According to AutoWeek, “Project 1865” was the code name for the new Chevette which was intended to be GM’s first world car. Both of those things are hard to wrap our heads around now. This 1984 Chevrolet Chevette CS can be found listed here on eBay in Seymour, Tennessee. The bids are just over $2,000 but the reserve isn’t met yet.
1865 was the year that the Civil War ended in the U.S. and there would probably be another one if GM decided to make a car like a Chevette again. Perpetually on the worst-cars list whenever there is a worst-cars list, the Chevette is a cultural icon today in the same way that the AMC Gremlin or Ford Pinto is. Or, like Oliver on the Brady Bunch.
The CS model came out in 1983 and it had blacked-out trim. I’m not sure if a Chevette would ever be considered murdered-out, you can only be so tough in a Chevette. This looks like a great example and it only has 31,411 miles on it. The seller says, “Most of the mileage was put on the car from being pulled behind a motorhome.”
Sadly, it’s an automatic which may or may not have made for more of a headache when towing behind a motorhome than a manual transmission car would have been. The interior looks pretty much like new but the photos are a little unusual, it looks like some of them were taken through a screen door. There are no engine photos, of course, but this car should have Chevy’s 1.6L inline-four with 65 hp. That automatic won’t be helpful in rallying onto freeways – 0 to 60 in 16.8 seconds – but the seller says that this car is in “Very good condition, original paint” and it sure looks perfect. What’s your best price on this ’84 Chevette?
I’d be leery about any automatic being flat towed unless the driveshaft was disconnected, and that would stop the odo from turning. It might be that the next owner has a trans replacement job in the near future.
I see no towbar mounts. Dollied, perhaps?
a cheap pile of junk the day it rolled out of the plant a great car for people that know nothing about cars! right up there what ford was throwing on the market as well! only thing worse were chev citations , monzas, and firenzas that gm couldn’t give away!
and ‘K’cars…
Allot of people that never owned a Chevette run them down. I get about the Vega, it was a terrible car for sure and GM knew it. Mostly I’m a Ford guy, but in 1983 I bought new four door Chevette. It was a GM entry level car but the motor was built well. The motor was made at the Flint MI. plant. They called it the Iron Duke motor. Was solid cast iron 1.6 four cylinder. I put over two fifty K on it and it never used or leaked oil. You had to change the timing belt every 60 K and only took 15 minutes. The car would get 41 MPG.
I like it!
well it has bidded up more than i would pay :-( and yes drive shaft should have been disconnected, so tranny job soon
Pictures of pictures. Always a red flag on eBay. Buyer beware.
LS swap no doubt
Had a friend in HS who’s dad put an LS7 in one…I had a 327 Pinto Cruzing Wagon…
Seymour Tennessee. Only 15 miles from Rod Run Heaven Pigeon Forge.
“Very good condition, original paint”
When these came out the showroom neither the car or the paint were in very good condition!
KIll it with fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks exactly like the one my dad had when I was a kid that he traded his 77 newport for because of 1985 gas prices. He hated it and so did I. I don’t dare send him this link lol
Nice Vette!
This should be an enthusiasts’ forum ( as with so many others I read ) . Too many of you and others ,replay the same old,same old , tired negative dross .Nothing new is learned . Don’t like it? Don’t buy it but enough already…..
Thank you Norm, you’ve said what’s been on my mind for a very long time.
I think those motors would start to burn oil at 50K miles ….
Mine needed a water pump at 129K miles. It never needed anything else. The little cars would take you wherever you needed to go, provided you had enough time. Mine was a stick, though. My Dad used to make jokes about its shadow having to wait for it to catch up.
I agree. I.had a 1984 chevette.. best car I ever owned. To.this day. 5 yes and I changed the oil. And spark plugs. And clutch. That was it. Started every day. Even in the coldest winters. Of the 80’s. Just like anything else you get those that are gold and those that are DOA.
It’s bid up to $3900 reserve not met and still 4 days to go in the auction…wow…
“Project 1865 was the code name for the new Chevette.
