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Engine Swaps
There are several popular swaps involving chevettes. Probably the most publicized swap would be the Buick 3.8 - 4.1 V6 swap, as Hooker Headers made a swap kit for the chevette back in the 1980's. The kit is no longer availiable, nor are the headers for the swap. Apparently the kit could have been better as well. Also popular are swaps involving Chevy V8's, usually a 305 or 350.
In the April 2001 issue of Hot Rod magazine, there was an article titled "The Bad Seed". This article was an engine swap involving a Cadillac 500 cubic inch V8.
General Problems that are usually encountered when swapping engines into a chevette include:
-Firewall to engine clearance
-Oil Pan to Steering Rack Clearance
-Clearance for the exhaust manifold or header down pipes
-Transmission to floor clearance
-Radiator cooling (or, rather, the Lack of cooling)
-Hood Clearance
-Rear Axle Breakage
Firewall Clearance
When swapping in an engine, espescially a V8, you will have very little or no clearance between the Firewall / Heater assembly and the Passenger side valve cover. The easiest method for correcting this problem is to remove the heater ductwork from the car. Of course, this leaves the car with no Heater. If your chevette happens to have factory A/C, you can pretty much forget about keeping that. Also, there may be clearance issues between the engine and the "lip" on the firewall. This "lip", or seam can usually be bent upwards out of the way, although for some swaps you may find it necessary to cut out some of the firewall and weld in a new piece that is less protruding.
Oil Pan - Steering Rack Clearance
Another very common area of interference is between the Oil pan and the steering rack. There are several ways to remedy this problem. The first way is to lower the steering rack by lowering the mounts for it. I personally do not recommend this method as it will change the steering geometry and make the car very darty and hard to drive.
The second, preferred method is to notch out a section of the oil pan. This method involves removing the portion of the oil pan that would be contacting the steering rack, and reconstructing the bottom of the oil pan so that it will clear the steering rack. This method may not work with some engines, and it does reduce the oil capacity by a little.
Exhaust Clearance
Exhaust on any V engine will be a problem when installed in a chevette. The drivers side usually can use the stock manifold from the engine. However, there is no room for a downpipe on the passenger side. The exhaust downpipe will have to exit at the front side of the manifold. With some engines (notably Chevy V8s) a second drivers side manifold can be used on the passenger side to allow the exhaust to exit out the front. All of the pipes for the exhaust will have to be custom fabricated. When running the passenger side pipe back under the engine, try to avoid running it directly under the oil pan of the engine or under the steering rack if you can. The reason for this is that the hot exhaust pipe will overheat the oil or grease inside of the oil pan or steering rack, causing reduced life from the engine or steering rack.
Transmission to Floor Clearance
The THM 180-C automatic transmission is nearly dimensionally identical to a THM 350 transmission. Therefore, the THM-350 automatic is the automatic transmission of choice for engine swaps. The powerglide transmissions actually fit better due to their smaller size, but they are very old, hard to find, and are only 2 speeds. If you prefer a manual transmission, I would recommend trying to locate a T5 from an F body car. The T5 has an internal shifter linkage which is much more compact than external shift linkages found on some manual transmissions. If you choose to use an external shift linkage manual, you will likely have to do some major hacking to the transmission tunnel.
Radiator Cooling
The stock chevette radiator may be a problem for some engine swaps. The stock radiator should be okay for a 2.8 V6, and might barely cut it for a 3.8 V6. An electric fan is a must as there is no room for an engine fan. The electric fan will also need to be mounted on the front of the radiator so that it blows air through the radiator. If you can find a chevette radiator from an A/C equipped chevette, or a Diesel Chevette, these are supposedly bigger than the standard single core radiator.
Hood Clearance
Certain intake setups on certain engines may require that the hood be modified to clear the engine. If you are lucky enough to have a Multi point fuel injected engine, these should clear the hood easily. However, with carbureted engines, usually a single plane intake manifold with a low profile air cleaner will give the lowest profile, providing the greatest hood clearance. If all else fails, you can either cut a hole in the hood for the air cleaner, or add a hood scoop.
Rear Axle Breakage
The stock rear axle in the chevette will not take the power of a V8, and usually cannot take the power of a V6 either. Popular swaps for the rear end include the S10 rear axle and a Ford Pinto Rear axle as they are both about the same width as a chevette axle. When using a S10 axle, you will need to remove all of the fittings from the chevette axle and weld them to the S10 axle. Alternatively, you can attempt using the method that was used in the "Bad Seed" article in the April 2001 Hot Rod Magazine. The method used by Hot Rod looks a bit questionable but it should work okay.
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