I'd take the Vega between the two. Specifically the '71-'73 model years. With the blacked out grille and white racing stripe over the hood and trunk. They looked like a small Camaro. Later models with the big 5 mph bumpers are not as good looking.
My Aunt had one. I remember her bringing it to my dad's house. She had a wee bit of an issue. They were poorly built. The shells were stored outside, in Canada, in the winter and they rusted in weird places. Her weird place was the door hinge mounts. Her door actual fell off because the rust was so bad where the door was bolted to the pillar. When she came to my dad's house the driver door was strapped to the roof. She drove on the 401 highway with a door strapped to her roof!!! The dealer did not care and would not warrantee anything.
One of the "Cost Saving Measures" GM tried out on the Vega/Astra was a unique way of transport: because it was a relatively short car, they had special train cars built to transport the cars *vertically,* nose down, tail up. I'M NOT KIDDING. Google "Vert-a -pac" and you'll see. So if the car was stored outside in Canada and the car got rained or snowed on and accumulated water inside, and then got stood on its nose for transport, the door hinges would get standing water sitting on them during transport. Voila! Rusty door hinges.
I owned a 1975 Astra. When the engine started to wear and was using oil, I lucked into a Buick v6. I was able to fit it into the body. I got the mounts from a Chev dealer , and had to buy a Hooker mount to hold up the manual 4 speed transmission. The only problem was that the Astra came with a stepped flywheel. I added a power brake booster to replace the original brake part. I purchased a Edlebrook intake and put a Holley 4 barrel 425 cfm carb on it. with dual exhaust I could get 29 mpg.. It had a respectful power! Was a great vehicle but the heater didn't put put a lot of heat. Gave to my sun as a get to work car, and he traded it in on a newer Sunbird. Met the new owner of said Astra after a couple of years. He was using it to go back and forth to University and he loved it.
Hey my Friend, I knew a guy back in the 80s who owned a 1975-1976 Pontiac Astra, 305 V-8 Chev engine,5-speed,Swap!! Quick car now!!Great Video!! Hello from Nova Scotia, Canada.😂👌👍✌
@@rarecars3336 Yea my friend he did have a 350V-8 but too heavy for the 350 coil springs, much better with 305 V-8 ( would not bottom out! kept 350 springs!👍✌
My mother had a 75 Astre wagon for a few years. It handled snowy roads pretty well. Its downfall was the engine which eventually wore out and started burning more and more oil until it finally died. It did look better than the Vega in my opinion. Overall it was relatively reliable and had with fewer problems compared to a few other cars we had in the family over the years.
I worked at a truck repair shop across the street from a pontiac dealer and can remember seeing the "Pontiac Vegas" on the lot. I was talking to one of the mechanics one night at the bar and he told me about the iron 4 cylinder. I stopped there to see one and was impressed it had the Iron Duke. The Chevy aluminum OHC engines were terrible, 25 or 30,000 miles and they were all burning oil like crazy
I like how you show the "Iron Duke" in the back of a Fiero☺ In high school a neighbor (Pontiac dealer salesman) had one for his daughter. Big issue with Astre and Vega was the window frame in the door rusting out...
When I got my license I drove my mom’s 1974 Astre Safari wagon. Absolutely no power 60 mph was about it and the kick down it just made more noise and did nothing. The perfect car not to get into trouble with.
My Aunt bought a 74 Astre strait from the Factory when she was in the Navy in San Diego, Back in those days GM had a program that Active Duty Military Members and D.O.D. Employee's could go to an Assembly Plant or the Headquarters in Detroit and order a car at employee pricing. She ordered hers with a 307, My cousin's daughter still has it, it's now on the 3rd generation of their family, my aunt gave it to my cousin when he turned 16 and he gave it to his daughter when she turned 16.
@@TheREALOC1972if you have installed a V8 in one you know it's not a GM parts bin special....where you would use GM parts to install a V8..... so the factory workers fabricated parts to install a V8....?
I’ve never heard anything like that. You could order a new GM vehicle but it’s through the base exchange system. My dad ordered a ‘70 Chevelle new through the exchange system before he returned from Viet Nam. He didn’t order an LS6 because he didn’t even know it existed.
Here in Canada, we called the Astre the Desastre or Désaster in English, the engine was self-destructing like the Vega and rust was overwhelming the first year of ownership. GM dealers tried to calm things down and said these cars were under warranty and GM would fix them. After a new engine and trans after the first year and 23000 miles, the body began to root severely in the 2e year. That was it and my uncle ditched that lemon and got a Chevelle with a 350. So GM went downhill in the late 70s and never quite recovered. Good video
I had a '76 Pontiac Astre with a 5-spd manual trans. Great little car. Drove it through the Colorado and Utah mountains on a ski trip back in Dec '78. One day it was -35 deg F. Car started and ran fine. Had the Iron Duke four cylinder 2.5L. Very practical hatchback.
I had a 1974 Astre Kammback Panel Wagon. No rear seat, just tons of room for my tools and spare parts. It had a manual 3-speed wide ratio Saginaw, which was a very poor match for its narrow peak power band. Rev it till it started to sound painful, then upshift and feel it lugging. I found a 2- barrel intake that allowed it to rev a bit higher with less pain, but by then it needed (another) head gasket. Bye! Btw I bought another H-body, a 1975 Vega woodie wagon with a T-10 5-speed, Crower cam, Weber 45DCOE sidedraft carb, and steel sleeved rebuilt block. Great car!
They definitely killed the looks but they worked very well and were badly needed. Before that the Big Three were turning out cars where even a very mild bump caused the equivalent to thousands of dollars in damage, just like now.
It actually dates back to the introduction of the "Chevy II", later renamed the Nova, save in Latin American markets, for obvious reason. I believe it was discontinued for a few years in the late 60s and until 1972, then brought back for a high-mileage version of the Nova. Only 90 hp GROSS out of 153 cubes. Chevy kept this cheap by using the same casting equipment as the inline sixes and, like the sixes as well, having the same bore and stroke as the likewise uninspiring 307 Chevy V8, being in effect "half" of that engine.
In or around 1975 my aunt bought a Pontiac Astre brand new in Austria, Europe from a dealership specialized in exotic cars. I rember the car as being the coolest I've ever seen (although my uncle had a Pontica GTO at that time) back then.
One reason why Canadian go the pontiac astre, it's because, it was at the request of pontiac dealership, who were afraid of losing sales to chevy, they would ask the same for the Chevy chevette, and got the Pontiac acadian/1000. Also in Québec the car get the nickname " désastre " ( disaster ) while the chevy vagas got the " dégât " ( damage ) nickname.
My middle aged brother had a 78 model of one of these as his first car. From what I could tell, it came with the 2.5L iron duke from the beginning. At least that was more reliable than the original 2.3L Vega engine. However, it was about as refined as a Tractor. I will say that I didn't think that the car drove badly for what it was. It was underpowered and the build quality was mediocre. It did seem to drive OK though. I learned how to drive a manual transmission on that car. It was a good way to learn. Somehow, I wound up liking that car at the time and would have been happy to have it as a first car. I know it isn't great and a used contemporary Toyota Corolla would have been a better choice and more reliable. However, when you are in High School and wanted a car these could be had in the late 80's for a small amount of money which was the time I was in High School. I don't know who my family bought that old brown Astre from but it was in good condition. There really wasn't anything mechanically wrong with it. My brother hated it probably because it was "old", not very fast, and it was a bit of a rattle trap. I would've been happy with it for a while. Keep in mind it would have been a first car and not my future preference or dream car. Context matters here. Parts and repairs for it were easy to find at the time and cheap. Another thought about these is that My dad had a lime green Vega wagon one time with automatic and that was terrible. On I-40 with the gas on the floor, it would climb Old Fort Mountain hunting between 2nd and 3rd gear at about 45 mph. Crap. I think that one had the orginal 2.3L Vega engine which would have been a ticking time bomb. The Astre with the 2.5L iron duke was "OK" as a cheap car. However, the japanese were way ahead of these at the time. I think Click and Click used to recommend the 1979 Toyota Corolla as a first car. One of those would be better for sure but still underpowered. However, you can't kill one easily. One of these Astres would be adequate with the 4.3L Vortec V6. I saw one sitting out near someone's house and it had a "4.3" badge on the back. Maybe it was swapped and they added that instead of it being a factory option. Or maybe someone thought they would try to fool other people by pasting the badge on there. My first car was a 1978 Renault 5 which was a mistake. It had super comfortable seats and a smoooth ride. However, parts and service were nearly impossible to find in Western NC at the time. I did not have it long. My 2nd car was a 1982 Subaru GL 4X4 Wagon. That was a better car then either the Astre or the 5. It still had issues with the axles though otherwise it was decent enough. In low range it could go anywhere that it had ground clearance to go.