1865 was the year that the Civil War ended in the U.S. and there would probably be another one if GM decided to make a car like a Chevette again.”
The most amusing statement I’ve seen for a long time. Very droll, Scotty. Very droll indeed!
i had a chevette back in the 80’s.. my wife put over 150,000 hard miles on it and then gave it to my grand daughter who drove it thru college, until the motor mounts broke off the chassis.. i patched it back up (baling wire and 2×4’s) and sold to another college kid.. got my moneys worth for sure out of that car ha ha ha ha ha
Bought a new 4door hatchback Chevette in 1983. Wife drove it to work every day until 1990 when our 3 kids took it, one after the other, away to school. It then went through a niece and nephew and thier dad who wouldn’t give it back. I finally got it in 2015 and drove it as a winter beater for 3 years and always started in the coldest weather. Left me sranded once when the distributer died at 160,000 kl (100,000 miles), only sold it because we were moving. Car was good on gas, batteries and tires and was really fun to drive, especially in ice and snow. Considering cost … best car I ever owned out of the 64 I have owned. Still going strong last time I saw it.
Much like the Mustang ll debate a couple weeks ago, these cars filled a niche in the market and they sold a crap ton of them. By the time they got to this facelift I thought they were almost nice looking…my neighbor had the carbon copy of this when I was a kid
My wife had a brand new one of these with a standard trans when we got married, and I HATED IT, which almost caused a very short marriage. And I worked for Pacific Bell, and they bought at least a thousand of these as pool cars, which I was forced to drive when on company business because any other vehicles were always unavailable. The steering wheels were skewed to the left in all of them, and they were all very noisy. They were hard to stop, too. Oh, just seeing the picture brings back memories, and I’m sure I’ll have nightmares…
Bash and trash as usual , these cars are great ! The tranny has no problem being towed behind a motor home , i bought one from old couple that towed theirs across country with towbar . Drove it for years in 90s had ac, tilt, ps, pb ,am/fm ,rear defog,wiper delay and deluxe interior panels ! Most options I’ve ever had in a chevette .i still have a 5speed and tilt column left from the many I’ve had , so hate all you want but the diesel chevettes get better milage then any car out there to date ! Id like to see how much better a chevette would be if a turbo was added , gas and diesel . Ill take a chevette over any front wheel drive chitbox anyday !
I have been driving mine ( third one ! ) for years( YEARS!) . It requires someone who loves to drive and wring it out . Small , slow ,cheap ? YES !!! These are the last remnants of those little ,narrow fifties,front carbed ,4 cyl , rear drive British family sedans that they shipped all over the world to rebuild their economy after the Nazis bombed the hell out of them! Drive your shapeless , insulated ,black tinted windowed , plastic swaged ,multi-media electronic pile of disposable ,super expensive to repair ,crazy monthly payment ,boring-mobile with a cup-holder. I’ll take my sh#$%^!te any day !
lol. Rock on Norm
We recently moved from the praries to the hills and curves of Kelowna BC.
Wish I had my little Chevette out here with gas prices in the $1.30 – $1.50 a litre.
I had 2 chevettes. A 1976 and a 1986, drove both of them 10 years.I bought both of them brand new. We drove the 76 chevette down to Florida from Syracuse in 1981, the floor gave out had a big whole in the drivers side . We put some wood on to drive it back. Lots of snow in Syracuse, and I used to drive over snow banks to get out of the driveway after the plow went by, that is why the floor gave out.All good memories.
My 1st car was an 84 CS with a 4 speed manual tranny. The interior color was the same as the one pictured, it had been painted a very bright blue. I put a few neon green accessories, vinyl neon graphics, a cheap stereo and subwoofer (Sparkomatic) and had fun with it. Hey, it was the late 80s/early 90s. Wasn’t the greatest car, but good enough for a 1st car. I learned to drive a stick in it. Almost wore the clutch out, but I learned. LOL. And me and my buddies had some good times riding around in it.