Ode to the Chevette HSR

[Guest aatbloke]

Just a little act of homage to the old Vauxhall Chevette HS and HSR, one of my favourite rally cars while growing up. In 1977 Vauxhall commissioned development of the HS by transforming the regular 1256cc bread-and-butter Chevette into a 140bhp powerhouse with a twin-cam 2.3 litre slant-four engine mated to a 5-speed Getrag gearbox. It was a beast among hot hatchbacks in its day, but the trend from RWD to FWD in production cars and from RWD to 4WD in rally cars as the 1970's drew to a close meant its days were numbered.

At the time, Opel also had their own works rally team separate from Vauxhall, racing Ascona 400's, and latterly Manta 400's.

The HSR enjoyed moderate success on the rally circuit, but sadly remained eclipsed by the mighty RWD Ford Escort Mexicos and RS2000's throughout its career. The rise of 4WD rally cars in the early 1980's such as the Lancia Delta, Audi Quattro and Toyota Celica GT4 saw off both the HSR and the RWD Escort from the mainstream rally scene.

The second picture is the vehicle used by Jimmy McRae, father of the late Colin McRae. He also rallied Manta 400's after his time with the Chevette, before going on to the MG Metro 6R4 during the age of the mighty, but short-lived, Group B rally cars.

Edited August 18, 2008 by aatbloke

[Sixty8panther]

Rally Racing is def. one of my top-3 favorite motorsports!

It's the exact opposite of nASScar, the cars are at least

based on production bodies, not just tube chassis with

a fiberglass body that somewhat, just a little bit, if you

squint real hard, resembles a production car.

I grew up in Slovakia in a town that was runover every

year by a big swarm of race cars & fans for an annual

race that culminated in a mini-pikes peek climb of sorts.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

For some reason I really want a Chevette.

I saw the Pontiac version at a gas station the other day (Was it Le Mans?)

A find of mine had one with a manual. We took the exhaust off of the car and it sounded mean! LOL. It was a tough little car that endured a lot of abuse until he threw a rod (Yikes)

[Robert Hall]

Very cool... I had vaguely heard of these cars before... impressive to think of a Chevette race car. I could care less for NASCAR--it's the WWF of motorsport---but rallying, touring car racing (BTCC, etc), and F1 have long been my favorites..

[SAmadei]

For some reason I really want a Chevette.

I saw the Pontiac version at a gas station the other day (Was it Le Mans?)

A find of mine had one with a manual. We took the exhaust off of the car and it sounded mean! LOL. It was a tough little car that endured a lot of abuse until he threw a rod (Yikes)

Pontiac's Chevette was called a T-1000... like the terminator. the later LeMans replaced it, but was a FWD, Korean POS.

I actually liked the Chevette/T-1000s... simple, RWD cars. Don't try to change the starter, though. GM put it under the intake and it was unbelievable to get to the bolts. I forget why, but at some point I was taking the glovebox out because it interfered with removing the starter.

Edited August 22, 2008 by SAmadei

[ocnblu]

I've been bitching about the un-American new Cruze, all the while forgetting that GM has had some memorable, (some for different reasons) small, world cars in its past sold here. Chevette and Vega, both T-bodies, versions of which were sold worldwide in their time. They were European, however, in origin. I just have a hard time believing any Daewoo product will be any good, hence my suspicion regarding the Cruze. Am I being silly, since the Vega was a monumental POS?

[SAmadei]

I've been bitching about the un-American new Cruze, all the while forgetting that GM has had some memorable, (some for different reasons) small, world cars in its past sold here. Chevette and Vega, both T-bodies, versions of which were sold worldwide in their time. They were European, however, in origin. I just have a hard time believing any Daewoo product will be any good, hence my suspicion regarding the Cruze. Am I being silly, since the Vega was a monumental POS?

Sorry to be anal, but the Vega was an H-body.

[ocnblu]

Oh, I always thought the Vega-derived Monza, et al, were designated H-bodies, but the Vega/Astra were Ts. Hmmm...

[HarleyEarl]

It could have been the Pontiac Acadian?

I thought I was the only one that liked Chevettes.

There was also the Chevette Scooter.

[2QuickZ's]

I know this is going to sound crazy but...

I've always really liked Vega's, Chevette's and Monza's. I don't know what it is about them. It started with my Dad. He had a 1976? Chevette. Then, he bought my sister a factory V8, round eye Monza notchback. Finally, I bought myself a relatively clean, non running powder blue 1977 Vega as a project car. After 2 years sitting in the yard un touched, I finally donated it to charity.

If I had an unlimited bank account, I would have a clean Chevette, Monza or Vega with either a DI 2.0 turbo from a Solstice or Sky or a one off turbo 2.8l 4 cyl from a Colorado/Canyon. I like to be different and like seeing unusual stuff you don't see every day.

[79VetteZ06]

So has Mr. Bloke been exterminated?