The 1986 Caviler Z24 Project Beginnings:
Well this story has two beginnings for my 1986 Caviler Z24 Hatchback. I first saw this little car sitting
on the showroom floor of a Chevrolet Dealership in North Ft. Worth in 86. My wife and I were
looking around for a Chevy Blazer to scoot around in and we needed some good reliable
transportation. We had a 1974 GMC Sierra Classic Pickup Truck and a 1972 Beat up 2 door Chevelle.
Neither of the two were much good any more we had around 200,000 miles on the pickup which I got
used and no way to tell about the Chevelle! I had a 32 Mile jog, one way, to work every day and the
same back and to top that it was on a crowded freeway between Dallas and Ft. Worth.
So, while we were standing around the show room to talk to a salesman we were looking around at
the cars they had in there. We stumbled on this Caviler and I had made a sarcastic comment about
Chevrolet making a "Z24" and strolled over to see it. I looked inside the car but didn't notice much
other than the bucket seats and standard shift 4 speed. The dash was black and blank except for a
Tachometer that was visible. A salesman came up to us and we had a discussion about the poor copy
of the Camaro Z28 that Chevrolet was trying to sell. He was upbeat about the little car.
Well this story has two beginnings for my 1986 Caviler Z24 Hatchback. I first saw this little car sitting
on the showroom floor of a Chevrolet Dealership in North Ft. Worth in 86. My wife and I were
looking around for a Chevy Blazer to scoot around in and we needed some good reliable
transportation. We had a 1974 GMC Sierra Classic Pickup Truck and a 1972 Beat up 2 door Chevelle.
Neither of the two were much good any more we had around 200,000 miles on the pickup which I got
used and no way to tell about the Chevelle! I had a 32 Mile jog, one way, to work every day and the
same back and to top that it was on a crowded freeway between Dallas and Ft. Worth.
So, while we were standing around the show room to talk to a salesman we were looking around at
the cars they had in there. We stumbled on this Caviler and I had made a sarcastic comment about
Chevrolet making a "Z24" and strolled over to see it. I looked inside the car but didn't notice much
other than the bucket seats and standard shift 4 speed. The dash was black and blank except for a
Tachometer that was visible. A salesman came up to us and we had a discussion about the poor copy
of the Camaro Z28 that Chevrolet was trying to sell. He was upbeat about the little car.
After some talk about the Blazer it was evident that they had only one on the lot then and were not interested in selling it to me. As I was about to walk
off the other salesman came up to us and, once again started a dialog about the little Z-Car. He had the keys and the wife and I said "what the hell lets
look at it!" I sat down in the driver seat and he gave me the key. I always liked the kind of key that had the black plastic covers on them, anyway I put it
in the ignition and turn on the car. Man! The power on self test the dash went through was impressive and the Electric Gauges settled down to their
normal spots. I was impressed if from nothing else but the dash electronics! Wow! But it had a six banger in it, how good can it be and to top it off it is a
front wheel drive, has to be a POS! Rice Grinder!
I've always had a V8 and most were Small Block Chevy around 300 or so cubic inches. I started the little car up for the first time. The gages came to life
and the tachometer revved up to about 2 grand and settled down to a smooth 1100 RPM warm up speed. It really didn't sound bad, it was equipped with
a performance exhaust system, it gave a little heart to the over all feel of the car. Ok, so it looked pretty cool and it sounded pretty cool and it was fairly
comfortable but it probably had no power, how could it! The salesman opened the show room doors and told me "See you in a little while!" and we
drove off in it! It took me a minute to get use to the clutch again, it had been a while since I had the 66 Malibu so I started off sort of nice. I eased it off
the lot onto the street and took off. I headed off to the freeway. I needed a space where I wouldn't have to negotiate around traffic and red lights. I
wanted to see just how this thing would react. My '66 Boo had a 375 Horse 327 with a Muncy 4 and a 3.73:1 rear end. It would kick some serious butt!
But that had been a long time ago and I had not been in a real sporty type of car since then.
off the other salesman came up to us and, once again started a dialog about the little Z-Car. He had the keys and the wife and I said "what the hell lets
look at it!" I sat down in the driver seat and he gave me the key. I always liked the kind of key that had the black plastic covers on them, anyway I put it
in the ignition and turn on the car. Man! The power on self test the dash went through was impressive and the Electric Gauges settled down to their
normal spots. I was impressed if from nothing else but the dash electronics! Wow! But it had a six banger in it, how good can it be and to top it off it is a
front wheel drive, has to be a POS! Rice Grinder!
I've always had a V8 and most were Small Block Chevy around 300 or so cubic inches. I started the little car up for the first time. The gages came to life
and the tachometer revved up to about 2 grand and settled down to a smooth 1100 RPM warm up speed. It really didn't sound bad, it was equipped with
a performance exhaust system, it gave a little heart to the over all feel of the car. Ok, so it looked pretty cool and it sounded pretty cool and it was fairly
comfortable but it probably had no power, how could it! The salesman opened the show room doors and told me "See you in a little while!" and we
drove off in it! It took me a minute to get use to the clutch again, it had been a while since I had the 66 Malibu so I started off sort of nice. I eased it off
the lot onto the street and took off. I headed off to the freeway. I needed a space where I wouldn't have to negotiate around traffic and red lights. I
wanted to see just how this thing would react. My '66 Boo had a 375 Horse 327 with a Muncy 4 and a 3.73:1 rear end. It would kick some serious butt!
