Projects: The Cavalier Project
Photos and writeup by Trevor Freeman.
JANUARY 2004: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
My very first car was a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier, base model sedan with the 2.2L engine. She was only about nine years old at the time, but had been something of a troublemaker for the family since we bought her in 1996. A carfax report had given some insight to her past as a rental car in Texas for the first year. Ah yes, that explains the cigarette burn in the headliner and the broken rear seatbelt that have always been there.
She was my high school graduation present, since all of my hard work earned me a college scholarship. The best things in life are not free however, because with the amount of money I would spend on fixes and repairs in the coming years I could have purchased the same car three times over.
FEBRUARY 2004: STEREO UPGRADES
Within the first month of getting my car, I was already working on fixing it up. First priorities were new speakers and a new radio. I went with two Pioneer TS-163P 2-way, 100 watt, 6.5 inch speakers in the doors and two Pioneer TS-693P 2-way, 120 watt, 6x9 inch speakers in the rear dash.
The new ones aren't going to win any competitions, but they sure sound better than the weak-ass factory ones.
I did not want to spend a lot of money on a fancy headunit that would get stolen in a couple of months, so I picked up a factory CD player online and have been enjoying it for over a year now with no problems.
APRIL 2004: SIDE MOLDINGS REMOVED
Next, I followed some directions I found online for removing the side moldings on the doors. They are held on with very strong adhesive tape and also looked really goofy on my nice white car. I love the nice clean look this gives the car.
AUGUST 2004: DOOR TRIM REMOVED
When August came around I decided to remove the plastic trim pieces in each of the door jambs. This also contributed to the clean look of the car when entering and exiting the vehicle. At the time I was also using some homemade floor mats I had made from an old piece of carpet.
Planning ahead for the future, I picked up a factory fog light switch from a Z24 Cavalier and swapped out my boring old dimmer switch. At this point the switch is not connected to anything.
SEPTEMBER 2004: ENGINE BAY
The next purchase was a motor mount insert from CarCustoms.net and that really helped to keep the engine from thrashing around so much. I also got a K&N air filter and removed the intake silencer in the wheel well for better airflow. The strut tower brace is made by GM and it was only standard on convertible Cavaliers. I got mine for free with a gift certificate our local Chevy dealer gave us.
NOVEMBER 2004: GAUGE CLUSTER SWAP
After that, I came across a gauge cluster on eBay that had a factory tachometer and decided to do a gauge swap. I had a local shop roll the odometer on the new gauges to match my car's original miles. The donor gauges came from a 1996 model and it was a simple plug and play installation.
DECEMBER 2004: Z24 WHEELS
By this time, several months had passed and I was wondering whether or not to dump any more money into this wheezy old Cavalier or try and get a new car. I settled my decision by spending $200 on a set of used Z24 wheels.
Please continue to page two for more pictures and modifications.
Photos and writeup by Trevor Freeman.
Navigation
Page One (2004)
Page Two (2005)
Page Three (2006)
Page Four (2007)
Page Five (2008)
Page Six (Mod List)
Page One (2004)
Page Two (2005)
Page Three (2006)
Page Four (2007)
Page Five (2008)
Page Six (Mod List)
JANUARY 2004: HUMBLE BEGINNINGSMy very first car was a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier, base model sedan with the 2.2L engine. She was only about nine years old at the time, but had been something of a troublemaker for the family since we bought her in 1996. A carfax report had given some insight to her past as a rental car in Texas for the first year. Ah yes, that explains the cigarette burn in the headliner and the broken rear seatbelt that have always been there.
She was my high school graduation present, since all of my hard work earned me a college scholarship. The best things in life are not free however, because with the amount of money I would spend on fixes and repairs in the coming years I could have purchased the same car three times over.
FEBRUARY 2004: STEREO UPGRADES
Within the first month of getting my car, I was already working on fixing it up. First priorities were new speakers and a new radio. I went with two Pioneer TS-163P 2-way, 100 watt, 6.5 inch speakers in the doors and two Pioneer TS-693P 2-way, 120 watt, 6x9 inch speakers in the rear dash.
The new ones aren't going to win any competitions, but they sure sound better than the weak-ass factory ones.
I did not want to spend a lot of money on a fancy headunit that would get stolen in a couple of months, so I picked up a factory CD player online and have been enjoying it for over a year now with no problems.
APRIL 2004: SIDE MOLDINGS REMOVED
Next, I followed some directions I found online for removing the side moldings on the doors. They are held on with very strong adhesive tape and also looked really goofy on my nice white car. I love the nice clean look this gives the car.
AUGUST 2004: DOOR TRIM REMOVED
When August came around I decided to remove the plastic trim pieces in each of the door jambs. This also contributed to the clean look of the car when entering and exiting the vehicle. At the time I was also using some homemade floor mats I had made from an old piece of carpet.
Planning ahead for the future, I picked up a factory fog light switch from a Z24 Cavalier and swapped out my boring old dimmer switch. At this point the switch is not connected to anything.
SEPTEMBER 2004: ENGINE BAY
The next purchase was a motor mount insert from CarCustoms.net and that really helped to keep the engine from thrashing around so much. I also got a K&N air filter and removed the intake silencer in the wheel well for better airflow. The strut tower brace is made by GM and it was only standard on convertible Cavaliers. I got mine for free with a gift certificate our local Chevy dealer gave us.
NOVEMBER 2004: GAUGE CLUSTER SWAP
After that, I came across a gauge cluster on eBay that had a factory tachometer and decided to do a gauge swap. I had a local shop roll the odometer on the new gauges to match my car's original miles. The donor gauges came from a 1996 model and it was a simple plug and play installation.
DECEMBER 2004: Z24 WHEELS
By this time, several months had passed and I was wondering whether or not to dump any more money into this wheezy old Cavalier or try and get a new car. I settled my decision by spending $200 on a set of used Z24 wheels.
Please continue to page two for more pictures and modifications.