“Not much to describe as there isn’t much to a Chevette.” That’s how the seller of this good-looking 1980 Chevrolet Chevette describes it. This example is located in Suffolk, Virginia and it can be found on Craigslist, or go here if the listing goes away. The asking price is $2,500 or best offer. Thanks to Pat L. for locating yet another unusual car! You know what they say about glass houses: “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” That saying has pretty deep meaning, in general, and it really does to me when talking about a car like the Chevette.
The lowly Chevette rarely gets any love here or anywhere, at least on online forums. A few (million?) people must have loved them enough to buy them, but all of a sudden they’ve become one of the go-to joke cars, the ones that everyone likes to pounce on – sort of a jump on the bandwagon public stoning car. I admit to never having owned one and, as always, only those who have owned one are probably justified or qualified to speak of their quality or lack thereof. That goes with any car, lawn mower, loaf of bread, golden retreiver, etc. Could it be the mechanical issues that draws out the tar-and-feather crowd whenever a Chevette is shown? Design-wise I don’t see too much to pick at. Are they as svelte as the typical Japanese car of the same era was? Probably not, but they aren’t horrible either.
Was it the design or the build quality? That may speak more about the folks who were in charge of designing and building them, which would have been mostly American workers by the time that the Chevrolet Chevette was redesigned and re-engineered for production for the US market, so it’s always surprising to see people rallying against them. I think that it’s a nice design – simple, forthright, functional, pragmatic – the right car for the time, at least for and from GM. In 1979 and 1980, it would be the best-selling small car in America, that’s nothing to sneeze at. They were also known as the Isuzu and Holden Gemini, Vauxhall Chevette, and many, many others. It was a true global car with around 40 different names and well over 100 model configurations worldwide.
This particular Chevette really looks like a winner to me. The seller says that this car is in “all original condition (fantastic) with period correct stickers still intact. The single thing on the car that doesn’t “work” is the temp control. The cable attachment on the heater box broke off so you have to select hot or cold under the hood ahead of time. I haven’t located the correct replacement part yet (cable) and don’t want rigged repairs.” The interior could use a little help with a couple of the seat seams but other than that it looks good, at least from the two front photos and the rear cargo area photo that they show. This is a 4-speed car not an automatic, which usually also brings out a few comments, including one from myself.
This is Isuzu’s 1.6L G161Z inline-four which would have had 70 hp when new. The owner says that it’s the 1.4L four but that engine went away, at least for the Chevy Chevette, in 1978. They say that it “starts first try, drives anywhere, just not quickly. The car keeps up with accelerating traffic just fine but being a 4spd I like to keep it under 60mph. It has gotten any repair it needed under my tenure (maintenance items, brakes, blower, tires etc.) Also comes with all extra parts I have purchased in case of scarcity.” I think the Chevette is an incredibly interesting car, not the fastest or the most beautiful but neither am I, or dare I say most of the population. Glass houses…
I still love Chevettes! Would love to have this and keep it as nice as it is, but I know I wouldn’t be able to resist driving it. Oh, to drive a Chevette again !!! I thought the improved styling made them look so sharp !
That back bumper concerns me a little bit. A remote mirror! Wow!
Rear bumper is just missing the insert on the side, but is otherwise in the correct spot. Regarding the car, nope. One was too many.
Look again, dgrass. The whole bumper is down 3/4″ or more.
That is standard height, it just looks strange due to the missing plastic quarter insert. The insert between the body and the bumper sits above the bumper, not underneath the top lip of it.
Google 1980 chevette…should settle this…
*tips hat*
I don’t have anything negative to say about a Chevette other than it is incredibly forgettable. Nothing really stands out about it. It was filler material in the collection of cars on the roadway.
I do believe the Pontiac version built in Canada, the T-1000 was a better looking version, but then Pontiac usually redid the grills and rear lights to the GM brands to add a little bit of style.
Canadian market version was dubbed Pontiac Acadian.
The Pontiac was only known as the T-1000.
You are correct. In Canada, the Pontiac was called Acadian…..
Just do an engine swap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulmVJrVR73M
My wife at the time, had a 79 Chevrtte. Thr right front spindle fell out at 60k miles. By then, what little power it ever had, was gone. It looked like the pics, except it had Red interior. Auto. Not too bad when brand new.
I would rather have an Omni.
I’ve had at least 6 of them. Extremely happy with all. It would a finally fit between the store fronts and parking meters and drive on the sidewalks. Found that out when i almost gave my best friends mom a heart attack. Ha ha. The local PD drove 6 cyl Granada old Hertz rental cars. I’d meet them at the local airstrip and race. Won everytime and got to shout their guns. GOOD TIMES
Why are you showing us this “car”? The universe is rich with cool cars: mopars, auburns, one-offs, vettes, customs, hot rods… you name it, and yet you show us this litter box of an automobile. Are you trying to be funny, is this a test? Am I in the right place?
