I have a 1976 all original Chevy Vega that just turned 30,000 miles that I bought three years ago. It does not smoke and the engine runs excellent and it’s got a large radiator. But it still has two little holes of rust in the front passenger fender. It also has a nice five speed.
I'll never forget being around two years old and crawling into the hatchback area of my neighbors' new green Vega for a drive around the neighborhood (nope, no car seat, and no one even thought of one as they all lit cigarettes and cigars), and thinking what a new-type car this was, where you could open the entire back of it and just hop in. My parents had a '69 MGB and a '73 Pymouth Satellite, and to me this Vega thing was something from outer space; a new kind of car where the trunk lid was a door. Like, wow, man.
I bought a well used one back in 77 that had steel liners pressed in under warranty. I drove the snot out of it with a Hurst shifter because the stock one kept getting stuck in first and replaced the clutch twice. It had I believe a Muncey four speed in it and when it rusted out I bought a hatch back with a blown motor that had an automatic in it. I transplanted the motors , scrapped the rusted out one and sold the muncey for more than the scrap price to a friend that did stoack car racing. Had a lot of good times in both those cars!
It looks like most of this was filmed around Palm Springs and the San Bernadino Mountains. Well at least it looked better than the Pinto and didn't catch fire in a rear end collision.
My mom did too. We used to ride to school in it up in the foothills everyday when I was a kid. There is nothing like the sound of that buzzy little four.
The magazines, and public, loved them the first few years. As with the Corvair, apparently engineers thought normal drivers did things like utilize the owner's manual for proper tire pressure, and to check the coolant level regularly. That said, if the '76 (which had by-far the longest engine warranty in the industry, and rust problems were overcome) was the '71, things may have turned out differently. It was a far-more-appealing product, IMHO, than any of the other small cars at the time. Introduced with four body styles, and an attractive GT package, and optional bucket seats from the Camaro.
** the "draggin the line" bass intro music gets me everytime - after my 10th video in a row of these ------ > I finally asked my smart speaker to play it lol GOD Bless
In 1978, I bought a 74 Vega GT. It burned oil like it was fuel. Having a machine shop install steel cylinder liners solved the oil burning. When it was quiet, you could hear the car rusting. No help for that. I abused the poor beast for two years until it threw a rod. In spite of all the defects and accompanying misery, I would still like to have a Cosworth Vega.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 - A friend had a Cosworth. They weren't all they were hyped to be. It cost him $6500 and for that, he could have had a Corvette. After I put a Blackjack header on my Vega GT and rejetted the carb to run right, it was as fast or faster than his Cosworth that he paid almost $2500 more for.
@@tommissouri4871 That math and lack of performance is why the Cosworth Vega was a marketing failure. I was eleven years old when the Vega came out. To my eyes, at the time, it looked like a mini-Camaro, which I thought would be cool to have. A good looking, fuel efficient, reliable, affordable, fun, American made car. It didn't live up to my imagination, or the marketing image. The truth is after the cylinder liner install it was a reliable car, which I proceeded to abuse to death.
They'd have you believe that you could buy a Vega and drive it maybe 75,000 miles! Too bad the engines were being replaced under the 12,000 mile warranty!
Air-bubbles prevented it from reaching all of the panels. GM initially omitted plastic fender liners too to save money, but soon realized fender replacement was more expensive than plastic liners. Later models all has better zinc-rust-proofing and fender liners.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 My girlfriend bought a used Vega Station Wagon in 1982. So we could makeout in the back. kids lol. 90 weight gear oil and wood chips covered the excessive oil consumption, Hours later, OMG. I said thanks honey for thinking of us, but you should have had me look at the car, lol. I thew a chevy 283 into it with a powerglide, fun car.
@@CarsandCats engine and trans cost her a hundred bucks, mods, used exhaust, radiator, cut driveshaft and stuff a little more. Two days welding/forcing that junk. Car lasted a year, girlfriend 3. She got a good price for that pile. Little irritating problems with both, lol.
@1:22 Hoo-boy! How’d ya like to have been part of THAT engineering team? “Remember those Vega engines from the early 70’s? Yeah, that was me. I was part of that magic!”
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 My understanding is that the engine was well-engineered but it was rushed to production without adequate testing and development. It could have, should have, would have been a much better car if introduction had been delayed a year or so, The four-cylinder from the Chevy II could have been substituted early on (remember the bOmb proof seven-main 3.3-liter six in the original Gremlin?)
The reputation as a "bad engine" was famous back then, just like the comments here now continue, but it wasn't so much the engine design as the people that used them. Similar to how Corvairs needed to have low tire pressure 18 front 30 rear or the handling was messed up. The engine with the silicone embedded cylinder walls had an iron coated piston and chrome rings that required a break-in period. In other words, drive it 500 miles with an increasingly higher rev limit and load over that time, and then change oil. But the Marketing was pushing how long you could go on maintenance schedules and pushed for 5000 to 7500 miles for first oil change. By that time, your engine was toast. They should have included a free service at 500 miles and most of those engines would have been fine. The other issue was overheating, as they tried to go with too small of a radiator. I put 150,000 on a Vega. It wasn't until about 130,000 that oil consumption became a problem.
The one my uncle had was a lemon from day one and got it new. Constantly overheating, leaked from the gaskets and had to turn off the A/C to make it up a hill.
Casey Kasem, he must have really needed the money then. This was one of the worst cars GM ever built. The word quality has no business connected to Vega.
I’ve always wanted to build a lightweight, road-race-y ‘71-72 Vega wagon with C5 Z06 mechanicals. That would just be the coolest damn thing in history.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Yeah, I’ve seen a bunch of small-block and big-block Vega drag cars, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen one set up for corners and I think C5 Z06 stuff would be the cheapest way to build it, and it would be a rocket.
