Do you remember the Chevette, the little econo-box that Chevy sold in the ‘70s and ‘80s? They were popular enough to have a 12-year run from 1976-87. Pontiac needed a new sub-compact after the Sunbird stopped production and cloned the Chevette in 1981. It was called the T1000 (the “T” part was dropped after a while) and – other than logos – you couldn’t tell the cousins apart. This T1000 from 1986 is in surprisingly good condition as no one expected them to become collectibles. It’s located in Houston, Texas and available here on Craigslist for $4,900.
We couldn’t find any production numbers for the T1000, but Chevy sold 2.8 million units of the Chevette during it’s time in the line-up. Derivatives of the front-engine, rear-drive sub-compact were produced across the globe, resulting in an additional four million cars. The world-wide platform for these cars were designated “T” hence the foundation for Pontiac’s name for the car. They started out with a 1.4-liter inline-four which you could also upgrade to 1.6-liters. Neither was a ball of fire, especially when fitted with an automatic transmission.
This 1986 Pontiac T1000 is said to be a one-owner car that has accumulated just 64,000 miles in the past 34 years. You almost never see these on the road nowadays and rarely in junkyards, too, because the Chevette was a better seller. This car was bought new in Beaumont, Texas and settled down in Houston, where it has been garage-kept for much of the time. The body and original paint look genuinely nice with the exception of a small dent above the left rear taillight. There is no rust present in the photos presented.
The interior of this car is pretty sparse but in nice overall condition. The drivers’ seat may have a tear in it, or maybe it’s just a tag that looks like one. The carpet appears a little dirty or faded in spots, so a new carpet set wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Everything is said to work in the minimalist cabin, except for the factory A/C.
Some money has changed hands recently on maintenance and repairs which the seller is no doubt trying to recoup. These items include a new battery, tires, oil, air filter, rear shocks, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor and wipers (blades?). Since the seller describes the car to be in excellent condition, we assume it runs well, although not particularly fast. Price guides seem to ignore these cars, but one said $2,000 and the other $4,000. What would you pay to put this survivor in your garage?
While you’re chewing on that, here’s a commercial for the T1000 from 1984 to take you back to yesteryear.
I used to groan when the trailer arrived and these were on it. As an 18 year old, I would drool over the one or two trans ams and even the 6000 STE that would come off occasionally. But whenever I had to unload and check in one of these, it was always the same. No AC, burlap interior, and most of the time an automatic transmission which took away the least bit of fun. But, philadelphia rules, we sold a ton of them. People needed cheap wheels and these were less new than a used Grand Prix.
I don’t know if I would pony up for one of these. Nostalgia okay, but I would probably prefer a sunbird over this.
I had a neighbor that had a base model T1000. I remember that it didn’t have a carpet and the passenger seat was fixed in place. I remember from driving them that they didn’t have much interior space, and it still felt like you were driving a big, unwieldy American car. I also drove a toyota tercel at that time which felt like a sports car compared to these.
My dad had a 1979 Chevette as a first car. Apparently he hated the thing. The brakes stopped working while he was driving on the snowy roads of Québec, Canada and he drove it in a snow embankment. Sold it to the scrapyard for 60$ and bought himself a pair of Nike’s. Honestly, I’d buy this one as my first car with no hesitation.
Is there anybody on the planet that has driven that wants another one?
I would think no.
Oh, brother, ain’t it the truth! Had a 1981 T for a couple years, during which I started college. Was taking a buddy home in the farmlands of Kentucky during the August harvest. The car was a turd from day one; leaking tranny, broken exhaust mount, shot alternator, etc. Well, the crank pulley mounting bolt just broke right off, and my buddy and I walked for miles without finding anyone home ’cause of the harvest…. Traded the car for a Granada…. Oh, well.
There is a Chevette community that loves them. I have several that I drive all the time. The engines last forever. When Motor Trend tested a new one for several weeks, they said it was the most perfect car they had ever tested with zero defects. As I’m in the wrecking business, I can say that 35% of all vehicles that end up in a junk yard are completely due to stupid owners that destroy them. I’m sure some Chevettes had owners like that.
There are people that still say Vegas were dependable.
What always hit me about the car was that if they can’t put the steering column in there straight for lack of room, what will happen to my legs in an accident.
Well said !
I’ve driven two, and they were both ghastly crap. The only fond memory I have of them is unrelated to driving.
