1999 Chevy Cavalier - Rallycross Edition

After many hours of searching on craigslist to no avail, and lots of non-responsive sellers, this got dropped off in my driveway a month or two ago for $650

a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier Base model, with the 2.2L OHV engine coupled to an Isuzu MK7 5spd. 180,000 on the clock. It also came with my favorite thing in a Northeast car, Rust.

and, as a bonus, it came with the oiliest engine bay ive ever seen in my life

the goal for this car is to run in the DC region Rallycross events,Stock FWD Class, and it will be making its debut at the SCCA East Coast National Challenge coming in 4 Days. So with that in mind, the repairs and mods began.

First up was finding and sealing the source of that oil leak. seeing as how the entire engine is covered in oil, the valve cover gasket looked highly suspect, so it was replaced.

the previous owner obviously did as well, and added some loctite into the threads to be an shiny happy person, so out came the tap & die set

also snapped 2 of the valve cover bolts and a stud because of it as well

got super lucky that they all broke in a way that they could be easily extracted with vice grips

so with the oil leak hopefully plugged, my attention turned to the cancerous passenger rocker panel, and the tumor on the quarter panel. No in-progress pics because i had a small window with the weather to cut out and repair all three spots, but here is the finished product taken a few days later.

Quarter Panel

Rear Passenger rocker/quarter panel

rest of the rocker

Next on the list was suspension, as the shocks were OEM originals, and needed to go. KYB stock replacements went in. New rotors and Pads went in as well. Sorry for the potato shots

with the nice weather that I was gifted over the weekend, i rolled the car onto my freshly-paved driveway for the first major service.

Again, no pictures other than the CV that got set on fire when somone got a little overzealous with an Oxy-torch.

thankfully the trans needed to be drained anyway, so no loss there. at the end, heres what got accomplished

-Plugs -Wires -Oil and filter change -Trans oil change -Serpentine Belt -Wiper Blades -Clean out interior -Drop in Oiled air filter

Also purchased and had a local tire place put my new Firestone Winterforces on, 195/65/15

When the tires were balanced, the guy did has damnedest to get my one wheel to balance, but it turns out i was bent really bad. not having a spare, i said berkeley it make it run as straight as you can. they got it within .01 ounce of running true. you can see the bent wheel on the left side of this photo, there is just as much if not more weight on the inside

IIRC it was about 4.5 ounces per side to make it run straight. Also ordered and applied some magnetic number panels from Rallygraphix.com, they make nice stuff.

the car sat like that for a few weeks, and then i performed the following yesterday:

-Coolant flush -replaced soft radiator hoses -Bled brakes -replaced clutch fluid

This is also where i found out GM hates anyone attempting to service their cars in any way. the Oil filter is located horizontally above a flex pipe, the transmission fill port is located on top the the transmission but below three heater hardlines, and the drain port is 3mm away from a solid frame rail. there are 0 places to jack up the car properly, let alone place jack stands in a good place, and it will only sit on three of them if you do raise it, cause the fourth corner lifts as the whole body is like a wet noodle in terms of rigidity. the radiator drain cock drains intro a boxed in section of the frame, and drains out 2 different holes located 4 feet apart, one of which you wont know about until coolant starts gushing from it. you also have to pull the radiator to replace any of the hoses, period. and, to top it all off the previous owner left me this rats nest of wiring hooked up to the starter and Electric fan

which lead to a 90% melted E-fan plug when i reassembled everything. it also lead to a massive amount of smoke when the car came up to temp to work the air out of the coolant due to the oiled flexpipe.

with that, I wrapped up, got some sleep and a sammich and went back at it at 0630 this morning with a fresh head and a large glass of sweet tea. The E-fan is now hardwired directly to the battery with a toggle switch in the dash, as im not even going to try to figure out why the plug melted when it was working just fine prior to this. i also found that my OEM primary hood latch dosent work at all, and replacements are overpriced. so $10 auto parts store hood pins did the trick, now i have the OEM backup latch and hood pins holding it down.... and to think the car saw 65MPH with only the backup latch keeping the hood in check

so the car is now Ready mechanically for friday, but ive got a box full of rattle can waiting for the weather to freshen up the appearance a bit.