I’m sure there is enough room on here for the mutts too. Try to enjoy everything automobile.
Those of us that are TRUE car nuts love ALL cars.. We accept them for their faults, flaws, shortcomings. FWIW the humble Chevette was emblatic of it’s era .. late 1970s thru late 1990s domestic automobiles weren’t exactly top notch in quality. The Chevette was marketed as an entry level economy car. Basic, affordable transportation. It did it’s job fairly well. Treat a car with respect, & a bit of TLC, and it will last a long time. Treat it like a POS and you’ll be buying a new one every few years. The owner obviously liked this little gem, as it’s still on the road nearly 40 years after rolling off the assembly line.
I have to agree. I’ve heard of lots of people who have said that the Chevette are pieces of s—, but I totally disagree. If you care for a car, and don’t drive the car recklessly, it should last indefinitely. It may not be the fastest car on 4 wheels, and I’m told that the diesel powered version is even painfully slow, but I’ve always loved the 1980 and later Chevy Chevette. Don’t ask me why. I just do.
2cool2say – nobody made you click on the link to this vehicle, I hope.
Picked up a low mileage 1980 model in 1982 for $1000. It was everything I expected of a Chevette. Cheap, reliable transportation. As a car guy that has owned many different makes and models, I’ve found that most were as dependable as the service they received. If you bought one that had been abused from the day it was new, it’s probably going to have problems. I also found that if you did a little research before buying a make that you knew little about, you would be ready for the common issues that would often arise.
shazamm!!!
Yawn !!!
I bought and sold many of these when I sold used cars. They were the go to car for those who needed a cheap, economical car, and couldn’t afford the Toyota or Honda. They had a few problems, but usually late in their life, especially in rust belt areas. This looks amazing.
I’m all for engine swaps, but I think that all you need to make this car fun is a 3.8 litre Buick V-6.
I was selling cars for a Chev dealer @ the time several of the Chevettes had birthdays on the lot. They were incredibly “sales-proof.” Nobody wanted them and having taken a test drive or two with potential customers, it was clear why. One guy brought his back and when the dealer would not give him his money back, he covered it with some artfully done painted signs and painted comments on the car itself and parked it on a little piece of “no man’s land” not much bigger than the car itself not owned by the dealer and not part of the street, where it sat of over 2 years right at the entrance to the lot. It was the first thing a customer saw and the the well applied placard and paint lured a number of people to go look at it. Had any of them been potential Chevette buyers, they were not after viewing the “lemon display.” I can’t remember the details but there was some reason why the dealer couldn’t get it removed, but I can’t recall what it was.
I worked at a Chevy dealer from January ’87 to December ’88. The dealer hadn’t order a Chevette for a couple of years at that point.
They knew they didn’t sell, and the Sprint was 100 times the car the Chevette could ever hope to be.
A 1980 Chevette almost exactly like this one was my first car.
As has been said before, if you want to be a great driver, learn to drive a slow car fast. A Chevette is a great way to do that with very neutral handling and RWD in a lightweight package. Very predictable at the limit.
I spent many a day in my late teens drifting my Chevette on the mountain fire roads of Southern California, although we didn’t call it drifting back then.
Regardless of how benign you consider a Chevette- the mere fact that a humble, disposable car has survived this long is an interesting story.
I bet if you considered the percentage of survivors of these ‘Vettes to the top-of-the-range ‘Vette cousins, these lowly cars were decimated and are now quite unusual even though they were manufactured in massive numbers, whereby you can find whezzy-V8/auto Corvettes for sale all day long.
I am All for original Survivor cars regardless of popularity and power even if it has only 10Hp the fact it survived decades is whats important!
well, as a friend of mine told me, he prayed to the Good Lord for a Corvette, and the Good Lord gave him a Chevette.
It’s a 2 door with a stick, isn’t that BF’s holy grail?
No, it needs to be a 2 door diesel stick to be the chevette holy grail.
The Christian rock band Audio Adrenalin did song titled “My Chevette” back in 1997. The point of the song was living a bit more simply.. Interesting song.
I had two during and just after college in the early 80’s. Loved the hatchback, it was quick, and who didn’t love rack and pinion steering? My second one came lightly used, had a nice trim package, a/c and even a cassette player. Both did okay, mileage was good, no bad memories, but my college girlfriend bought one used and it was trouble from day one! Not sure it “Drove me happy” but I liked them!
I’ve always liked the 1980 and later Chevette. I love the four door hatchback.
