THE CARS

Vauxhall Chevette.

The final power unit was a Marina 1.3 engine bored out to 1340cc and developing 80 BHP (still with twin 1.25" SU carburettors for economy). I grafted in an MGB GT gearbox which required considerable cutting and welding inside the car. I had to make my own engine backplate and modify the propshaft.

The MGB-GT gearbox was swapped for the overdrive version. This car looked more ordinary, had slightly better handling and was just as unreliable as the A40! Since I omitted the cut-out switch, I had overdrive in every forward gear. This gave exceptional acceleration from rest with effectively 8 gears.

I added a reflective red strip to the rear and fluorescent green/yellow stripes to the side, bordered with blue. It looked rather like a police car - rather amusing since I was a "Special Constable" (Hobby Bobby) at the time.

I replaced it with a Mk1 Astra 1.8 GTE which left the Chevette standing.

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