The Ultimate RWD Resto mod Classic Vauxhall - if Darth Vader was a car
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- If Darth Vader built a Resto-mod project car - the RetroPower ultimate RWD Vauxhall. Taking a classic car and restomodding it to suit your unique taste is nothing new, but in the case of this anonymous customer of Retro Power ( retropower.co.uk/2020/10/19/p... ) they desired to commission probably the best made, most expensive Vauxhall Chevette in existence.
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The only problem was the weather on the day Jonny Smith drove the 300bhp naturally aspirated 2.3 'red top' with sequential Quaife gearbox; the rain, wind and fog were biblical. See how wide Jonny's eyes go when out on the Welsh hill roads, trying to keep the flawless black 'Vette on the tarmac and away from ditches.
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Filmed and edited by: Phil Vaughan Pritchard www.philvfilms.com/
Thumbnail by: Matt Tarrant www.matttarantdesign.com
if darth vader built a resto-mod project - the retro power ultimate rwd vauxhall drift car
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Jonny Smith
Creative content maker, car presenter & car pervert for hire since '98
Website: www.carpervert.com
Instagram: / jonnycarpervert
Twitter: / carpervert
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:38 Meet Vader
1:52 Meet Retro Power Cal
2:20 Reason for the build
3:14 Inspired by...
4:37 Extra wide body kit
5:14 How it started
5:40 Axle and suspension
6:24 Vader colour
7:13 Wheels
7:21 DRIVING
9:23 Embarrassing
9:45 ENGINE
10:38 C20XE specs
13:25 Hard launch
15:56 INTERIOR details
18:26 Billet bits everywhere
20:30 Paint and body
22:15 DONUTS
23:48 Verdict
25:30 START UP
#restomod #modifiedclassiccar #4k #thelatebrakeshow - Авто та транспорт
I doff my cap Mr Smith, many lesser men would have bottled it trying to drive what is perilously close to a race car in those conditions!
Also, before the Vauxhall-police get all adenoidal on me, the HS/HSR engine is actually a Vauxhall engine with a Lotus designed head. This was later developed into the engine you find in the Sunbeam, hence my noise comparison 😊
Cheers Jonny 🍻
Multi-likes for "adenoidal", many more for this wicked build!
Join the dark side and we can rule the galaxy together
Were you bricking it a little bit?
With a hint of full-spec adenoidal.... The Lotus 907 engine was built on a Vauxhall iron block. The initial development used Vauxhall block castings machined differently to suit the prototype Lotus engines. Late in the development journey, they switched to their own alloy block. No for long enough, because they had lots of problems still to fix, and the early production units had lots of problems, as Jensen found out the hard way. The contract with Lotus was for supply, and did not require them to take responsibility for warranty issues. You can see where this is going... Later alloy Lotus blocks were a lot better. And then Vauxhall made a Vauxhall engine (edit - with a Vauxhall iron block) with Lotus heads etc.
Adenoidal? Over to you
Nee-naw-nee-naw.. Never mind that, Jonny is under arrest for saying the bodykit on the Vader replicates the HSR, then shows a picture of the Chevette HS which doesn't have the said wide body!
In my opinion, humble as it may be, the boys at Retropower are some of the finest automotive Craftsmen in the world.
Agree. They are artisans.
They would be my first phone call post lottery win.
Very kind of you sir! Cheers 🍻
Earl of Pembroke loves cars.
The workmanship that these boys put into the car's they do is unbelievable.
jonnny you really have come on leaps and bounds since fifth gear. What you have achieved with the late brake show you should be extremely proud, Huge fan of you and the channel the content is unreal.
This!
Being a guy in his early 50’s, I remember chevettes quite well, they were simple popular cars back in the day.
I love this car, massive well done to the builders, that paintwork/bodywork looks amazing.