My first car. Took it to Canadian Tire for a safety inspection, they put a huge dent in the door (refused to do anything to correct the situation) and soon after rust developed around the door and turned that door into a wing. Sound have done the same to the other door then I could fly it.
Bought one new in '83 with the "deluxe" vinyl wood grain in the station wagon version. It was really a great car to drive and performed well until about 30k mile and the engine started to smoke and burn oil. Chevy just didn't have the engine properly developed and the consumer paid the price. Later year engines were made with iron sleeves and were more durable. However, by that time the PR damage was done and so was the car's reputation.
I had a 72, v8 283corvette motor,,chained to the frame,,,,2 speed automatic trans,,,it was funny,I got it when the 78 Camero came out,,beat them all plus I had a71 Mach one with 390 horse boss motor with shift kit,,and all the cop cars were little Malibu 4 doors ,,,so embarrassing for them,,so much fun,would loose our licence now for driving like we did,,,
My high school friend had a Vega coupe. It may have been lovingly and lightly used. He drove all the way across Pennsylvania to a point in Ohio (weren't Vegas made in Lordstown?) for a single 45 RPM record(!) in a blizzard. He made it and lived to tell the tale. I did some foolhardy stuff too when I was a young fellow. Things that make me cringe now looking back. My friend also had a nice '67 Impala coupe. Gorgeous thing it was. If he ever reads this post he'll quickly recognize himself. My friend takes another friend to see a Phillies game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. At one point our mutual friend exhorts the Impala's owner to take off the air cleaner lid and invert it to improve airflow and give the engine that pleasing resonance under acceleration. At some point (maybe the engine timing was misadjusted) on the way home the engine backfired through the carburetor and the vehicle was set ablaze on I-95. The last time I saw the Impala was the day it was towed away from in front of my friend's home where he lived with his parents just before he got married. If you put your foot on the rear bumper the car bounced several times because all of the oil had been cooked out of the shock absorbers.
Great anecdotes, these bring back memories for me too. That’s why I want to share them, I grew up in the 80’s so we all had 1970’s cars. My best friend drove a 73 Trans Am.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Each era had the popular cars, the hot-hot cars and the cars we just happened to drive. I learned to drive on my father's '66 Impala (aquamarine colored) pillarless sedan. What a beauty that was. The A/C vents were spherical. One side the air blew out straight. Rotate it 180° and that was the diffuser side. Ingenious. My first Trans Am story involves the jewelry manager from the chain discount department store where I worked in the early-'70s while still in school. This fellow had a Thunderbolt & Lightfoot 455 Trans Am. He had the engine balanced and blueprinted. It was pure awesomeness 👌. My wife wouldn't let me near a Trans Am or a Z28. After her untimely passing from cancer almost two decades ago I tried filling the void with some high(er) performance vehicles. I had the last Pontiac Firehawk on the east coast. Purchased in July 2002. The search was for a Firehawk or a Bandit Commemorative Trans Am. I had a salesman looking for either one for a few weeks. The black Firehawk was found thirty miles away at Garnet Pontiac in New Jersey and my dealership managed to have it sent to Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. I got a few things out of my system.
Sounds like you love your Trans Am. Check out a film I uploaded, the 1973 TG racing film. I bought that one along with a few others that belonged to “Mr Trans am” David Tom. They were his personal films. David Tom wrote a book on Trans Am Racing. The BFG stunt show film was his too. Both of those are transferred from 16mm.
@Christopher Hagee Excellent thumbnail history lesson. Thank you. We had relatives in Wickliffe, Ohio, up until not so long ago. However, the last time we as a family drove all the way across Pennsylvania to visit was in the '70s. There actually may have been a Vega sitting on a pedestal in front of the plant as we passed. That's an 80% memory; meaning I'm mostly sure I remember seeing it. Some years later as I was contemplating a transfer to GM's foundry in Defiance, Ohio, I passed Lordstown Assembly again but I don't remember what was on display in front of the plant then. I stayed in Defiance for two days, scouted some housing and got a tour of the foundry. I planned the trip to fit into the time between Christmas and New Year's Eve 1994. I got home on December 30th. I ended up not transferring to that plant.
My parents bought a Vega new in 1977, by 1984 it had to be hauled off. We really didn't trust it enough to take it out of town by 1980. It broke down too often. I always thought it was a nice looking car.
As with so many cars of the period it's a shame cost cutting cheapness spoiled a good design. The coupe is a fine looking car. I would love one now but good, unspoilt examples are so rare, particularly here in Europe.
A nice looking car considering what it was. But GM choked on it with the rust and engine problems in the early years that damaged its reputation. But GM being GM couldn't play long ball and stick with it till it earned its reputation back. Typical pattern of American car companies. Build junk to begin with, fix the issues and develop a decent product later, then cancel it because sales haven't had time to recover from the bad reputation. I got a great idea. Build it right from the get-go. See how that works.
this was not the first time or the last they used the public as Guiney pigs. I worked for Saturn when they introduced GM's first CVT transmission. they were stupid enough to install them in the VUE. too heavy. those transmissions were hand grenadine at 7k miles. officially the worst transmission ever in my book
The powerglide option was bulletproof - should have also used the bulletproof already on hand OHV sawed off chevy 6 four cyl - used in some novas. As for the badly quickly rusting body, i know of no solution - tho many '70s cars rusted prematurely, including 2nd gen camaros & firebirds.
As much as I loved the styling of the Vega, particularly the GT hatchback and the Kammback, this video made me cringe with its talk of rustproofing and engine durability. I wish they had been really good cars. I bought a Pinto wagon as a second car, though slow, mechanically it was tough as nails and served its purpose very well.
