:WANTED: 1982-1987 Cavalier

OK as i know this is kind of wierd, but I need some assistance in finding a 1982-1987 Cavalier hatchback! theres a good long story behind it but i'll spare u the details. the shape of it doesnt matter. even if its a Z24, 4 cyl. or anything just as long as its one of those sweet hatchbacks, hehe. if anybody knows where I can find one that would be great!! i tried e-bay and autotrader daily, and nothing! so If anyone knows where to get one, it would be greatly appreciated.

youll prolly have to salvage one from a junkyard or something. I doubt many people would even spend the time to sell one of those.

I know thats why I want one now before they all become non-existant. But If anyone happends to see or know anything please let me know.
Thanx

Why do you want such an old cavy? If u dont mind me askin.

well my father had one years ago and it was pretty much handed down to every family member in the family tree, but by the time i was like 10 it was in a junkyard much like where the rest of them are. anyhoo i loved that car to death, theres just somehting about those old cavy hatchbacks i love. But recently i decided to start my search again seeings that gas has gone up to 2.75 /gal, and as of now im driving around a 99 silverado that gets on a lucky day 16 MPG. so I figure park the truck for a while and buy a old cavy like my dads before they all become recycled parts for dishwashers. Any info would be great!

I always thought the profile of the Cavalier Type 10/Z24 hatchback was rather mean,and surely a lot less blocky than the 82-87 coupes.I consider the hatchbacks successors to the Monza 2+2,and the coupes the successor to the Monza Towne Coupe.Now the 88-94 coupes....those are another story.When I first saw a pic of one back in the day,I commented "why do they even need the Beretta anymore?",the J was actually slicker in appearance (profile anyway) than the Beretta!

what exactly do one of these look like...ive never heard of one never mind see one...someone should post a pic of this hatchback.

They look like the standard Cavalier/J from the doors forward,but the roofline drops down and slopes to the back,with a rather high tail about as high as the normal trunklid.The rear seat windows go all the way to the rear,framed very narrowly in metal bodywork.They sorta look like a Delorean in the rear quarters.Very low production numbers....this is when hatchbacks were falling out of favor...like the Citation 2/4 door hatches,Rabbit 2/4 door hatches,and Colt 2/4 door hatches.GM was right not to issue a hatch for the 1988-1994 generation,because it wouldnt sell anyway...instead splitting the difference and creating a "fastback" slant roofline for the standard 2 door.And it worked....1988-1994 Cavalier 2 doors were top sellers...who could argue...cheap prices and a wedgy profile that looked bigger than it was,and a sporty roofline (in the rear) that out styled even more sporty cars.The then current Honda Civic looked like a box next to the 88 2 dr.

I just dont understand why it's so hard to find one of these things, wow! they made 140 million of them, lol.

The hatchback body style was never popular.They sold 10 or more times the amount of 2 dr coupes and sedans than they did hatchbacks.Heck,even wagons outsold them.Much the same way as Monza...the Towne Coupe way outsold the 2+2 hatch,and the 4 dr and 2dr coupe Novas far outsold their hatchback(1973-1979) counterparts.One good reason why.....after having a 77 Nova hatchback in the family back in the 70s,I can say that they creak,and groan terribly and when you open that hatch in the winter you freeze your butt off inside the car.Trying to mix the advantages of a coupe with a wagon was a good idea....(Kaiser did that with a sedan back in the 50s),but faced compromise.The Camaro sold well as a hatchback,and so did Mustang,but they probably would have sold just as well if they were coupes instead.Notice the new Mustang is coupe only.

i got an 89 2 door coupe, never seen anything older than that

congratulate me on my first post

When the Cavalier first came out for 1982,they tried to out do the imports by adding features standard equipment at the base price...they called it the "Total Car".Unfortunately it wasnt selling as well as GM thought it should.Hence the strippo 1982 1/2 Cadet model.The Cadet didnt sell hardly at all,but it lead to the VL in later years.The 1982-1987 J cars were pretty ugly in some respects....especially the early models.The Type 10 hatchback had a better nose (soft,slanted) unlike the undistinguished cheap looking sedan/wagon nose,but the cars lack of power and overall "excitement" lead many away.By all the J changes that followed(EFI,2.0,Opel OHC engine,dropping Cadet and CL trims,V6,Z24,VL,2.2) its obvious GM was scrambling to save the expensive J program.Eventually,it worked and sold like no body's business.

does anyone have a picture of what one of these looks like ?...a written description is kinda hard to go by

Try calling dealerships and things, they might have them from trade ins? Other then that, your doing all you can to find one of 'em.

Wow, I never thought it would be this hard to find one. But o well I'll continue my search, I'm bound to find one sometime.

The following picture is of a 1987 cavalier hatchback Z24. Their were only 4,517 hatchback z24 made out of 346,254 Cavaliers made in 1987.

http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/domhollister84/untitled.JPG

Here is the link for the picture I tried to post but the site would not let me. The picture is of a 1987 cavalier hatchback z24

http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/domhollister84/untitled.JPG

The picture you posted did work. Never seen one before.

Sorry j-body.org is Crap they won't let me show you my car. Try copy the following link. Copy every thing in between the << >>. Then open a new internet window and paste the address there and you will be able to see the picture. <<http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/domhollister84/untitled.JPG>>;

What im saying man is, the link you posted WORKS. The 1st post in this thread WORKS.

Hi there,
I bought a 86 Hatchback in very good condition, but I decided to do a radiator flush. I got sidetracked & never finished putting in enough water. Jumped in it to go somewhere & overheated it big time. I was so disgusted with myself; I gave it to a friend of mine. He is having it worked on now, but I'm not sure if he would be willing to part with it. We are in the Austin, TX area, so before I ask him anything, tell me where you are located. Email me: [email protected]

Hes in Michigan, click his profile and thats what it says...