There are enthusiast-grade cars in our midst that do not cost an arm and a leg to own. Of course, you’ll have to trade some cache for a more “average” vehicle, but sometimes, I wonder if the added price of a premium model really translates to a significantly higher sense of driving enjoyment. This 1994 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 coupe listed here on Facebook Marketplace may not be an ideal substitute for a Porsche 944 or Mazda Miata, but if you want a car that’s somewhat rare and still looks/sounds good, a GM product like this could be worth a look.
Thanks go to Barn Finds reader Zen for the tip. The seller is asking $5,500 for this Cavalier, which is likely a tad ambitious. Moving past that for a second, by the time this second-generation Z24 came around, Chevy had actually given it some decent performance chops. The suspension was upgraded to the sporty FE2 setup, and I believe that also came with grippier tires and a fatter sway bar. The aerodynamics were the most visible enhancement, with side skirts and front and rear spoilers. This Cavalier has aftermarket wheels, but the factory alloys were dang sharp. Throw in the red badging, and it was a bit of a looker, too.
But the interior was still ho-hum GM, with low-grade materials and plastics, flat-as-a-pancake bucket seats, and an automatic transmission was overwhelmingly the standard gearbox (you could get a stick, but relatively few were seemingly equipped that way.) This is one area where the Cavalier doesn’t perform against a more expensive import, as the sport compacts of the day – GTI, Civic, Integra, Mazda Protege, and others – all seemingly used higher-grade materials and actual sport buckets seats, not to mention many of them being spec’d with three pedals and silky-smooth manual gearboxes.
The seller does the right thing and shows us the undersides, as there is a rust hole in the passenger door. Whatever caused that blemish likely occurred in isolation, as it looks quite clean underneath. The 3.1L V6 produced around 140 horsepower and made a great noise while doing so, which is another highlight of the Z24. While the seller clearly loves this car and has modified it with clear turn signals and racy wheels, I suspect he’ll have to settle for about $3,000 for this automatic-equipped example.
Very unusual to see a coupe nowadays. You see convertibles because those tended to have been purchased by older owners and often as second cars. But most of the hardtops were driven or beaten into the ground years ago.
Other than a few questionable personal touches that could be undone, this doesn’t look too bad.
Would it not’ve been cheaper – and better looking / more fun – to stick the V6 into a Manta B?
Whatever the good and/or bad points about this car, it looks nice, it’s a decent size and at 32 years of age it still will run. Unlike the $40,000+ computerized junk made today that can’t go 6 months without a recall or breakdown of some sort.
The 3.1 while not a fixture on the 1320 strip are almost as reliable as the 3.8. We had a customer that was a courier to outposts in rual Nevada. She piled on the miles, so we saw her about every 6 weeks for oul change, tire rotation and other required maintenance. One day she brought us a “Thank You 500,000 Mile Cake”. That was easily 12 years ago. I ran into her atvthe doctors office last year. She has retired but the Cavalier hasn’t. When we were doing repairs, we installed a new alternator, and had our transmission repair shop do a minor valve body repair. She would easily get 80,000 miles on her tires and a out 150,000 miles on a,set of brakes. She still has the car as a backup vehicle and drives it once or twice a month. Now having approximately 656,000 miles.