I had a 1974 Chevy Vega LX, for which I paid $3,300. It actually was a nice car, requiring only a much more mundane motor (as with the Chevette) or iron cylinder liners, as well as another $100 in fixes. The thing was, GM did not think of these cars as entry to their line, but instead thought them as lesser cars that lesser people bought. Thus, service and build quality was spotty at best. Still, it was better than the Pinto, wasn't it?
Ford Pinto was actually a very good car the cast iron 4cylinder was same engine that later would be put into ford Rangers......the gas tank issue was the only reason it put a bad taste in people mouths.
Workers built their lunches into the dashboards because management sped up the line and they couldn't keep up. When people bought the car, they brought them back saying " it stinks inside" because of the rotting lunches.
The Vega hatchback was a great looking car, 10 times better than ANYTHING available today. Too bad they did such a poor job building it. The Pinto was much better. I have owned a 1972 Pinto woodgrain wagon for the past 26 years, and it is still solid as a rock and has been trouble free for the most part. There just isn't much of anything to go wrong with it. No garbage technology like todays so called "cars". I seriously doubt the Vega was any less reliable than the Chevy Sonic. My sister had a bought new 2013 Sonic, and it was a total pile of junk. The engine blew up at just over 100,000 miles, and I worked on it on a near weekly basis up until that point. One thing after another was constantly going wrong with it. I replaced pretty much everything on the outside of the engine, and finally the cam chain broke. It was only 6 years old.
And to think they could've spent one-fifth the cost of developing the Vega engine on putting an aluminum crossflow head on the Chevy II 153 four. Take the extra money saved and spend it on better rustproofing and maybe a 4-door model.
3:35 - Vegas ran well on the track, but they weighed too much compared to Pinto and the Japanese import sedans they had to compete with. Thus the reason for the Cosworth, getting much more horsepower into the car. But by the time the suit were done, the Cosworth was about 2/3rds of the power they had envisioned, giving it no real advantage. 7:47 - Check out those pants! 8:46 - Imagine doing this today. All those kids with no seatbelts or even seats!
I heard it was possible to install cylinder wall sleeves . But yes , disposable engine. Kind of like todays Nissan Versa transmission. Good for about 80k at best.
In the 80s in my early 20s I bought a 74 Vega and had it about 3 months before that terrible Aluminum Block Engine blew!! I just left it on the side of the road and never looked back!! It was a nice car but that engine was terrible!
It was not a bad car. The body, like all cars in that era, rusted out so fast. It was priced cheap, so it wasn't made to last. Kind of wish I still had it.
Another example of a rushed to market embarrassment. Just a preview of the early X cars. Had the misfortune of having an ‘87 Sunbird. GM didn’t learn its lessons and continued to go downward to bankruptcy.
It really was a shame. The Vega was kind of a fun car to drive. Too bad GM/chevy was so worried about saving nickels and dimes, they could have put steel sleeves in the cylinders. I'll never figure out why they chose to use an cast iron head....Dis similar metals and money wasted, someone said they were worried about the valve seals falling out of the aluminum head casting. It is hard to believe that any poor Vega actually received all that rust proofing bragged about in this video. All this penny pinching just opened the doors for japanese imports to take over.
The little car that could have been a great vehicle!...it is too bad GM accountants got a hold of this car and ruined it...Vega was a great looking little car that was introduced with perfect timing into the market but GM had to F'it up like only GM could back then...too bad...
Oh dear, a black mark on motor trend and car and drivers' reputation for sure...That oil pressure switch must have come in handy once they started to burn oil....
I think the iron duke 151 was a solid little engine, it needed a bigger cam and more breathing. it had a 4 inch bore with a 3-inch stroke. easily can turn 6000rpms
Oh my a famous voice to pitch a pile of crap that fueled the Japanese economy then again they were great when you swapped out crappy four banger with a healthy small block V8. The cars were good lookers especially the wagon love how it’s compared with the h bomb on wheels namely the Ford Pinto and the beetle
Vegas would start rusting on the show room floor! Also had a junk engine that would not last long. Basically a very bad car for the money. It got a bad REPUTATION over time. My FRIENDS parents had one that spent most of the time getting repaired. They got rid of it to a guy who dropped a 289 in it and it was bad ass !
Probably a 283 chevy not a 289 ford, I had a friend back in the day, put a hot 302 in a Pinto, that was a quick car,but he didn't do much to the suspension so it wasnt safe lol
Sounds like Casey Kasem doing the voiceover. It's too bad the accountants hurt both the Vega and the Pinto. Both cars had critical design flaws that could have easily been solved during the engineering phase and adding a few dollars to the overall cost. But no. To keep costs down, the Vega's engine was designed to self-destruct and the Pinto literally could self destruct in a rear-end collision. The silly thing is, the Pinto WAGON did not suffer the same malady as the coupe because the Pinto wagon had a full steel floor. The coupe/sedan used the top of the tank as the bottom of the trunk floor. Ditto with the Mustang II among other cars in their line up. Ford was just trying to save a few dollars in sheet steel. Had history been a little different, these might've been known as some of the BEST cars of the 1970's. Pretty sad when AMC Gremlin and Hornet were kicking the Big Three's ass in terms of quality.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 You know, I've worked on a number of them over the years. A friend had a Mercury Bobcat with the V6 and little four speed stick and MAN that sucker would haul. Surprisingly powerful for what it was. Also helped a buddy fix up a Mustang II. Cheap interior plastic aside, the rest of it is a well-engineered vehicle with some very robust designs. That's why I say if the manufacturers had NOT cheapened out in the design stage, I really don't think the imports would've taken America like they did. If the Vega's engine had steel cylinders, it might well have been the best engine of the '70s. If AMC hadn't bet the farm on the Pacer or Matador coupe, they would've had money to spend on their engines. They were looking into turning their 232 and 258 engines into full aluminum engines to save weight but ran out of money.