My parents had a 1978 Pontiac Sunbird wagon that was the same as the Astre. I'd love to have that thing today. I'd drop a supercharged 3800 in it, and road trip that thing until the wheels fell off.
My dad bought a new Astre in the mid 70's, I don't remember the exact year as I was very young then, all I remember was it was orange and had white interior. He didn't keep it long as I remember.
My Grandmother ordered a new 1977 Astre.. I think it took over 7 months to arrive at the dealer. It was a dark metallic brown with black interior, wood grained dash, manual transmission... & the Radial Tuned Suspension badge on the dash. lol She put over 270,000 miles on it before trading it in for a Plymouth Reliant wagon... I wish I had that old Pontiac.
@@rarecars3336 She lived in Vermont of all places. lol. The car was kept in excellent condition throughout the entire time she had it though. It was always maintained on schedule, cleaned spotless & garaged. I think it was her first new car purchase. It kinda broke my heart when she traded it in
I owned one in 1975 it was a good small car. It was red with white interior . I never had any trouble with it . Maybe the key was ,I never pushed it . Sold it in 1981 needed more space after having a baby. I never see any around now .thanks for the video enjoyed it
Everyone loved the pony cars, just so long as they came with an available V8 and a four speed. When Chevrolet started with the Nova in 1962 it came with an inline four or six cylinder engine. In 62 & 63 that's all you could get. It wasn't until 1964 after hearing the public outcry that they put in a little heavier front end and a choice of a 283 or 327 V8. With the launch of the Vega, again there was no V8 option available. Many of us said well, if you want something done you have to do it yourself. And so they did shoehorn small block V8s in there themselves. They were frighteningly fun. But then after the Monza and all that, everything besides the trucks went front wheel drive. I do remember that there was some issues trying to change all the spark plugs in the V8 Vega because there was so little room under the hood. But my hats off to all those that made it happen. They ran quick in the quarter mile.
You should do a whole video on the Canadian market exclusive sister cars from Pontiac, or the Big 3 makers in general if you haven't already. The Chevelle sister Pontiac Beaumont is one of my all time favorite muscle cars from the golden era.
I had a '73 or '74 Astre here in Canada. Took it on a 6000 mile trip through USA in '77. Daily driver for quite a few years. Other than a rust problem and a leaky head gasket it was a pretty decent car I thought.
I boa 1977 Celica GT lift back for my first car. The local Pontiac dealer only had 1 formula Astre come through. Lots of Firebirds, but they were all Automatics. I wanted a stick. Once I was looking at Firebirds it was all Trans Am. But, again, like I said they were all automatics. No sticks available in California. That Celica was designed after the 65 Mustang fast back. Which was another favorite. (I got one years later, another kick myself in the rear car for letting go of that) But, having just having going through the Gas Crisis I had to take into account gas mileage. My first Adult decision as a 16 year old. All I can tell myself about that time is…… “It is what it is”!
@@jamesstetz9884 Yeah, to be 100% honest that was about it. But mine was a 77. Same motor, and I’d suspect same horsepower. But, by 1979 I had added a 68 f85. With a 350. Only 2bbl. But was going to be replaced. I had also bought a 69 Firebird that had a 428 with a M21 4 speed (motor was from a Bonneville). And got a 64 corvette a year (or 2) later. Hence why I never got to the olds. So the Celica was my daily commuter. The big problem was I got a 1979 Dodge W150, (January 80) and my world changed. 4 Wheeling became my passion. Until I got my first street bike. I had the blessing of having a great job (sometimes 2 or 3) and had a large amount of money coming in. So I had to spend it on toys. Now……… we’ll I had fun. And the body reminds me of all the fun I had. I now have 7 Grandchildren & 2 great grandchildren. I tell them that the theme song to my life (I believe) was written by Rhett Atkinson & sung by Frankie Ballard. It is called “Young & Crazy”. Two of those grandkids sing it with me when it plays in the SUV or Truck, and say “Papa your song”. I may kick myself for letting some (most) of those toys go. But when I hear those two little one’s singing, I know that I made a few good choices during those years! I hope you can find something exciting (maybe the styling) in the Studebaker. Because in my old age, I have found, that sometimes what’s really exciting isn’t how fast we go. But the fun we had, and the memories we made. I hope life is good for you James.
Had a relative that owned a Pontiac dealership and I loved hanging out there when we visited in the summers. What I recall about the Astre was the dealers HATED them and put little to no effort into moving them. By the time they came out, Vegas were already starting to rot out, burn oil and show up in droves with pissed customers at Chevy dealerships. Why would anyone want a piece of that action?
My mom's friend had a white one. She came by about once a month when I was a kid. Remember her bringing it by when she bought it brand new. I was intrigued when running out expecting a Vega and seeing a Pontiac. Grandpa had a '67Tempest so I loved it. Was very obvious to me , even at that young age, the two were pretty much the same. I always liked the way they looked and remember how badly they were talked about. Even remember my dad saying how stupid it was to bring this thing to market with the Vega already having such a bad reputation and assuming it would be dead very soon.
I had a 72 Vega and swapped out the engine with a 76 Astra engine. It was basically the same but with steel sleeved cylinders. It ran well and didn't smoke or consume oil.
I think I'd like an Astre with a Vegas front clip. Throw in a built 305 and a posi rear. I remember seeing Vegas in HS with 305 ci engines shoehorned in.
I remember seeing them when I was a kid. The town I grew up in used liberal amounts of road salt in the winter. It was common to see them rusted out in 2 years. We called them the ashtray.
I had one with a 455. I bought it in 84 with that motor in it. It was completely stock but it would lay scratch as long as you wanted. It was fairly quick but had a 2.78 gear. Fastest I ever went was about 130 and it got pretty scary. Cool car.
How did you squeeze a 455 big block into it ? A buddy of mine in HS back in the mid 70s had a helluva time dropping a chevy 350 into his Vega....the problem was the steering shaft clearing the drivers side header...cant imagine how much modification would be required to slap headers on a 455 ...the 401 sucks...still does today lol. Brutal traffic....constant construction...nothing has changed in 40 years in that regard.
@@peetena1481 it was in it when I bought it. It didn't have headers. No power steering or brakes. I've seen a few Vegas with big blocks. It's been almost 40 years so I don't really remember what the engine bay looked like. I think I've got some pictures somewhere. I'll have to look for them. Id forgotten about that car until I saw this.
When I was a kid in the 70’s my babysitter had one. We had a Pontiac dealership in our little town so I’ve seen more of these than Vegas. I did however date a girl with an orange V8 Monza Spyder. That thing was a blast.
These cars were workhorses. My Dad bought a 78 Pontiac Sunbird station wagon, and I eventually bought it from him. It lasted all the way to around 1991 when I sold it after it was struck by a hit and run driver. Despite that, it was still going strong.
@bmac1205 Dude, I said wagon, that was based off the Vega, as a matter of fact, if I had a dime for everyone, who called it a Vega, I could have retired early.
My mother bought one new in 1977 with the iron duke. She owned it until around 2020 when she sold it. Was rusting away, but original 3-spd auto trans and engine. About 150k miles on it.
The Pontiac Sunbird came out in 1975, not 1977 as you stated. It was part of the GM trio of the Sunbird, Chevy Vega and the Oldsmobile Starfire. They were all essentially the same cars with lots of "badge engineering". Back then, I bought a '76 Sunbird. Looked great, but like many cars of that era, it fell apart very quickly!