I love how when he stalls it you can see his eyes go "alright, rally style u-turn it is". Great stuff
I didn't blink for a minute, and I nearly hit a sheep.... is quite literally the take away line for this episode....Says everything about how great an experience this must have been. Well done Johnny
I liked
"Fog, rain...... fuck it"
Retropower would be the second phone call I’d make after winning the lottery. The first would be quitting my job! I’d set up a tent in the corner and watch in awe every day as they did my car. Kudos to the owner too - What a star 👌
As an owner of a Australian 'Muscle Car' the idea of driving it in anything but perfect dry weather fills me with dread. Clearly, it is no issue for you folks in the UK. On a sad note, RIP Ken Block. Thanks for another episode.
What an utterly amazing car, vastly more desirable to me than any modern sports car
What a time to be alive. Pre 2000 resto’s, artists like Callum and Johnny, to bring it to us mere mortals. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Bad Obsession Motorsport is obsessed with brackets and CAD, these guys billet everything. A stunning machine.
The more Retropower cars you can review, the happier I'll be :)
It's not a Sunday night if your not sat watching the lads down at Retropower.. Top quality probably one of the best Garages in the UK and the attention to detail is just incredible.
Sunday night ritual, get my kit ready for Monday, slice some nice cheese, pour a double dram of malt, watch the latest Retro power update, bliss
Yes, more restomods please! What an awesome build, thanks to the owner and the Retro Power for sharing. The only hot rodded Chevettes we typically see on this side of the Atlantic are Pro-Street style cars with a small or big block Chevrolet engine stuffed in them. (Chevettes were badged as a Chev for North America.)
My two favorite UA-cam channels in one spot! Love every week watching the new stuff on Retro Power. We had a Chavette when I was a kid and the first time I saw this I was blown away.
I watched every episode of that car being built, absolutely no expense spared! My first car was a chevette, p reg, 1256cc... lasted about a month till I fitted a 1600 xflow from an escort.
So jealous of you driving that, shame about the weather 😒
So envious of the owner, he's got himself an absolute beautiful machine. Well done to Retropower on another amazing build 👏
The sound is just sublime, That Manifold and engine bay is beautiful as well. Wow wow wow.
What a car! But huge props to Jonny and the team for another amazing video. Music, editing and of course presentation all spot on! Loved it. 🙌👏👏
You took a simple-looking car and turned it into a work of art, aesthetically pleasing to look at as well as functional and a high-end performance vehicle. This was achieved with very little modifications to the outer shell. Seeing it lacks the front grill above the front bumper at first made me think it's electric, until I heard the engine.
Oh Mr Nathaniel Seviour is an "on that side of things" type fella 🤣🤣🤣 brilliant
😉
Thanks for uploading this Johnny, I loved my road rally Chevette great handling and could get a real wiggle on when competing. I love that folks are going down the restomod route rather than buying another pointless hypercar, as they get much more bang for their buck and end up with something truly unique.
Hats off Jonny. What an episode. That is the coolest car. I prefer something like this to any other car. I used to work on a track prepped HSR and it brings back a lot of memories. Incredible work 👏
For me this started out as ‘another chevette’ but quickly became one of the main reasons I was watching the uncut videos. This and Utah have been awesome to watch grow into what they became. Amazing stuff. Can’t wait to see the finished Minor Threat. Purple peril for the win.
my dad had a Vauxhall dealership in the 70s and my mum had a HS chevette, sadly before i was born, but my older brother used to call it Mummys silly car. by all accounts it was quite the handful and not overly reliable so they didnt keep it long.... and as for driving on semi slicks in the rain, when i bought my mk1 escort it had some Colway Inters on the front which were epic in the dry and damp, but terrifying in the wet, i still have flashbacks of aquaplaning on the M1 doing 40 when it wasnt even raining that hard, so a huge nod of respect for Jonny even attempting to drive this in those conditions. love this car, beautifully done.
Wow that's really cool and unexpected, it's been done so well that you have to love it, real craftmanship involved at all stages, totally unique 👌
Johnny showcasing & road testing retro power builds is the way forward, done a epic description & drive of Gordons mk1 & its something we never ever unfortunately see in detail from retro power .
