You Need This: The V8-powered “Hooker Headers Chevette”

Take a small car and fit the biggest engine possible. It's a simple recipe, yes, but one that rarely fails to deliver smiles.

This Chevette was featured in a special story on engine swaps in the November 1982 issue of Hot Rod magazine.

As the story goes, the Chevy, better known now as the “Hooker Headers Chevette,” was initially fitted with …

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You Need This: Collector-grade Chevrolet Chevette?

Yes, yes I do!  I need that little car with the big engine.  The V8 seems to be halfway over the front axle, so I assume this is mostly a straight-line kind of car.  I would love to drive it and see what it could do in a drag race, a slalom, maybe even hill climbing or something.  Tasty little nugget.

Baldwin Motion did one better, a Vega with Big Block Chevy in it, and was going to sell it as a new car.

BBC vega

Hot Rod magazine did a 500 Caddy powered Chevette. Almost on a Challenge budget even. 

https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/1980-chevy-chevette-project-car-the-bad-seed/#google_vignette

An all-American TVR Griffith?  (hits the "like" button) 

Does that pass the SCCA Auto X height vs track width requirement?

Motojunky said:

Hot Rod magazine did a 500 Caddy powered Chevette. Almost on a Challenge budget even. 

https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/1980-chevy-chevette-project-car-the-bad-seed/#google_vignette

Obviously, that should have been an Eldorado 500 ci front wheel drive drivetrain mid/rear engine car.

Motojunky said:

Hot Rod magazine did a 500 Caddy powered Chevette. Almost on a Challenge budget even. 

https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/1980-chevy-chevette-project-car-the-bad-seed/#google_vignette

Steve Magnante, to be more precise.

I don't normally save that stuff, but I still have that issue.

Colin Wood said:
Take a small car and fit the biggest engine possible. It's a simple recipe, yes, but one that rarely fails to deliver smiles.

Edit:  I see I typed slower than several other people.

A Chevy 350 is a big engine for a Chevette, but not the biggest possible..  

Also featured in a Hot Rod Magazine story was a Chevette with a 500ci Cadillac engine, built by Steve Magnante.  That car was a lot sketchier, though.  The Hooker Header car was put together pretty well.

https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/1980-chevy-chevette-project-car-the-bad-seed/

There were a number of Chevettes built back in the day with V6 swaps, which probably made for a more balanced car.  They were cheap, tinny little cars though - kind of the GM version of a Yugo.  The base version didn't even come with a back seat.

I'm not used to the older front end and it looks so much better. You can really see the Vega styling.