Taistorms '81 Chevette Numero Dos

[Taistorm]

Warning: Wall of text

Ok so picked up another Vauxhall Chevette off Tony Lynch the Chevette Guru last night .

It's a 1981 GT hatchback model. Alot of people who i've mentioned the 'GT' model to believe I'm talking out of my ass and refer to it as the 'later model' shuvit, but Tony has assured me there is such thing and only a handful were made.

The differences from the 'normal' Chevette's are few. The obvious exterior differences being the flush headlights, spoiler, racing stripes, black tail light surround, and larger badge at the front, side mouldings. The 'Vauxhall' lettering on the rear is also larger than the other models with the tail light surround. On the inside the only real difference is a centre console being added and cloth seats as most were vinyl however the cloth seats were ragged so vinyl seats with headrests have been fitted. The main giveaway however is intermittent wipers. From what I've been told the GT was the only model fitted with intermittent wipers. Engine/performance wise remained standard so not really 'GT' at all .

Anyway... I committed to buying this last week but a whole heap of work had been carried out on it over the last few weeks. It had been stored for 10years and the original engine had no compression so another out of one of his parts cars was checked over and fitted (only done around 100,000km's iirc). Gearbox fluid changed, oil & filter change, clutch checked, wheel cylinder changed, front calipers rebuilt and brakes checked over. As mentioned before the vinyl seats were fitted and interior cleaned up. 2 new rear tyres and 14" Piazza wheel's all round.

Rust wise there was none in the obvious places however there was a small amount underneath the rear bumper and a little at the bottom of the F/L fender which had been patched up and painted. Side mirrors also deleted as i'll be fitting fender mirrors once they land in NZ. But that was pretty much it, a bit of surface rust here and there that's no current threat so pretty stoked about that. The underneath of the vehicle was also waterblasted and reundersealed, as well as under the guards.

After all this was done it was taken through a wof inspection and only failed on an indicator, park light, exhaust mount rubber and horn. Not bad for a car that has been off the road for 10years huh.

Sooo yea picked this up after work last night and took it home. Forgot how gutless the mighty 1256 was haha . Drove pretty well, gears were a little crunchy at first but smoothed out the further I drove also the fuel gauge wasn't working. Was fuckin ace having another Chevette, was loving it until I got home and went to lock it having the key snap in the barrel . Also this morning one of the tyres was flat. The joys of OS, can't even have it for a day without problems .

Managed to sort all those problems today though. Had a set of Solex locks that I replaced the originals with. Got a tube in the tyre as there was sidewall leakage and cleaned up the terminals which sorted out the fuel gauge.

Will be keeping this as a daily so Mod's will be to a minimum. Will be slamming it and giving it a mild boso look.

-Fender Mirrors

-Duckbill front spoiler

-Oldschool roofracks

-Low

-Jappa Wheels

-Small twin boso pipes

-Sounds

-Carpet

-Dye seats black

-Tidy up boot

-Replace points, condensor, cap, rotor, plugs.

-Maybe some Round foglights.

-Maintain

Sorry about all the writing guys haha.

Discuss //oldschool.co.nz/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=36385

Churrr, Tai.

[Taistorm]

Added audio today...

There were already some 6" holes in the rear side panels so I put some cheap n nasty fusion csfr6020's that I got for $10. Put some sweet boxed KB6000 Kicker speakers in the boot/mounted to the side panels and a Fusion CPAS1080 slimeline sub+amp combo in the boot all running off a shitty xplod headunit. Pretty pissed off because the sub doesn't work . Amp's receiving power so must be the connection between the woofer and amplifier. Can't pull it apart though otherwise warranty is void so i'll be sending it back to the repairer when I'm at work on Monday.

Install is pretty tidy and all the wires are hidden so i'm happy about that but in the future i'll remake the boot/wheel well cover and hide the sub and amp.

Attempted to cut the paint back as its oxidized as shit. Was pretty fail, going to need a heavier cutting compound.

Also put on a Bosch GT40T coil and Ramflo air filter for wank factor haha.

Chur, Tai.

[Taistorm]

Been slowly picking away at bits and pieces on this car.

