Vega bashing? Let me tell you something about Vegas. I drove lots of them in the seventies. First Vega I ever (consciously) seen was a cute gold w black strip GT back in 1972. At that time, the owner, Wade Jones, drove a 1970 Vitamin C over black Duster 340 automatic & 3.55.1 Sure-Grip as daily transportation. Like most every other hot rodder at the time, his was modified with headers, 650 Holley, and an Edelbrock LD intake; pretty standard stuff back then. His brother Rick ran a 1969 silver over maroon Barracuda Formula S 340 with the exact same drivetrain, mods included.
After having briefly owned a 1969 Chevelle SS 396-325 auto / 3.08.1 car Wade bought the Vega on a whim. Everyone around the East End of Toronto used to laugh good- naturedly at Wade, and jokingly chided him for buying the ‘little shitter.’
However, it had one caveat that only was to later bring smiles to people’s faces. This little baby had a transplanted 283-2V V8 installed very early on in its life. It was the first time I even heard of a V8 swap in a Vega. I believe that this car already had the swap before Hot Rod and Car Craft even published their articles on the same thing.
Nothing else was modified on this car save the engine. Drivetrain was stock Vega. It was fairly quick for such a tame combo and the ride was not that bad. Yes, there was inevitable gear whine from the factory 4-spd / rear-end. Handling was not that bad either; Wade and most others who drove combos like this were not interested in cornering forces and such. Nobody ever talked much about auto-crossing, gymkhanas, or road-racing. It was about straight-line acceleration, baby!
Out on Highway 401 the Vega was in its element. You drove it wisely and it never came back to bite you. Wade’s father-in-law eventually bought it and was still driving it back in the early Eighties. I left Toronto and that time and headed for ‘college’ as the story goes, so I lost track of all things in the area for years to come.
It was said that the V8 got about the same as the original 4-cylinder job, but, I do not know for certain. It was an entertaining little machine at the time. Later, as the seventies grew on, a lot of Vegas were seen with small and big block swap combos, all hairier than the ‘little’ 283 ever intended to be.
In 1974, my Uncle Percy bought a new Vega demonstrator with a few kinks thrown in for good measure. It was originally painted burgundy with black hounds-tooth interior. Before Percy took delivery, he had the dealership, Robertson Motors, on Danforth Ave., paint it in Fathom Green metal-flake lacquer, with Lime Green, Cherry Red, and Gold chips. He custom ordered American Magnesium ET Wheels and shod them with G-50-13 B.F. Goodrich Radial T/As on the back and B70-13s on the front. What a looker!
For laughs, Percy told everyone that it had a 350 ‘fuelie’ ‘Vette engine installed, but, only the foolhardy believed that with the single exhaust hanging out the back. Nonetheless, we managed to have a lot of laughs in that car and heads turned everywhere we went. Chicks dug it and the ‘man’ hated it, because it was a ‘heat-score.’ More than once Percy had pulled ‘brake-burns’ with the little sucker, leaving people to believe that it just might be more than meets the eye.
Our friend, Wade, intrigued Percy into contemplating an even swop for his second 340 Duster, after an accident into the local elementary school totaled the first. Or was it the hydro pole incident? Hmm…so many unfortunate collisions to ponder…
Eventually, Wade offered six-hundred dollars plus a trunk full of speed goodies, including a perfect out-of-site 950 Holley 3-barrel carb, to which Percy, in all his foolishness, out-right refused, solemnly petitioning Wade for an even grand plus the Duster. Wow!
Every rainbow has its lining and Percy’s Vega soon lost its shine. Within three years the thing had rusted to pieces. Two left fenders, one tranny, two rear-ends, and a bottomless pit of and engine that drank oil as fast as you poured it in the breather cap. In short, he scrapped it for junk, down at Booth’s Auto Wreckers for chump change and a coffee.
In 1975, my father was so impressed with Percy’s little wanker that he went out and bought a brand new bright yellow pisser at the very same dealership. Dad drove it hard until 1980, and then sold it to me for a paltry $100.00 certified. I immediately pulled the carb and replaced it with a 350 cfm 2-V Holley, an old camshaft out of a GT, and circumvented the cat exhaust system in search for more power. It worked brilliantly. Within a year, I ditched it into a ravine at 95 mph. That’s the story of the Vega trio. In their time, they were baby Camaro look-a-like throw-away playthings. …and they did indeed get about 22-24 mpg, perhaps 25-26, if you were very judicious with your right foot.
Terry
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You know that you have it made, when you want for nothing, ask for everything, and receive exactly what you "deserve".
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