A Vega curiosity

[padgett]

I recall both & was considering one (wanted a car that could dominate F/S SCCA solo II) then Pontiac agreed to build some V-8 Sunbirds in 78 since already certified for the H-body and since I could order with Snowflake wheels (13x6) and a Formula steering wheel how could I resist ? Dealer insisted on a $1000 deposit for a $4000 car since was in south Florida and was NA with C60 (air conditioning) - could get with the automatic but not the four speed.

 

Extra struts were mostly around the front suspension & vented disk brakes. flywheel was recessed where the pressure plate bolted, and radiator was about 2" higher than any seen in an H-body. Also had a torque tube to eliminate axle tramp and a fragile 7.5" 10 bolt saf-t-track axle.

[John348]

12 hours ago, padgett said:

I recall both & was considering one (wanted a car that could dominate F/S SCCA solo II) then Pontiac agreed to build some V-8 Sunbirds in 78 since already certified for the H-body and since I could order with Snowflake wheels (13x6) and a Formula steering wheel how could I resist ? Dealer insisted on a $1000 deposit for a $4000 car since was in south Florida and was NA with C60 (air conditioning) - could get with the automatic but not the four speed.

 

Extra struts were mostly around the front suspension & vented disk brakes. flywheel was recessed where the pressure plate bolted, and radiator was about 2" higher than any seen in an H-body. Also had a torque tube to eliminate axle tramp and a fragile 7.5" 10 bolt saf-t-track axle.

 

Mr P Interesting on the no A/C with a manual transmission, I never really thought about it  but I just can't see that being specific to  just south Florida, but rather across the board for all areas. I am going to dive through my books and see what I can come up with.

I know it was a long time ago but the price of $4,000 seems very cheap for an 8 cylinder car. I have a Bill of sale from Bob Steele Chevrolet in Merritt Island Florida for a 77 Chevrolet Monza Mirage ( I am trying to scan it but my son seems to did something where it only see's his computer he won't be here until tomorrow night, I would like to put up the bill for all to see)  This one was fairly loaded with a dealer Mirage package, missing the front spoiler which in my opinion gives the car an entire different look.The bill on this was 6,614 40. A/C, PS, PB Tilt Sport Steering wheel F-41 suspension, and Monza Mirage PAckage added. a big difference in the price. This car as I bought as a spare because I did not know what the one in the photo's was really like and there are just too many one off parts so to play it safe I bought it, Came from down your way in a real small junkyard in real bad part of  Orlando,(I grew up in the Bronx, so for me to call an area bad it is bad)  The one I bought from the barn turned out to be better then I expected so I left it intact and I sold it to a guy in Georgia who is trying to put one together. The dealer Mirage's had a vinyl strip kit which from what I understand did not fair to well in the Florida sun, so someone repainted it with their own stripe's which I feel is a little ugly. I hope to have that bill posted later tonight or tomorrow 

The photo's are that parts car, I should have kept the tilt column for mine 

Edited November 29, 2016 by John348
added pictures (see edit history)

[GMPARTSMAN]

The underdash low coolant light module was a recall, probably late 74 or 75. It added that and a overflow tank.

 

I actually had pretty good luck with my 73. 2bbl 4 speed. Bought it new for $2313.00 and drove it like I stole it. Powershifted that Saginaw and was still on the original clutch when I got rid of it in 76 at about 95k. Original engine, replaced a head gasket at about 50k. I used the old GM E.O.S. P/N 1052367 with each oil change. Recurved the distributor, Mallory ignition components and "accidently" lost the TCS solenoid about the first month I owned it. Only reason I got rid of it was the rear shock mount tore away from the underbody, frame shop wanted $250 to repair it. Was offered $600 on trade in, so bye bye.

 

Also. early  production 1975 V8 Monzas were 350 equipped as the 262 scheduled did not pass the 50,000 mile test for valve wear. The 350 was certified, so it was installed. They were nothing to write home about either powerwise, 2bbl equipped.