But that had been a long time ago and I had not been in a real sporty type of car since then.
We got off on the service road and out away from traffic and stopped. I took it down and then took off, I mean I nailed it! It was the weirdest feeling I
believe I had up to that point. It had a pretty fair amount of torque and the fat tires on it gave it some grip. We launched ahead and I went through the
gears. I figured by now Joy would be having a fit for me to slow down but she was a trooper at this point. I believe the little Caviler had us by then. The
steering was very aggressive, the handling was very good, the performance was excellent. It was fun to drive! It didn't take much discussion once we got
back to the lot and we later drove off in our New Caviler Z24 Hatchback. This was my first New Car ever and I was pleased. I was so impressed I didn't
even argue over the sticker price, I wanted that car. I had never felt the pull from a front wheel drive car and it took a little getting use to with the rack
and pinion steering especially when accelerating around a corner. Now, that is a truly strange feeling going around a corner with the front wheels
spinning, until they grab hold of the pavement, then you get propelled the direction of the wheels it's kind of scary that first time.
Over time the Electronic Instrument Cluster was more of a problem than I would have liked it to be. There are some really nice things that can be done
with electronics but manual sweep mechanical and electric gauges are still more reliable. I ended up replacing the instrument cluster around three times
before I sold the car. I got rid of the little Z car in 93 when we decided we needed a pickup to pull the Bass Boat. By then I had gotten Joy a 91 Caprice
Classic LS Sedan and the Little Z car had major AC issues and over 160,000. Miles on the odometer and... the instruments needed replacing again. My
neighbor had expressed interest in the little Z car ever since I got it, told me if I ever decided to sell it let him know. So, I let him know. It happens that his
son needed a car about then so he got my Caviler. His son drove the little Caviler for another 160,000 or more miles before the engine developed a knock.
He got a new car and my neighbor got the Caviler back and parked it behind his house. There it sat for four or so years.
believe I had up to that point. It had a pretty fair amount of torque and the fat tires on it gave it some grip. We launched ahead and I went through the
gears. I figured by now Joy would be having a fit for me to slow down but she was a trooper at this point. I believe the little Caviler had us by then. The
steering was very aggressive, the handling was very good, the performance was excellent. It was fun to drive! It didn't take much discussion once we got
back to the lot and we later drove off in our New Caviler Z24 Hatchback. This was my first New Car ever and I was pleased. I was so impressed I didn't
even argue over the sticker price, I wanted that car. I had never felt the pull from a front wheel drive car and it took a little getting use to with the rack
and pinion steering especially when accelerating around a corner. Now, that is a truly strange feeling going around a corner with the front wheels
spinning, until they grab hold of the pavement, then you get propelled the direction of the wheels it's kind of scary that first time.
Over time the Electronic Instrument Cluster was more of a problem than I would have liked it to be. There are some really nice things that can be done
with electronics but manual sweep mechanical and electric gauges are still more reliable. I ended up replacing the instrument cluster around three times
before I sold the car. I got rid of the little Z car in 93 when we decided we needed a pickup to pull the Bass Boat. By then I had gotten Joy a 91 Caprice
Classic LS Sedan and the Little Z car had major AC issues and over 160,000. Miles on the odometer and... the instruments needed replacing again. My
neighbor had expressed interest in the little Z car ever since I got it, told me if I ever decided to sell it let him know. So, I let him know. It happens that his
son needed a car about then so he got my Caviler. His son drove the little Caviler for another 160,000 or more miles before the engine developed a knock.
He got a new car and my neighbor got the Caviler back and parked it behind his house. There it sat for four or so years.
Starting Over Again!
Who says "You can never go back!"? It was the summer in 2004 when David approached me about the Caviler. They were adding on to the house and
something needed to go and that something was the Caviler. He wanted to know if I'd like to have it back so I said "why not!" The car was in remarkably
good condition still. The seats needed a recovering, new tint in the windows, a new headliner and a new or rebuilt power plant. The factory Delco Stereo
wes gone from the dash and there was a good set of Kenwood speakers in the back. The tires had good tread but I would really need to replace them
before I do much driving because they've been on the car for at least four years.
This portion of my Web Site is now dedicated to what I do to restore this little Caviler to it's original state of running and performance. I'll be replacing
the engine, repairing the electronic gauges, installing a new CD Player, head liner and other stuff and getting this little baby back to working condition.
I'll try to cover these operations in the linked pages. I hope this is informative, entertaining and helpful in some way.
Who says "You can never go back!"? It was the summer in 2004 when David approached me about the Caviler. They were adding on to the house and
something needed to go and that something was the Caviler. He wanted to know if I'd like to have it back so I said "why not!" The car was in remarkably
good condition still. The seats needed a recovering, new tint in the windows, a new headliner and a new or rebuilt power plant. The factory Delco Stereo
wes gone from the dash and there was a good set of Kenwood speakers in the back. The tires had good tread but I would really need to replace them
before I do much driving because they've been on the car for at least four years.
This portion of my Web Site is now dedicated to what I do to restore this little Caviler to it's original state of running and performance. I'll be replacing
the engine, repairing the electronic gauges, installing a new CD Player, head liner and other stuff and getting this little baby back to working condition.
I'll try to cover these operations in the linked pages. I hope this is informative, entertaining and helpful in some way.
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| Last revised: Thursday June 16th, 2005 8:30 AM CST Copyright © 1998-2005, V. R. Engstrom, All Rights Reserved |
| 1986 Caviler Z24 Project Beginnings |
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