Perhaps, Scotty, the reason why so many diss the Chevy Chevette is that virtually all the Yugos have disappeared into a pile of red dust? (cheeky grin)
I know that the range was developed as cheap ‘n’ economical transportation, but the cars always seemed devoid of any personality whatsoever. The Isuzu/Holden Gemini was quirky styling and the Vauxhall had some interesting rally versions, which could explain why they have had a cult following and ‘The Little Yank’ doesn’t.
Stanislaus Co gave it 2 me as a county car in ’77 or 8. Rode all over the Valley fine – Newman, Gustine, Gillroy, Modesto.
Remember the diesel? No? Me either but sounds good. Did the Luv ever get one? (imagine 1 w/that, 5 speed and 4WD ! ).
I picked up a 20K original 2 door auto Chevette a couple of years ago. It is missing the plastics on the bumpers too but is all original and in excellent condition. Any crazy offers?
Say what you will about these, but they’ve been featured here 22 times. These were adequate cars, nothing fancy, helped detain the import invasion for a while, even though, it was an import itself, kind of. Where’s the guy that has 28 of these, Roberto? Here’s #29 for ya’. I think one reason people complain about the Chevette, it meant, the big car era was finally over, and the local Chevy dealer joined in with this car( Vega never had a chance to convince people, this did.)
The reason why they’re jokes is that because they were. They wanted to build an already existing platform with existing parts small car to compete with the imports back then (in the ’70s, people were a lot more loyal to domestic brands than now). This is the result. Those cars were made to run out of steam at 55 mph, and go bust at 75,000 miles. GM and cheap are besties.
Underrated brakes, power, and gearing. You had to smash the master cylinder with a rubber mallet for the brakes to be at their best. The broken heater cable is notorious on those cars, and even this low-mile survivior suffers from it. You don’t have to change under the hood – there’s a cable that runs from the control panel to the firewall on the passenger side. There’s a screw-in boot that I used to pull/push to open or close. The car was so small I could just lean over and do it. Those cars were also notorious for not being able to keep an front end alignment. Every old Chevette has its front wheels leaning in at top.
We had a fleet of Chevettes at the pizza shop where I worked in the early 80s. We literally beat the crap out of those cars. But I don’t remember having a lot of mechanical issues with them. The interiors didn’t last very long. But lets remember that they were pizza delivery cars. The first thing we did when they were delivered was to drill four holes in the roof so we could mount the big PIZZA sign. We tried to use a sealant so they wouldn’t leak buy they still did. So we had a mix of rain water, Pepsi and pizza remains throughout the interior at any point in time. Hmm, maybe that’s why the interiors didn’t last very long.
Fun little car. They probably didn’t cost much more than $2,500 in 80.
Who said Chevettes aren’t fun to drive?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiSJkyFRRe4
Sure, these cars sold well, they were cheap and economical. They were crap cars but lots of people bought crap cars; they still do. A Chevette was something you drove until you stepped up and bought a car; a REAL car. I remember seeing lots of them when they were new but after ten years or so you hardly saw them. Because they were crap and crap has a short shelf life.
I don’t understand people who have fond memories of these cars; that’s like having fond memories of getting beaten up by your younger sister in my mind.
Well, I’ve had a bad day today; I’m pretty grouchy and tired. Thanks for posting this Chevette, it really helped me vent. Sorry for the over-use of the word “crap” but it’s the only adjective that is appropriate for a Chevette; nothing else comes to mind.
Have a good day!
Nothing else comes to mind? What about the PINTO ?
Sneer at all the Pintos you want to, but one year (quite a few years ago) we made several trips to the dirt track up in Victorville to the Saturday night stock-car races. Though they had races for most classes, the most on any given night would be the Mini-Stocks, and while having a Pinto wouldn’t guarantee a win, NOT having one was a guaranteed 5th place at best. Light, fast, easy to work on and cheap to keep up, their handling on dirt was all but magical. I’d always liked those things anyway. Of course I’m pretty sure they were carrying fuel cells back there!
I remember going to the dirt track in the 1980s running demolition and just before the Demo derby started they ran what our track called Soccer Stockers which were Pintos / Chevettes / Vegas even VWs and I think the crowd loved them more than the late model cars.
What about the Pinto?
You’ve got to remember, the US economy was in the crappier when these came out. Income wasn’t keeping up with the costs of living & ALL intereste rates were way too high. This is what a big slice of the American public had to settle for, but not what they warned. Performance was legislated from us, in the name of a 55mph national speed limit & fuel conservation. 6 cylinder Granda’s and don’t forget the Citation. Nothing exciting from any US car manufacturers.