Crazy build , back in the day i worked on new chevette's doing warranty work they were great too spin around the yard when the boss went for dinner lol . Hats off to Retropower top builders .
I very much enjoyed seeing this build progress on Retro power's channel. It's absolutely right up my street as is most of their output. Restomods are definitely where it's at!
Retropower make incredible restomods. Vader is testament to the art of the perfectionists that the Retropower guys clearly are. Scarily impressive stuff!
Oh Johnny you need a knighthood for driving in those conditions and not crashing...!!! What an absolute beast of a car, thank you for sharing it with us 💜☮️💙
One of my favorite episodes you’ve done!
Yes, more resto-mods!
Retropower could easily stand beside some of the most recognised and awarded car builders in the world...maybe even head and shoulders above a few. Incredible skill and craftwork, brilliant vision and detail down to the smallest nut or bolt. And humble and softly spoken to boot. Foose or Trepanier etc have nothing in these fellas. World class! 👌
Great Vid Jonny! I grew up 1 1/2 miles from Blydensteins who at that time prepared the Team DTV Chevettes. They had an eightish mile test route between 4 villages they used rather energetically use part of which involved a long straight...When they opened them up you could hear them from miles away. Superb.
Also my last personally owned car I had was a OAP/Dead spec immaculate light green 1300L 38000 miles. So much fun in the snow on the hilly winding single track roads between Royston and Saffron Walden!! As Cher said...If I could turn back time....
Cher spec. Great memories, thanks for sharing.
What a machine!!! More resto mods? Yes please 😁
I'm not usually into the extreme modding scene. But it's an old chevett!.I want it more than any car I've ever seen ❤
Retropower are the apex of British automotive bespoking, the level and attention to detail are off the charts =......bravo
Wow! What a machine. I looked at a 3 door Chevette as my first car back in the day. I always liked the basic shape, the droop snoot nose, low slung driving position and high transmission tunnel with a short snickety gear shift. Would happily have bought the blue one I had found, but parents steered me away due to an alternator light being on and that was that. Has always still held a spot in my heart though and this is just fabulous!
That was exactly my first car!…China Blue…loved it…it was the ES spec which I said was like “Club Sport”…only one wing mirror (like a 911 back in the 80s), one sun visor, no hazard light button, no parcel shelf, no headrests….a stripped out lightweight version! 😂. Fitted spotlights and wider tyres….and of course a decent stereo and speakers! Had great times in that car…SKU 902Y
Definitely need more restomods, from budget builds to all out builds like Vader
Great opening references and normal nerdery my dude. This content is why I am a car nerd/perv and a huge fan of yours. That turnaround alone and vehicles like this tickle my fancy something sic.
Awesome. That's a car that would leave you buzzing after a Sunday morning blast
Well done for getting the car back in one piece Jonny! 👏 I was getting a sweat on just watching you trying to keep it on the black stuff 🫣
Thanks Jon. Bit stressful tbh, but props to the 'dark lord' for letting me still take the car out in the biblical conditions.
Recently, current car culture, with the clout chasing, obsession with "valuation" and "collectability", increasing kerb weight, and EVs, has left me a bit disenfranchised with car culture as a whole.
Great to see people out there that still love cars, because they're car people. Fantastic build
Agreed. I have a datsun 1200 which I'm putting a 2 litre into and will end up with a similar fit and finish to this car, and the amount of dirty looks or negative comments I get because I'm "de-valueing" the car is really off-putting. My car, my build.
Hats off to the owner for commiting to and financing VADER. Long may he enjoy this little beastie
Stunning, just simply stunning. I remember the HSR in period as a beast and this takes it up several levels. The MST of Chevette
I always thought the sporty Chavette's looked amazing, this one takes the prize for best ever !!
Its not the best looking one, the baddest and meanest looking one it is indeed.
Absolutely loved that. It’s right up my street.
Some more like that in the future please.
OK, will do. What restomod classics are your favourite?
