The AM Forum

WOW!

Diesel, eh ?

Probably sounds like this:

(http://www.dieselchevettes.com/vetpics/dieselchevette5.gif)

What year was that ad from?

A diesel Chevette would prolly get the better part of 60 MPG!

with an aluminum block good for 40K miles

At what I'd guess to be 5 KW input for 3 KW "RMS" output, that little thing would draw over 400 amps at 12 V.
It would stall the engine on any '86 Honda Civic hatchback that it was installed in.

I think there's a truth in advertising issue here.

YUP
The energy crunch from the middle 70's and GM's fake diesels.

Fred

We had a diesel Chevette. Circa 1981, IIRC.

Ran just fine until it got wrecked in 1985. Don't remember the mileage it got.

Had to plug it in at night to make sure it started in the morning. Pretty comical, really. Sounded not too unlike a diesel VW of the day.

Got a lot of suprised looks when you fired it up, though!

--Thom
Kilimanjaro Africa One Zulu Goat Cheese

I actually had a first year Chevette (1976) as my second car when I lived in FL when I was a youngster working for Mot. It had an Opal 4 cyl. GM could not figure out how to make their engine work so they bought one from Europe. Ran like a top.

Mike

Did a Google for Diesel Chevette and found these words of wisdom:

"The Diesel Chevette is the maggotgulp in a plate of bad clams. It has all the charm of Ipecac and the desirablity of ringworm. It makes a good pit car, in that if you have a pit, a diesel Chevette is a good thing to throw in it. If you can find it in the stripper "Scooter" trim, you have not just hit the bottom of the barrel, you've started to furiously dig.

If you are looking at one in the near future, there are a few key items to look for:
1) Any other car with the possible exception of the Cosworth Vega or Triumph Stag.
2) Disinfectant. Make sure that some is handy. Tetanus is bad, but necrotizing bacteria is far worse.
3) A serious re-evaluation on what you consider imporant in life.

No matter the condition of a Chevette, they can be had for very little. That is, of course, if self-respect, adequacy, image and quality hold no value for you whatsoever. Otherwise, the price is far too much. A free Chevette in mint condition should be met with the same joy as receiving free herpes.

Yeah, I owned one. "

I know a spot in Wilton, CT where an avid Chevette fan has compiled a field of Chevette dreams.  A Chevette collector would go ga-ga over the huge collection of Chevettes parked in this small area.  I checked it out.  There were 4 speeds, 8 tracks, CB rigs, hub caps, 2-door, 4-door: almost every configuration of Chevette imaginable.  This guy knows what he is doing.  There will be a huge resurgence of 1980's iron and the restoration shops and reality shows are going to search these things out.  Barrett-Jackson will probably have a few next year.

TM 

Mack said:
If I remember correctly Mack, the Iron Duke came out, albeit too late to save the damage done by the aluminum blocks being used in the Vega's.

You guys are missing a real opportunity here. Use this amp as a high power modulator--a real cheap date. I have several of these that I picked up at garage sales and have been wanting to experiment with. Perhaps a big filament transformer could be used as the mod iron?
BTW:
The Chevette iron duke motor is very durable-I have been considering adapting one to my Austin A40

Skip

When I lived in LA I had a neighbor who had a 350 in one. He gave me a ride once and I noticed the floor flex under my feed every time he punched it.   

 My  father owned a black one as a cheaper alternative "around town" car. Yeesh! He canned it and bought a Corolla less than a year later. Drove the Toyota 190ks later to the junkyard still  running like it was new. Road salt and pot holes did it in.

Almost all of the modern high power car amps are now digital.
In essence a modulated switching supply.
High efficiency.
Not much bandwidth, although that is improving.

Not sure if that was 3,000watts into 1 ohm (likely).
So: 1500/2ohm; 750/4ohm; 375/8ohm!  ;D

(ignoring losses)

Ok now?

High current, not high voltage.
Car dudes seem to like running very low Z speakers.
Probably because alternators and batts make current, not voltage.

             _-_-bear

The ad looks like it is from 84 or 85 time.  I had an 85 'vette.  One of the most reliable cars I have had.  I retired it with 260,000miles.

I had a big chuckle yesterday when returning home from work.  Saw this older model VW GTI. Imagine this, the thing was jacked up in the back and had big tires.  Little tires in the front with a fart pipe on it.

Speaking of weird VW visions--I saw an older Rabbit on the road a few winters back--with chains on the rear..
Skippy

Must have been an SSB operator ;D ;D

Thats the Marx's VW version .....

Who was it that said "there's a genius born every day?"

Was he backing up?