These little Vegas & their brothers were great receptacles for 305's & 350's . They were the S-10 80'& 90's that everyone shoved 350's in & tore up the street & track with.
We have 3 Astre’s !! 74 hatchback with canvas tent (v8 sb) functional, Navajo Orange 76 2 door coupe ( complete orginal & functional) carousel red 79 2 door wagon (complete orginal 3.8 v6 functional) burgundy We take ours to shows often !! ❤ Come on over and see in person 👍🏻
I bought a 1975 Astre in 1987 and drove it until about 1991. Vega engine with the 1bbl carb and 4 speed manual transmission. Sure, it was a gutless wonder and I had to work on it constantly, but other than that it was a POS. Surprisingly, it didn't burn a lot of oil, and it also wasn't too rusty - just possessed. Most memorable repair was when one of rear axle upper control arm mounts pulled off of the floorpan. Limped it home to my apartment parking lot and then worked through the night to drill through the mount and floorpan to reattach it with a through-bolt. When the time came to get rid of it, I drive it to a junkyard rather than sell it so that my conscious would be clear knowing that I didn't make someone else suffer with this gem.
My mom drove a 77 wagon with fake woodgrain for a few years. Loaded with at, ps, ac and slower than a sloth. The upsides were that it was fairly reliable, handled pretty well, got decent mpg. I used it for my driver test because it was so easy to drive. I thought a Buick 215 aluminum V8 would have been perfect for it.
What went wrong? It was a re badged Vega! Cadillac tried the same stunt with a re badged Cavalier, calling it a Cimarron. It took them decades to live that down.
My father was a mechanic. Back in the 1980s We had a customer with an Astre wagon. I remember saying to myself that it was just a Vega with a Pontiac nose on it. It had the aluminum 2300 and, and the body had a decent amount of rust just like the typical Vega. I think I may have seen just one more.
I owned one in high school. I liked the looks of these cars. It was pretty ragged out and rusty, but that's what we bought on a part time budget in school. Also had T1000 and a 79 Sunbird. Can't say that I particularly liked any of them, but the T1000 was by far the most reliable. I knew the Astres didn't sell well, but those are some pretty terrible numbers. Glad you took some time to highlight these cars. Thanks!
From what I know, the later T1000 could be reliable but even slower than the Astre with the 2.5L iron duke which was still a very slow car. However, most people weren't driving 80mph on the highway and almost all 4 cylinder cars of the time that were econoboxes were similarly underpowered.
In December of 1985, I bought a 1976 Pontiac Astre stationwagon. After getting caught in a snow storm on my motorcycle in Palmdale CA, I decided I needed a car, for my 60 mile one-way commute, for when the weather was bad. I look in the adds for that night and found this Astre Station wagon and the guy wanted $500 for it. When I went to see it, you could tell the (Vega) engine was about to go. It had a very loud knock in it. I told him the most I would go was $150. He said "Sold!" LOL The next day while driving it home, one of the rods went through the engine block. I towed it the few miles to my home and started on finding another engine. I found a short block and had the head rebuilt. I drove it for about a year, when the transmission went bad. While looking for a transmission, I found a wrecked 1979 Monza Stationwagon with a V6/Auto with only 33K miles on it. I paid $250 for it, and towed it home, stripping it of everything. This was early 1987, when I first transferred the interior of the Monza, to my Astre. I then transferred the entire drivetrain and front suspension, and drove that Astre until 1992, when I sold it for a Pickup truck. It was a fun little car with the V6, actually had some get up and go. One comment you made was that the 1973 Astre came with the "Dura-Built" Vega engine. The "Dura-Built" engines were redesigned for the 1976 Vegas. Not earlier.
If GM had not sold the 215 to Rover, it would have been a PERFECT engine for the Vega OR Astre. I had an Olds version of that engine in my '73 Vega GT - perfect blend of power and cornering as it DID NOT affect the handling to ANY noticeable degree, and MUCH more reliable than that POS 140 stock engine. Part of the problem was a generic GM problem - they stored a lot of their rolls of steel to make the bodies out of OUT IN THE OPEN, causing massive rust issues with ALL of their early 1970s cars.
About 20 years ago, I had a boss who was a super Pontiac fan. He had a '69 Firebird 400 & GTO. He had enough disposable income which allowed him to buy freak cars that few people had heard of. He found & bought an Astre ('76 I believe) wagon. This was a learning experience for both of us. Even during this time frame, some parts had to be special ordered just to make the car safe to drive on the road. However, it is the only Astre I have seen with my own 2 eyes. I'll occasionally see a Vega at a car show, but never an Astre. Also, the wagon body was at least a bit appealing. It looked like a little pocket sized version of a Nomad....but with less classic styling.
My mom had one it was a wagon complete with genuine artificial wood grain paneling on the sides. It had the Vega durabilt engine you couldn't just buy the air filter. You had to buy the whole assembly didn't really matter the engine wouldn't last long enough for an air filter change😊
My high school girlfriend had one of these, had bought it from a relative (western NC area) Pretty nice car ,had been taken care of but had problems later with a broken spring. Years later i saw it in a local junkyard, still in decent shape and bought it thinking i would fix it up. Never did and sold it finally a few years ago to somone who had several H bodys of different flavors.
My grandparents had one when I was a kid in the '70s. As a pre-teen, I thought that it was really cool. I have been wanting to buy one for years but have only ever seen a couple come up for sale. I use a photo of the rear panel of an Astre as the cover photo for my Unloved Autos youtube channel.
Me and my twin had one - our first car at age 13 - we dumped a small block and th350/ in it and it taught us all the basic- engine and trans rebuilding, header building, body work and painting- this was in early 90’s and actually just got rid of it 5 years ago from family farm having to be sold and loss of storage. I have still a Vega hatch exact same year and style with a 540 bbc, but the Pontiac version just looks more ‘sophisticated’ to me and was always referred to a mini Firebird by my teen aged buddies. BTW we never knew exactly how to pronounce the name but we got it right I guess according to this video!
My parents bought one of these cars used. It was a trunk version with a three speed manual. It was a 1976. The original plan was for my mother to learn how to drive a car equipped with a manual transmission. Sadly that did not work out, so my father ended up being the one who drove it while my mother ended up driving the 1975 Grand Le Mans with the Chevy 350 2bbl. That car replaced their 1971 Pinto automatic. So, as you can imagine, my parents owned the two very worst North American compact cars.
A guy in school had this mid 70s Pontiac Sunbird that the automatic transmission was always acting weird.. klunk hard or slipping or not wanting to go to the last gear when on a highway. After it was driven many miles finally it would go into the last gear so you cruise at 55 to 60 instead of being at 45 and then engine at high rpm. The car was called the SunTurd since slow and goofy transmission issues
During the 1970s GM's line of compact cars were getting a ton of competition from imported models that had better build quality and better fuel mileage. I bought a 72 Vega back in 1978 and was only 200 bucks. My wife drove it a lot. It survived a year with my wife's heavy hand.
My next door neighbor had one...Growing up my step dad had six vegas,,,They blew head gaskets and were just laying around in people's driveways...he'd pick them up for $50 to $100 and a $35 gasket set and an hour of his time he'd flip them $400-$500.
I remember being decently impressed with the SJ interior when it came out - even compared to the Vega custom trim option. And you could get handling packages - the RTS came in varying flavors. Heck in 1975, just putting on radials in many cheaper cars brought about a world of difference. By 1976 the whole Vega thing was over anyway, and the coupe buyers were shifting to the Monza, and Pontiac Sunbird for budget friendly personal coupe or the hatchback version of the Monza for a mini-Camaro. Failure - yeah, but the cost nothing to add to the line, so it was all marginal profits. Best friend's older brother had one - which infuriated the Dad who had decreed everyone and forever in his family would only buy Fords. (And with this exception they all did for like 30 years)
A co-worker of my dad's had one around 1976 I'd have to say. I remember it being silver and having some kind of stripe package on it....maybe it was one of those lil' wide tracks you spoke of in the video, I can't be sure as I was only 5 or 6 years old. The only reason I remember it was because he and his son met my dad and me at Boston Garden to watch a Bruins hockey game....one of the last ones that Bobby Orr played in.......maybe it was 1975 then......hard to remember......anyway, it sure looked cool for a fancy Vega.
