84 chevette

[bigfoot]

great little car , easy on gas, easy to work on. nuff said:)

[metaverse]

I bought a Chevette (I don't recall the model year) some years ago for 100 bucks. I acquired the beast from a real good friend who actually wanted me to have it for free. But, the Lousy-ana DMV only accepts Bill(s)-Of-Sale of 100 dollars or more in order to transfer auto ownership.
So we decided I would pay the Notary. The remainder He wanted me to apply towards registration and insurance. Any normally sane person would have considered this particular specimen a real "piece...". A salvage yard would have wanted money to haul it to the crusher.

I drove the car for about 2 months in town and the hole in the passenger side floor allowed just the right amount of late fall heating comfort. Another friend, who had recently moved, talked me into driving out for a visit. So I left Shreveport, LA. headed to Cisco, TX. visited for a few days and drove back without problem. The next day I checked the fluids and gave it a pre-flight damage assessment, then cranked it up. The connecting rods sounded like a mechanical stampede for about 20 seconds then BAM-BAM-POW-POW-HISS. I popped the hood and both sides of the block had holes with oily parts sticking out. One of the rod end caps flattened a tire as a bonus. It was laying "in-state" post-mortem for about 4 months when my brother (an automotive machinist) and I decided to try out in another engine.

The replacement power plant was a full blown nitro burning 'Ed Pink' ear drum popper. One of two that were part of a old-style two-engine rear-seater rail dragster work of art that was given to him in trade. I thought the engine dwarfed the poor little Chevette. It took us about six months or so to beef up the chassis, suspension, and drivetrain. To get in the saddle we climbed in the hatch at the back.

I "lost" the coin-toss that decided who would "drive" first. This was my first time wearing a fire-suit and I was sweating even before suiting up.
I had been around when they fired the engine up before, and even with the hearing protection it is loud and bone shaking. I had been around enough that it didn't scare the "solid and liquid matter" into my shorts every time. It wasn't the same as being attached to it, and the ear plugs, fire suit, and helmet were not as effective as the shooting range style hearing protection.

When my brother thought it was was warmed up and running well enough he gave me the thumbs-up to throttle up and see how it handled. It seemed like it was hopping and jumping as it idled. Then I petted the throttle a couple times and I thought the body looked like a wash rag being wrung out from the torque. I put it in gear drove it slowly to get away from the guys, vehicles, and other obstacles. I looked around and saw all the guys carrying fire extinguishers. I flipped the line brake and throttled up to right below the launch point on the tach then punched it.

I'll never forget how blue the sky was. After I realized the steering wheel was useless, it dawned on me that I needed to keep my foot on the gas until I could get the front wheels down or it tried to steer itself from the rear. When I got it back to earth, I shut it down and coasted a bit, then applied the brakes. When I climbed out I collapsed to the ground. It was the scariest and most exhilarating thing I had ever done before or since. Flight time was about 7.5 seconds and I was airborne for about 3 tenths of a mile.

My brother drove it for a few years after he put on some wheelie bars and wheels.

But, that was the last time I drove my little 100 dollar Chevette.