First of all I haven't been able to drive it since the weekend due to the rear windows detached from the hinges. Tried to glue them on twice which has been a fail then got someone else to. Got them on but the rubber on the drivers side was pretty fucked and there was about a 4mm gap at the top. Decided to opt out and get the windows refitted so they're fixed to the body, the guys gonna be doing it for a sweet price as well however I know to tidy up some surface rust and fill in the hinge holes first so the Shuvits probably going to be off the road still until monday . So annoying...

Managed to get the wheels sorted though Spent the last few evenings prepping & painting some Blacks Racing wheels that i've had sitting for the last few years. Had to strip back about 4 different layers of paint . Pretty chuffed to say the least and have some 165/60/r14s lined up for tomorrow to go on the front so there will be guard clearance at full lock once its slammed.

How they looked a few years ago when I I ran the paint stripper over it the first time.

Black undercoat last night.

How they're looking now

The colour is called Mecca (Metallic coppery brown). Would of liked to spend more time building up the layers and sanding them out smooth as to get a perfect finish but don't have the time as I'm getting the tyres on tomorrow.

Hoping to get some Starsharks or something in the near future otherwise try and find a set of Rostyles to get widened but these will do for now.

Edit: Forgot to mention a box from Autodec arrived at my work today. Fresh set of moulded black carpet, boot mat and underfelt. May look into getting some Dynamat but it's so damn expensive, even on staff discount haha.

Churrrr

[Taistorm]

A bit of progress today. Boring update..

Due to getting the rear windows refitted so they're fixed, I decided to tidy up the general framing around the window. Sanded and treated all the surface rust, filled the hinge holes and painted it up. Also had trimmed back the hood-lining an re stuck it to the ceiling. Hopefully the guy can come fit the windows tomorrow.

Prepping

Primed up

Boom

Also lipped the guards then this arrived.

Courtesy of Damien. Will be replacing the clock in the gauge cluster with this.

Chur

Tai

[Taistorm]

Pretty happy right now. Needs more wide and better offset though going to need to get some 5-10mm spacers for the front though as its sitting reaaaally close to the shock.

And pic of the powerhouse

Cracks me up, just found out that the ignition 12v for the headunit was hooked up to the indicators so when i flicked them on the radio would switch on/off to the indicator relay Will sort that out another day.

Tai.

[Taistorm]

Pretty happy right now. Needs more wide and better offset though going to need to get some 5-10mm spacers for the front though as its sitting reaaaally close to the shock.

And pic of the powerhouse

Cracks me up, just found out that the ignition 12v for the headunit was hooked up to the indicators so when i flicked them on the radio would switch on/off to the indicator relay Will sort that out another day.

Tai.

[Taistorm]

OK the mind started wandering and I've conjured a plan to turbo the donk for shits'n'gigz. Anyone done a blow-through 1256 set up before as I'm toying with the idea?

I have a couple small tc04 Mitsi turbo's lying around, a small intercooler, bov. All i'd really need is to make up an exhaust manifold, find a carby to suite and sort an oil return for the sump. Would only look at boosting like 6psi. I know the box in these are pretty weak but I highly doubt it would be enough to kill it and the compression ratio is 8.7:1 I believe. Havent done anything like it before so would be a learning curve and have mates to help. Can you guys help point me in the right direction.

Would be hilariously awesome .

Tai.

[Taistorm]

Another picture-less update. Wall of text to follow..

As some of you may of seen I posted another thread regarding it bogging down in second gear. Decided to replace all of the dizzy bits and pieces. So swapped over the cap, rotor and points and did the plugs. Had a condensor which was wrong obviously that didnt fit. Set the point's gap and the Chevette didn't want a bar of it and wouln't fire up. Fucked around for ages with the gap trying to get it to run (supposed to be set at 0.022) but would only run at 0.017 and was running rough as so I threw the old points back in gapped to 0.022 and it was sweet. Haven't taken it for a decent drive since so unsure whether it still has the same problem, just is quite odd as I only noticed it in 2nd gear. However a new problem has occurred, doesnt want to shift into gear 50% of the time. Will need to start it in gear otherwise it just won't budge. Was thinking this may be a clutch issue?

