiring solutions on ebay and Amazon when searching '4l60e manual shift controller" that are very affordable and just require a shift lever with PRND321 positions.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:Ideas......Chevette HSR Tarmac Rally Car – Retropower
well crap.....now I want a chevette
In reply to newrider3 :
Too bad the 4L60e is a total garbage transmission and at least 50lbs heavier than a T5. You can also rebuild a T5 with minimal tools and much faster than a 4L60e. Not to mention better gear ratios and way less drivetrain losses.
Any Gen3+ V6 block is going to require some creativity for motor mounts. They don't have any bosses for mounts.
The US spec Chevette is a far cry from its European cousin... Think Ford Es c ort Mk3 vs. the Gen 1 US Ford Es c ort.
Why does this forum keep changing E s c o r t to econobox? Dumb.
In reply to 4bangin :
Because it regularly gets inundated with links for e s c o r t services in the Middle East. There are other words that are automatically changed,too.
In reply to 4bangin :
The board was getting slammed with spammy posts offering Esc0rt services so it was added to a filter. I get around it by spelling with a zero rather than "o"
In reply to 4bangin :
They were wondering about alternatives to a manual swap on an automatic car; I offered a suggestion. If you're suggesting a 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6 will break a 4l60e; I suppose you may test that assumption at your convenience.
It's a lot harder to break any of these transmissions in such a light car with such skinny tires. Even the stock 225/60/16s or 215/60/15s on a lot of cars that the 60-deg V6 came in would be huge on a Chevette.
gearheadmb said:Dusterbd13-michael said:3400 V6 from a front wheel drive Impala made it to a 3800 T5 from a later f body with a 2.2 S10 collection flywheel how to make that thing rip pretty hard
Why this combo instead of a 3.4 that came in the f-bodies? I thought there was a difference in starter mounting that made the fwd engines difficult or impossible to with rwd transmissions.
The 3.4 in the f body is lame. It makes a good bit less power and is almost the same amount of work.
MadScientistMatt said:Dusterbd13-michael said:3400 V6 from a front wheel drive Impala made it to a 3800 T5 from a later f body with a 2.2 S10 collection flywheel how to make that thing rip pretty hard
Isn't the 3900 the same exterior dimensions with more power?
Yep.
However, the controls side of things are not as well hashed out. It is a little harder to find good spots for mounts.
What about an Ecotec swap? Some of them made good power.
That would seem like a no brainer. Why would you use an ancient V6 when a Modern aluminum 4 making the same power is available and cheap?
Less obvious would be a 2.8/2.9 and 5 speed from a Colorado.
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