True story: The last "Vega" I saw was an Astre! That was about a year ago. It was in good original condition in a parking lot. I remember them. Better color choices, saw several Formula versions back in the day.
Awesome vid! I did one on the Vega recently, but didnt get into the Astre too much...Because as you know, it pretty much was one. Sunbird looked ALOT better IMO. Also, I dont know why Pontiac took so long to release their "Vega" for the U.S. market.
I remember a few in the neighborhood i grew up in, they were around, but not many. And like the Vega, by the mid 80's you could hardly find any even in junkyards. Now this was in northern California where they didn't rust as badly, and GM sold the hell out of Vegas around there. Any remaining past the 80's were V8 conversions, very common.
My first car was a used 1975 Astre that I bought in 1977. It was a red hatchback. I had lots of tuneups for that weak engine, not knowing nothing could fix it. In late 1979, I bought a new 1980 Sunbird, not knowing it was basically the same car!
Mom had terrible luck with cars, one of the worst being the Pontiac Astre. Engine smoked real bad, drank a quart of oil per tank of gas . Lightwieght body rusted out fast in Wisconsin.
I had a 1975 model. It was the Little Wide Track. It was quick on acceleration, I outran V8s in it. The rear shocks busted loose from the body, and it broke down regularly. The block broke where the transmission bolted up to it. When it ran I loved it but it left me stranded often. A real piece of junk.
I tried out a used 74 Vega and it did manage to squeak the rear tires going into 3rd gear! But the shifter being screwed onto the tunnel ripped off too! Once back at the dealer, he asked how the car was, and I lifted the shifter assembly, and told HIM, " THIS came off", hence no sale!
My Dad bought a used Vega. Got too bad for him to use it for his commute. Gave it to my older brother. That's how I know you can push start a car in reverse. I think that Vega was push started almost as much as we started it normally in the last year or so. But maybe that is just 40 year old memories. I later bought an 86 Pontiac Sunbird. If I'd known that was basically a late model Vega / Astre I would have probably passed on it. The previous owner took terrific care of it as far as I could tell. Didn't help much. Although it did prove out the adage that GM cars will run bad longer than most cars run. Just don't ask me how many miles it ended up with because the speedometer / odometer quit working for a couple of years. Before mysteriously deciding it would start working again. I sold that car for $35 to a junk dealer who came to collect it. I wonder to this day if he made the money back. Probably not.
We had one of these; I always thought they looked awesome. Of course, I was in grade school. To me, it looked like a mini Trans Am, which was the coolest car in the world in my little brain.
Regarding the Astre's weak sales numbers I'd suspect two things: 1. It wasn't quite as sporty looking as the Vega, which cost less to buy. 2. By 1973 - when the Astre first appeared, the rust issues of these cars and horrific short-comings of that liner-less silicon-laced aluminum-block/cast-iron head 4-banger were becoming well known. Vega sales were much stronger but still, those numbers were starting to drop off too. It took a complete re-design and name change (Chevy Monza/Pontiac Sunbird) to revive the type in the latter third of the 1970s.
I took my driver's training in a 76 Astre. So underwhelming that was my first and only experience with this car. Also, my older brother had a 71 Plymouth Roadrunner-- now there was the fun driver....
I believe the Canadian government put high tariffs on imported cars so GM had a Pontiac factory in Canada. It makes sense they would manufacture a Canadian Pontiac version of the Vega.
I bought mine new in 1976. It was the first use of the optional 5 speed. It was called something to do with MPG. I did like this car. However, when i think back on it now, I can't believe how many repairs it needed in 55,000 miles. It was basically junk.
I had a lime green Pontiac Astra and I honestly don’t know what model year it was. I bought it used. It had a 3-speed manual transmission. My dad bought a used Chevy Vega for my little sister. Both cars were slow as molasses, but my 3-speed was considerably faster than my sister’s automatic Vega.
Of note, the Monza was indeed supposed to be the next generation Vega. The first maybe scores/hundreds notchback versions actually had Vega badging. YUP! But the Vega name was a bit tarnished at that point, and they had license on the Monza name from the Corvair days. There were also a couple thousand carryover Vegas with Monza badging and a new front facia sold as the Monza S (not just the Kammback/wagon). That one you can find via Google search as it was actually advertised.
I'd suspect the reason why the Astre didn't sell as well is that Pontiac Dealers would just upsell you into a Ventura or LeMans and you'd be happier with a 6 or a V8 and a nicer car.
one of the first standard trans cars i learned to drive was a friend's parent's astre wagon. always thought it would be neat to swap in a pontiac 350 or 455 into one of these.
I'm in Canada and when I was a kid we had an Astre. Who knew it was such a rarity?! FWIW I think the pre-facelift Vega hatch is one of the prettiest domestic designs of the era. Sue me.
Your info is correct, they where not very popular. My late grandparents on my fathers side, traded in a clean, low milage 1961 Pontiac Tempest on a 1977 Pontiac Astre. To this day, I don't understand why. Please reply. Dave...
I had a girlfriend in the Chicago area that had a '76 or '77 and this was in '82. It had a red and white exterior and a red interior. Cute girl. Cute car.
Well this proves that pontiac really had a car for everyone even your mother can have some fun as today's video got me with the astre is so rare that i never knew it exist 😮 so thank you rare cars for this one and have a good day bye now.
Vega or Astre? Which would you take?
I'd take the Vega between the two. Specifically the '71-'73 model years. With the blacked out grille and white racing stripe over the hood and trunk. They looked like a small Camaro. Later models with the big 5 mph bumpers are not as good looking.
Astre, I have one in my driveway with a SBC!
Had a V8 Vega so...
@@danestormfeltz7815 Great looking cars those early vegas!
@@georgelackey622 TELL ME MORE LOL
My Aunt had one. I remember her bringing it to my dad's house. She had a wee bit of an issue. They were poorly built. The shells were stored outside, in Canada, in the winter and they rusted in weird places. Her weird place was the door hinge mounts. Her door actual fell off because the rust was so bad where the door was bolted to the pillar. When she came to my dad's house the driver door was strapped to the roof. She drove on the 401 highway with a door strapped to her roof!!! The dealer did not care and would not warrantee anything.
Only the Canadian Astres were. Most of them were built in L.A. Assembly Plant and didn't have that problem.
One of the "Cost Saving Measures" GM tried out on the Vega/Astra was a unique way of transport: because it was a relatively short car, they had special train cars built to transport the cars *vertically,* nose down, tail up. I'M NOT KIDDING. Google "Vert-a -pac" and you'll see. So if the car was stored outside in Canada and the car got rained or snowed on and accumulated water inside, and then got stood on its nose for transport, the door hinges would get standing water sitting on them during transport. Voila! Rusty door hinges.
I've driven on the 401, and it's terrifying in bad weather, but I can't imagine being on it with a door missing.
To be fair, if it's weird it'll be on the 401.
@markwilliams2620 I agree 100%, When I said terrifying, weird can be included with that.
We called these the Pontiac Ashtray.
I owned a 1975 Astra.
When the engine started to wear and was using oil, I lucked into a Buick v6. I was able to fit it into the body. I got the mounts from a Chev dealer , and had to buy a Hooker mount to hold up the manual 4 speed transmission. The only problem was that the Astra came with a stepped flywheel. I added a power brake booster to replace the original brake part. I purchased a Edlebrook intake and put a Holley 4 barrel 425 cfm carb on it. with dual exhaust I could get 29 mpg.. It had a respectful power! Was a great vehicle but the heater didn't put put a lot of heat. Gave to my sun as a get to work car, and he traded it in on a newer Sunbird.
Met the new owner of said Astra after a couple of years. He was using it to go back and forth to University and he loved it.
Every Chevy Vega should have been sold with a Buick V6 replacement in a crate.
Hey my Friend, I knew a guy back in the 80s who owned a 1975-1976 Pontiac Astra, 305 V-8 Chev engine,5-speed,Swap!! Quick car now!!Great Video!! Hello from Nova Scotia, Canada.😂👌👍✌
Wow sounds like a neat car! Probably the perfect engine for it!