Vega's engine wasn't designed to self-destruct but it did require care not seen in about 10-15 years. American cars used to have a break-in time, where you drove it easy, shifted easy, and then changed the oil about 500 to 1000 miles. But through the '60s, most engines didn't need that, getting their run-in time at the factory. As such, no one did a first service at 500 miles and instead when at 5000 to 7500 miles like was being pushed by Marketing as extra long maintenance schedules and the engine was gone by then.
@@tommissouri4871 Be as that may, notice that even today, aluminum engines have steel or iron cylinder liners. It don't take a genius to realize that if you've got a soft metal (aluminum) and a hard metal (iron piston rings) one is going to wear the other one out in short order. Having the engine block be the wear item was a silly idea. Yes, I know they experimented with a silicone impregnated aluminum but that obviously did not work.
@@That_AMC_Guy - Actually, it did. The aluminum Can Am big blocks were made the same way. And iron rings are soft compared to steel rings, which most engines have.
Huh, the engineers in the film didn't seem as drunk or high as their final product would suggest. Vega has been repeatedly voted one of the worst cars of all time.
the vega was right there and was almost a perfect american economy car but GM had to blow it and shoot themselves in the foot. i want one but even california vegas have rust
The voice of Casey Kasem! A voice of the time.
I got about 2 minutes in and started wondering.
I have a 1976 all original Chevy Vega that just turned 30,000 miles that I bought three years ago. It does not smoke and the engine runs excellent and it’s got a large radiator. But it still has two little holes of rust in the front passenger fender. It also has a nice five speed.
I'm Casey Kasem. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.
Your feet will always be on the ground if you drive a Vega 😁
I'll never forget being around two years old and crawling into the hatchback area of my neighbors' new green Vega for a drive around the neighborhood (nope, no car seat, and no one even thought of one as they all lit cigarettes and cigars), and thinking what a new-type car this was, where you could open the entire back of it and just hop in. My parents had a '69 MGB and a '73 Pymouth Satellite, and to me this Vega thing was something from outer space; a new kind of car where the trunk lid was a door. Like, wow, man.
Even in 2024 they still look modern
I bought a well used one back in 77 that had steel liners pressed in under warranty. I drove the snot out of it with a Hurst shifter because the stock one kept getting stuck in first and replaced the clutch twice. It had I believe a Muncey four speed in it and when it rusted out I bought a hatch back with a blown motor that had an automatic in it. I transplanted the motors , scrapped the rusted out one and sold the muncey for more than the scrap price to a friend that did stoack car racing. Had a lot of good times in both those cars!
It looks like most of this was filmed around Palm Springs and the San Bernadino Mountains. Well at least it looked better than the Pinto and didn't catch fire in a rear end collision.
I have driven them both. the pinto out handled the Vega. they made great autocross cars. we used to run 235/50/13 tires on them.
My grandma had the Vega hatchback, lots of good memories in that car.
My mom did too. We used to ride to school in it up in the foothills everyday when I was a kid. There is nothing like the sound of that buzzy little four.
The magazines, and public, loved them the first few years. As with the Corvair, apparently engineers thought normal drivers did things like utilize the owner's manual for proper tire pressure, and to check the coolant level regularly. That said, if the '76 (which had by-far the longest engine warranty in the industry, and rust problems were overcome) was the '71, things may have turned out differently. It was a far-more-appealing product, IMHO, than any of the other small cars at the time. Introduced with four body styles, and an attractive GT package, and optional bucket seats from the Camaro.
I hate those bucket seats. the support sucked.
The Opel Kadett with the 1900 engine was a better choice.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 The Custom Interior had lower back support IMHO
Attractive car, ashame it was a rolling pile of crap.
My first car, still remember used it for racing and still have my trophys !!!
nice, too bad you can't add some Picts to your comments
They had participation trophies back then? Wow
I love Vegas especially with a good sbc
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
See those other brands? They don't have melting engines and disintegrating metal like we do! That's clearly an innovation!
** the "draggin the line" bass intro music gets me everytime - after my 10th video in a row of these ------ > I finally asked my smart speaker to play it lol GOD Bless
using the same music must have been another chevy cost cutter
The best seating position in a Vega is in another car!
In 1978, I bought a 74 Vega GT. It burned oil like it was fuel. Having a machine shop install steel cylinder liners solved the oil burning. When it was quiet, you could hear the car rusting. No help for that. I abused the poor beast for two years until it threw a rod. In spite of all the defects and accompanying misery, I would still like to have a Cosworth Vega.
All '70s cars rusted like that.
i would love to have a Cosworth too
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 - A friend had a Cosworth. They weren't all they were hyped to be. It cost him $6500 and for that, he could have had a Corvette. After I put a Blackjack header on my Vega GT and rejetted the carb to run right, it was as fast or faster than his Cosworth that he paid almost $2500 more for.
I have a 76 Cosworth and its Ok nothing to write home about.
@@tommissouri4871 That math and lack of performance is why the Cosworth Vega was a marketing failure. I was eleven years old when the Vega came out. To my eyes, at the time, it looked like a mini-Camaro, which I thought would be cool to have. A good looking, fuel efficient, reliable, affordable, fun, American made car. It didn't live up to my imagination, or the marketing image. The truth is after the cylinder liner install it was a reliable car, which I proceeded to abuse to death.
They'd have you believe that you could buy a Vega and drive it maybe 75,000 miles! Too bad the engines were being replaced under the 12,000 mile warranty!
LOL, ours lasted 35,000 miles. A miracle.
You could have if you had changed the oil at 500 miles for the first service. Most changed around 5000. By then, the engine was toast.
Holy crap! 12k??? Should have been driven to the scrap yard from the dealership.
Wow...that's Casey Kasem doing the voice over.
it must be
Say what you will,but I had a 73 Vega and that beast could go from 0-60 in 4.5 minutes!
Wow Vega was a really great car! Who knew!