[padgett]

Thought it got the 262 in the Federal group and 350 in Cali. Could be rong, am a Floridian.

 

Got the numbers backwards, was 63 coupes like mine and 66 fastbacks (took two letters to document). Also was $5,668 list but paid a bit over $4k

 

Think the AC was NA on any H-body with the 305 & 4-speed, not just my Sunbird.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Thomas Buzbee]

Hey, That's very interesting however, I have read any great article that can help you fixing you head gasket problem. I hope this article maybe helpful to you. Check this http://automobileremedy.com/blog/how-to-repair-replace-a-blown-head-gasket/.

 

Edited November 30, 2016 by Thomas Buzbee
add image (see edit history)

[John348]

Mr P

You sure did get a price on that!  I also thought that the 350's were a California only (high altitude) I think the non A/C V-8 four speed was across the entire line, the only reason I can think is on deceleration it could stall? I know my 3.8 Skyhawk had an automatic and A/C but also had an ISC motor. I think that might have been the sticking point.... not sure just a thought. I looked through a few of the dealer books and there was no specific mention either way about A/C V-8's and manual transmissions

 

On 11/29/2016 at 0:21 AM, cheezestaak2000 said:

i remember the monza spyder, but not the mirage

 

 

They made close to 30,000 Spyders, they were done in house by Chevrolet, the production on the Mirages  were done by an outside company MAT (see door sticker in the photo's above) Production numbers are all over the place on them I heard as low as 500 and as high as 4,000. there is a registry and there are only 50 cars listed. They are rare, imagine trying to sell a bicentennial paint job on a used car in in 1982?   Compound that on a car that had pretty bad reputation, remember this was the car that the engine had to be lifted up to change the #3 cylinder spark plug on the V-8's.

When I saw the photo's of the one above I knew I was buying it right then and there... 

[padgett]

Know the "no-C60" (AC) was in the dealer options book and on the order sheet. Think it had to do with emissions certification and/or the weight class but never knew why. Not in the original 1978 Sunbird brochure because it was not available at the start of production. May have somewhere but is not in my Sunbird file & traded off in 2001.

 

Fact: Interesting GM engine and drivetrain options were often "no AC" e.g. early Z-28 and think L-88 or anything with a 3.90 or lower axle ratio.

[John348]

3 hours ago, padgett said:

Know the "no-C60" (AC) was in the dealer options book and on the order sheet. Think it had to do with emissions certification and/or the weight class but never knew why. Not in the original 1978 Sunbird brochure because it was not available at the start of production. May have somewhere but is not in my Sunbird file & traded off in 2001.

 

Fact: Interesting GM engine and drivetrain options were often "no AC" e.g. early Z-28 and think L-88 or anything with a 3.90 or lower axle ratio.

 

Mr P, Interesting, I do think by 78 the fate was already determined to the entire line of H bodies, initially I was also thinking of emissions which I have heard in the past I don't think emissions were that strict yet, besides the automatic and the manual were the same engines..I have a 1977 Chevrolet "Quick Spec" not much information in that book.  I was aware of A/C not being available on any of the H.P. or S.H.P. engines but the 305's used in the H body cars were really far cry from H.P. engines you mentioned. They were mostly, if not all are solid lifter engines with a lumpy idle that would get a lot rougher with the A/C on. I really think it has to do with the idle speed control motor with a clutch operated transmission in a very light car. It could be emissions but considering they were the same engine in both automatic and manual.

 

Now Mr P we are getting along pretty well here and some might say we are playing nice, so your "glee club" all that bad and besides since Helfin left I am doing a lot of solo's.... but so lets to comfortable and start with the fact stuff agan that is where things can start going down hill  

[padgett]

I am looking for the documentation but have not found it yet. However I did not say it was "emissions" but "emissions certification" and wonder if the V8 could have been borderline on a certification "class" which was a function of weight.