@@TheLateBrakeShow id like to see the same sort of set up in a Manta or Capri. Something a little bit lairy. I also like the Deltas and Audi Quattros done recently. Once you’ve finished your Allegro maybe you could do an Avenger ( my grandad had an orange one with matching interior and a brown vinyl roof )
Mr Smith, thank you for twisting the right arms to get these excellent builds reviewed.
This is a successful way also to "download" a summary of many episodes from RP.
More retromods are a good idea. However, quality must come before quantity.
Good Lord Mr Smith, my sphincter didn't 'arf get a work out watching this!!! A spectacular feat of testicular fortitude to drive this car in that weather; I'm deeply impressed.
What a truly wonderful thing it is that there are people in world, crazy enough to finance building cars like this. Whoever you are, mysterious benefactor, you have my respect.
Great video. Awesome car
Loved watching the build vids on RP on this, such an evil looking Shuvvit! Awesome video Johnny, luckily you didn't meet any mad Welsh posties in their vans when you were out 🤣 Now if you could also arrange to do a feature on the Morris Minor Retro Power are doing when its finished... 🤩
Probably the nicest car you've reviewed to date. Dream car right there,savage.
That monster build, in the hills, in the rain, in fog, wearing Nangkang Ditchfinders.... you sir have the dates of an elephant!! the look of sheer terror and thrill was priceless
You’re fast becoming the best car reviewer I’ve ever watched, including Chris Harris (whom I’ve been watching since the driver republic days). Still think you should be co-hosting top gear with him.
Thank you. V kind of you. Harris is a dude.
Bloody Nora, Jonny, we need more resto mods on the channel. Yep, that was a bit special, to say the least. Loved the Star Warsesk intro and the moody JS in his hoody...😄
Tip of the hat to the owner and the team of geniuses at Retro Power for making the Vader exist...🎩
Nice to see Vader here,Jonny! It was nice following this build on Retropower.
Now THAT is my kind of retro build!!!!! It looks and sounds astonishing!!!!
I owned a Chevette HSR many many years ago. It was a bit tatty but the engine and gearbox had been rebuilt, so it went quite well. It was fun confusing the hot hatches of the time as to why an old shoveit was tearing them a new one.
I am guilty of doing the same when I had one.
@@russcattell955i they made 34 vauxhall chevettes HSR road cars. ill take it with a pinch of salt.
Best episode for a while -- that thing sounds absolutely evil. The look of abject fear on Jonny's face was the cherry on top. Love it.
What a piece of kit! , Congrats great driving and video as always.
What a beautiful machine such detail and skill has created this....absolutely flawless... please retropower put this car into production ❤
Jonny looks like a crazy eyed wizzard, that has just stole Darth Vaders daily, during the shite-est weather on planet Earth!
He couldn't have put it better himself...
I really enjoyed this, we have a fully carbon fibre Reliant Scimitar SS1 restomod if you are looking for cars to feature.
By all means email the channel with the details please.
Epic! Jonny, you're on a roll at the moment. Truly stellar content! This Chevette is off the chart. Definitely the coolest in the galaxy. Retropower rocks.
Thanks! 🤘🏽
That's a handful in those conditions....love it!!
Wow. What a amazing restomod! I only really met Chevettes when they were no longer made, were used by 17 yr olds ‘cause they were cheap and unreliable. So, I’d never really looked at them longingly. But, this one is like the girls that you never paid attention to when you were 18 until you saw them dressed up for a posh party. Vader has suddenly made me look lustfully at a shape I’d never appreciated. Well done for not stacking it into ditch or sheep though Jonny! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Absolutely baffled. The Chevette was a dreadful vehicle.
@@markgilbertson1564 Including the Chevette HSR?
Old man mentions girl in a creepy way. Yeah, not for me
@@markgilbertson1564 Not dreadful but let down by the pushrod 1300.
You could start mine with a two pence and start it with penny .
Shock all over at 60 mph plus and made out of Coke can thin metal .
Terrible car ,worst I ever owned .
Followed the build on Retropower and absolutely love it. Can't wait for their 964 project to come to fruition.