My high school’s pre-prom ‘Don’t Drive Drunk’ program included putting a wrecked Chevette on the lawn next to the theater building. My buddy Tom’s ‘vette had a sticky brake-light switch that killed his battery, so we stole the battery out of the wreck and it fired his junker right up.
bought one brand new in 1985 1 clutch and couple of alternators 3 timing belts 267000 miles and 11years later wife hit a deer and ditch great car
These and the chevette definitely weren’t made for speed or agility and yes I’ve driven them..I see this one has a/c sooo 0 to 20 in 60 seconds lol! But I do know of a few I’ve seen still on the road and also in scrapyards with 250 or 300000 miles on them. Basic transportation when new
How do you know they have that many miles on them? They only had 5 digit odometers.
“Sparce”, “minimilast” interior? Russ, what exactly do you expect from one of the most inexpensive little runabouts available in 1986?
Far be it for me to defend a Chevette (T1000) but I find your commentary to not be rooted in reality.
Automatic, GMs strong Air Conditioning and an AM/FM Stereo deck were expensive options at the time, yet this little cars cost still undercut the competition by a significant amount, and lots agreed at the time. 6.8 million is a s**tload of cars.
Additionally, the blue velour and stylish steering wheel looks attractive and comfy, not sparce and minimalist.
Hell, this little booger is even equipped with a remote outside mirror and color coordinated seat belts.
Not my jam (then or now), but a pretty sharp little T1000 in my book.
Replying to Miguel, you get used to the steering column, and it’s the collapsible version if an accident occurs. And because it’s RWD, it has better steering and handling so you’ll avoid any accident. Remember they were incredible rally cars, mainly in Europe.
The Chevy Chevette never dominated Rally races in Europe. That’s crazy talk.
I had an ’80 Chevette back in the day for a short time. Used it to deliver pizzas. It had a head gasket leak and guzzled coolant and overheated so many times that the block turned from GM Corporate Blue to a very light blue. Yet the little cockroach still ran. I got so frustrated once after it consumed all it’s coolant for like the 18th time that I pissed in the radiator right out in the restaurant’s parking lot in broad daylight. Thank God there were no cell phone camaras around back then!
I had an ’80 Chevette. Bought it new for $5400. Drove it to Florida from Maryland the next day. No a/c 4 spd 2 dr. Highway speed limits back then were still 55 as memory serves. Rear end went bad at 9,000 miles. Thank god it was still under warranty. Traded it in right after that. About the only nice thing I can say about the car was it got decent gas mileage.
According to the Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1976-1986, T1000/1000 production is as follows:
1981: 26,415 / 43,779 (3-door / 5-door)
1982: 21,053 / 23,416
1983: 13,171 / 12,806
1984: 19,628 / 17,118
1985: 8647 / 8216
1986: 12,266 / 9423
Neat find! It’s great to see one that survived so well. These were only slightly less disposable than their Chevette fraternal twins.
I did pinstriping for a Beaverton, Oregon Pontiac store and saw a few of these that had a CHEVROLET emblem on one side of the rear hatch and PONTIAC in the other side. Said a lot about the quality control of the rest of the car.
The Cockroach. The real one. Many cars have been thought of as mechanical cockroaches but the T1000 and the Chevette embody awkward, unlovely scuttling, teeming anonymous horde like no car ever. Long ago in our not too distant but lost historical- late night we shuffled into our Main Street America kitchen, flipped on the light and “Whamo!” They were everywhere, loafing obscenely, in and on everything, depositing their contagion of egg-sacs. You make an involuntary inhalation, the sound stampeding them to rush for any hole, crevasse or crack to vanish in a flash. Except for one. One audacious roach staring right back at you. This one. Standing astride that bite of Baklava you left out on the counter. Challenging you with its arrogant insect logic. You both know the truth now. You are taking delivery of a new T1000. Today.
This is the best ad ever written for one of these….
My buddy’s Dad fitted a 454 in a Chevette Scooter…Man that thing was fast…
Is that right front wheel leaning,or is just the angle?
Yes front end is sagging , this is a grandma, old aunts car. But a clean one
did someone try to lower the front end? the toe-in looks wrong on the right front
My uncle had a brown 86 Corvette auto…0-60 in 15 minutes…lol…with 3 of us in the car a gentle grade would cause us to lose speed like he put the brakes on but he liked it…it was cheap to own and operate
I worked at a Chevy dealer back in 1987 and I never saw a Corvette you could get 3 people into. Also, it was definitely faster than that.
These cars were known to have weak front coil springs-common repair back in the day.
I see Yugo, pinto, Vega all rolled into one here, I will not say good or bad that is up to the individual!
Yikes. Looks like something you would bid for on the Price is Right.