 

However it is a fact that when I ordered my specific '78 Sunbird it was not available with air conditioning. In fact it is the only new car I have bought (back to & including a 1967 Camaro V8/4-speed) that did not have AC.

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 11/28/2016 at 9:38 PM, John348 said:

Here are a few photos of my Monza Mirage... 

Once I saw the pictures I knew I was going to buy it, it is rare to find any of these cars, even rarer to find on that was not messed with... 

These were on the Vega platform....

 

 

 

John, were the flexible front ends of these cars

made of the same urethane material that got

brittle when used for all the G.M. bumper fillers?

Or was it a different material?

Since the car is seldom seen, are replacements available?

 

There were several similar models with flexible

front ends, such as the Buick Skyhawk, and I 

wonder what people do.  Your car looks really nice!

Edited December 1, 2016 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[John348]

On ‎11‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 11:27 PM, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

John, were the flexible front ends of these cars

made of the same urethane material that got

brittle when used for all the G.M. bumper fillers?

Or was it a different material?

Since the car is seldom seen, are replacements available?

 

There were several similar models with flexible

front ends, such as the Buick Skyhawk, and I 

wonder what people do.  Your car looks really nice!

 

Hey, John sorry for the delay in responding. Thanks for your compliment of the car. There really is no supply of parts for these cars, the few that I have come across were just preserved originals, very few are left original. I am not sure of the material used on the side panels, it could be the same urethane. The panels were not made by GM so I don't know. Here is a photo of the back of the driver side rear panel which I had to reattach. I was looking for a number on the panel to get an idea of which one it was

[GMPARTSMAN]

padgett    299

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Posted Tuesday at 08:04 PM · Report post

Thought it got the 262 in the Federal group and 350 in Cali. Could be rong, am a Floridian.

 

 

I was working in a Detroit area Chevrolet dealership parts department at that time. We had a white 75 Monza 2+2 towed in with a pretty severe front end hit. As the owner was a GM executive secretary and the car was extremely hard to get at the time we had to fix it. That was an experience as almost everything took a lot of calling and mentioning the name of the executive to get special handling.

 

That one faired better than one of the last 1975 Caprice convertibles built. We totaled that one out, a dead on front end hit that buckled the frame and pushed the engine back into the cowl panel. I shed no tears when that one got "washed out".

Edited December 5, 2016 by GMPARTSMAN (see edit history)

[John348]

Was over where I store my Cosworth and came upon my spare Cosworth engine and took a few pictures of the block ans cylinders. Note the hemispherical head combustion design used on the 4 valve Cosworth head

[padgett]

Just a loint of paw but that is not a hemi, it is a pentroof head. Intake and Exhaust valve pairs are inline.

[Ronnie]

I once owned a Vega with a four cylinder and it was a real POS until I built me a 301 V8 for it. I put 5 lug spindles on the front and a narrowed 10 bolt in the rear. Doing all that transformed it into a different car. Yeah, then it was a heavy POS. I hated that car.

[padgett]

1978 Sunbird (glorified Vega) V-8: twice Florida region Solo II F/S champion, Florida State champion, SE-Div SCCA Champion. Car was always faster than the driver.

[72caddy]

Mirage for sale...Not mine. http://jacksontn.craigslist.org/cto/5922482424.html

[mike6024]

You can buy new 4 cylinder Cosworth crate engines btw : http://www.cosworth.com/products/crate-engines/duratec-engines/

[Rusty_OToole]

Why didn't GM develop the Cosworth Vega engine into a performance engine for Vega, Monza, and other small cars? They already had it, and it would have fit right into the times and sold well?

[joe_padavano]

5 hours ago, mike6024 said:

You can buy new 4 cylinder Cosworth crate engines btw : http://www.cosworth.com/products/crate-engines/duratec-engines/

Which is completely unrelated to the Cosworth Vega engine. The "Duratec" name tells you that it's Ford-based.