Some GM engineers gave one of these a major personality transplant, dropping in a V6 from a Blazer, along with the 4-speed and rear axle, and toughening up the suspension while they were at it. Then they let some of the guys at Car and Driver borrow it for a while. The writeup was about as much fun as you’d expect, with more than a few BMWs getting a rude surprise.
That’s about what it’d take to get me interested; even though I have enjoyed driving a lot of slow cars fast, the only Chevette I have ridden in was driven by a professor from Vanderbilt Divinity School, a beret-wearing old Leftie who drove only when he had to. Lovely man, but no driver, just a rider stuck with the job. That’s what got me to regard these as the Anti-Car …
Basically this was a GM “world car”, first produced in Brazil in 1974. If you look at an Opel Kadett wagon from 1975, shorten it into a hachback and you’ve got the Chevette – the upper rear quarter is the same, only shorter.
A Chevette is the only car I’ve ever wrecked! (knock on plastic). Back in the early 80’s I was at a stop light with a C&P Telephone Company Van in front of me. He pulled away (so I thought) and then I went while looking to my left for traffic however the Van driver unexpectedly stopped and I accelerated my (ex live-in) girlfriend’s blue ’77 Chevette into the back of it. The Van’s bumper suffered a scratch while the car was totaled! We then bought a new ’81 4-speed Tan Chevette together. One of the biggest mistakes of my life however I really liked that car…much more than the girl. About a year later we broke up and the car eventually got repossessed.
The majority of people who bash Chevette’s are people who never owned one. And many are under the age of 30, who really don’t have a clue what cars were like in the late 70’s and 80’s.
Even worse are the “Worst Cars Ever” lists written by 22 year old Journalism majors that know nothing about any of the cars they are putting on the list.
Had a coca-cola red with white stripe company car when I was a sales dog in early eightys. Remember it as ok econo car, used it to drive my in labor wife to hospital.
I owned a 1978 Chevette. I rebuilt the engine myself. I also had a 1981. It took a beating from my young son and survived until I traded it.
I remember my parents had the same year and color chevette when I was a kid. They drove to Florida from Rhode Island with me and my sisters, I rode in the back hatch back area back when you could still do that with kids.
Kinda like pickup beds when I was a kid! Or cabs – the three of us rode 100+ miles in the cab of our grandpa’s ’41 Ford pickup with my sister in the middle and our little brother on my lap. We all survived, obviously.
Remembering all the miles I’ve gone, not only unbelted but situated every way from in someone’s lap to standing up, my transition to a fully-committed BELT UP, DOGGONE IT! kind of guy seems odd. Now my wife won’t have a car without airbags, after growing up only ten yrs. after me with a dad who loved and drove postwar MGs and Bentleys.
Check the UK Vauxhall Chevette, it was a better looking car all together, cleaner lines. Then for the performance version the Chevette HS, very rare now and fetching good money.
With the older more popular cars increasing in price, cars like this will be more in demand. For someone that wants to get into the hobby & doesn’t have deep pockets, these types of cars are perfect for them. Whether they keep them stock or modify them, they will still have a unique piece of automotive history.
I used Chevettes and a T-1000 for commuter cars for 20 years starting in the early ’90’s. Never paid more that 350 bucks for one, stocked up on parts from Rock Auto and other places for stupid cheap prices (three bucks for a timing belt, five dollar brake rotors etc…). A couple of times a local tire guy had new 155/80/13’s for sale for 29 bucks each, which included mount and balance. Talk about cheap transportation.
Chevettes are slower than sh*t. You can run a cop from a light and he won’t even know, and that’s a big part of the attraction. It is a challenge to get the thing to keep up to a Mom in a minivan taking her kids to school. I actually got pulled over for speeding in a Chevette and the first thing the cop said was “I didn’t know that thing could go that fast”. He felt sorry for me (the poor bastard has to ride around in that) and gave me a seat belt ticket. Try playing the sympathy angle when you’re in your Caddy. I used to autocross my T-1000… I beat a few people too, imagine how they felt.
Maintain them and they’ll last a long time. If it was ever stolen, who cares… although I would imagine the theft rate was pretty low for these cars. Refueling was always fun, you’d usually get the ‘I owned one of them, what a POS’.
I thought I was done with Chevettes but recently picked up a very clean 1977 with a bad engine for $250. I considered an engine swap but have too many other toys, so for the sake of getting it done I’m sticking with the four cylinder. I’ve got an HO exhaust manifold (they made an HO Chevette engine, you can look it up), a Chevette T5, a Weber 32/36 DGV carb, electric fan, electric fuel pump, etc. Am I easily entertained? Well, obviously.
It’s always fun finding your car being discussed on the interwebs. I’ve had a blast owning this car and have made memories I will not soon forget. But it will have a good life with it’s new parent in Pennsylvania.