Have put some lowering springs in. Rear has dropped about 30mm and front only about 20mm so a little disappointed, may get the angle grinder out and hack off a coil or 2 or send them back to get modified but cant really be assed. Also have replaced the rear shocks with some shorter Monroe GT reflexes and will be replacing the front later this week. Also couldn't manage to get the passenger side front spring out as I cant undo the nut on the bottom ball joint. Bastard spins with the balljoint shaft when I try undo. Had tried putting the jack underneath to put pressure on it and also clamp some vice grips onto the shaft to hold it from spinning and tried jamming it with a pry bar. May look at cutting the shaft and replacing ball join cos' frustration has reached maximum.

My fender mirrors had arrived as well so i've mounted them up. Looks pretty good from 10ft but as you get closer they look quite tacky. Will leave em for now but may look at getting some of the chrome bullet style mirrors.

Was hoping to have this ready for the monthly meet but it's just being a pain in the ass.

Will get pictures up shortly.

Chur, Tai

[Taistorm]

Picture time

Spring differences.

Rear shocks and springs in.

The rear muffler is sitting about 120mm off the ground. Might hack it up and raise it a little.

The new Datsun Fairlady style wing mrriors, what you guys reckon?

The new lower ball joint i'll be replacing the passenger side with. Gotta hack it off to remove it so I can swap the springs over :S.

And the new chin spoiler So stoked!!!! Will need to cut it abit to get it to fit but so happy right now. Just needs more loooooooooow.

Will be getting the front passenger side spring in by Friday if all goes to plan and swap the front shocks over. Will also try and mount the lip and get the carpet in. So much to do and so little time. Also gotta put sounds in my mates car on the Friday and install sounds for another on Saturday.

That is all for now yo.

Discuss http://oldschool.co....ms-81-chevette/

Chur, Tai.

[Taistorm]

Another update.

Weather didn't allow for me to get much done but I've managed to sort out the front left lower balljoint, spring and sorted the front shocks and have been driving the shit out of this the last few days. Have also drilled holes for the front lip mount but didn't have bolts long enough to suit.

Absolutely loving it but it's far too gutless for my liking. Soooo turbo is most probably going to be happening. Will be looking for a 'float type' rather than a 'diaphragm type' as i've been told they are a lot more efficient and easier to set up for turbo application, maybe something like a 28/36 as I'm reasonably familiar with them which will be re-jetted to suit (if anyone's got one let me know! ). The carb will be completely sealed in a box setup and will be running a small intercooler in between the carb and tc04 turbo. I'll be welding up an 2" straight through exhaust and exhaust manifold myself which will be a sweet learning curve. Also if anyone's got any cheap bov's they're keen on flicking me please let me know.

Will be seriously getting stuck in once I get back from Thailand and hopefully have it in and ready around new years.

Peace.

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Front lip mounted up.

Notice a bit of oil under the car? Need to fit a catch can as oils been leaking out through teh breather filter. Otherwise throw a pipe on and connect it up to the intake as per original spec.

Chur.

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Better Pics

Lip needs to be shifted about 10mm towards the drivers side but close enough for me not to give a shit and fuss about it

Might cut a coil off the front and rear in the next week or so, exhaust will be grinding all over the place though if I do haha, ah well gotta join the lowlife stzzzzz.

Tai.

[Taistorm]

Boring update...

Not much has been happening with this heap. Drove it quite a bit then developed an exhaust leak and the cabin was filling up with fumes. Left it for a while then when I got back from holiday I tried to sort the leak. The exhaust flange gasket was at fault and a tried to get the thing apart and swap it over, 30year old car = ceased bolts and didnt want to strip so need someone to heat it up. Everywhere was booked out to Xmas and/or closed over the period + had been working a shitload of extra hours so pretty much forgot about it until the other day. Going in to get it sorted tomorrow and getting the exhaust cut and raised so I can slam it moar.

Also fuel gauge stopped working and water gauge stopped working. Installed a cheapy shitty temp gauge and the sender was faulty so just got a new temp sender and the original is sweet now however she's running a little hot so will test out the thermostat as I think its starting to shit itself. Also fitted the 2" Tacho I brought off Damien a while back but it's shanked so thats pretty lame. Ah well.

Got a sweet picture tonday though tape for lols (yea I follow trends)

Cheers

Tai