And there is no excuse for a carburetor on an econobox in ’86. I think even my ’78 rabbit had fuel injection which was also an econobox with a similar price point
This was the last carbd’ GM 4 banger at the time, the J-cars and up were all injected from 1983 and up but there were still Hondas and Mazdas and et al that had carbs in 1986.
JCA I would take the Rabbit over this any day!
If you can find one ;they were crap from day one
I had a nice Baby Blue 76 Chevette from 2011 to 2016. It was a daily for me. I had the carb rebuilt when I first bought it, and the brakes worked on. It only had 30k on it when I bought it, and the mileage did not roll over. I bought it from people who kept it in the family since new from what the guy told me. It was a good commuter for me for those 5 years plus it was a stick shift 4spd. I finally got rid of it due to it wanting to stall on me. I traded it with about 45 to 50k miles on it for a nice 85 Jeep Wagoneer with 2.8L/5spd. The guy sold the Chevette to a guy who offered him 4k for it after just owning it 2 months. The new owner changed the carb, and I saw him driving it for a couple of years after that. He was a Soldier so he probably pcs’d, and took the little car with him. I recall he had a plate of the Texas flag bolted on the front grill.
My uncle had a brown 86 Corvette auto…0-60 in 15 minutes…lol…with 3 of us in the car a gentle grade would cause us to lose speed like he put the brakes on but he liked it…it was cheap to own and operate
Chevette…NOT Corvette..lol
Learned to drive in one of these in driver’s ed. Back in 1981. Think it’s slow with just the driver, try filling it up with two more students and a driving instructor, plus the weight of the old “Chicken Brake” assembly. Fun times. I got home and told Dad i wanted a T1000 and he just laughed in his easy chair while watching the McNeil-Lehr report on the RCA.
That’s a dealer training video, not a commercial. Besides, no guy would do a million sit-ups to get some, then drive a douch3baggery wheezing little hatchback.
5K? probably one of the worst cars of the latter 20th century. Ok its been preserved. Why?
worst car of the later 20th century, all Buicks 1961 through early 80’s I can prove it too. Try all Fords with the 351-400 modified.
ever heard of the yugo , Trabant , Vega ? This isnt even close to them . These cars were built to be economical ,and easy to work on. The motors were bulletproof ,The only rust out was generally the passenger floor from the Cat converter . If you were looking for power ,performance and a smooth ride, you’d look elsewhere, but for a basic economy car you could’t go wrong with one of these.
I bought an ’82 Chevette years ago to teach my kid how to drive a manual transmission. Paid $300 for it. 4 speed, few options, ran and was inspected, but not much else. Kid passed drivers test in it and wanted nothing more to do with it. I sold it to a friend a few months later as spare transportation for $300.
I had one – the same ’76 orange 1 u see every night on Concentration game show (1976) on Buzzr. Mine had no a/c & you could not stop the heat from coming in through the floor outlets on the “cool” temp setting in the hot summer – so i just stuffed rags in those floor outlets. lol
I wonder if that is an issue 10!! years later on this one, especially WITH a/c
turned off in the summer.
I remember that ! The funny part was that no one I ever saw won the Chevette . The winner of the round would have to solve two rebuses , the first was easy, but the second was always so long they ran out of time .
Those little cars were cheep. I had a family member that past away and left a 86 t1000 gray .super clean car with 48000 on it. Bad gas needed new belts hoses ect. After I was done I drove it on the hwy and thought something was wrong with it! LOL nope! Never have I ever drove more of a underpowered vehicle such as it! WOW! THE CHEVY SPRINT MY MOM HAD WAS CRAZY FAST COMPARED TO THAT TURD.THEY DID PUT DIASELS IN THE CHEVETT. THEY ARE STILL RUNNIG BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE BODYS HAVE LONG SINCE GIVEN OUT.
$1700? I think it would make a good option fir someone desperate for free. It is not a car worth anything. They were archaic in 1983, and downright ridiculous in 86-87.
A girlfriend I had in high school drive her mom’s recently purchased 87 model in red with 3 speed automatic. It made a lot of noise when hitting the accelerator but barely moved.
The hatch was incredibly shallow. Due to rear wheel drive.
My 87 Sprint was a vastly better designed car. Nice driving. Modern fuel injection. Nicer inside. Okay, it was a turbo so it was Fast.
All the same; how come some bought these over almost anything else?
