85 Chevette Sedan turbo build. (lr4, gt45, ls1 cam, stock rear)
03-16-2014, 09:19 PM
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85 Chevette Sedan turbo build. (lr4, gt45, ls1 cam, stock rear) Welp, I am about halfway (generous estimate) through this project, to this whole post will be playing catch up.
The car is a 1985 Chevette 4 door that is about as clean as they get, as far as rust.
I bought it for next to nothing and had it running and driving 45min after trailering it home. It supposedly sat for about 3 years. The floors are gone, as they usually are, but every other inch of the car is beautiful.
Mmmm. I drove it for a few months as an econo beater to and from school (and to the sloppy mechanics fall dyno day where it laid down a mean 70whp), but I had plans of taking an 871 supercharger I had at the time and slapping it on a ls series engine of some sort. I eventually wised up and tossed that idea out the window when I decided to go for cheap and fun, and not ridiculously overpriced. I decided on a n/a lr4 (for da revs, brah) with a 60e due to limited trans tunnel space. I sourced a sub 90k mile truck that had been t-boned and gutted that poor truck for everything it had.
It was pretty nice, a 4.8L shortbed regular cab truck. That woulda been fun to play with, but a little heavier than the plan I had for that drivetrain haha. We had the chevette drivetrain sitting on the shop floor and the 4.8, sans the transmission, mocked up in the car in a day or so.
Anyways, jumping ahead a bit... after many hours (read: days) with a cutting wheel, a torch set, and an 8lb hammer, we had the trans and engine sitting all nice and pretty in the car.
We made some apocalypse ready motor mounts and made a trans crossmember out of a sign post, because we're classy gentlemen.
Then it hit me, the exhaust is going to be ridiculous to get right.. so I flipped the manifolds... so I did a thing and the project changed directions...
Attachment 726023
So this is where I am currently at. I've skipped over a ton of little stuff, but I'll be keeping this thread up to date as I go. I have a few vids (link in my signature) that are a little more specific, but I didn't want too much of a TL;DR going on here. I'll add a list of the parts used so far a little later, and my future plans for it. This is recapping 3 weeks worth of work so it's a little watered down. So, whatcha guys think?
The car is a 1985 Chevette 4 door that is about as clean as they get, as far as rust.
I bought it for next to nothing and had it running and driving 45min after trailering it home. It supposedly sat for about 3 years. The floors are gone, as they usually are, but every other inch of the car is beautiful.
Mmmm. I drove it for a few months as an econo beater to and from school (and to the sloppy mechanics fall dyno day where it laid down a mean 70whp), but I had plans of taking an 871 supercharger I had at the time and slapping it on a ls series engine of some sort. I eventually wised up and tossed that idea out the window when I decided to go for cheap and fun, and not ridiculously overpriced. I decided on a n/a lr4 (for da revs, brah) with a 60e due to limited trans tunnel space. I sourced a sub 90k mile truck that had been t-boned and gutted that poor truck for everything it had.
It was pretty nice, a 4.8L shortbed regular cab truck. That woulda been fun to play with, but a little heavier than the plan I had for that drivetrain haha. We had the chevette drivetrain sitting on the shop floor and the 4.8, sans the transmission, mocked up in the car in a day or so.
Anyways, jumping ahead a bit... after many hours (read: days) with a cutting wheel, a torch set, and an 8lb hammer, we had the trans and engine sitting all nice and pretty in the car.
We made some apocalypse ready motor mounts and made a trans crossmember out of a sign post, because we're classy gentlemen.
Then it hit me, the exhaust is going to be ridiculous to get right.. so I flipped the manifolds... so I did a thing and the project changed directions...
Attachment 726023
So this is where I am currently at. I've skipped over a ton of little stuff, but I'll be keeping this thread up to date as I go. I have a few vids (link in my signature) that are a little more specific, but I didn't want too much of a TL;DR going on here. I'll add a list of the parts used so far a little later, and my future plans for it. This is recapping 3 weeks worth of work so it's a little watered down. So, whatcha guys think?
Last edited by Bogan; 03-16-2014 at 09:23 PM. Reason: broken image links
03-16-2014, 10:16 PM
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A little detail on what it takes for the flipped truck manifolds to clear the master cylinder on the driver side of a chevette.
and I can still check the fluid level. Mission status: success.
Haha thanks! It'll be interesting for sure. I won't be running 11's with the 155/80r13 tires, that's for sure. I have plans for that as well. I am still looking for a s10 8.5" 10 bolt with no avail so far.
and I can still check the fluid level. Mission status: success.
Haha thanks! It'll be interesting for sure. I won't be running 11's with the 155/80r13 tires, that's for sure. I have plans for that as well. I am still looking for a s10 8.5" 10 bolt with no avail so far.
03-16-2014, 10:52 PM
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03-16-2014, 11:12 PM
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That 1/2 inch gap is nothing....You will be surpised how hot **** can get under there, especially that close. At least put a heat shield of some kind in there.
03-16-2014, 11:45 PM
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I've considered wrapping the master in high temp radiant heat resistive insulating wrap, but I have bigger things I am concerned about at the moment than the master getting too warm. It's definitely in the plans at some point, but it sure isn't going to overheat with the car not in running condition yet haha.
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03-17-2014, 12:32 PM
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I'd use part of a turbo blanket over the master cylinder. I can touch my turbo housing, it works really well.
Of course it's a death trap waiting to happen. My dad told me a story how he rode in a bbc chevette and feared for his life. Ever since then I always wanted to see a turbo'd lsx happen in a chevette. Looking forward to the progress
Of course it's a death trap waiting to happen. My dad told me a story how he rode in a bbc chevette and feared for his life. Ever since then I always wanted to see a turbo'd lsx happen in a chevette. Looking forward to the progress
03-17-2014, 05:22 PM
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Haha, they are deathtraps stock. I'll keep things updated here for sure, along with video updates.
03-17-2014, 10:53 PM
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