Also the majority of the post was made after the fact (if you hadn't figured that out already lol) as the original build thread for this car was on a Toyota Tacoma forum, but then i found GRM from a sticker on the back of a WDC Region Car, and figured this car fit right in with the theme here. and, just for E36 M3s and giggles, i think the total spent on this car so far is right around $1600 or so, and im just getting started

Welcome!

Those engines are notorious for plug wires, so if there is any missfire at all, that's likely the cause.

The rats nest of wiring around the starter might be the factory recall. These engines usually need a LOT of cranking before they fire, which sometimes causes a fire. So the recall added some better wiring and a relay.

We had a '99 Sunfire 2.2 for 16 years.

It. Would. Not. Die.

Just what we need more WDC rallyx threads...

See you there on Friday. Look for the black van with the black miata.

SkinnyG wrote: Welcome! Those engines are notorious for plug wires, so if there is any missfire at all, that's likely the cause. The rats nest of wiring around the starter might be the factory recall. These engines usually need a LOT of cranking before they fire, which sometimes causes a fire. So the recall added some better wiring and a relay. We had a '99 Sunfire 2.2 for 16 years. It. Would. Not. Die.

yup, thats why all the wires and plugs got replaced, and it will only see 93 octane from now on to help with that. also, thanks for the heads up about the recall, that explains the random relay zip-tied to the original starter wire harness and the excess wires going to nowhere. i think i might just re-do it to clean it up all the way. and my cavalier usually fires right up the first time, but does require a bit of cranking to get going again if i stall it. on another note, this is also my first Manual transmission car ever.... definetly not as easy as i thought it was gonna be, but i have gotten much better at driving it in the time ive had it.

moxnix wrote: Just what we need more WDC rallyx threads... See you there on Friday. Look for the black van with the black miata.

will do, didn't realize you were on here too. you may have seen me before, i was at the last event at the rally farm, and the first event of the year at frostburg, riding along with James, #23 in PA, Silver Subaru 2.5RS

Yes - the wiring area by the starter and fan was a recall fix. We have a 2000 that was my wife's daily driver for 15 years and is now a back up car. We have the same "nest".

Plug wires - I have a set from Accel that has lasted a long time. Our Summit Racing makes a good set that you can "cut yourself".

The factory cat and muffler are very restrictive, especially the cat.

Inside the driver's front fender is a large air intake silencer that you can take out to help airflow into the factory airbox.

About the only thing easy to change on these is the spark plugs. The oil filter is easier to change through the top - back side of the engine. You can use an oil filter for a 2000 Chevy S10 4x4 4.3V6 - fits perfect but it's much longer. Not only then do you increase oil capacity - but the filter is much easier to change (longer and you can actually see it from the top also). The serpentine belt is horrible to change.

I too had a black '99 Cavalier coupe with a 2.2L, but mine was mated to the horrendous 3-speed automatic. It was a truly dreadful experience. I had plans to rallycross mine as well, but instead my older sister needed a car, so I had to sell it to her for $800. I only received half the money, she drove it for a year and a half without doing any maintenance (And I mean any, 17,000 mile OCI) and then spun it into a guardrail and totaled it.

Ive always heard that you shouldn't rallycross on steel wheels as they will just tear off the hub, In fact I've seen it happen in rallyx. The steel wheels cant take the lateral loads like an alloy wheel can. Find yourself some cheap 15" vw alloy wheels. Mk3 vr6 jettas/golfs, and all MK4s have 5x100 bolt patterns like your cavalier there, and they can be REALLY cheap for a full set. If you find a set of OEM BBS marked wheels from one of those cars, they should even be forged.

TIGMOTORSPORTS wrote: Yes - the wiring area by the starter and fan was a recall fix. We have a 2000 that was my wife's daily driver for 15 years and is now a back up car. We have the same "nest". Plug wires - I have a set from Accel that has lasted a long time. Our Summit Racing makes a good set that you can "cut yourself". The factory cat and muffler are very restrictive, especially the cat. Inside the driver's front fender is a large air intake silencer that you can take out to help airflow into the factory airbox. About the only thing easy to change on these is the spark plugs. The oil filter is easier to change through the top - back side of the engine. You can use an oil filter for a 2000 Chevy S10 4x4 4.3V6 - fits perfect but it's much longer. Not only then do you increase oil capacity - but the filter is much easier to change (longer and you can actually see it from the top also). The serpentine belt is horrible to change.

