This incredible survivor 1979 Chevrolet Chevette 4-door hatchback, sometimes called a 5-door by folks with more polish than I have, can be found here on craigslist in beautiful Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. That’s the one Canadian province I’ve never been to. How is that even remotely possible? The seller is asking $6,250 ($4,402 U.S. dollars), and here is the original listing. Thanks to Curvette for the tip!
I know, not another Chevette?! And a 4-door on top of everything else?! COME ON, Gilby, what are you thinking? You should know by now that I’d take a Chevette, Pinto, Pacer, or almost any unusual small car over almost any muscle car from the 60s or 70s. American muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s are infinitely more popular here, both for comments and probably income, or however that part works. Not having a website, I don’t have a clue about clicks and all that stuff. I just know that I like Chevettes.
The seller is sadly very, very slim on photos, but they do take the time to pop the hood and show us potential buyers the engine, as you can see in the only photo showing the entire car: the first photo. But, they don’t pop the hatchback, and there are only two interior photos, one showing the gauges and one showing the back seat. That usually means there is an issue with the unshown parts, but I’m guessing it’s just an oversight, as this whole car looks like it just snuck off of the Motorcade GM dealership showroom floor in Abbotsford, where it was bought new by their 103-year-old aunt. Not when she was 103, but you know what I mean. She would have been around 56 years old in 1979, give or take.
“Go ahead. All four of you. Sit tall and handsome. That’s what the inside of a Chevette is all about.” Or so says page 4 of this 1979 Chevette brochure. There’s the perfect-looking houndstooth fabric back seat. It doesn’t get much better than that in my world. Any interesting fabric is so much better than single-tone leather, at least for me. Chevrolet referred to this interior fabric as “Black Sport Cloth,” and it was an option. The seller says this car has 109,380 kilometers on it, which equates to 67,966 miles. Chevy referred to this color as “Blue, Bright (Metallic),” which I’m assuming means Bright Blue Metallic in real life…
I admit to preferring the 1978 and earlier Chevettes with round headlights and a wrap-down hood, but I’d never kick a 1979 flat-hood with rectangular headlights Chevette out of the garage. This dusty engine is Chevy’s 1.6-liter OHC inline-four, with around 70 horsepower and 82 lb-ft of torque when new. A new-for-1979 two-barrel Holley carburetor would have been fitted from the factory, and they say a new carb was added years ago. Passing through a three-speed automatic, power is sent to the rear wheels, and the seller says their 103-year-old (103 Canadian years is just 38 U.S. years!) (kidding) aunt recently stopped driving, and yes, she did drive this Chevette to church. They’re hoping it stays in Canada, where it’s been since new. Any thoughts on this ’79 Chevette 4-door hatchback? I like it.
The Chevette is a very unfairly disparaged vehicle. They were solid, tough little cars that just kept going. Yes, they were bare bones transportation, but that is, after all, the purpose of a car.
I agree that I prefer the earlier noses with the round headlights, but seems like by the late 70s everything was getting saddled with square lights. Who knows why?
With that mileage, this car is certainly worth the ask.
Your going to have to pull the trigger on one of these Scotty.