It’s been a while since we’ve had a new entry in The Great Vega Hunt, and this one was simply too good to pass up, despite it being a mere eBay find (how much better to see one in the wild!).
From the ad listing, the car was purchased new in 1974 by the seller’s grandmother, and is thus a one-owner Vega.
Under the hood throbs the original 2300cc engine, sporting the same tiny postage-stamp radiator that my ’71 notchback had. Starting in ’74, a coolant overflow bottle and electronic low-coolant indicator were added to mitigate the propensity of the engine to overheat (and blow the head gasket, as mine did) when coolant levels went down even the slightest amount. The ad states, “The car has 88,000 actual miles and will run and drive. It has been sitting in her garage since 2010, as she was not able to drive it. It definitely uses some oil and smokes some. These motors weren’t great from the factory.” No understatement there!
The oil burning issue was largely caused by poor valve stem seals (if a blown head gasket didn’t cause cylinder wall scoring first), and was not addressed until the redesigned Dura-Built 140 engine was introduced in 1976. The hood has the usual rot where water collects (bottom right in photo), but I see they have the correct side-post battery installed (for Vert-A-Pac rail transportation). I also note a newish starter solenoid. Engine heat tended to make these stick (and thus not start). I had a bypass switch mounted under my dash to alleviate this issue on my car.
The listing also indicates the car is 100% stock and has never been wrecked, but “there is some rust in a few places.” Not surprising, given early models of these cars rusted simply sitting in the dealer showrooms. By 1974 Chevrolet had begun addressing a number of issues with the car, and the Vega of 1976-77 was actually quite a reliable little car. But by this time it was simply too little, too late. The most effective change Chevrolet made to the Vega was to reskin it and call it Monza.
Peeking inside, we see a “custom” interior, complete with the blank-off plate where the a/c vents would be if so equipped. My ’71 had a little cubbyhole here that was quite useful, given early Vegas lacked a glove compartment, as our subject car has. The most expensive option added to this car was the $58.75 AM radio. Additionally, this car has the optional 4-speed Saginaw manual (Go, Granny, Go!), which I remember having good ratios for the 75hp (net) engine.
First offered in 1973, the LX was almost as close to Brougham as the Vega ever got, and was essentially a base model notchback with the ‘custom’ interior option and a vinyl toupée and which was offered as a ‘luxury’ model.
The LX would be superseded by the Vega Cabriolet with a half vinyl roof and opera windows in 1976. Mmmm, Extra Broughamy!
The car sports Kentucky plates, which explains the overall lack of rust, and all-in-all, it’s probably a good thing I don’t have a spare $4,500 laying around or I’d have already hit the “Buy it Now” button. What a great find it would be to take to our local Cars & Coffee (Cars & Coffee, Cars & Coffee!).
It’s the least interesting possible color inside and out, but everything else about it sure does make up for that. Almost as if it didn’t want to tip its’ hand too badly by being orange or metallic green with matching plaid…
Oh, come on Ed you can do it, put an offer in and make granny proud.
I do not recall the size of the rad in our 1974 Vega, but I do recall the little low coolant warning light that got added later.
I’m not wild about the hubcaps but the interior is considerably better than the seizure inducing plaid ours had 🙂
Hey, those wheel covers once graced one of my favorite cars!
I recall being mystified by this recycling of wheelcovers when these came out. Was Chevy really out of wheelcover ideas? It’s not like that Corvair design was some kind of classic icon.
Oh geez; they also used those wheel covers on the 1975 Monza Town Coupe! Double sacrilege! First they use the Monza name on a glorified vega, and then give it its wheel covers too.
I had the CA only 5.7 Monza TC in Orange w/ black vinyl top – It had sat unsold 2.5 yrs at the Oakland CA Chevy dealer. Fun car but what the heck were they smoking building as optioned?
Doug – I can confess now that I actually did make an offer through the auction listing, albeit a low-ball one! The auction just ended, and alas, I remain, Vega-less.
Very nicely kept! I can’t explain why, but this Vega has an odd appeal to me. I kind of like it!
This is actually a pretty nice looker, inside and out, I was in my late teens back then, and would’ve been interested in this one.