@@rarecars3336 Yea my friend he did have a 350V-8 but too heavy for the 350 coil springs, much better with 305 V-8 ( would not bottom out! kept 350 springs!👍✌
My mother had a 75 Astre wagon for a few years. It handled snowy roads pretty well. Its downfall was the engine which eventually wore out and started burning more and more oil until it finally died. It did look better than the Vega in my opinion. Overall it was relatively reliable and had with fewer problems compared to a few other cars we had in the family over the years.
I worked at a truck repair shop across the street from a pontiac dealer and can remember seeing the "Pontiac Vegas" on the lot. I was talking to one of the mechanics one night at the bar and he told me about the iron 4 cylinder. I stopped there to see one and was impressed it had the Iron Duke. The Chevy aluminum OHC engines were terrible, 25 or 30,000 miles and they were all burning oil like crazy
I like how you show the "Iron Duke" in the back of a Fiero☺ In high school a neighbor (Pontiac dealer salesman) had one for his daughter. Big issue with Astre and Vega was the window frame in the door rusting out...
Haha glad someone caught it - it is SO hard to find footage of the Astres in general let alone good engine shots so I had to improvise
What a great video on a unique little car!
Glad you enjoyed it! I gotta watch your newest video as well!
When I got my license I drove my mom’s 1974 Astre Safari wagon. Absolutely no power 60 mph was about it and the kick down it just made more noise and did nothing. The perfect car not to get into trouble with.
My Aunt bought a 74 Astre strait from the Factory when she was in the Navy in San Diego, Back in those days GM had a program that Active Duty Military Members and D.O.D. Employee's could go to an Assembly Plant or the Headquarters in Detroit and order a car at employee pricing. She ordered hers with a 307, My cousin's daughter still has it, it's now on the 3rd generation of their family, my aunt gave it to my cousin when he turned 16 and he gave it to his daughter when she turned 16.
THAT'S AWESOME
Sorry no 307 from factory...🤨
@@ron8802 from a dealer no but perhaps you missed the part when I said the could go top the assembly plant and order it anyway they wanted.........
@@TheREALOC1972if you have installed a V8 in one you know it's not a GM parts bin special....where you would use GM parts to install a V8..... so the factory workers fabricated parts to install a V8....?
I’ve never heard anything like that. You could order a new GM vehicle but it’s through the base exchange system. My dad ordered a ‘70 Chevelle new through the exchange system before he returned from Viet Nam. He didn’t order an LS6 because he didn’t even know it existed.
Here in Canada, we called the Astre the Desastre or Désaster in English, the engine was self-destructing like the Vega and rust was overwhelming the first year of ownership. GM dealers tried to calm things down and said these cars were under warranty and GM would fix them. After a new engine and trans after the first year and 23000 miles, the body began to root severely in the 2e year. That was it and my uncle ditched that lemon and got a Chevelle with a 350. So GM went downhill in the late 70s and never quite recovered. Good video
Owned one, had a 75 orange with brown interior. Was a fun little car to drive and was fairly reliable .
I had a '76 Pontiac Astre with a 5-spd manual trans. Great little car. Drove it through the Colorado and Utah mountains on a ski trip back in Dec '78. One day it was -35 deg F. Car started and ran fine. Had the Iron Duke four cylinder 2.5L. Very practical hatchback.
I had a 1974 Astre Kammback Panel Wagon. No rear seat, just tons of room for my tools and spare parts. It had a manual 3-speed wide ratio Saginaw, which was a very poor match for its narrow peak power band. Rev it till it started to sound painful, then upshift and feel it lugging. I found a 2- barrel intake that allowed it to rev a bit higher with less pain, but by then it needed (another) head gasket. Bye!
Btw I bought another H-body, a 1975 Vega woodie wagon with a T-10 5-speed, Crower cam, Weber 45DCOE sidedraft carb, and steel sleeved rebuilt block. Great car!
Those crash bumpers kill the 70’s cars in my opinion. Great video as always!
Bumpers are aluminum... still look like new on my '77...
Yeah they aren't the best - but this car faired better than some others!
They definitely killed the looks but they worked very well and were badly needed. Before that the Big Three were turning out cars where even a very mild bump caused the equivalent to thousands of dollars in damage, just like now.
Everyone replaced bumpers with park benches in 74
The 153-ci. OHV I-4 was also made available in the early-70's Chevy Nova, as part of the "Super-Thrifty" package.
It actually dates back to the introduction of the "Chevy II", later renamed the Nova, save in Latin American markets, for obvious reason. I believe it was discontinued for a few years in the late 60s and until 1972, then brought back for a high-mileage version of the Nova. Only 90 hp GROSS out of 153 cubes. Chevy kept this cheap by using the same casting equipment as the inline sixes and, like the sixes as well, having the same bore and stroke as the likewise uninspiring 307 Chevy V8, being in effect "half" of that engine.
In or around 1975 my aunt bought a Pontiac Astre brand new in Austria, Europe from a dealership specialized in exotic cars. I rember the car as being the coolest I've ever seen (although my uncle had a Pontica GTO at that time) back then.
One reason why Canadian go the pontiac astre, it's because, it was at the request of pontiac dealership, who were afraid of losing sales to chevy, they would ask the same for the Chevy chevette, and got the Pontiac acadian/1000. Also in Québec the car get the nickname " désastre " ( disaster ) while the chevy vagas got the " dégât " ( damage ) nickname.
I remember seeing these in the 70’s. They were a rarity, much like its competitor, the Mercury Bobcat.
My middle aged brother had a 78 model of one of these as his first car. From what I could tell, it came with the 2.5L iron duke from the beginning. At least that was more reliable than the original 2.3L Vega engine. However, it was about as refined as a Tractor. I will say that I didn't think that the car drove badly for what it was. It was underpowered and the build quality was mediocre. It did seem to drive OK though. I learned how to drive a manual transmission on that car. It was a good way to learn. Somehow, I wound up liking that car at the time and would have been happy to have it as a first car. I know it isn't great and a used contemporary Toyota Corolla would have been a better choice and more reliable. However, when you are in High School and wanted a car these could be had in the late 80's for a small amount of money which was the time I was in High School. I don't know who my family bought that old brown Astre from but it was in good condition. There really wasn't anything mechanically wrong with it. My brother hated it probably because it was "old", not very fast, and it was a bit of a rattle trap. I would've been happy with it for a while. Keep in mind it would have been a first car and not my future preference or dream car. Context matters here. Parts and repairs for it were easy to find at the time and cheap. Another thought about these is that My dad had a lime green Vega wagon one time with automatic and that was terrible. On I-40 with the gas on the floor, it would climb Old Fort Mountain hunting between 2nd and 3rd gear at about 45 mph. Crap. I think that one had the orginal 2.3L Vega engine which would have been a ticking time bomb. The Astre with the 2.5L iron duke was "OK" as a cheap car. However, the japanese were way ahead of these at the time. I think Click and Click used to recommend the 1979 Toyota Corolla as a first car. One of those would be better for sure but still underpowered. However, you can't kill one easily. One of these Astres would be adequate with the 4.3L Vortec V6. I saw one sitting out near someone's house and it had a "4.3" badge on the back. Maybe it was swapped and they added that instead of it being a factory option. Or maybe someone thought they would try to fool other people by pasting the badge on there. My first car was a 1978 Renault 5 which was a mistake. It had super comfortable seats and a smoooth ride. However, parts and service were nearly impossible to find in Western NC at the time. I did not have it long. My 2nd car was a 1982 Subaru GL 4X4 Wagon. That was a better car then either the Astre or the 5. It still had issues with the axles though otherwise it was decent enough. In low range it could go anywhere that it had ground clearance to go.
My parents had a 1978 Pontiac Sunbird wagon that was the same as the Astre.
I'd love to have that thing today. I'd drop a supercharged 3800 in it, and road trip that thing until the wheels fell off.
My dad bought a new Astre in the mid 70's, I don't remember the exact year as I was very young then, all I remember was it was orange and had white interior. He didn't keep it long as I remember.