[padgett]

Have to understand the '70s. Most people didn't want a four banger, they wanted a V8. And I would not have been surprised that the Cosworth cost more than a V8. Wasn't until the (GM) Iron Duke and Quad-4 that fours gained traction.

 

Don't forget that the double nickel did not take effect until March, 1974 when GM & such were already planning the '77s & after that fours and V6s became common. This also paved the way for the import revolution since the cars that buzzed you to death at 70 were quiet at 55.

[John348]

8 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Why didn't GM develop the Cosworth Vega engine into a performance engine for Vega, Monza, and other small cars? They already had it, and it would have fit right into the times and sold well?

 

Rusty great question!

I think there were several contributing factors as to why not. I personally feel that there was way too much "brand damage" from the early production failures to the Vega line and anything that was associated with the name was not a good idea. I linked an interesting piece on the history of the Cosworth Vega which can answer a good part of your question. As you can see John Delorean was trying to save it, It was just not in the cards. Cosworth was looking for an engine for F2 racing, and wanted to develop a 2L engine. As you will read in this link that the engines could not withstand the rev's and bottom end grenaded. While the cost of the Cosworth Vega's was an issue as pointed out by Mr P, but  keep in mind the Cosworths were a enthusiast's vehicle. I was going to purchase one but being under 21 and it was a cash sale the dealer wanted my Father to come down to approve. All he heard was a a Vega for $5,500 and it was a NO!  I can hear him now,,, " I can't believe my son is going to spend $5,000 for $2,500 P.O.S. oil burner" I never bought one until six years ago, and he was partially right

When the continued the "H" body line with the Monza Skyhawk,Sunbird, and (I forgot the Oldsmobile name) GM was toying with putting a Rotary Engine in the Chevrolet version. Those engines had similar oil burning problems so they opted not to use it. I cam across this photo of an early prototype badge that was never put into production. With the Chevette they had the compact market share covered, but there was still a market share for mid-size compact cars. The 75 Monza's had a much taller tunnel to accept the height difference of the output of the rotary engine, that was change in 76 for the continuation of the production run.

 

43 minutes ago, padgett said:

Have to understand the '70s. Most people didn't want a four banger, they wanted a V8. And I would not have been surprised that the Cosworth cost more than a V8. Wasn't until the (GM) Iron Duke and Quad-4 that fours gained traction.

 

Don't forget that the double nickel did not take effect until March, 1974 when GM & such were already planning the '77s & after that fours and V6s became common. This also paved the way for the import revolution since the cars that buzzed you to death at 70 were quiet at 55.

 

Mr P, I feel I understand the 70's very well,  and my recollection and understanding of the 70's is totally different then yours!  I guess you forgot about the gas crunch in the 70's with odd and even plates for gas. (I worked at a gas station and that allowed me to get "tips" for loaning a set a odd or even plates to get on line, helped me acquire the cash I had for that Cosworth I wanted to buy) Or that the economy had TANKED big time creating the market for smaller affordable cars with better fuel mileage. The import revolution well under way by 1970 and at full speed by the mid 70's. Volkswagon Beetles and Toyota's were all all over the place by 1973. While most people did not want a "four banger" as you pointed out which probably true to a certain extent, but the Rolling Stones with a great 70's song put it best "You can't always get what you want,,,,,,,,, but then you will find some time........ you get what you need"  

Remember Gerald Ford's opening line in his State of the Union Address? "The State of the Union is not good" 

 

I am not going to argue the fact that GM H body cars were bad cars, however they were the engineering stepping stone to many features that we see today's in modern drivetrains, from the use of submersible fuel pumps, use of aluminum, timing belts overhead cams, and on and on, and besides GM did sell millions of them. These cars are a part of our automotive history, just like the Edsel. The one exception is that there were so many more Vega's around so there were more enough bad experiences to go around for everyone that somehow everybody knew somebody that owned one and had a horror story to tell.