The uncomfortable truth here is that this car and others like it are exactly what most people actually need, or deserve for that matter. It is basic, functional, inexpensive to buy, own, insure and operate, The style is no style at all. There is no pretense to it. Obviously designed by of committee of draftsmen who each contributed one straight line each, who never met or saw each other or were ever in the same studio at the same time. The designers were promised anonymity and no ones name was attached to the as yet nameless project. Transitions from one step to the next never overlapped. No person in one development phase ever saw anyone involved is the next step everything was handled using drop sites like hollow logs, voids behind the 3rd urinal of the basement men’s room of the Michigan Central train station. Adherence to this project management style is what we now know to be responsible for the synergy that summoned Vulcan’s furnace which spewed forth the fiery ejecta that slowly cooled into the brutal, primitive “Chariot of the Proletariat”
The Cockroach was everything that most people actually needed BUT a huge percentage of Americans took one look and recoiled at the very idea of such a car.
.”I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted proletarians,” wrote John Steinbeck of his fellow Americans. “Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist.”
“The car we need and deserve”? Ok Comrade…
I quit counting after I got up to 100 U-Tube video’s of Chevette rally cars
For the most part everyone I knew who had one quite liked and respected its modest capability. It didn’t over promise. It didn’t disappoint. It was perfect for cheapskates with good ego strength. They weren’t concerned with keeping up with the Jones. You couldn’t shame them, they laughed in your face. Slow, noisy, homely, yes, yes, and yes. The low operating costs seemed to relieve them from the usual anxiety of ownership. Poor people at that time like my friends, students, artists, young people starting out in careers where they weren’t going to see much money for a few years could strike a balance in their lives. They could afford reliable transportation for work and play and had money left over to enjoy their lives, going to hear music, or movies or the beach.It coincided with and was really suitable for the Punk Rock era. You can fit a lot of band gear in one. I knew a drummer who moved his whole kit in one. If you were ever in a band you know transportation issues and drummers more so.
The car business is subject to irrational forces. GM had a nice little success here but learned that small, modest cars earn small modest profits. Building cars is hard work enough. If you’re going to all that trouble anyway why not cater to people who have confused what they actually need with what they want. You make more money and they get something intangible. .
All of the late 70’s early 80’s rabbits I owned were all just as cheap, less than $1000, including 2 GTIs and 2 GLI usually with high mileage. People would sell them cheap at 150k miles because they trade in value was practically zero on a car over 100k miles. Those 1.8 GTI/GLI engines had beefed up bottom ends and last hundreds of thousands of miles with good maintenance. They were very cheap to own and reliable.
They go Ice Racing with Chevettes up here in the Great White North.
Great to reminisce but at the end of the day, the question remains, would anyone pay $5k for this? I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want to own it then or now. It’s not good for daily transportation, not fun to drive, not rare, significant nor interesting. I wouldn’t walk over to it if I saw it in a parking lot. I’ve seen and driven it before and there is nothing good about it. For comparison and a much better bet, I recently bought a running and driving 2002 Audi TT Quattro 225HP 6 SPD for only $2500. Half the price of this. It’s fun, useable, iconic design, somewhat limited production, a future classic. Yes, way higher maintenance costs but don’t daily it and wrench it yourself and it’s no issue. Money well spent compared to this tarted up chevette that I wouldn’t even want to be caught driving in anyway.
There was an oil crisis that encouraged people to buy fuel efficient cars, Chevette production increased from the start up to 451,000 sold in 1980. A survey had 63% of owners recommending the Chevette to their friends. This T-1000 in excellent condition is a collector car that would be dependable, would attract lots of attention at shows for the nostalgia of all the memories, unlike the 2002 Audi that is just transportation. I’d rather work on a simple Chevette than a complicated Audi that takes mechanical genius’s to perform the simplest task. Part of the Chevette charm is the simplicity, similar to the charm of having a model A Ford. JCA wouldn’t be caught dead in a Model A either.
I would gladly own and drive a Model A. It was a historically significant and popular car where 5 million were sold. The Chevette was no model A. It was a turd then and its a turd now, sorry. The Audi TT was born from a show concept car and when released won an award for it’s design. 20 years later, they are still being built because demand is still strong. Now, what design awards did the Chevette win? Did they make them for 20 years? Nope. They were a forgettable turd. Back in the 80’s when I needed to drive cheap cars I drove rabbits and GTIs and GLIs. Same class of car but they were 5 -10 years ahead of a Chevette. My ’77 or ’78 rabbit had fuel injection and front wheel drive. Front wheel drive is vastly superior in a small economy car, giving more interior space. Chevette was a poor copy of German Opal and a Rabbit. If it wasn’t for the oil crisis the chevette would have been killed in a few years. I only buy cars I like and want to drive and I hope will rise in value as a bonus. I believe the TT will only be going up from here. An AWD, 6 SPD turbo sports car is a smart bet. But feel free to keep rolling and polishing your turd mobile, it’s a free country
JCA has addressed what makes the Chevette such a great car. There’s a reason that Mustangs and Camaro’s are RWD. Handling. There’s no way you can engineer the front wheels to steer and articulate for perfect handling, and then attach drive axles. Compromise’s have to be made. That’s why Chevettes make superb rally cars. Ever hear of torque steer? Balance comes into play also, a car with all the weight over the front wheels is out of balance. FWD increase’s the effort to steer, then you’re faced with power steering. FWD is fine for ice and snow, but for most all other conditions, RWD is preferred.