I’d drive it. and when the 2300 finally wore out, I’d consider an ecotec swap to spice things up.
If it were a ’71-’73 Kammback/hatchback I’d find it tempting. And I, too, would put an Ecotec in it, which would probably transform the character of the car.
Having owned a ’72 – and driven my parents’ ’76 Pinto MPG – both with 4-speeds, I can attest the Pinto was like a wet dishrag while the Vega was a blast to drive.
You needed to drive a ’72-’73 Pinto 2.0L with a stick, that little 2.0 was a rev happy little engine. A ’76 would have been saddled with a badly smogged 2.3L Lima slug, with an autotragic trans those could barely get out of their own way.
The block-off plate instead of the cubby-hole is such a superb example of unnecessary, cheapass GM cost-cutting. Imagine the fraction of a cent they saved per vehicle, and how nice it would have been to have a Vega with both the cubby-hole ‘and’ the glove compartment.
But, no, in typical GM fashion, you get one or the other, but not both. Getting these sorts of niceties in Pacific Rim vehicles went a long way to winning over many traditional domestic buyers who switched and, to this day, never looked back.
I doubt that the block-off plate had much to do with turning people towards Pacific Rim vehicles… after all, it IS a Vega 😀 !
$58 for an AM radio. That’s $268 in today’s money. Quite the profit center Delco must have been back in the day.
An AM/FM in a 1972 Corvette would cost an exorbitant $283. Or $1,698 nowdays. And AM only was not available. For that price, I sure hope it had 8-Track.
No wonder aftermarket radio shops took off during this time.
Yes, but that radio was assembled in the US by union workers. It probably had die-cast metal knobs. But I wouldnt know; the original owner of my ’73 Vega didn’t spring for the $58 option. I had the cubby. I also had the tiny radiator. I occasionally get nostalgic and search around, but reasonably stock Vegas in any condition seem pretty rare on the usual internet sites, and usually way overpriced. This actually seems like an OK deal and being a ’74, would lend itself to a nice resto-mod without running afoul of California smog regulations.
My first reaction was Yuck! But even this is old enough to be somewhat cool, although I would take a comparable year Pinto any day over this. Or a Chevy LUV pickup. I can now see why mini trucks were so popular in the 70’s. Useful, cheap, and the quality was light years ahead of domestic products.
Love this.
And more leg room in the back of the sedan over the hatch if reading specs from the old rags of the period are to be believed.
If the original engine gives up, an Iron Duke would drop in just fine.
Are rebuilt Vega engines even available ? Or even rebuild kits ?
I hope it finds an owner that appreciates it and it doesn’t tune it into a dragster or funny car.
A survivor like this just needs to be left alone.
At one time you could get a replacement Vega engine with sleeves and upgraded valve seals, but finding one today would be a challenge for sure. Your Iron Duke idea would probably be the easiest solution if staying almost stock was your goal. It would be a fun driver. Just keep it away from road salt!
As the owner of two different Iron Duke powered H-bodies, I would vote for literally any other possible engine for your swap. ID engines were slow, noisy, thrashy, agricultural things. An Ecotec engine would be light years better than a Duke! Of course, 40+ years of engine development will do that…
Yes, there was quite the cottage industry for sleeving Vega engines (we had two of ’em done ourselves). I would imagine some rebuild parts are out there, but I doubt any rebuild engines are. Good luck even finding one in a junkyard!
Depending on the actual issue with the engine, a set of valve stem seals might sort it out.
I know the Iron Duke well, Daan. Agreed. Three of them in my experience. It’s everything you say it is. And so is the Ecotec, I have one in the ONION.
But, I am a practical person, which is why I suggested the ID, simply because of the availability of parts, cost and ease of replacement.
Perhaps the Buick V6 even.
The Ecotec version would be intriguing, but not exactly a drop in like the ID, which is why my first instinct would be the 2.5 liter. And an improvement over the Vega 2300, though not by much.
I would definitely have one of these. Like Granny, I would have no intentions of getting rid of it, so covering all future bases to keep it on the road would be part of long range planning.
For me it’s ideal: the size, fuel economy and an historical reminder of the beginning of GM’s decline. The whole back story of the Vega is fascinating.This would be like a running piece of that dark history for me.