My Grandmother ordered a new 1977 Astre.. I think it took over 7 months to arrive at the dealer. It was a dark metallic brown with black interior, wood grained dash, manual transmission... & the Radial Tuned Suspension badge on the dash. lol She put over 270,000 miles on it before trading it in for a Plymouth Reliant wagon... I wish I had that old Pontiac.
Wow 270,000 thats a ton - was this a west coast or southern car so there were no rust?
@@rarecars3336 She lived in Vermont of all places. lol. The car was kept in excellent condition throughout the entire time she had it though. It was always maintained on schedule, cleaned spotless & garaged. I think it was her first new car purchase. It kinda broke my heart when she traded it in
I owned one in 1975 it was a good small car. It was red with white interior . I never had any trouble with it . Maybe the key was ,I never pushed it . Sold it in 1981 needed more space after having a baby. I never see any around now .thanks for the video enjoyed it
I worked at the local Pontiac Dealership in 1975. One of the elder mechanics referred to them as "Pontiac Ash-Trays". He wasn't wrong.😅
Everyone loved the pony cars, just so long as they came with an available V8 and a four speed. When Chevrolet started with the Nova in 1962 it came with an inline four or six cylinder engine. In 62 & 63 that's all you could get. It wasn't until 1964 after hearing the public outcry that they put in a little heavier front end and a choice of a 283 or 327 V8. With the launch of the Vega, again there was no V8 option available. Many of us said well, if you want something done you have to do it yourself. And so they did shoehorn small block V8s in there themselves. They were frighteningly fun. But then after the Monza and all that, everything besides the trucks went front wheel drive. I do remember that there was some issues trying to change all the spark plugs in the V8 Vega because there was so little room under the hood. But my hats off to all those that made it happen. They ran quick in the quarter mile.
You should do a whole video on the Canadian market exclusive sister cars from Pontiac, or the Big 3 makers in general if you haven't already. The Chevelle sister Pontiac Beaumont is one of my all time favorite muscle cars from the golden era.
Beaumont was it's own make in Canada in the later 1960s and were not Pontiacs even though they occupied a similar place in the GM lineup.
I had a '73 or '74 Astre here in Canada. Took it on a 6000 mile trip through USA in '77. Daily driver for quite a few years. Other than a rust problem and a leaky head gasket it was a pretty decent car I thought.
Compare the Astre to a 1975 Toyota Celica and you'll know what happened.
A 1975 Toyota Celica is no prize…
@@jamesstetz9884 The old Celica models are very collectable, And became the Celica Supra models.
I boa 1977 Celica GT lift back for my first car. The local Pontiac dealer only had 1 formula Astre come through. Lots of Firebirds, but they were all Automatics. I wanted a stick. Once I was looking at Firebirds it was all Trans Am. But, again, like I said they were all automatics. No sticks available in California. That Celica was designed after the 65 Mustang fast back. Which was another favorite. (I got one years later, another kick myself in the rear car for letting go of that) But, having just having going through the Gas Crisis I had to take into account gas mileage. My first Adult decision as a 16 year old. All I can tell myself about that time is…… “It is what it is”!
If you say so. A 1975 Celica is about as exciting as a 6 cyl Studebacker Lark. Yawn.
@@jamesstetz9884 Yeah, to be 100% honest that was about it. But mine was a 77. Same motor, and I’d suspect same horsepower. But, by 1979 I had added a 68 f85. With a 350. Only 2bbl. But was going to be replaced. I had also bought a 69 Firebird that had a 428 with a M21 4 speed (motor was from a Bonneville). And got a 64 corvette a year (or 2) later. Hence why I never got to the olds. So the Celica was my daily commuter. The big problem was I got a 1979 Dodge W150, (January 80) and my world changed. 4 Wheeling became my passion. Until I got my first street bike. I had the blessing of having a great job (sometimes 2 or 3) and had a large amount of money coming in. So I had to spend it on toys. Now……… we’ll I had fun. And the body reminds me of all the fun I had. I now have 7 Grandchildren & 2 great grandchildren. I tell them that the theme song to my life (I believe) was written by Rhett Atkinson & sung by Frankie Ballard. It is called “Young & Crazy”. Two of those grandkids sing it with me when it plays in the SUV or Truck, and say “Papa your song”. I may kick myself for letting some (most) of those toys go. But when I hear those two little one’s singing, I know that I made a few good choices during those years! I hope you can find something exciting (maybe the styling) in the Studebaker. Because in my old age, I have found, that sometimes what’s really exciting isn’t how fast we go. But the fun we had, and the memories we made. I hope life is good for you James.
Had a relative that owned a Pontiac dealership and I loved hanging out there when we visited in the summers. What I recall about the Astre was the dealers HATED them and put little to no effort into moving them. By the time they came out, Vegas were already starting to rot out, burn oil and show up in droves with pissed customers at Chevy dealerships. Why would anyone want a piece of that action?
lol
Kinda like electric cars today...
My mom's friend had a white one. She came by about once a month when I was a kid. Remember her bringing it by when she bought it brand new. I was intrigued when running out expecting a Vega and seeing a Pontiac. Grandpa had a '67Tempest so I loved it. Was very obvious to me , even at that young age, the two were pretty much the same. I always liked the way they looked and remember how badly they were talked about. Even remember my dad saying how stupid it was to bring this thing to market with the Vega already having such a bad reputation and assuming it would be dead very soon.
I had one, it was a rustbucket. The Earth took it back.
Used galvanized steel starting in '76...
Bob Maxey. Englishtown NJ. Astre, 455, pro built, bracket master, killer car, and driver.
I had a 72 Vega and swapped out the engine with a 76 Astra engine. It was basically the same but with steel sleeved cylinders. It ran well and didn't smoke or consume oil.
I think I'd like an Astre with a Vegas front clip. Throw in a built 305 and a posi rear. I remember seeing Vegas in HS with 305 ci engines shoehorned in.
I remember seeing them when I was a kid. The town I grew up in used liberal amounts of road salt in the winter. It was common to see them rusted out in 2 years. We called them the ashtray.
I had one with a 455. I bought it in 84 with that motor in it. It was completely stock but it would lay scratch as long as you wanted. It was fairly quick but had a 2.78 gear. Fastest I ever went was about 130 and it got pretty scary. Cool car.
I have a 72 Vega with a stroked 350 (383). I keep it completely stock-looking. Had it for going on 35 years now.
That is insane - what did that run in the quarter?
You had me at 455.
How did you squeeze a 455 big block into it ? A buddy of mine in HS back in the mid 70s had a helluva time dropping a chevy 350 into his Vega....the problem was the steering shaft clearing the drivers side header...cant imagine how much modification would be required to slap headers on a 455 ...the 401 sucks...still does today lol. Brutal traffic....constant construction...nothing has changed in 40 years in that regard.
@@peetena1481 it was in it when I bought it. It didn't have headers. No power steering or brakes. I've seen a few Vegas with big blocks. It's been almost 40 years so I don't really remember what the engine bay looked like. I think I've got some pictures somewhere. I'll have to look for them. Id forgotten about that car until I saw this.
When I was a kid in the 70’s my babysitter had one. We had a Pontiac dealership in our little town so I’ve seen more of these than Vegas. I did however date a girl with an orange V8 Monza Spyder. That thing was a blast.
Interesting thats cool to hear you actually encountered them more - the orange v8 monza spyder had to be sweet when it was new
These cars were workhorses. My Dad bought a 78 Pontiac Sunbird station wagon, and I eventually bought it from him. It lasted all the way to around 1991 when I sold it after it was struck by a hit and run driver. Despite that, it was still going strong.
Dude,, the Sunbird was based on the Chevy Monza. Similar, but not the same as the Astre.
@bmac1205 Dude, I said wagon, that was based off the Vega, as a matter of fact, if I had a dime for everyone, who called it a Vega, I could have retired early.
My mother bought one new in 1977 with the iron duke. She owned it until around 2020 when she sold it. Was rusting away, but original 3-spd auto trans and engine. About 150k miles on it.