The engine troubles GM had with this car were infamous. They just weren’t built to last.
not the first time nor the last
My Vega will be 50 years old next year! Still has the four-banger too, but it has been rebuilt a few times along the way and is steel-sleeved.
More like Marketing issues and owner issues.
@@tommissouri4871 Agreed. And they should have had coolant overflow bottles to begin with.
That's the problem. They were designed well, but the accountants sentenced it to the death of a thousand cost-cuts.
I literally saw a brand new '71 Vega on the dealer's lot with rust around the rear window frame.
“Vega’s may start to rust on the showroom floor,your job is to distract the customers so that they don’t notice it”.
All that automated welding and dipping it in primer didn't keep them from rusting right on the showroom floor.
not much of a problem here in California except for the ones that had vinyl roofs.
Air-bubbles prevented it from reaching all of the panels. GM initially omitted plastic fender liners too to save money, but soon realized fender replacement was more expensive than plastic liners. Later models all has better zinc-rust-proofing and fender liners.
In the 80's people were putting SB Chevy V8 in these cars
some came with small blocks
They didn't just do it in the 80's from the 70's till today
Great video! Thanks for sharing it. Sounded like KC Casem as the narrator.
defiantly
You beat me to it. I was about 40 seconds in and was waiting for "America's Top Forty" to show up.
Don't forget about the clouds of oil smoke behind you because of the soft aluminum cylinders.
puff the magic dragon
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 My girlfriend bought a used Vega Station Wagon in 1982. So we could makeout in the back. kids lol. 90 weight gear oil and wood chips covered the excessive oil consumption, Hours later, OMG. I said thanks honey for thinking of us, but you should have had me look at the car, lol. I thew a chevy 283 into it with a powerglide, fun car.
@@charlessmith3758 What lasted longer, the girlfriend or the Vega?
@@CarsandCats engine and trans cost her a hundred bucks, mods, used exhaust, radiator, cut driveshaft and stuff a little more. Two days welding/forcing that junk. Car lasted a year, girlfriend 3. She got a good price for that pile. Little irritating problems with both, lol.
Casey Kasem doing the VO, baby!!!!!!!
I listened to him every week on his top 40 countdown
@1:22 Hoo-boy! How’d ya like to have been part of THAT engineering team? “Remember those Vega engines from the early 70’s? Yeah, that was me. I was part of that magic!”
so, it was all your fault
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 My understanding is that the engine was well-engineered but it was rushed to production without adequate testing and development.
It could have, should have, would have been a much better car if introduction had been delayed a year or so, The four-cylinder from the Chevy II could have been substituted early on (remember the bOmb proof seven-main 3.3-liter six in the original Gremlin?)
The reputation as a "bad engine" was famous back then, just like the comments here now continue, but it wasn't so much the engine design as the people that used them. Similar to how Corvairs needed to have low tire pressure 18 front 30 rear or the handling was messed up.
The engine with the silicone embedded cylinder walls had an iron coated piston and chrome rings that required a break-in period. In other words, drive it 500 miles with an increasingly higher rev limit and load over that time, and then change oil. But the Marketing was pushing how long you could go on maintenance schedules and pushed for 5000 to 7500 miles for first oil change. By that time, your engine was toast. They should have included a free service at 500 miles and most of those engines would have been fine. The other issue was overheating, as they tried to go with too small of a radiator.
I put 150,000 on a Vega. It wasn't until about 130,000 that oil consumption became a problem.
some were better than others.
Silicone embedded cylinders would be a problem.
@@johneddys2351 - yes, but silicon ones would have been better. I could blame spell checker, but I probably just fat fingered it.
The one my uncle had was a lemon from day one and got it new. Constantly overheating, leaked from the gaskets and had to turn off the A/C to make it up a hill.
"The Little Car that does everything well"
Riiiight!
almost everything
It rusted well.
Casey Kasem, he must have really needed the money then. This was one of the worst cars GM ever built. The word quality has no business connected to Vega.
he was a DJ , his job was to make everything sound awesome
American Top-40 was already on the air nation wide. Correct in that a voice could sell!
I was listening, thinking is that Casey Kasem? Thanks for the confirmation.
I seriously doubt Casey knew anything about the engineering behind the car.
Growing up in the 70s, everyone of us would say, check the gas fill the oil.
When the customer asks, "Why is it burning so much oil?" tell them it's a "Top End Lubrication Enhancer" and send them on their way.
the excessive oil consumption helped to keep the exhaust from rotting out
I’ve always wanted to build a lightweight, road-race-y ‘71-72 Vega wagon with C5 Z06 mechanicals. That would just be the coolest damn thing in history.
back in the day I saw them with big blocks. the guts from a Z06 would be awesome.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Yeah, I’ve seen a bunch of small-block and big-block Vega drag cars, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen one set up for corners and I think C5 Z06 stuff would be the cheapest way to build it, and it would be a rocket.
at 9:15. . "And now, back to the countdown"
I listened every week
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 AT40
My first car. Took it to Canadian Tire for a safety inspection, they put a huge dent in the door (refused to do anything to correct the situation) and soon after rust developed around the door and turned that door into a wing. Sound have done the same to the other door then I could fly it.
rust killed so many cars
Comming in at #1.
top 40
You know the V w driver turned slightly on the truck pass.
Bought one new in '83 with the "deluxe" vinyl wood grain in the station wagon version. It was really a great car to drive and performed well until about 30k mile and the engine started to smoke and burn oil. Chevy just didn't have the engine properly developed and the consumer paid the price. Later year engines were made with iron sleeves and were more durable. However, by that time the PR damage was done and so was the car's reputation.
the junk yards were full of them
I think you meant ‘73.
@@boataxe4605 Yes. you are correct....my math and memory was off. Thanks.