Plus it’s a Deadly Sin. Always worth an extra couple of $100s for the cachet it brings.
You all do know I live in an alternate universe on the Isle Of Misfit Cars, of course.
@ Ed: yes, I remember. A small sort of cottage business for some. Motor Trend even published a blurb about one of them.
So many around when they came out.
It’s been at least 15 years since I saw one in the San Fernando Valley driven by an old lady and in even better shape than this one. The last one I ever remember seeing in the wild.
A 4.3 V-6 would seem the best option. You don’t have to do quite as much bodging to make it work, it has decent performance potential, there’s plenty of cheap pristine longblocks out there, the weight won’t affect the handling as much and the torque won’t warp the body where you can’t shut the doors after a year or two.
An interesting car. The styling looks more European than American, especially from the rear. Could pass for an Opel or maybe a Fiat.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-the-many-faces-of-the-gm-h-body/
Pic is of an early concept for the Vega from 1968.
Ironic on that last part since there’s probably less Opel in the Vega than in any subsequent small Chevy.
Now look what you’ve started!!
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/d/chevy-vega/6382855008.html
Not far from me. Not an interesting powertrain combo, but sounds ok for the price (or a CL scam).
Ad says it’s a 73, but it appears to be a 72…ad needs better picture of the front bumper.
In 1971, I drove a Vega rental car with the same powertrain as the car in the ad: not quick, but satisfactory for a small car in 1971. Folks bought this kind of car because it wasn’t all that radical, and every town had at least 1 Chevy dealer.
I bought a Vega, new, in 1972, mine had the glovebox (with it’s plastic hinge) and the blankoff panel. I don’t know what the deal is with GM and gloveboxes. Didn’t the 82 Camaro also lack a glove box?
It’s a ’73, you can see the filler plate between the front bumper and fascia.
But what’s weird is that it has the script Chevrolet [VEGA 2300] badge that was a ’71-only part. Later models had a large block-letter VEGA badge.
Our ’73 Kammback GT had the 3-speed automatic and air. It was a slug compared to my ’71 notchback with the Saginaw 4-speed manual (even though it wasn’t a GT).
If the 4 speed in your ’71 was stock, it was an Opel, not Saginaw, as were all Vega four speeds until 1973.
Somewhere back in pre-internet days is where I picked up that it was a Saginaw, so I stand corrected! Mine might or might not have been an Opel unit, though. My Dad bought it when it was about a year old to drive to the Vocational School he directed. He was not popular with students, and someone unbolted the pan on the transmission and drained the gear oil. It of course eventually failed, and I bought a junkyard unit to replace. If the Saginaw was interchangeable, it may well have been one. I do remember the ratios were good for the original 2300, though, whichever it was.
Our 83 Z-28 didn’t have a glove box.
Instead they gave you a tiny itty bitty little trunk under that massive hatch that wasn’t any bigger than a glove box
My Grandpa splurged on his “last” car, a big brown Oldsmobile (around the 1980s) but it was a piece of junk and didn’t last but a few years. He didn’t manage his money well either and died a miserable man with a little Toyota Corrola.
It’s actually a pretty nice looking car with a decent interior. But these cars had so many problems! Friend of the family had one of the earliest ones brand new when I was about 7 or so.
Said friend took my Dad out in it to teach him how to drive. It had a stick-shift. This Vega started rusting along the tops of the fenders when less than 2 yrs old and the family friend ditched it for a new Valiant 4-dr.
both the Vega and the Pinto were terrible cars but in different ways why did the
Vega rust to pieces they even mentioned rust protection ELPO in the ads
some Fords rusted to bits Maverick Torino but I never saw a rust bucket
Pinto my first car was a ten year old worn out neglected old heap
with NO rust then I see late model pickups with all kinds of rust, splain it to
me Lucy!
When the bodies went through the dip tank, there was an air pocket that formed in the front wheelwell area, so no rust protection got applied there. The Vega was also supposed to have wheel well liners, but those got “cost reduced” for production.
I remember one of the worst rusting areas of the Vega was the base of the “A” pillars.
