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Had my Chevette for 6 months or so and I can't get the idea of a conversion out of my head.
as it is its great fun and I love the car, even if going over a pothole today did nearly shatter my spine! The only catch seems to be the lack of speed, the little 1256 is good when the revs are up but getting them there uses a lot of fuel, not to mention time.
But... the potential for an engine conversion is hovering at the back of my mind:
1) What's been done successfully?
2) What gearbox's mate with what engines?
3) Consideration of sump and fwd engines running as rwd?
If anyone has any info/pics/thoughts they'd be very muchly appreciated!
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`state
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,215
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Suppose the 20xe conversions the most popular.Theres someone selling the mounts on ebay for about 40.These are steel rather than alloy.
You need the manta 1800 sump or yukspeed do a steel copy.Then exhaust manifold from yukspeed,sbd ect.And a manta 1800 gearbox.
Or theres the whole manta 1800 engine that goes in a treat and goes ok.
Then you`ve got the ford duratec ect on a type 9 box.V8`s,v6`s,ecotecs,k-series its all been done.
What about buying the piazza out the classifieds and fitting all the running gear plus you`d get a 5 linked rear with discs and a lsd.
All depends on how far you want to go and how much cash you`ve got to spend.
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Look at all the plastic people who live without a care.Try to sit with me around my table,but never bring a chair.
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don't think they're are any bolt in conversions. as for what fit's well anything will fit if you make it fit. 1800cc manta engine and box fits with no cutting to the bulkhead/heater. i've fitted a 20xe with manta 1800 box but i cut the bulkhead out and moved the engine back.
more important is what's your budget, skill level, intended result?
plenty of rwd engines/box's that you could fit. but need to answer the 3 questions before anyone can recomend somthing.
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Agree with what the two lads have said , you really need to work out a rough budget then take it from there . There have been all sorts of engines chucked into Chevettes/Kadetts over the years , from 1.3/1.4 ohcs to Ford Crossflows/Pintos to 2.3s to V8s to XEs to Toyota lumps but it all depends on skill/space/time/money etc . Thing I always think about any Chevette conversion is that you should really start by looking at the axle rather than the engine..the axle isn't the strongest - they're supposed to be good for 'about' 100bhp so unless you're replacing the 1256cc with something not that much bigger then you really need a better axle . Trouble with that is that the 'bolt in' options ie Chevette HS , Manta A , Opel GT are a bit thin on the ground so you might end up having to use something else , hence the skill/space/time/money questions..  |
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murran
Part of things
Posts: 610
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`state
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 1,215
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that should be pretty mental.Ive got the estate but cant get started on it til ive done my mk1 astra estate.But planning on either a saab turbo or a ca18det for it.
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Look at all the plastic people who live without a care.Try to sit with me around my table,but never bring a chair.
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rodit
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,683
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When i had mine i started to think outside the box and considered a 1200 16v out of a corsa c or the corsa b gsi lump.
Not sure if it's been done before but would be plenty of power in such a lightweight car for sensible fun and also stupidly economical.
Just my two pence worth. ;D
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Low and slow
Why can't i tune it?
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C16SE conversion out of an astra is a good`un the 1.6i engine from astra f`s, about 100 ponies, and if you go into a scrapyard (at least over here) and mention that you want one, they`ll be throwing them after you, since noone really wants them. They are nippy in an astra, and great in a Kadett\Chevette, since they hardly weight more than the original engines Mate it to a Omega 2.0i R25 5-speed gearbox, and make a custom propshaft |
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Depends how much power you want from it and how much money you're willing to put into it. The c20xe is a lovely engine, and will fit easy enough (especially if you get the Dis-Pack version) But will set you back about £1000 for the 150bhp it gives, thats if you do all the work yourself (rwd exhaust manifold £160, manta alloy sump £150+, eng mounts £20+, manta gearbox £100-£150, c20xe engine £300+) Plus sorting an injection tank, fuel pump, new fuel pipes, bigger radiator, you'll also prob need a powercap as the SFi box won't clear the bonnet Oh and i doubt the standard axle will last that long with the power. If you want simple to do and cheap for a reasonable rise in power, how about a manta Gt/e 2.0 CIH engine? 110Bhp on standard injection comes with a rwd sump, and gearbox that will fit your car (although as its a 5 speed box i think you'll need to move the transmission tunnel hole for the gearlever, unless you already have a 5speed box) Can be had complete with box and everything for around £100-£150 The injection is very simple, only 4 or 5 wires to connect to the car Or to save the hassle of injection tanks and pumps etc how about throwing bike carbs on it? Would make an easier install and unleash a few extra ponies and still only come to what a c20xe engine would cost to buy Yes its a heavy lump of engine, but they work well and have loads of torque. Really depends on what you want from the new engine. |
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Cheers for all your responses! I like the way you summed that up Mantasport cheers. In all honesty I think the work needed for an xe may be too much for me but the 1.8/2.0 Manta engine and box sounds like a plan. 110 ponies sounds comfortable power (maybe a little more with bike carbs) and a 5 speed box would be lovely! Thanks again, consider me on the lookout, seems a shame to convert such an original car but... its unbelievably slow and it has to be pushed to get any speed up at which point it does very few mpg.  |
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v8chevette
Posted a lot
PROUD TO BE BEIGE!!
Posts: 1,109
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seems a shame to convert such an original car but... its unbelievably slow and it has to be pushed to get any speed up at which point it does very few mpg. Don't be daft get cutting, mine only has 16800 on the clock  Piazza axles are not as easy to fit as people make out  |
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v8chevette
Posted a lot
PROUD TO BE BEIGE!!
Posts: 1,109
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craig
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,029
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Keep the 1256 just get more gears, that's my plan anyway.  |
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friend of mine in bolton has a fully fibreglass chevette shell how rare are these as i have never seen any more
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v8chevette
Posted a lot
PROUD TO BE BEIGE!!
Posts: 1,109
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Wash your mouth out ;D |
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spacekadett
Part of things
F*cking take that Hans Brrix!!
Posts: 817
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^^^^Seconded ;D  2.0 SEH fits ok, only needing the rad shroud trimming as Kadetts have a Mini sized radiator. Admittedly I was lucky in that I'd previously had a 1.8 Manta lump in there (someone gave me the whole car gratis) so I only had to swap over the sump and cam carrier onto the 2.0. 4 wires had the Motronic runing again and the 5 speed box fitted the tunnel a treat, the gear lever coming up bang central in the original hole ;D As for axles I used to run a stock one, but I got through 3 before I found a reasonably priced series A Manta one. |
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Mechanic's rule #1... If the car works, anything left on the floor after you finished wasn't needed in the first place |
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Aw you've all been great! I'd like to keep it Vauxhall at least and v8chevette i've been following your thread religiously, in awe! Just to see what comes up in the way of manta parts now really and I'm good to go! Thanks for those old pictures of my car, obviously before it was slammed, looked tidy back then didn't it!  |
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