I had a 72, v8 283corvette motor,,chained to the frame,,,,2 speed automatic trans,,,it was funny,I got it when the 78 Camero came out,,beat them all plus I had a71 Mach one with 390 horse boss motor with shift kit,,and all the cop cars were little Malibu 4 doors ,,,so embarrassing for them,,so much fun,would loose our licence now for driving like we did,,,
Chevy Vega the car that does everything well including rust 😆
Chevy, please return to your roots and bring back the Vega for 2022. This is the kind of car consumers want, not trucks and SUV.
I think the style would sell, but not the name
The film failed to mention the Vega's best feature - you never have to change the oil. By the time the oil needs changing the engine's toast anyway.
add some 50 weight and it will stop smoking
My high school friend had a Vega coupe. It may have been lovingly and lightly used. He drove all the way across Pennsylvania to a point in Ohio (weren't Vegas made in Lordstown?) for a single 45 RPM record(!) in a blizzard. He made it and lived to tell the tale. I did some foolhardy stuff too when I was a young fellow. Things that make me cringe now looking back.
My friend also had a nice '67 Impala coupe. Gorgeous thing it was. If he ever reads this post he'll quickly recognize himself. My friend takes another friend to see a Phillies game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. At one point our mutual friend exhorts the Impala's owner to take off the air cleaner lid and invert it to improve airflow and give the engine that pleasing resonance under acceleration. At some point (maybe the engine timing was misadjusted) on the way home the engine backfired through the carburetor and the vehicle was set ablaze on I-95.
The last time I saw the Impala was the day it was towed away from in front of my friend's home where he lived with his parents just before he got married. If you put your foot on the rear bumper the car bounced several times because all of the oil had been cooked out of the shock absorbers.
Great anecdotes, these bring back memories for me too. That’s why I want to share them, I grew up in the 80’s so we all had 1970’s cars. My best friend drove a 73 Trans Am.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Each era had the popular cars, the hot-hot cars and the cars we just happened to drive.
I learned to drive on my father's '66 Impala (aquamarine colored) pillarless sedan. What a beauty that was. The A/C vents were spherical. One side the air blew out straight. Rotate it 180° and that was the diffuser side. Ingenious.
My first Trans Am story involves the jewelry manager from the chain discount department store where I worked in the early-'70s while still in school. This fellow had a Thunderbolt & Lightfoot 455 Trans Am. He had the engine balanced and blueprinted. It was pure awesomeness 👌.
My wife wouldn't let me near a Trans Am or a Z28. After her untimely passing from cancer almost two decades ago I tried filling the void with some high(er) performance vehicles. I had the last Pontiac Firehawk on the east coast. Purchased in July 2002. The search was for a Firehawk or a Bandit Commemorative Trans Am. I had a salesman looking for either one for a few weeks. The black Firehawk was found thirty miles away at Garnet Pontiac in New Jersey and my dealership managed to have it sent to Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. I got a few things out of my system.
Sounds like you love your Trans Am. Check out a film I uploaded, the 1973 TG racing film. I bought that one along with a few others that belonged to “Mr Trans am” David Tom. They were his personal films. David Tom wrote a book on Trans Am Racing. The BFG stunt show film was his too. Both of those are transferred from 16mm.
The reason it made it there and back was because it was winter. If it was summer, it might have overheated
@Christopher Hagee Excellent thumbnail history lesson. Thank you. We had relatives in Wickliffe, Ohio, up until not so long ago. However, the last time we as a family drove all the way across Pennsylvania to visit was in the '70s. There actually may have been a Vega sitting on a pedestal in front of the plant as we passed. That's an 80% memory; meaning I'm mostly sure I remember seeing it.
Some years later as I was contemplating a transfer to GM's foundry in Defiance, Ohio, I passed Lordstown Assembly again but I don't remember what was on display in front of the plant then. I stayed in Defiance for two days, scouted some housing and got a tour of the foundry. I planned the trip to fit into the time between Christmas and New Year's Eve 1994. I got home on December 30th. I ended up not transferring to that plant.
Shaggy really liked the Vega.
Plenty of room for Scooby Doo.
don't forget scrappy doo
Zoinks! Like, this thing won’t start Scoob, the engine is totally out of oil! Like, let’s go over to that creepy old house and call a tow truck.
casey casems voice
It really sounds like him!! Thanks funny I didn’t notice it while processing the film
Casey Kasem doing the narration
I think you are correct
My parents bought a Vega new in 1977, by 1984 it had to be hauled off. We really didn't trust it enough to take it out of town by 1980. It broke down too often. I always thought it was a nice looking car.
It was a nice looking car. Ashame it was so poorly made.
I own one with a 327 Love it
very nice, if only chevy had started the Vega with a small block there would be plenty still around
I had a Vega Cosworrh
lucky, I bet you wish you still had it
The Vega hatchback would be sold today as a Crossover/SUV and you pay $10k extra over the sedan/coupe.
Casey Kasem narrating! Lol
yep!!!!!
As with so many cars of the period it's a shame cost cutting cheapness spoiled a good design. The coupe is a fine looking car. I would love one now but good, unspoilt examples are so rare, particularly here in Europe.
I don't think there are many left where you are at. people don't seem to have kept them in that part of the world
Great job. Any other model years?
yes, I have one on already up on the Death Valley engine challenge plus more to come.
A nice looking car considering what it was. But GM choked on it with the rust and engine problems in the early years that damaged its reputation. But GM being GM couldn't play long ball and stick with it till it earned its reputation back. Typical pattern of American car companies. Build junk to begin with, fix the issues and develop a decent product later, then cancel it because sales haven't had time to recover from the bad reputation. I got a great idea. Build it right from the get-go. See how that works.
this was not the first time or the last they used the public as Guiney pigs. I worked for Saturn when they introduced GM's first CVT transmission. they were stupid enough to install them in the VUE. too heavy. those transmissions were hand grenadine at 7k miles. officially the worst transmission ever in my book
Is that Casey Kasem. Narrating ? Sounds like him.. From Americans top 40
there are no credits but, it sure sounds like him
My dad had a Vega he said it was the biggest piece of crap he's ever owned the engine blew up at only 30,000 miles
The powerglide option was bulletproof - should have also used the bulletproof already on hand OHV sawed off chevy 6 four cyl - used in some novas.