The story behind the Vegas and rust is a classic GM story. GM developed a new process for rust-proofing: dipping the entire car. While this sounds terrific, the system literally had an Achilles’ heel. You will recall that the Greek warrior Achilles had only one place where he could be wounded; he had been magically protected against harm when his mother dipped him in the River Styx…except for the place where his mother held him by the ankle and the water didn’t touch his skin.
Well, in GM’s case, it seems that the rustproofing dip system was (typical GM) insufficiently tested and no one noticed that in certain places air pockets formed when the bodies were dipped and where the air pockets were, no rust proofing solution touched the metal. So, there was raw, unprotected, unprimered, unpainted metal just waiting to start rusting as soon as somebody bought the car. Having no fender liners didn’t help either. Literally thousands of front fenders were replaced under warranty. Were that the Vega’s only problem, it probably would have destroyed the model, but there were more problems…many, many more with the sleeveless block , the carburetor, the cooling system, the valve guides, and of course, the build quality. Look up “The Lordstown Strike” for some interesting reading.
As I often say, the Vega was a great idea, horribly executed.
And as I often say, I don’t agree. 🙂
The Vega’s Camaro-esque proportions made for lousy space utilization; there was no four door sedan, the wagon was really a shooting brake, using the low roof from the coupe, the engine concept was flawed in idea/design, and not just execution, the three-speed transmission with huge gaps between the gears was a flawed idea. I could go on, and have….
As I’ve said before, GM should have just built the Opel Ascona/1900. Much better idea all the way around.
Even Ford had the sense to go to Dagenham for Pinto mechanical bits. Maybe limited funds restrained their NIH/hubris tendencies.
We’re in more agreement than you think, although I would have preferred to see the Vega developed properly vs. captive importing an Opel – but that’s mostly because I like the Vega’s styling better. It handled great, but having never driven an Opel, I can’t offer any comparison opinions.
One correction, the coupe/Kammback is taller than the hatch:
Vega coupe/wagon height: 51.8″
Vega hatch height: 50.0″
How was dipping the entire car in rustproofing compound a “new” process for the Vega? Rambler was using “Deep-Dip” rustproofing in the 1950s and 1960s.
Wow, if I was in the market back then that ad would have caused me to put Rambler on the list.
Vegas didn’t just rust in the front fenders. Our neighbors had a 1974 hatchback that they bought brand-new. In less than three years big rust spots had shown up on the doors and quarter panels.
This was just like my Dad’s car. He traded up from a VW Beetle and thought the Vega was the greatest. Unfortunately (or fortunately) he wrecked his Vega before it had a chance to self-destruct and decided to replace it with a Pinto, to try out Ford for a change. The Pinto was reliable but didn’t have nearly the charm and spirit of the Vega. To this day he thinks the Vega was one of the greatest cars he’s ever owned. For what it’s worth, I thought the back seat of the Vega easily beat the Pinto (and Beetle) any day.
I lived across the state line in Pennsylvania, commuting distance to Lordstown Ohio, where these POS rust bombs where made. I knew many guys who worked there. NEVER ever buy an early 70’s model (If any besides this one actually exist!) as believe me, they where mostly built by guys either stoned, or drunk, or both. Not everyone mind you! a good majority though. And the hate between rank and file and corporate was palpable. Sadly in the era, very few cared about doing a good job, and it showed. And management cared very little about the workers. As one writer noted, saving a “penny” per car was gospel to the accountants.
I thought I saw every permutation of Vega possible back when defiling these with V-8s was a sideline business/hobby, but I don’t recall seeing one like this. I never liked the sedan or the ’74 and later styling changes then but I’d drive this one today. Stock even. Well, maybe a later GM V-6 just for reliability…..
Those interior shots bring back a lot of memories.
I found the page in the ’74 Vega brochure that describes the LX as follows:
Vinyl roof (sooo 70’s)
Protective side molding (lost during the repaint??)
Custom Interior Trim (this would account for the sports steering wheel)
Wheel Covers ( as alluded to by Paul)
Additional sound Insulation (sooooo needed)
And So Forth (quoted right off the page, see for yourself)
The literature makes mention that the fuel capacity had gone for 11 to 16 gallons for 1974.
