Project: Chevette Turbocharged Ecotec...

[Benoit23]

This quote was good too; "We sure hope this (madman) adventurous soul gets the engine installed and running soon!"

[AllenK]

Now that's gonna be cool!

[GPI]

Just stumbled on to this thread, great project!! Hope to see more on it soon.

[67velle]

Ok man so you going to have this done by summer??? you have to bring this to bakers in milford on a sunday!!!!! one more question is your neighbor Conley???? I have known his son for years ....... TODD 67velle

[Fuelie Fan]

I hate to burst your bubble...
1) The factory 2L turbo makes 260hp at the crank with 16 psi.
2) A transmission with 65% efficiency would probably boil its fluid or destroy its gears.

I'm guessing you're running a 2.2L, so if you factor the displacement and the 20 lbs instead of 16, that predicts a power level of around 320. that also would suggest a drivetrain efficiency of 83%, which is MUCH more reasonable and actually pretty close to what we use for first estimate drivetrain losses when we start a design. I'd be willing to bet you're between 320 and 340. Still pretty freaking awesome, quite honestly. I'd love to have a tiny car like this making that kind of power.

Maybe i can give a little inspiration..

My turbo Ecotec made 266rwhp thru an inefficient, oversized VW transaxle. that puts me around 380-400hp at the crank. Thats 173hp/liter, equivalent to a LS1 making 986hp. This is a stock motor with low compresion pistons, h beam rods, head and main studs, copper head gasket, better valve springs, stock ports and cams and 15lbs of boost. Going to swap to some turbo cams in a few months. My blowoff valve is leaking, and I lost 4-5lbs of boost on the dyno(saw 19-20lbs before the BOV in tuning) so should pick up 25hp or so with the BOV blocked off.

Let me know if ya need any help with that thing.
Phil

[WILWAXU]

Cool project!

[406ben]

Shoot me an email, [email protected]. I've done a ton of research for my cheVette project and can shed a lot of insight but don't want to bore everyone here with it. I can relay some suspension tips, brakes, rear axle ideas, wheels, tires, ect...

[dafabricata]

It's FINALLY starting to warm up a little bit here in michigan, and I've been getting that itch.......no not the one from my dirty ex, but the one that you get when the weather starts to break. Going to Autorama didn't help either......OH Wait...yes it did!!
Thanks for all the compliments and I intend to keep things rolling with this little project. I am also into flashlights and will be doing a lot of LED lighting with this car. The efficiancy and brightness of these newer emitteris is allowing excellent "Highlighting" without having to bring along extra "Bulky" light fixtures with unsightly wires and no place to plug into.....
There is still a TON to do, but motivation can go a long way and I got an alright headstart on things last fall. Winter has given me a good amount of time to reflect and decide what direction will be taken on the build. Sometimes a nice break can give you better insight and a revised plan to help move things along more smoothly. I still have to get my Mill fixed (the ****in transformer blew at the begining of winter) and buy a few new tools to help make things a bit easier. I still need to find a way to get the engine running without having to drop an entire Solstice GXP wiring harness in this to make it work.
I'll update as things get moving again.

[Tony_SS]

Great News! I look forward to seeing more progress.

[shizzy]

good luck with everything, I love this build

[curly]

Glad to see that the 'vette is still a ongoing project! A friend of mine made a crack last night about his next sports car being a chevette because that's all he would be able to afford (he's going through a divorce right now... not his fault). I told him that I needed to show him what he could make a chevette into based on your project.

[73z-6sp]

Dangit! How did I miss this project for so long? That is gonna be one cool car!

[1978Chevette]

I cant wait to see how this this 'vette turns out. it is giving me plenty of ideas for my own 1978 Chevette with 26,000 original miles on the odometer.

[70camaro406]

Have things gotten moving again yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Johnny Blaze]

This is one of those build threads I see, and say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Good luck man, thats gonna be awsome!

[dafabricata]

I just got back from a trip out to Colorado for a while. I have returned to Michigan with warm weather a renewed feeling of motivation. I feel like such a lazy-ass for having barely spent any time during the long cold winter months working on some of the "smaller" aspects of the build. I ended up getting this car during a transitional time in my life and sometimes feel overwhelmed by what I have gotten myself into. Fortunately I did spend a lot of time (during the winter) reprioritizing a few of my other projects, getting rid of a TON of crap that was weighing me down, and generally figuring out what I feel needs to happen to take my life in a positive direction. That said, I feel better than ever about where the "Ecovette" is going.
I spent some time a few days ago cleaning and waxing the car. A friend had suggested maybe using a Mazda Miata front suspension. I need to look into it as the layout and size might fit the bill. The car is now at the point where more time consuming and detailed projects will make for what seems like long periods without great advances. Keeping the long term goal in mind is what I need to focus on. Sometimes keeping motivation going is hard when you don't notice the progress that is being made IMO.
Well, I just wanted to update the thread and let everyone know I haven't even considered giving up on this.

Now.......back out to the garage

[72NovaSS]

Great project! Keep the updates coming!

[SaturnVUEguy]

Any progress on the project? I like the idea behind this build, and would like to see more

[tones2SS]

That is gonna be such fun to drive and cruise around in when done.
GOOD LUCK WITH THE PROJECT!!!!

[Johnny Blaze]

bump for updates?