What a beauty! I remember Retro Power from many years ago when they sold really top quality Opel Manta mods. Fantastic that they've gone from strength to strength as car builders.. I can't believe Jonny went out with Nankang AR-1s in heavy rain and sitting water, but I guess it made your "1 point turn" that bit easier! 😆
I have a feeling Ken Block may have enjoyed a go in this. May he rest in auto heaven. Making a lot of noise while going sideways. Fabulous car guys and great review Jonny. Took me back to the 70s at which time a guy in my polytech class who got a job in Year 2 managed to by a sporty version of the Chevette as a company car because it was cheap as. It looked cool and sounded wicked. God only knows what the model was.
On Nat side of things 😏 Would love to see Jonny road test all of RetroPowers creations!
Happy to do that Alex. Over to you RP....
@@TheLateBrakeShow On sunny days.
@@TheLateBrakeShow I can assist with the Stratos...if you fancy it?
Superb content Mr Smith. I followed this project on the RestoMod channel and this video is a brilliant conclusion for the series. Yes please to more of this fantastic, emotive petrol-head content.
What a thing - proper car - properly built
Pentti Airikkala wuold aprove this👍
Wow what an absolute machine. This is the kind of thing I'd be spending 200k on (if I had that kind of money) over any supercar.
Eyes wide open and can’t stop smiling at this amazing, stunning car
When I was a teen my mate and I bought a Chevette from a boneyard for a pittance and just flogged it, on road, off road, through the air. If something broke we'd go back and get more used parts and fix it ourselves and go again. I have a love for this car.
You had that piece of road closed off and a vigil for wandering sheep, right? Chaos otherwise.
Another amazing video of something special and not just another 911. Wonderful.
Thanks Jonny, and would LOVE to see more resto mods.
Brilliant car and video, big respect to the Retropower guys.
Fabulous - two of my favourite YT crowd in one place!! Well done Mr Smith! Fabulous work!
This thing is bloody gorgeous, what an awesome blend of aggression, engineering and build quality!! The hell with supercars, I want one of these.
I remember Tony Pond rallying a Hsr Chevette back in the day .
Amazing driver . RIP 🙏
2 of the best car channels in 1 video, Christmas already😁
Well done to the guys who built it and Johnny you need your own late brake tv show ,keep it up bud👊
Simply awesome and the guys who built it should be so proud . Bravo guys 👏
Love the Chevette special,that takes some cahonas driving that beast in those conditions,I had a 4 door saloon when I was 18 and put a Fiat Mirafiori 1800cc twin cam in it,it was like a wolf in sheeps clothing.keep up the great work Jonny.
Johnny,really enjoyed that…..Class act
That looks seriously nerve wracking to drive in those conditions!! Fun :)
After hearing this amazing Sequential Gearbox, My 97 Vw T4 is Absolutely fine 👌👌👌 Another 80”legendary vehicle👍
I had 3 Opel Asconas & a cavalier RWD - brilliant cars to drive & proper tail-happy. Lads used to fit Rover V8s to them & that was proper stuff - dad raced Rallycross & the Chevette was a formidable force in racing in the late 70s / early 80s, especially with the 2300 motor...
Keep the resto’s coming Jonny. Great video, thanks.
This is super cool Johnny. What an interesting build
All I can say is... I bloody love it!!!
This thing is insane!! Fair play to you for having a go in those conditions, those are some hefty nuts you have 😂
Thank you for a geat feature, that vehicle is amazing, I had the pleasure of driving a then new HS chevette as i worked at the local Vauxhall dealer between 78-83 and that was incredible at the time. But this vehicle is a completley different level.
Awesome Johnny; thank you!!! ❤
I loved watching the build of this car on Retropower.
These guys are A+++
More please 👌
Great video, awesome car - the force is strong in you Jonny!
My brother had a hsr. I was a mk1 guy. But took my brothers chevette out can remember being sideways for about 20 yds Down local lanes was pretty impressed
What an absolutely mad machine! Brilliant!