The hatchback, with it’s semi-fastback profile, and the wagon were the Vegas I saw in coastal Massachusetts, in the day. The squash-yellow of the second car we looked at here would be a typical sighting. This one appears to have damaged body filler at rear right, among other little faults (like the drivetrain choice).
The H-body article linked above is so helpful. The original front end is the big sell, isn’t it — and the blue car with deep-dish wheel treatment is sweet. I’d forgotten that DeLorean came to Chevy then; is a known designer associated with this body ?
God I love this site. I’m a newbie, and not someone with much in-depth experience and knowledge of most road iron — but like any red-blooded male my first spoken word was (they say) “car.” Thanks for a great ride.
Ate Up With Motor’s very detailed article on the Vega states:
“Like the XP-892 and the earlier front-engine XP-873, the XP-887 was not born as a Chevrolet. Its initial engineering package was developed by the Central Staff while the initial styling direction was set by the corporate Advanced studio, then led by Clare MacKichan (a former Chevrolet chief stylist who had previously led the development of the Opel GT as chief designer for Opel in Germany) and directly supervised by Styling VP Bill Mitchell.”
This is probably my cousin’s car — the tags are from Wayne County, Kentucky, which is a rural county on the Tennessee border. I grew up just across the state line and my paternal grandmother is from Wayne County.
Oh goodness, that headline, here comes the memory. My grandma’s last car was a J-body Olds Firenza notchback coupe. Same concept, more or less, different decade. It was the only car she ever had that was not a Ford or Mercury. I don’t have any photos of it. When my grandmother passed, my dad asked me if I wanted the Olds and I couldn’t think of a reason why. It had spent its entire existence outdoors in PA, much of it in a hilly neighborhood that needed lots of salt in the winter, and it showed.
I`m amazed that that creosote,black plasticy interior never melted away. That interior makes a good case for walking.
My father bought a 1974 Vega notchback coupe in Fall 1973 when we moved to the Chicago area. Similar to the featured car, the options were sparse and included only the three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic transmission (for stop-and-go expressway commuting) and an AM radio. The car was painted a dark rust brown common to most GM lines that year (same as shown in the brochure picture above), which actually camouflaged the prolific body cancer (the first rust hole appeared within a year on the rocker panel). This was perhaps the only car I know of whose useful life was prolonged by an accident, with a new hood, front fenders and grille all replacing pieces riddled with rust bubbles and holes when the car was four years old. The car limped along for another year, burning oil profusely, often running on only three cylinders and requiring the addition of a quart of oil every 150 miles or so. My father got $250 for it when trading it in June 1979 for a new Chevette.
4500$ for that? That is insane. These are completely junk and have no redeeming value. My friend had one and I hit it in the door with a Ford ltd landau at like 5 mph and it crushed it like a beer can. It pushed the door and front fender in like 8 inches. When he opened the door it fell off. I had another friend with a 73 lesabre who was giving the car away. Running car with interior damage from a broken window. I got it n gave it to friend with the crushed Vega. We got a centurion interior and a window and he had that Buick 10 years. With no major issues. He drove the hell out of it form day one. First thing he did was ram the Vega like 5 times. Buy time the junk yard came to get the it was smashed to bits.
Warren, that’s curious. Vega was one of the first to have beams in the doors for added occupant safety, often featured in the advertising and brochure.
Another thing on the Vega that didn’t work very well, apparently.
You know you’re trashing Motor Trend’s Car Of The Year, don’t you ?
That beam in the door protected me from bodily harm when, having just gotten my license, a drunk driver lost control on a rain-slicked road and hit us at about a 30° angle right on the driver’s side door. Spun us around 180° and across the two-lane State road into the ditch, where we flipped up on our side. Dad was riding shotgun and with the damage to the door, he couldn’t roll the window down but a few inches, so he wrapped his hand in his jacket and broke it out so we could climb out.
This happened near a convenience store, and several guys came running over to see if we were okay, which we were. They pushed the car back on its feet, Dad used a pair of pliers from his ever-handy toolkit to bend the rear fender off the tire, and after dealing with the police (who incarcerated the other multi-offense driver), we drove it home.
