Chevette Performance

Engine

Carburetor and intake

I started with the simple stuff when trying to get a little more power from my 63 h.p. 1.6 liter. First thing is a K&N air filter, which have a million mile warranty and have much better flow than stock paper filters. The Part number for the Filter is E-1030. As some of you know the 78 Chevette came with a tiny 1 Barrel Mono-jet Carb which I was quick to remove and replace with a Holley 2 Barrel 5210 progresive unit. Progressive carbs let you drive around town on 1 barrel but open up the second when power is needed. Pulling the manual fuel pump and replacing it with an electric will free up some power and make it easier to replace the starter. You need to fabricate a small block off plate using a gasket as a template and a small piece of steel.

Lazer Cams has a few different cams available. I chose the 272 duration 216 lift cam, it has a 108 degree lobe seperation, I also purchased the springs and rockers to go with the cam . If you buy one of these cams you have to have it degree'd by a machine shop. I also bought a head that was shaved for a bit more compression and ported and polished.

Ignition

I then moved to the ignition, with a set of Jacobs 8.5 mm wires. On my 83 I bought MSD wires that I had to custom cut snd crimp the ends on. Then inside the distributor I added a Mr. Gasket Advance curve kit p/n 720-929G. This helps the ignition timing jump up when you get on the gas. An MSD-6A ignition box helps burn the fuel more efficiently so it increases the performance, you can use this with the stock coil or I use a MSD Blaster 2 coil. Using an aftermarket coil mounted anywhere but on the engine will help if you ever need to change your starter. You need to mount the ignition box away from the power wires for your stereo equipment or you'll get a terrible whine.

Exhaust

You have a couple of choices when it comes to exhaust, one is to find the factory dual exhaust manifold, Which is claimed by the factory to add 5 hp. Thats the way I went on my 78, the other is to purchase a header which is available from, God only knows I cant seem to find them anymore. They did cost around $100 and should flow alot more than the factory manifold. Moving back a high flow cat and muffler will also free up some horsepower any good muffler shop will be able to install these pieces.

Fan and Free Horsepower

A free HP gain is to ditch the smog pump, although its not very legal on street driven cars, and not that great for the enviroment. But ditching the fan and replacing it with an electric fan mounted in front of the radiator will help the HP and fuel economy, wire it to push the air thru and install a thermostat control to turn it on when needed.

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