A V8 engine stuffed into a GM T-car is always a good time waiting to happen. The Chevrolet Chevette (and all of the GM badge-engineered versions, including the Buick-Opel and the Isuzu I-Mark) go against the grain of most late 1970s-1980s small cars in that they were rear-drive, so if you have fabrication skills and some patience, your reward is a featherweight body shell that can take just about anything…including a Cadillac 500, if your head is not in the right place. There might not be any replacement for displacement, but there is an issue with size in the T-car. Any V8 will make a Chevette get up and dance, all you have to do is decide how wild you want the engine to be. In the case of this mini-Vette, the powerplant is a 350 hooked to an automatic, sent back to big tires. It’s mannerisms are impeccable: no drama, no fuss, just line it up straight and hit the throttle. After a quick couple-inch pop-up, the front end settles down and the Chevette is on it’s way. Nice!

Now, maybe it’s just our ears after a long day, but does it sound like this 350 is a little bit on the mild side to you? Maybe it’s just not working hard, or whatever, but we think there’s plenty of room for some fun in the form of a 150 shot plate!