I taped sheet plastic over the broken window and used the passenger door to get in and out, and drove it all summer like that. Dad directed our Voc Ed school, and had the auto shop class replace the door and rear quarter, then shot it with fresh Mediterranean Blue, at which point it officially became my car.
A fine candidate for a Small Block Chevy V8 engine transplant.
I had a sleeved-engine 73 Kammback GT and a non sleeved 73 hatch with a replacement PG instead of THM indicated on the shifter surround. The wagon was supposed to be for the engine and GT parts to go in the hatchback, but it turned out to be a darn fun lilttle car for a 18 or 19 y/o. You could sleep in the back. Or other less appropriate things. Could also haul right much in there with the hatch open. The 73 looked good bodywise, but had dull paint. Turns out the dull paint was hiding a lot of rust through and bondo. It was straight looking though. For a 18/19 y/o. When I popped a big hole in the hatch body, I decided to just run the wagon. It wasn’t rusty, but had a roached drivers front fender where someone forgot to put hte lugs on apparently (not me). I think all the body panels were different shades of yellow except the doors, which were green. Despite them really being crappy cars, I do have a lot of fond memories and would own another if everything lined up properly. And isn’t that kinda why we all read these articles? The memories and lessons?
Gotta give Granny credit for buying a 4 speed manual/no power steering car.
Is this the only recorded instance of an early Vega outliving its owner?
Everyone here knows I am no fan of these but I actually find this nearly irresistible.
“By 1974 Chevrolet had begun addressing a number of issues with the car”… Like hell they did! My father had a ’74 GT… I got my license in the spring of ’79… by that time that damn Vega had literally DISINTEGRATED. That steaming turd didn’t last 5 damn years. Yes, Cleveland is rough on cars but seriously… FIVE YEARS AND IT’S JUNK??? Hell, I traded my first car, a ’74 Pinto, for a ’69 327 (for a newly purchased ’70 Impala) in ’81 and the body was still solid (it had a ton of miles, burned oil, and the trans was trashed).
Black vinyl and no A/C sounds dreadful. Cute little car otherwise.
Nasty Nasty Nasty. I had a boss who had a lot of kids and no money. There was a Vega deal with no money down and $750 cash back. He got one. No options.The front passenger seat did not adjust! It was bolted to the floor.
He did the first oil change himself to save money. Couldn’t get the filter off, stabbed it with a screwdriver, and tore it. Had it towed to the dealer for an expensive oil change. In two years it was a rust bucket with only 4 years or so to go on the note.
This was a guy who tried to chage a toilet seat. He got one hinge in but the other was crooked. He smacked ot with a hammer and broke the toilet. He deserved a Vega.
So if I hung on to my $600 ’71 4 speed 2bbl Hatchback Vega long enough it could have been a money maker! Mine had it’s starter automatically engage while driving and not stop until battery cable was yanked off. Once the cable was reinstalled never had that issue again.
No rust in ’79 in SoCal on mine. Parents had ’72 2.0 Pinto 4 speed, the engine was strong and the trans shifted nicely, but the Vega handled and rode better. The Pinto drivetrain in the Vega would have been a vast improvement. Had it for about a year, put about 10k miles in addition the the 36k it had when I bought it. Sold it for $800, all I did to it was new tires and water pump, it did drink oil but only seemed to smoke when first started, probaby valve seals.
The U pulls around that time had a huge Vega only section full of very young junked cars. Very few wrecked, most still looked great. The few wrecks would be the only ones with still usable engines.
There’s no way I’d touch this thing….I had a ’72 Vega GT; it ran quite well for 20,000 miles and then started burning oil. I had all sorts of problems with the engine after that point. Admittedly it was a very good handling vehicle, the front seats were comfortable but that wasn’t enough to offset the POS engine.
Ah, the Vega. Good memories and bad of my little 74 GT. It didn’t have a low coolant light though. Perhaps the indicator light was for US models only?
Wow. I don’t remember the last time I saw a running Vega. The body isn’t in bad shape. I’d recommend ditching the original engine and dropping in either an Ecotec or (my choice) a 3800. It would make a nice sleeper.
Well, the car just got relisted with a BIN price of $3,000. I guess my offer of $1,200 was too low!