Swap Insanity: The 1984 Turbo LSX Red Rocket Chevette That Could

To say that the Chevrolet Chevette is a desirable car nowadays would be a false statement. We can’t say that they’re popular cars to build either, but this little red Chevette spoke to us once we laid eyes on it, and naturally, we had to find out more about it.

You’re probably sitting there wondering “why a Chevette?!” Well, why the hell not? In theory, it’s the perfect Chevrolet sleeper; an 80’s hatchback with steelies and a turbocharged junkyard LS V8. What’s not to love? It may not be atop our list of cars to build, but it’s definitely an awesome piece of work.

Underneath the hood isn’t just an LS1, if that’s what you were thinking. The engine is actually a frankenstein build that results in less displacement than a factory LS1 – the block and cam are the only things LS1 about it. 862 heads sit atop the LS1 block with LS6 pistons and LY2 rods connected to an LR4 crankshaft while “Various other parts were tossed into the mix,” per the owner. The total displacement of the engine is 5.1-liters and it runs off of the stock ECM using HP Tuners calibration. Mated to the engine is a stock 4L60E transmission that sends power to the rearend and skinny tires.

Seeing a turbo that big behind the grille of a Chevette gives us chills…

The owner and builder, Jay, put the car together over a span of six months with a friend’s help. Jay and his buddy worked on the car periodically, and after all of their hard work, the car was finished a mere eight hours before hitting the road for Holley LS Fest, back in September of 2014. The car only had five miles on it after the swap before embarking on an 8-hour, 1,200-mile road trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky.

After a little mishap leaving him and his buddy on the side of the freeway, Jay had the car picked up by a friend and had it transported to his friend’s home where he would fix it up and then be back on the road to LS Fest. After getting back on the road and driving six hours, Jay and his friend finally reached LS Fest, with the car intact! Jay also drove the car home after LS Fest with no major problems. That’s a true shakedown run if you ask us!

With the LSX Red Rocket Chevette gaining popularity on the interwebs, Jay isn’t done with the car by any means. “I have big things coming. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag, but I can tell you that the Chevette you see is considered Red Rocket 1.0,” Jay commented. We can tell you that the car is going under the knife to receive a 30-spline Dana 44 rearend. Jay is determined to fit 26 x 9.5 drag radials into the stock wheel wells, just like how the Aussies do it.

LSX Red Rocket even has some well-known fans of it’s own.

We can’t wait to see what else Jay has up his sleeve with this car, as it’s already a little monster and has proved it’s a worthy tire-shredding machine. To prove that, here’s a burnout video:

About the author

Josh Kirsh

Born in Van Nuys, Raised in Murrieta, Joshua Kirsh is a SoCal Native. With a love for anything on wheels since the ripe young age of two, Joshua Managed to turn his love for automobiles into a career. As Power Automedia's newest writer, he plans to bring you some of the industry's hottest news topics while he's not out in the shop wrenching on some of our badass in-house project builds.
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