You're right, you really don't see these things anymore if ever. BTW I grew up in Michigan and Ontario and at the time we pronounced it "Aster"
Because that’s how it’s pronounced! I cringed every time this guy pronounced it “astra”.
I had a '74 Astre that I bought off a buddy, it had a 283 4-speed swapped into it. I had a lot of fun with that car!
The Pontiac Sunbird came out in 1975, not 1977 as you stated. It was part of the GM trio of the Sunbird, Chevy Vega and the Oldsmobile Starfire. They were all essentially the same cars with lots of "badge engineering". Back then, I bought a '76 Sunbird. Looked great, but like many cars of that era, it fell apart very quickly!
These little Vegas & their brothers were great receptacles for 305's & 350's . They were the S-10 80'& 90's that everyone shoved 350's in & tore up the street & track with.
We have 3 Astre’s !!
74 hatchback with canvas tent (v8 sb) functional, Navajo Orange
76 2 door coupe ( complete orginal & functional) carousel red
79 2 door wagon (complete orginal 3.8 v6 functional) burgundy
We take ours to shows often !!
❤
Come on over and see in person 👍🏻
The '79 wagon must be a Sunbird , not Astre.
@@ernielaw - Maybe still an Astre in Canada where they appeared first?
I bought a 1975 Astre in 1987 and drove it until about 1991. Vega engine with the 1bbl carb and 4 speed manual transmission. Sure, it was a gutless wonder and I had to work on it constantly, but other than that it was a POS. Surprisingly, it didn't burn a lot of oil, and it also wasn't too rusty - just possessed. Most memorable repair was when one of rear axle upper control arm mounts pulled off of the floorpan. Limped it home to my apartment parking lot and then worked through the night to drill through the mount and floorpan to reattach it with a through-bolt. When the time came to get rid of it, I drive it to a junkyard rather than sell it so that my conscious would be clear knowing that I didn't make someone else suffer with this gem.
My mom drove a 77 wagon with fake woodgrain for a few years. Loaded with at, ps, ac and slower than a sloth. The upsides were that it was fairly reliable, handled pretty well, got decent mpg. I used it for my driver test because it was so easy to drive. I thought a Buick 215 aluminum V8 would have been perfect for it.
Not that slow, top speed around 110 MPH...
I remember an article in a 1970s Hot Rod magazine about swapping a 215 Buick into a Vega.
77 would have been an iron duke car most likely so makes sense that it was reliable. Wood grain on a wagon is just SO cool lol
@@rarecars3336 nope, it was a 2.3
@@buzzwaldron6195 top speed was about 75. And 0-60 took over 20 seconds
What went wrong? It was a re badged Vega! Cadillac tried the same stunt with a re badged Cavalier, calling it a Cimarron. It took them decades to live that down.
My father was a mechanic. Back in the 1980s We had a customer with an Astre wagon. I remember saying to myself that it was just a Vega with a Pontiac nose on it. It had the aluminum 2300 and, and the body had a decent amount of rust just like the typical Vega. I think I may have seen just one more.
I owned one in high school. I liked the looks of these cars. It was pretty ragged out and rusty, but that's what we bought on a part time budget in school. Also had T1000 and a 79 Sunbird. Can't say that I particularly liked any of them, but the T1000 was by far the most reliable. I knew the Astres didn't sell well, but those are some pretty terrible numbers. Glad you took some time to highlight these cars. Thanks!
From what I know, the later T1000 could be reliable but even slower than the Astre with the 2.5L iron duke which was still a very slow car. However, most people weren't driving 80mph on the highway and almost all 4 cylinder cars of the time that were econoboxes were similarly underpowered.
In December of 1985, I bought a 1976 Pontiac Astre stationwagon. After getting caught in a snow storm on my motorcycle in Palmdale CA, I decided I needed a car, for my 60 mile one-way commute, for when the weather was bad. I look in the adds for that night and found this Astre Station wagon and the guy wanted $500 for it. When I went to see it, you could tell the (Vega) engine was about to go. It had a very loud knock in it. I told him the most I would go was $150. He said "Sold!" LOL The next day while driving it home, one of the rods went through the engine block. I towed it the few miles to my home and started on finding another engine. I found a short block and had the head rebuilt. I drove it for about a year, when the transmission went bad. While looking for a transmission, I found a wrecked 1979 Monza Stationwagon with a V6/Auto with only 33K miles on it. I paid $250 for it, and towed it home, stripping it of everything. This was early 1987, when I first transferred the interior of the Monza, to my Astre. I then transferred the entire drivetrain and front suspension, and drove that Astre until 1992, when I sold it for a Pickup truck. It was a fun little car with the V6, actually had some get up and go.
One comment you made was that the 1973 Astre came with the "Dura-Built" Vega engine. The "Dura-Built" engines were redesigned for the 1976 Vegas. Not earlier.
If GM had not sold the 215 to Rover, it would have been a PERFECT engine for the Vega OR Astre.
I had an Olds version of that engine in my '73 Vega GT - perfect blend of power and cornering as it DID NOT affect the handling to ANY noticeable degree, and MUCH more reliable than that POS 140 stock engine.
Part of the problem was a generic GM problem - they stored a lot of their rolls of steel to make the bodies out of OUT IN THE OPEN, causing massive rust issues with ALL of their early 1970s cars.
About 20 years ago, I had a boss who was a super Pontiac fan. He had a '69 Firebird 400 & GTO. He had enough disposable income which allowed him to buy freak cars that few people had heard of. He found & bought an Astre ('76 I believe) wagon. This was a learning experience for both of us. Even during this time frame, some parts had to be special ordered just to make the car safe to drive on the road. However, it is the only Astre I have seen with my own 2 eyes. I'll occasionally see a Vega at a car show, but never an Astre. Also, the wagon body was at least a bit appealing. It looked like a little pocket sized version of a Nomad....but with less classic styling.
My mom had one it was a wagon complete with genuine artificial wood grain paneling on the sides. It had the Vega durabilt engine you couldn't just buy the air filter. You had to buy the whole assembly didn't really matter the engine wouldn't last long enough for an air filter change😊
My high school girlfriend had one of these, had bought it from a relative (western NC area) Pretty nice car ,had been taken care of but had problems later with a broken spring. Years later i saw it in a local junkyard, still in decent shape and bought it thinking i would fix it up. Never did and sold it finally a few years ago to somone who had several H bodys of different flavors.
My grandparents had one when I was a kid in the '70s. As a pre-teen, I thought that it was really cool. I have been wanting to buy one for years but have only ever seen a couple come up for sale. I use a photo of the rear panel of an Astre as the cover photo for my Unloved Autos youtube channel.
Great content my brother~~~~~!!
Me and my twin had one - our first car at age 13 - we dumped a small block and th350/ in it and it taught us all the basic- engine and trans rebuilding, header building, body work and painting- this was in early 90’s and actually just got rid of it 5 years ago from family farm having to be sold and loss of storage. I have still a Vega hatch exact same year and style with a 540 bbc, but the Pontiac version just looks more ‘sophisticated’ to me and was always referred to a mini Firebird by my teen aged buddies. BTW we never knew exactly how to pronounce the name but we got it right I guess according to this video!
My first car, and job in the 80's was with a 76' Chevy Vega, my older brother had a 73' Pontiac DisAstre. We delivered pizza with them. 🍕🍕😋
My friend Mike's family had one of these in orange with black interior. It is the only one I have ever seen. This was 34 years ago.
Even as a former Vega owner, I gotta admit, I had completely forgotten about the Pontiac Astra.
My parents bought one of these cars used. It was a trunk version with a three speed manual. It was a 1976. The original plan was for my mother to learn how to drive a car equipped with a manual transmission. Sadly that did not work out, so my father ended up being the one who drove it while my mother ended up driving the 1975 Grand Le Mans with the Chevy 350 2bbl. That car replaced their 1971 Pinto automatic. So, as you can imagine, my parents owned the two very worst North American compact cars.
A guy in school had this mid 70s Pontiac Sunbird that the automatic transmission was always acting weird..
klunk hard or slipping or not wanting to go to the last gear when on a highway. After it was driven many miles finally it would go into the last gear so you cruise at 55 to 60 instead of being at 45 and then engine at high rpm.