 

Cosworth vega history

 

 

[bobg1951chevy]

Do you guys remember when  tailgate glass on full size Chevys disappeared into the tailgate, via a window crank and regulator ?

Back in the early '70's, Vega  did basically the same thing, on the other end of the vehicle, but not by design.

Working for GM in the rustbelt (Cleveland, Ohio), I witnessed it all.

It began with the Vega cowls trapping salt, moisture and water.

Quietly, the cowl silently rotted away, one bite at a time. Then the firewall ...........

Owners became aware of the phenomenon while driving briskly along,   moving air would be felt on the drivers face and forehead.

Ah, an open window the driver thought, so windows cranks were turned tightly  to seal the windows tight, but the breeze continued.

No more window cranks to tighten, all glass was closed, or were they ?

Fact is, the lower channel / support of the windshield cowl area had deteriorated, the windshield was sinking like a sunset, into the rotting cowl, leaving an open gap, big then bigger,  at the top of the windshield to body area, by the visors and inside rear view mirror.

Being a unibody construction, the sinking windshield was the initial "clue" of a very rotted cowl, firewall area.

ASM's (area service managers) employed by Chevrolet were buying Vegas  back left and right.

S-C-R-A-P-P-E-D was written on the windshield, with various additional codes, the Vegas were then loaded on trucks, taken to the crusher, the end of every Vega, with that death note on the windshield.

Lordstown, Ohio  became a hot spot of criticism and investigation for assembly plant designs and assembly procedures.

I'm betting the path between Detriot and Lordstown looked like a worn out carpet.

I would not have wanted to be anyone employed by GM, associated with the Vega program, at that time.

A tough end for the little Vegas, who began life with good intentions.

 

 

 

[John348]

34 minutes ago, bobg1951chevy said:

Do you guys remember when  tailgate glass on full size Chevys disappeared into the tailgate, via a window crank and regulator ?

 

Ah yes the clam shell wagons, the Vega was far from the only bad car. My uncle had one of those wagons and it had it's fair share of rot issues as well. The Vega was not the only bad car in the 70's. it was just the best known

[bobg1951chevy]

2 minutes ago, John348 said:

 

Ah yes the clam shell wagons, the Vega was far from the only bad car. My uncle had one of those wagons and it had it's fair share of rot issues as well. The Vega was not the only bad car in the 70's. it was just the best known

Not the only bad car, but certainly very unique, with the sinking windshield.

[padgett]

Fortunately I only spent five years in the rust belt and my H-bodies were all southern cars. All of them had real radiators so escaped grenading (other than the steel sleeved Astre wagon I had).

 

Thought the "clam-shell" B-body wagons had a curved glass that went into the roof. My A-body wagon had a big power window that went into the 2-way tailgate.

 

Do remember working with some HEI-based fuel pumps for the Rotaries.

 

Starfilre (also available with a 305 in '78) - still looking for the "no AC with V8 & 4 speed" but all literature I've found was before the release. Hard to prove a negative.

 

Also went through the 70's but while there was a lot of sound and fury, I never had any difficulty getting gas either in the first (73) or second (79) fuel crisis, just seemed expensive.

What I do remember is that from about '55 to '71 every year the new cars got better and faster, After '71 bloat and regulations took over while the manufacturers were scrambling to meet them, there was little funding for innovation, cams designed for max torque at 2000 rpm for the 55 mph speed limit and VVT was off in the future. This meant taking almost any engine past 4500 was an exercise in futility, wasn't until the '80s that we started seeing new and lighter mass market designs.

 

Cosworth Vega was interesting as a stop-gap but Costin & Duckworth were always better known for Fords & don't forget that UK labor issues just about destroyed the automotive industry there.