yup, actually had to resort to the overpriced special belt tool to get that done. next time i change the oil ill put one of those S10 filters on. I also found it easiest to remove the passenger wheel and just stick my arm through the space behind the block.

simon_C wrote: Ive always heard that you shouldn't rallycross on steel wheels as they will just tear off the hub, In fact I've seen it happen in rallyx. The steel wheels cant take the lateral loads like an alloy wheel can. Find yourself some cheap 15" vw alloy wheels. Mk3 vr6 jettas/golfs, and all MK4s have 5x100 bolt patterns like your cavalier there, and they can be REALLY cheap for a full set. If you find a set of OEM BBS marked wheels from one of those cars, they should even be forged.

Ill see what i can find, anything that should be cheap is super expensive in MD because of over restrictive laws on junkyards

simon_C wrote: Ive always heard that you shouldn't rallycross on steel wheels as they will just tear off the hub, In fact I've seen it happen in rallyx. The steel wheels cant take the lateral loads like an alloy wheel can.

I did 2 years of rallyx on a set of steel wheels on our subaru with many drivers in the car every event without a problem....

Then this happened.

I bought a set of alloy wheels for that car right after that.

Since you are running stock class when looking at other cars wheels make sure they are the same width as your stock wheels and within the offset range for stock class.

Nice! I run DC region rallycross as well and just bought an 04 Cavalier last week to get into dirt oval with. One thing I know some of the circle track guys run is Caravan wheels. I have a pair I'll snap some pics of.

Here's my beater:

Yeah, some alloy wheels are in the works as I don't have a full size spare, and I think my car was supposed to come with 14" wheels anyway, so that might open up some options

Check craigslist.

I had a 96 Sunfire for a couple years.

The front core support is strong enough to use as a center lift point, as is the rear axle with a foot of 4x4 stuck in it.

You need a flexi hose funnel to fill the trans, get a new fill plug/dipstick (dealer only, like $15 5 years ago), the rubber shrinks with age and they fall out, then you lose all the fluid. That said mine was loose enough it was lubed with a mix of Lucas Trans Fix, 20w50, and half a bottle of STP, and it wouldn't break despite countless burnouts and gear banging (if you went really hard on the 1-2 shift, it would bark the tires!).

Put a timing chain in it, you'll probably pick up some lost power, they only last maybe 100k before they wear beyond the tensioner's travel and the cam starts going retarded.

The factory alloy wheels are strong, get hit in the front corner hard enough to pretzel the strut and the wheel is fine strong.

Be glad you don't have an automatic, the oil filter is a lot harder on those. On the filter, PF52 is the longer version of the PF47, do not use PF47E or PF52E (plastic center tube). Mine liked 10w40 oil.

Check for rust in the subframe, look where the two vertical pieces meet with the rest of the subframe.

Wow. That was too much time and too much money for a rusty, busted Cadavalier, but I commend you for the perserverence

Unfortunately, these cars are truly awful for rallyx (poor suspension design, limited travel, poor forward grip, the list goes on). I personally would suggest selling it and buying something else if that could possibly be in the cards.

But, if you do stick with it, please prove me wrong! If nothing else, I will be following this.

HiTempguy wrote: Wow. That was too much time and too much money for a rusty, busted Cadavalier, but I commend you for the perserverence Unfortunately, these cars are truly awful for rallyx (poor suspension design, limited travel, poor forward grip, the list goes on). I personally would suggest selling it and buying something else if that could possibly be in the cards. But, if you do stick with it, please prove me wrong! If nothing else, I will be following this.

lol, now someone tells me. and i realized going into this that i might get $100 from a junkyard for the car when its all said and done. The only reason i bought it was because i got impatient searching for something that ran that wasn't over a grand, and settled for this. the plan for the future is either an 94-98 SN95 Mustang v6, because cheap RWD fun, or a GC/GD impreza, but im leaning toward the impreza because of parts availability and that it should be a bit nicer to work on. also open to suggestions for something other than an SN95 for RWD provided it is somewaht easy to work on and i can get parts easily without searching junkyards, as theres a whopping 1 within a reasonable drive from me.