The car was called the SunTurd since slow and goofy transmission issues
My sister had one with the Iron Duke, power steering and air conditioning. A tin can on wheels but the most dependable version of the Vega/Astre.
During the 1970s GM's line of compact cars were getting a ton of competition from imported models that had better build quality and better fuel mileage. I bought a 72 Vega back in 1978 and was only 200 bucks. My wife drove it a lot. It survived a year with my wife's heavy hand.
I bought one for $75.00 back in the 90's. Stripped timing gears, fixed that problem and resold the car for a few hundred. Really wish I still had it.
My next door neighbor had one...Growing up my step dad had six vegas,,,They blew head gaskets and were just laying around in people's driveways...he'd pick them up for $50 to $100 and a $35 gasket set and an hour of his time he'd flip them $400-$500.
I remember being decently impressed with the SJ interior when it came out - even compared to the Vega custom trim option. And you could get handling packages - the RTS came in varying flavors. Heck in 1975, just putting on radials in many cheaper cars brought about a world of difference. By 1976 the whole Vega thing was over anyway, and the coupe buyers were shifting to the Monza, and Pontiac Sunbird for budget friendly personal coupe or the hatchback version of the Monza for a mini-Camaro. Failure - yeah, but the cost nothing to add to the line, so it was all marginal profits. Best friend's older brother had one - which infuriated the Dad who had decreed everyone and forever in his family would only buy Fords. (And with this exception they all did for like 30 years)
I just saw a 75 Pontiac Astre in awesome condition with all the paperwork on Hemmings for 15,000. They do come up infrequently.
A co-worker of my dad's had one around 1976 I'd have to say. I remember it being silver and having some kind of stripe package on it....maybe it was one of those lil' wide tracks you spoke of in the video, I can't be sure as I was only 5 or 6 years old. The only reason I remember it was because he and his son met my dad and me at Boston Garden to watch a Bruins hockey game....one of the last ones that Bobby Orr played in.......maybe it was 1975 then......hard to remember......anyway, it sure looked cool for a fancy Vega.
True story: The last "Vega" I saw was an Astre! That was about a year ago. It was in good original condition in a parking lot. I remember them. Better color choices, saw several Formula versions back in the day.
Awesome vid! I did one on the Vega recently, but didnt get into the Astre too much...Because as you know, it pretty much was one. Sunbird looked ALOT better IMO. Also, I dont know why Pontiac took so long to release their "Vega" for the U.S. market.
Yep, I had a yellow 1975 Astra spent more time in the shop than it did in my garage.
I remember a few in the neighborhood i grew up in, they were around, but not many. And like the Vega, by the mid 80's you could hardly find any even in junkyards. Now this was in northern California where they didn't rust as badly, and GM sold the hell out of Vegas around there. Any remaining past the 80's were V8 conversions, very common.
My first car was a used 1975 Astre that I bought in 1977. It was a red hatchback. I had lots of tuneups for that weak engine, not knowing nothing could fix it. In late 1979, I bought a new 1980 Sunbird, not knowing it was basically the same car!
Mom had terrible luck with cars, one of the worst being the Pontiac Astre. Engine smoked real bad, drank a quart of oil per tank of gas . Lightwieght body rusted out fast in Wisconsin.
Owned one for 11 years. Good-looking car. Nothing else. I did have the "GT" version that you haven't mentioned.
I had a 1975 model. It was the Little Wide Track. It was quick on acceleration,
I outran V8s in it. The rear shocks busted loose from the body, and it broke down regularly. The block broke where the transmission bolted up to it. When it ran I loved it but it left me stranded often. A real piece of junk.
I tried out a used 74 Vega and it did manage to squeak the rear tires going into 3rd gear! But the shifter being screwed onto the tunnel ripped off too! Once back at the dealer, he asked how the car was, and I lifted the shifter assembly, and told HIM, " THIS came off", hence no sale!
My Dad bought a used Vega. Got too bad for him to use it for his commute. Gave it to my older brother. That's how I know you can push start a car in reverse. I think that Vega was push started almost as much as we started it normally in the last year or so. But maybe that is just 40 year old memories. I later bought an 86 Pontiac Sunbird. If I'd known that was basically a late model Vega / Astre I would have probably passed on it. The previous owner took terrific care of it as far as I could tell. Didn't help much. Although it did prove out the adage that GM cars will run bad longer than most cars run. Just don't ask me how many miles it ended up with because the speedometer / odometer quit working for a couple of years. Before mysteriously deciding it would start working again. I sold that car for $35 to a junk dealer who came to collect it. I wonder to this day if he made the money back. Probably not.
I had an Astra. And made it a V8 Astra. I loved it. That was around '78 I think. I think my Astra was a '75 or '76.
We had one of these; I always thought they looked awesome. Of course, I was in grade school. To me, it looked like a mini Trans Am, which was the coolest car in the world in my little brain.
Regarding the Astre's weak sales numbers I'd suspect two things:
1. It wasn't quite as sporty looking as the Vega, which cost less to buy.
2. By 1973 - when the Astre first appeared, the rust issues of these cars and horrific short-comings of that liner-less silicon-laced aluminum-block/cast-iron head 4-banger were becoming well known. Vega sales were much stronger but still, those numbers were starting to drop off too. It took a complete re-design and name change (Chevy Monza/Pontiac Sunbird) to revive the type in the latter third of the 1970s.
If it weren’t for the serious rust issue- which often happened with the first year of ownership, these H-bodies would’ve been pretty good cars.
I saw an Astre just yesterday.
Rarer still is that it was an Astre wagon.
I saw 1 a few years old. It looked mint, but was on a flatbed. I remember it said Cosworth on it. I think on the lower doors maybe.
I took my driver's training in a 76 Astre. So underwhelming that was my first and only experience with this car. Also, my older brother had a 71 Plymouth Roadrunner-- now there was the fun driver....
I believe the Canadian government put high tariffs on imported cars so GM had a Pontiac factory in Canada. It makes sense they would manufacture a Canadian Pontiac version of the Vega.
My grandmother had an😂 Astre Hatchback bought new in 1976. It was a fairly good car with the Iron Duke.
I bought mine new in 1976. It was the first use of the optional 5 speed. It was called something to do with MPG. I did like this car. However, when i think back on it now, I can't believe how many repairs it needed in 55,000 miles. It was basically junk.
I had a lime green Pontiac Astra and I honestly don’t know what model year it was. I bought it used. It had a 3-speed manual transmission. My dad bought a used Chevy Vega for my little sister. Both cars were slow as molasses, but my 3-speed was considerably faster than my sister’s automatic Vega.
Of note, the Monza was indeed supposed to be the next generation Vega. The first maybe scores/hundreds notchback versions actually had Vega badging. YUP! But the Vega name was a bit tarnished at that point, and they had license on the Monza name from the Corvair days. There were also a couple thousand carryover Vegas with Monza badging and a new front facia sold as the Monza S (not just the Kammback/wagon). That one you can find via Google search as it was actually advertised.
My mom had 2 vega's while i was growing up, one was the hatchback the other was a wagon
I'd suspect the reason why the Astre didn't sell as well is that Pontiac Dealers would just upsell you into a Ventura or LeMans and you'd be happier with a 6 or a V8 and a nicer car.
one of the first standard trans cars i learned to drive was a friend's parent's astre wagon.
always thought it would be neat to swap in a pontiac 350 or 455 into one of these.
I'm in Canada and when I was a kid we had an Astre. Who knew it was such a rarity?!
FWIW I think the pre-facelift Vega hatch is one of the prettiest domestic designs of the era. Sue me.
Your info is correct, they where not very popular. My late grandparents on my fathers side, traded in a clean, low milage 1961 Pontiac Tempest on a 1977 Pontiac Astre. To this day, I don't understand why. Please reply. Dave...
I had a girlfriend in the Chicago area that had a '76 or '77 and this was in '82. It had a red and white exterior and a red interior. Cute girl. Cute car.
Well this proves that pontiac really had a car for everyone even your mother can have some fun as today's video got me with the astre is so rare that i never knew it exist 😮 so thank you rare cars for this one and have a good day bye now.