As for the badly quickly rusting body, i know of no solution - tho many '70s cars rusted prematurely, including 2nd gen camaros & firebirds.
Omg Casey Kasem. Awesome
defiantly the highlight of the film
It looks like the block had sleeves - just not cast iron ones!
As much as I loved the styling of the Vega, particularly the GT hatchback and the Kammback, this video made me cringe with its talk of rustproofing and engine durability. I wish they had been really good cars. I bought a Pinto wagon as a second car, though slow, mechanically it was tough as nails and served its purpose very well.
the pintos made great autocross cars. my best friend had one in high school. it was fun to drive but felt like you were sitting on a toilet seat
That car drank a quart of oil in just the first minute of this film, lol.
it was making me thirsty too
GM never recovered from this cluster fk. With this and the Pinto they pretty much handed the small car market to the Japanese.
Wonder how many vegas survive today?
not very many, don't even see them in the junk yards anymore
I always thought it had good proportions and that the estate had overtones of the Volvo P1800ES from the side profile…
nice style, if only they hadn't dropped in the disaster engine
Is that Casey Kasem narrating?
yes, I didn't notice it at first
I had a 1974 Chevy Vega LX, for which I paid $3,300. It actually was a nice car, requiring only a much more mundane motor (as with the Chevette) or iron cylinder liners, as well as another $100 in fixes. The thing was, GM did not think of these cars as entry to their line, but instead thought them as lesser cars that lesser people bought. Thus, service and build quality was spotty at best. Still, it was better than the Pinto, wasn't it?
they were aimed at the same consumer, hard to say which was better
Ford Pinto was actually a very good car the cast iron 4cylinder was same engine that later would be put into ford Rangers......the gas tank issue was the only reason it put a bad taste in people mouths.
And GM would have made money on them if it weren't for those darn kids!
Workers built their lunches into the dashboards because management sped up the line and they couldn't keep up. When people bought the car, they brought them back saying " it stinks inside" because of the rotting lunches.
I have found car ducts that stunk too, I found rodents rotting
8:47 Three kids loaded in the back with no seatbelts. These days Mom would be going to jail.
times have sure changed, call CPS
Notice how test drivers didn’t wear helmets back then brah?
safety wasn't the first priority
Casey kasem narrating
i didnt catch it at first but yes, this one brings back memories of casey doing the weekly top 40
What do I tell the prospective buyer about the bubbling paint on the front fenders of the cars in the showroom?
it added lot of character
It's the new textured paint appearance package at no extra charge! Lol
This was the turning point when American car manufacturers started to make crap while the Japanese started making their cars better and better.
The Vega hatchback was a great looking car, 10 times better than ANYTHING available today. Too bad they did such a poor job building it. The Pinto was much better. I have owned a 1972 Pinto woodgrain wagon for the past 26 years, and it is still solid as a rock and has been trouble free for the most part. There just isn't much of anything to go wrong with it. No garbage technology like todays so called "cars". I seriously doubt the Vega was any less reliable than the Chevy Sonic. My sister had a bought new 2013 Sonic, and it was a total pile of junk. The engine blew up at just over 100,000 miles, and I worked on it on a near weekly basis up until that point. One thing after another was constantly going wrong with it. I replaced pretty much everything on the outside of the engine, and finally the cam chain broke. It was only 6 years old.
the sonic is made with steel about as thick as Budweiser can
And to think they could've spent one-fifth the cost of developing the Vega engine on putting an aluminum crossflow head on the Chevy II 153 four. Take the extra money saved and spend it on better rustproofing and maybe a 4-door model.
I don't think a 4 door Vega would have sold unless they made the rear suicide doors
3:35 - Vegas ran well on the track, but they weighed too much compared to Pinto and the Japanese import sedans they had to compete with. Thus the reason for the Cosworth, getting much more horsepower into the car. But by the time the suit were done, the Cosworth was about 2/3rds of the power they had envisioned, giving it no real advantage.
7:47 - Check out those pants!
8:46 - Imagine doing this today. All those kids with no seatbelts or even seats!
if chevy made a car film like this today they would be canceled
8:46: Yeah, this used to be a free country full of people who were not paranoid.
@@boataxe4605 - Yes, I remember riding on the dropped tailgate of my grandpa's wagon. Today, we'd go to children's services and he'd go to jail.
True fact; the Vega's engine was disposable, it wasn't rebuildable.
I heard it was possible to install cylinder wall sleeves . But yes , disposable engine. Kind of like todays Nissan Versa transmission. Good for about 80k at best.
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 All Nissan's with CVT's.Constant Vehicle Trouble
In the 80s in my early 20s I bought a 74 Vega and had it about 3 months before that terrible Aluminum Block Engine blew!! I just left it on the side of the road and never looked back!! It was a nice car but that engine was terrible!
tragedy
They were good once the cylinder walls were re sleeved
just think if this a car was made like this today. there would have been a serious class action lawsuit
It was not a bad car. The body, like all cars in that era, rusted out so fast. It was priced cheap, so it wasn't made to last. Kind of wish I still had it.
Too bad the radiator was terribly undersized. Details!
Camaros little brother.
they just need the v8
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 Or a fuel-injected Iron Duke.