Duaney, any Chevette you see as a Rallye car must only be in some highly modified class. The US Chevette was never built in AWD and therefore was never a Rallye car. That’s like saying a Chevy Monte Carlo stock car wins stock car races so therefore grandma’s Monte is a race car. That’s silly. Secondly, no one bought a Chevette for handling. They bought it as a cheap economy car with the utility of a hatchback. The Chevette was a failure on all fronts compared to it’s peers. You could get 35-40 MPG out of a Nissan Sentra or a Honda Civic and the Chevette would give you only 25 MPG. The rear wheel drive was worse in the snow and reduced the interior space. I bet it lost every comparison in any car mag. It was and still is a turd. If any car was legendary for Rallye it was an Audi Quattro. That’s why an 80’s UR Quattro coupe is $50k. This turd is a $2k car at best.
And that simplicity and pure blandness should come at an appropriate price. This is no collector machine. Its a turd. No fun. No redeeming qualities. Its simple, but old, it will need tinkering often and parts. You want to spend $ and Time fixing this? Forget paying a mechanic. You will spend far more than it is worth.
Its a car you donate for a tax deduction, or give to a friend in need.
Or sell Dirt Cheap.
$5000 can buy a a long list of great cars.
No redeeming qualities? Try watching all the U-Tube video’s of Chevettes as rally cars.
The Vauxhall Chevette rally cars are all RWD, not AWD. And they still competed.
bought one brand new in 1985 1 clutch and couple of alternators 3 timing belts 267000 miles and 11years later wife hit a deer and ditch great car
That T-1000 commercial had a spoiler on it which I never knew that they came with. I used to listen to an oldie radio station on the AM radio when driving my 76 Chevette. Radio station is long gone just like the Chevette. The brunette in the commercial looked nice, but her beauty has been long gone as well. The aging process. lol.
I did this to my 76 Chevette: battery, muffler/tailpipe, 4 tires, spare tire, fuel filter, gas cap, and clean tank, cylinder, calipers and shoes, shocks all round, differential (75w90)and seal, timing belt, crankshaft seal, camshaft seal, lower control arm bushing, bearings/seals front, spark plugs, wire, distributor cap and rotor, carb rebuild, fuel pump manual and electric, replace fuel lines, oil pressure sender, HB struts, valve cover gaskets. Eh yup you’ll spend some $ if you want it to run good, and lose most of it. The car I believe is still running as descent transportation out there.
Wen I worked at the Chevy store back in 1987, the new car manager knew not to order any Chevettes for the lot. We didn’t get one the whole year.
Who would buy one when it was next to a Sprint or a Spectrum?
Theres probably more Chevettes still around than all the Sprints and Spectums combined .
The Chevette models in Rally class were HEAVILY modified. VW Golfs are FWD, and have a long history of being in Rally.
VW made a Rallye Synchro AWD Golf, one was listed for sale here recently
No doubt the Golfs were heavily modified as well
Quoting JCA, “The Chevette was a failure on all fronts” Sold 451,000 in 1980. That’s quite a failure.
The Chevette’s/T-1000’s front windshield fits on the Chevy LUV, and I believe all of the front dash can be installed in the Chevy LUV to replace the LUV’s dash which seemed to always be thrashed every time I have seen them.
4900 is steep. I paid 2250 for my 76 Chevette with 30k original miles back in 2011. One concern is the carb. Mine ran fine after the carb rebuild then it had fuel issues again after 5 years which turned out to be the carb again. I, thinking that I had already had the carb rebuilt, started tackling other fuel things like the tank, the fuel lines, fuel pump, and adding an electric fuel pump. Then it turned out, it seemed, that it just needed work on the carb again because the new owner replaced the carb entirely with a new one.
To bad this one isn’t a manual.
Slower than a short bus full of “Jerry’s kids” lol.
I actually like these, and I would buy one if it were this clean (for half the asking price). Neat little puddle jumper.
The Pontiac T-1000 has been reposted on Houston’s Craiglist at $3,900.