 

 

[cheezestaak2000]

On 12/20/2016 at 0:15 AM, padgett said:

1978 Sunbird (glorified Vega) V-8: twice Florida region Solo II F/S champion, Florida State champion, SE-Div SCCA Champion. Car was always faster than the driver.

i beg to differ, sunbird was on the monza platform. the pontiac version was the astre

 

[padgett]

And a Monza was a glorified Vega also.

[bobg1951chevy]

Want to talk about being held hostage ?  .........

A dealership HAD TO ORDER ESSENTIAL TOOLS (KENT MOORE) each year, through GM, for the current model run of cars.

An expensive proposition each year, for Mr Dealer.

That being said, the Cosworth Vega was about to make its announcement / appearance to the public.

My dealer did NOT want to sell Cosworths, was not going to order any Cosworths.

GM wanted my dealer to order the Cosworth Vega Kent Moore Essential Tools, good only on Cosworths and BIG BUCKS.

Mr Dealer said "NO WAY, I'M NOT GOING TO SELL THE COSWORTH".

Back and forth, with GM on this subject.

Final word, GM would not send ANY NEW VEHICLE INVENTORY to this dealer, until that Kent Moore order was filled.

True story, I was there and very much involved.

Hostage holding, at its best by the GENERAL.

[Larry Schramm]

2 minutes ago, bobg1951chevy said:

Want to talk about being held hostage ?  .........

A dealership HAD TO ORDER ESSENTIAL TOOLS (KENT MOORE) each year, through GM, for the current model run of cars.

An expensive proposition each year, for Mr Dealer.

That being said, the Cosworth Vega was about to make its announcement / appearance to the public.

My dealer did NOT want to sell Cosworths, was not going to order any Cosworths.

GM wanted my dealer to order the Cosworth Vega Kent Moore Essential Tools, good only on Cosworths and BIG BUCKS.

Mr Dealer said "NO WAY, I'M NOT GOING TO SELL THE COSWORTH".

Back and forth, with GM on this subject.

Final word, GM would not send ANY NEW VEHICLE INVENTORY to this dealer, until that Kent Moore order was filled.

True story, I was there and very much involved.

Hostage holding, at its best by the GENERAL.

 

That may be true in encouraging the dealer to buy the tools, but the Sales & Service agreement that the dealer, the person named in paragraph 3rd agreed and signed that they would be capable to sell AND SERVICE all of the vehicles of the manufacturers line.

[bobg1951chevy]

1 minute ago, Larry Schramm said:

 

That may be true in encouraging the dealer to buy the tools, but the Sales & Service agreement that the dealer, the person named in paragraph 3rd agreed and signed that they would be capable to sell AND SERVICE all of the vehicles of the manufacturers line.

Yes, it is in the sales agreement.

NO, that was not a form of "encouraging" a dealer to participate.

And NO, there was never a Cosworth sold or serviced at this dealership, but we did have the tools ....... just in case.

[John348]

16 hours ago, bobg1951chevy said:

Yes, it is in the sales agreement.

NO, that was not a form of "encouraging" a dealer to participate.

And NO, there was never a Cosworth sold or serviced at this dealership, but we did have the tools ....... just in case.

 

There is another side to this I had heard and read about. Initially every dealer was going to have only two Cosworths. Some Dealers got pretty slick and decided that they were going to corner the market on this limited production car, so they were buying the rights for those two cars from other dealers. Now what your poor old dealer did not tell you was that he got paid for the rights to his two cars by another dealer, Now how else did he know he was not going to sell one? Because he knew he was not going to get one in or two in his floor plan. Who's kidding who, a dealer will sell a convertible to an eskimo if he could, that is their job they sell things! So why would he tell you he was not going to sell one, considering it was the second most expensive Chevrolet for sale that year. Now these dealers did not realize that if they agreed to sell them they had to buy the tools to fix them? shame on them. All GM did was supply the tools that the dealer needed to fix the cars he agreed to sell. Dealers were taking deposits of $1000 well over a year before the car debuted, many dealers sold more then the two they were guaranteed so they were on the hunt for other cars when they arrived. Don't think for one moment that your boss did not make money, he just did not make as much as he expected

[bobg1951chevy]

A dealer signs an agreement with GM, to sell whatever nameplate he is representing, for GM.

