shite cars Retroshite

[DodgyBastard]

 

[MrSchwifty]

This is becoming quite epic, I admire your commitment. I would have just weighed the thing in by now! Lovely job on the repairs too

[DodgyBastard]

This is becoming quite epic, I admire your commitment. I would have just weighed the thing in by now! Lovely job on the repairs too

I've committed so much time to it already I need to see it through.
The financial cost has been relatively low so far, I don't think I've spent much more than £200 on metal and welding consumables.
I'm currently off work so have plenty of time to crack on with it.

Sent from my G3121 using Tapatalk

[dozeydustman]

You had my hopes up with that after picture. Good work nevertheless sir.

[CortinaDave]

Shite Knight suited you as username, swooping in on hopeless cases and bringing them back to life.

The diesel R18 survived much longer than it would've done in my ownership.... and that shoveit is a major project too!

Hats off.

[DodgyBastard]

A couple more bits done today.

 

DSC_0040 by srblythe, on Flickr

DSC_0042 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

I ended up having to cut out more than I'd originally anticipated.

[DodgyBastard]

1 hour ago, CortinaDave said:

Shite Knight suited you as username, swooping in on hopeless cases and bringing them back to life.

The diesel R18 survived much longer than it would've done in my ownership.... and that shoveit is a major project too!

Hats off.

 

The diesel 18 even managed to soldier on after its timing belt snapped. Last I heard it went to Ireland.

[DodgyBastard]

 

[DodgyBastard]

RJC_4773 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

RJC_4776 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4779 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

RJC_4781 by srblythe, on Flickr

Here's a bunch of rust that's been chopped out so far!

 

RJC_4784 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4786 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

I shut the bonnet and discovered the front end had pulled in slightly so had to cut it off, wedge it out and re-weld it in the correct position.

I'm probably going to have to chop the front end off anyway to make more repair sections.

 

RJC_4794 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4801 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

[Jenson Velcro]

That is one epic weldathon. Fair play for keeping going with that.

[Shite Ron]

Great update, I love the speeded up videos  and excellent welding and fabrication.. I look forward to your updates, it is great to see the work going into this to keep it alive.

[DodgyBastard]

RJC_4816 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

I have a serious Chevette problem!

[Zelandeth]

Wait...is that a third one now?!?  Where the heck are you finding them?

[DodgyBastard]

1 minute ago, Zelandeth said:

Wait...is that a third one now?!?  Where the heck are you finding them?

 

RJC_4818 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4819 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4821 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

Yeah, it's a third. A Chevette "Special". This one was 35 miles away.

[Zelandeth]

Well found! 

Have to wonder what percentage of the survivors in the country that equates to now...

[DodgyBastard]

22 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Well found! 

Have to wonder what percentage of the survivors in the country that equates to now...

I know of 7 within a 5 mile radius of my house but one of them is a Kadett.

[MorrisItalSLX]

You can never have too many of the same car. Period.

A thought just came to me that Holden Gemini repair panels would probably work as they are both GM T-platform cars.

https://www.rarespares.net.au/rarespares/search/holden/20a/gemini/panels-and-rust-panel-sections

[DodgyBastard]

RJC_4829 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4830 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4832 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4836 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4845 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4849 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4864 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4866 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4867 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4869 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4870 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4871 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4872 by srblythe, on Flickr

RJC_4876 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

 

I paid near enough £700 for that! I need to get my head examined!

[Andyrew]

Please tell me it came with a bunch of panels or something of use to the other cavs? 

Jeez that's bollocksed. 

[Shite Ron]

I do like your latest chevette, nice spec with the wheels, headrests, tartan seats and side trims, makes it look really good. Looks like the metal maggots have had a feast on it but at least you have had a bit of practice on the blue one. I hope you have plenty of gas, steel and mig wire. At least you will not get bored during the lockdown.

[DodgyBastard]

11 minutes ago, Shite Ron said:

I do like your latest chevette, nice spec with the wheels, headrests, tartan seats and side trims, makes it look really good. Looks like the metal maggots have had a feast on it but at least you have had a bit of practice on the blue one. I hope you have plenty of gas, steel and mig wire. At least you will not get bored during the lockdown.

It's a scrapper, I'm taking whatever decent bits I can and weighing it in. I bought it specifically to cut the front end off for the blue one.

[Shite Ron]

Oh dear, can’t say I blame you though. It has a lot of nice bits though for your other cars The overrider s look good on it too. I was hoping for a heroic weldathon?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

8 minutes ago, DodgyBastard said:

It's a scrapper, I'm taking whatever decent bits I can and weighing it in. I bought it specifically to cut the front end off for the blue one.

Still worth every penny for the spares. At least it should make you feel better about the level of grot on the blue one - your spares car makes the blue car look like a minter!

[DodgyBastard]

21 minutes ago, Shite Ron said:

Oh dear, can’t say I blame you though. It has a lot of nice bits though for your other cars The overrider s look good on it too. I was hoping for a heroic weldathon?

Is one heroic weldathon on the blue Chevette not enough?

[DodgyBastard]

20 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Still worth every penny for the spares. At least it should make you feel better about the level of grot on the blue one - your spares car makes the blue car look like a minter!

Yeah, it's worth it for the spares, I've stuck it on a couple of owners groups for breaking but the majority of people want the bits I'm keeping!

I had it running yesterday and the engine sounds sweet so I'll be sticking that in the blue one along with the steering rack, headlights and carpet. I'm considering sticking the interior in too but it's in such a nice condition maybe someone will want to buy it for a decent amount or maybe not, who knows?

 

 

[DodgyBastard]

 

[Zelandeth]

Oof... that's crispy!  It been parked in the sea?

[Jenson Velcro]

I remember my parents getting a brand new Chevette saloon in the seventies. It was beginning to rust at 2 years old when they chopped it in against one of the first Astra’s, so no surprise that these are so rotten.
Interesting that all yours are saloons. I would have thought they sold more hatchbacks, but that is only a guess.

[BeEP]

Liking the Chevette love.  My first two cars were Shove-its, red W reg hatch followed by yellow X reg saloon.  The former died when a tree rudely jumped out in front of it.  The second was bought in haste (see: tree incident), and had a noisy diff from the start.  One day when pulling away from a crossroads there was a bang and the diff wasn't noisy any more.  But neither was it transmitting propshaft rotation into half-shaft rotation.  I was quite unpopular as I pushed it sadly off the busy junction.  Next car was a Mk1 Fiesta 950 base, which I have to admit was quite a revelation after the Chevettes.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

When i was little my dad had a Chevette van for years. He used to drive it from Wisbech to Whitley Bay every weekend!!!! Unsurprisingly it was forever blowing its shitty old 1256 engine up. Most weekends he was fixing problems on it so he could drive home again on the Sunday night. Many happy hours spent going round the scrappers of the North East with my dad finding parts to repair his busted Chevanne. Looking back now it is/was a cracking vehicle, a little lightweight rwd panel van. Admittedly the engine was a bit wank but if you had one nowadays with maybe a 1.4 16v from an Astra G and some sort of 5-speed box you'd proabably have the perfect car. Bet it would get close to 50mpg as well.

Just remembered, he must have fitted 100's of manifold gaskets to the friggin thing, the old 6-bolt flange coupling on the exhaust was forever leaking. Thinking back I can't see why really. I reckon he must have been doing his favourite trick of putting metric nuts on imperial studs and vice versa (my dad is one of those types who would not hesitate to deploy woodscrews etc in car repairs) and thus getting the clamping force all uneven.