give a 1982 cavalier 1.8 more pickup?

What's it got, carb or fuel injection? If injection, how many injectors? You have to give us more details.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% There are two classes of pedestrians in these days of reckless motor traffic - the quick and the dead. ~ Lord Dewar 1933 ~

Climbing into a hot car is like buckling on a pistol. It is the great equalizer. ~ Henry G. Felsen 1964 ~

Intake, exhaust, and a pully or pully kit would dominate the starting points. Finding where you can buy those things could be a chore. You may have to get those customized or do the intake yourself.

Personally, I think you'd just be better off buying a car with a bigger engine. The money you dump into it to get more power probably won't really be worth it.

Tony

1.8 Cavalier's are 82 & 83 only. All Carburated. Cavaliers went to TBI style injection in late 1984, with one injector. They went to MPFI on 92 and up four cylinders. The 86 Z-24's are First Gen Heads 2.8's with Fuel Injection. It's a basterized MPFI set up. They went to the Gen two style in 1987,which is true MPFI. In 1991 The V6cars went to a 3.1 displacement block.

As far as I know all 1st/2nd gen Cavaliers never had the Gen 3 3100/3.1 Charles

A compleate 2.2 MPFI swap from a 1994 with harness, ecm, and fuel tank with wiring. I think ( may be wrong) it should be good for 50 to 65 HP. I would also go with the later year transmission. If you look around you can pick up a compleate wrecked 92 to 94 2.2 car for around $100 with a good drive line. Charles

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Richard) wrote in news:5410-40CE67CF-54@storefull-

3238.bay.webtv.net:

It'd be cool to make a racecar out of it if it's a 2 door (they had a hatchback version and a coupe, right?). Gut the interior -- take out the rattly dashboard, seats, carpeting, headliner, everything. Just have a single bucket seat, Grant steering wheel, a few Sun guages, toggle switches for the wipers and turn signals, gotta have a fire extinguisher. Maybe weld in a simple rollbar. Then lower the car a lot and beef up the front suspension. Rip out the 1.8 and drop in a 2.8, 3.1 or 3.8 (if it'll fit). Paint it a patriotic red, white, and blue and then blow away the rice burners and surprise a few V6 Camaros.

Nitrous Oxide will give you much more performance. ;)

mike hunt

Richard wrote:

J-57 Torbojet in afterburner will give you one helluva boost too!

Sure it will but it might also remove the bottom end from the engine if it isn't beefy enough.

Things that work without major engine work: Cam, beefed up ignition, underdrive pulleys, replacing mechanical fan with electric fan, spacer under TBI unit, spacer under injector tower on TBI unit, advancing base timing

Things that don't work: oiled air filters, Tornado inserts for air cleaners, any device touted as "increasing power and gas mleage" on an infomercial, fuel additives, oil additives (unless the engine is in very bad shape to begin with)

I've tried many of thses things and most "easy" mods just don't live up to expectations. If it were fuel injected, the TBI spacer and the TBI injector tower spacer would, together, increase low-end torque, increase thottle response and increase fuel mileage. I think that adding a good injection unit would do more than most mods. Rich B

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% There are two classes of pedestrians in these days of reckless motor traffic - the quick and the dead. ~ Lord Dewar 1933 ~

Climbing into a hot car is like buckling on a pistol. It is the great equalizer. ~ Henry G. Felsen 1964 ~

Go find a Chevy or GMC 2500 4WD with an aftermarket body and suspension lift and roll over it. That should be all the pickup you need for that car.

The Pistons and bottom end on a 1.8L Cavalier can not take the strain. Charles

Jon I would never own a 1.8 Cavalier unless it was a parts car, or to be used as a compact derby car. All 4 cylinder Cavaliers I have owned have been 2.0 cars. all bought for econimical, cheep transports that were easy to repair. Not as fast or cool cars.

I have a 1987 Cavalier Z-24 with the 2.8 MPFI engine that has a 5 speed manuial trans-axle. For what it is, it will out run a number of imports.

Being what it is, I have considered dropping a buick 3.8 V6 in it, out of a 1995 Buick Regal I own. Then going to the drag strip with it. But all of that is well with in the grasp of reality (not my primary transport, have atleast 85% of the parts, have the experiance, tools, equpiment, and skills to do so).

As for fast Cavaliers, the V6 cars do rather well in the local Compact "Mini-Stock" circut at the local stock car track. I sponcer a 1986 Z24 (my old parts car, one of my engines, one of my transmissions, all free). He does well against Honda Preludes & Civics.

The orginal poster wanted to know how to get extra perfromance out of a

1.8 Cavalier. I suggested a compleate late model 2.2 swap. Which would also net higher fuel milage. Someone else suggested a Nitous set up (NO2), which I then posted would not be wise.

As for the smallest GM engines in cars those would be the Chevy/Geo Sprint/Metro 3 cylinder 1.0 engines. The LSI Metro's had a 1.6 litre four cylinder. The first Chevettes were 1.3 litre 4 cylinders, with later models have a 1.6 litre gasoline, and a 1.8 diesel. Charles