Mr Dealer must agree to the terms of that agreement, and nods his head, with a smile on his face.

However, in the real world, if Mr Dealer chooses not to sell a Corvette or a Cosworth, or a pick up truck, for whatever reason, he can avoid such a sale by pricing the vehicle beyond reasonable expectations, or a host of other reasons.

How do "franchise Chevrolet dealers" hone in on only one model to sell, such as a Corvette ?

Are their only "Corvette sales only" dealerships ?

Bottom line, if the dealer chooses not to sell a specific product, for whatever reason, he'll find a way.

 

[John348]

11 minutes ago, bobg1951chevy said:

A dealer signs an agreement with GM, to sell whatever nameplate he is representing, for GM.

Mr Dealer must agree to the terms of that agreement, and nods his head, with a smile on his face.

However, in the real world, if Mr Dealer chooses not to sell a Corvette or a Cosworth, or a pick up truck, for whatever reason, he can avoid such a sale by pricing the vehicle beyond reasonable expectations, or a host of other reasons.

How do "franchise Chevrolet dealers" hone in on only one model to sell, such as a Corvette ?

Are their only "Corvette sales only" dealerships ?

Bottom line, if the dealer chooses not to sell a specific product, for whatever reason, he'll find a way.

 

 

That is pretty good question, most dealers own more then one dealership they trade off floor plans between franchises that they own, or even other dealers own, this has been going on for years. As GM said to their dealers, "our job is to build them your job is to sell and fix them"

[bobg1951chevy]

4 hours ago, John348 said:

 

That is pretty good question, most dealers own more then one dealership they trade off floor plans between franchises that they own, or even other dealers own, this has been going on for years. As GM said to their dealers, "our job is to build them your job is to sell and fix them"

GM left one word out of their statement to the dealer. The missing word is "right".

Our job is to build them RIGHT, your job is to sell and fix them.

 

 

[John348]

4 minutes ago, bobg1951chevy said:

GM left one word out of their statement to the dealer. The missing word is "right".

Our job is to build them RIGHT, your job is to sell and fix them.

 

 

 No Bob, two words were left out as well as build them right they should fix them RIGHT. 

I have some interesting GM paperwork that I have to find about the selling and servicing of the Cosworth's. They were not your common Vega that's for sure and they are a BLAST to drive!  If you ever get a chance to take a ride in one jump at it. Most of my friends when they get out of mine, and the first thing they do is chuckle and all followed with "I would have never guessed it!" Problem was that they used a $3500 drive train on a $2000 car, they needed to upgrade the car in many areas and they did not.   

[padgett]

Just out of curiosity, ever drive a 7,000 rpm DOHC 24 valve W-body with a 5 speed ? Talk about a blast.

[John348]

7 minutes ago, padgett said:

Just out of curiosity, ever drive a 7,000 rpm DOHC 24 valve W-body with a 5 speed ? Talk about a blast.

 

 No but I thought we were talking about H bodies weren't we?

[padgett]

Was replying to the previous post all in "General Discussion". As for engine options that cost more than the car could have mentioned the 69 Camaro ZL1 that was on the order blank sent to servicemen in SEA. Didn't.

[John348]

4 hours ago, padgett said:

Was replying to the previous post all in "General Discussion". As for engine options that cost more than the car could have mentioned the 69 Camaro ZL1 that was on the order blank sent to servicemen in SEA. Didn't.

 

The topic not talking about ZL 1's or camaros either, the point was that the Vega was still a bad car with an expensive drivetrain, again talking about VEGA's and H body's. I did not think that if the the topic is in General Discussion means that anyone can just randomly change the discussion to a different topic unrelated 

Edited December 31, 2016 by John348 (see edit history)