Another example of a rushed to market embarrassment. Just a preview of the early X cars. Had the misfortune of having an ‘87 Sunbird. GM didn’t learn its lessons and continued to go downward to bankruptcy.
the 1980's were the decade of piles of crap
Have 6 hatchbacks none are Stock,, from a ls 5.3 lh6 to blown BBC 468 on alcohol,
It really was a shame. The Vega was kind of a fun car to drive. Too bad GM/chevy was so worried about saving nickels and dimes, they could have put steel sleeves in the cylinders. I'll never figure out why they chose to use an cast iron head....Dis similar metals and money wasted, someone said they were worried about the valve seals falling out of the aluminum head casting. It is hard to believe that any poor Vega actually received all that rust proofing bragged about in this video. All this penny pinching just opened the doors for japanese imports to take over.
Best looking little car built in America... It was just not well made. GM should have been ashamed of it's self.
i am sure there were regrets ,
I see print media with "car of the year" propaganda was alive and well in the 70s.
paid advertisement
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 didn't know you could buy the title "car of the year" I guess integrity was for sale even back then.
The little car that could have been a great vehicle!...it is too bad GM accountants got a hold of this car and ruined it...Vega was a great looking little car that was introduced with perfect timing into the market but GM had to F'it up like only GM could back then...too bad...
Had a 75 with a 262 V8 in it. It sounded fast, but wasn't 😁
there was room for improvement
Hands down, Vegas were one of the worst cars ever made. We had a 71’. It rusted and the engine melted. We couldn’t wait to dump it.
Oh dear, a black mark on motor trend and car and drivers' reputation for sure...That oil pressure switch must have come in handy once they started to burn oil....
keep a case in trunk, oil and beer
Proof there was money under the table for these magazine execs
GM should have cut its online 6 down to a 4 like ford did with the 200 6 to make the tempo 2.3
I think the iron duke 151 was a solid little engine, it needed a bigger cam and more breathing. it had a 4 inch bore with a 3-inch stroke. easily can turn 6000rpms
Oh my a famous voice to pitch a pile of crap that fueled the Japanese economy then again they were great when you swapped out crappy four banger with a healthy small block V8. The cars were good lookers especially the wagon love how it’s compared with the h bomb on wheels namely the Ford Pinto and the beetle
Vegas would start rusting on the show room floor! Also had a junk engine that would not last long. Basically a very bad car for the money. It got a bad REPUTATION over time. My FRIENDS parents had one that spent most of the time getting repaired. They got rid of it to a guy who dropped a 289 in it and it was bad ass !
yes, if they weren't rusted then they made cool little cars to put in a small block
Probably a 283 chevy not a 289 ford,
I had a friend back in the day, put a hot 302 in a Pinto, that was a quick car,but he didn't do much to the suspension so it wasnt safe lol
Sounds like Casey Kasem doing the voiceover. It's too bad the accountants hurt both the Vega and the Pinto. Both cars had critical design flaws that could have easily been solved during the engineering phase and adding a few dollars to the overall cost. But no. To keep costs down, the Vega's engine was designed to self-destruct and the Pinto literally could self destruct in a rear-end collision. The silly thing is, the Pinto WAGON did not suffer the same malady as the coupe because the Pinto wagon had a full steel floor. The coupe/sedan used the top of the tank as the bottom of the trunk floor. Ditto with the Mustang II among other cars in their line up. Ford was just trying to save a few dollars in sheet steel.
Had history been a little different, these might've been known as some of the BEST cars of the 1970's. Pretty sad when AMC Gremlin and Hornet were kicking the Big Three's ass in terms of quality.
pintos made great autocross cars
@@theemulsionalchemist5688 You know, I've worked on a number of them over the years. A friend had a Mercury Bobcat with the V6 and little four speed stick and MAN that sucker would haul. Surprisingly powerful for what it was.
Also helped a buddy fix up a Mustang II. Cheap interior plastic aside, the rest of it is a well-engineered vehicle with some very robust designs. That's why I say if the manufacturers had NOT cheapened out in the design stage, I really don't think the imports would've taken America like they did.
If the Vega's engine had steel cylinders, it might well have been the best engine of the '70s.
If AMC hadn't bet the farm on the Pacer or Matador coupe, they would've had money to spend on their engines. They were looking into turning their 232 and 258 engines into full aluminum engines to save weight but ran out of money.
Vega's engine wasn't designed to self-destruct but it did require care not seen in about 10-15 years. American cars used to have a break-in time, where you drove it easy, shifted easy, and then changed the oil about 500 to 1000 miles. But through the '60s, most engines didn't need that, getting their run-in time at the factory. As such, no one did a first service at 500 miles and instead when at 5000 to 7500 miles like was being pushed by Marketing as extra long maintenance schedules and the engine was gone by then.
@@tommissouri4871 Be as that may, notice that even today, aluminum engines have steel or iron cylinder liners.
It don't take a genius to realize that if you've got a soft metal (aluminum) and a hard metal (iron piston rings) one is going to wear the other one out in short order.
Having the engine block be the wear item was a silly idea. Yes, I know they experimented with a silicone impregnated aluminum but that obviously did not work.
@@That_AMC_Guy - Actually, it did. The aluminum Can Am big blocks were made the same way. And iron rings are soft compared to steel rings, which most engines have.
Huh, the engineers in the film didn't seem as drunk or high as their final product would suggest. Vega has been repeatedly voted one of the worst cars of all time.
be nice, they had to try to make it sound wonderful. these are basically long commercials, heaven forbid they would completely tell the truth
the vega was right there and was almost a perfect american economy car but GM had to blow it and shoot themselves in the foot. i want one but even california vegas have rust
there has to be a rust free one out there some ware
I used own the station wagon with the aluminum engine. What a piece of garbage. Lol Nice film though.
It was close to being a good car. Close, but no cigar.
The auto magazines were all over Vegas at the time, I dunno if it was the advertising revenue or what. Propaganda for ya.
follow the money