BrokenYugo wrote: I had a 96 Sunfire for a couple years. The front core support is strong enough to use as a center lift point, as is the rear axle with a foot of 4x4 stuck in it. You need a flexi hose funnel to fill the trans, get a new fill plug/dipstick (dealer only, like $15 5 years ago), the rubber shrinks with age and they fall out, then you lose all the fluid. That said mine was loose enough it was lubed with a mix of Lucas Trans Fix, 20w50, and half a bottle of STP, and it wouldn't break despite countless burnouts and gear banging (if you went really hard on the 1-2 shift, it would bark the tires!). Put a timing chain in it, you'll probably pick up some lost power, they only last maybe 100k before they wear beyond the tensioner's travel and the cam starts going retarded. The factory alloy wheels are strong, get hit in the front corner hard enough to pretzel the strut and the wheel is fine strong. Be glad you don't have an automatic, the oil filter is a lot harder on those. On the filter, PF52 is the longer version of the PF47, do not use PF47E or PF52E (plastic center tube). Mine liked 10w40 oil. Check for rust in the subframe, look where the two vertical pieces meet with the rest of the subframe.

nice, now i have some better places to jack the car up. the subframe connection is fine, the car is mostly rust free aside from the exhaust and the passenger rocker, probably because the front half of the car is coated in oil. and i have 0 inclination to do any engine work whatsoever aside from minor repairs, its just not worth it. even fully built, these things struggle to see 200hp without stupid levels of boost, and i cant justify having a $3000 engine in a $650 car.... this is basically just a "i wanted a car to go blow up and not feel bad about" and thats what it is, run it till something explodes. then sell it and buy a proper base for a full blown rally car build.

The chain kit is like $50 and an afternoon (the book says to drop the oil pan but you can muscle the timing cover off with the pan on), if it makes a old diesel engine sort of rattle at idle and doesn't have much grunt (in good tune you should be able to putter around town leaving it in 3rd gear if you never stop) you know it's really bad. Make sure to poke a needle through the oil squirter hole while you'e in there, it can clog if neglected.

You even scored a sunroof for ventilation purposes.

If it has A/C, you can take off the compressor assembly and other a/c junk - and buy a belt for a non A/C car. If you want to lose the A/C.

In reply to TIGMOTORSPORTS:

AC is nice for racing. A cool driver is an alert driver. More importantly, its good for keeping the windows clear on those soggy days.

Either that, or about 4hp and 40lbs if you tear it out

On the Coquihalla highway in BC, our 2.2L Sunfire struggled to climb the steep hills with the A/C on - I'd actually kill the A/C just to reach the top. If A/C actually only draws 4hp, that engine sucked worse than I thought.

Okay, I might look into the timing chain then, it dosent rattle at idle or my thing, it actually runs really well now that it has good oil in it. The car has a/c, but there's a leak in the system and it won't hold refrigerant, so if I can confirm that a/c was an option and not standard, I can just remove all the crap. I will be doing up a diy cool shirt system in its place. I will have to figure out the defroster as well. Also, the car only makes 115hp from the factory, and it's in a 2000lb car...... Hills are not its friend

Gaunt596 wrote: Also, the car only makes 115hp from the factory, and it's in a 2000lb car...... Hills are not its friend

2000lbs? Try 3000+. That's what my '99 coupe weighed. 2000lbs would be livable, as the 1.6L Miatas are 115hp/2100lbs and are... peppy.

In reply to NickD:

They were more like 2700-2900. Door sticker on my sister's POS top trim 4 door 99LS (with the twin cam and 4 speed auto) gives GVWR of 3781, capacity 882, so 2899 curb. Where the hell they put all that weight is what I don't know, they crash like they're made of used aluminum foil, the door impact beam is a piece of wavy thin gauge steel I can bend by hand.

In reply to BrokenYugo:

Mine was ~3040 when it went across the scales, and that was with rust and a near empty tank.

Mine suffered quite a few impacts without any damage to really speak of. My favorite was when an '80s Caravan cut me off and jammed on the brakes. I stood on my brakes and the ABS was out and it did the usual J-body "lock up the brakes thge first time you use them" trick. Pounded the back of the Caravan and took the whole rear bumper off and the rear crash bar off of it, just cracked the bumper cover on the Cavalier. Being typical E. Nashville, the guy had no insurance so he checked I was okay and then took off, leaving a good bit of his van in the intersection.