By the early 1970s, subcompact cars had become more than a novelty. The sales success of the VW Beetle in the U.S. led Chevrolet and Ford to introduce new, small cars in 1971. The Chevy entry was the Vega, whose development was widely publicized. Between 1971 and 1977, more than two million of them were sold, though it was not a flawless product. The seller has a 1975 Vega Kammback, which is a fancy word for a station wagon with a vertical drop-off in the back. It’s been sitting for 38 years and needs lots of help. Located on the back of a flatbed in Braham, Minnesota, this barn find is available here on craigslist for $1,250.
The Vega was developed elsewhere within Chevrolet, but it was John DeLorean’s job to handle the launch and promotion as the GM division’s then-General Manager. The company went out of its way to design the cars, but execution was another matter. The inline-4 engines were soon discovered to overheat, and the bodies would corrode prematurely, too. Those problems may have been eradicated by the time the OPEC oil embargo drove buyers to more fuel-efficient cars in 1973-75.
This Chevy has been sitting in a friend’s shed since 1988. One photo shows it there, and the rest on the back of a flatbed. But it may have been off the road for another five years as 1983 was when it was last registered. The mileage is 103,000, so it was a well-used ride for its first eight years. It’s not complete, but mostly original and fairly solid, per the seller. We don’t know the status of the 4-banger or the 4-speed manual transmission.
There is no title as it was the victim of a shop fire some time ago. The seller is anxious for it to be gone within a month, so you may be able to get it for less than the asking price. The seller is willing to deliver it for you, probably for short distances. Nearly a quarter of all Vega sales were the interesting Kammback wagon. Thanks for the Vega tip, Barn Find Barney!
I scraped a bunch of these things in the 80s for a few hundred bucks each. Honestly I like the wagons better than the other ones this might be fun to get back on the road or drop a modern More powerful engine in.
I’m surprised that when they opened the barn doors after 38 years, that they didn’t find a giant pile of rust. 😂😆😂
A 4.3 Chevy V-6 with a 5 speed would make this a fun car to drive
You have room for V8 I put a327 in one back in the early 90s and it was a fun little sleeper eating up everything on the road
That is the weirdest looking engine I’ve ever seen.
It was better suited for a lawnmower than a car.
The Vega engine was every bit as weird as it looked. It featured an unsleeved hypereutectic-alloy aluminum engine block with a cast iron head.
I bought one new from a local dealer. It served me well…after
About 40,000 Mike’s I traded up
With same dealer…
Who sold the Kamback to a local lady. About 6 months later, the engine failed….typical for that engine….
Considering that this appears to be an all original Vega ( See the original dealer sticker on the rear) thats now over 50 years old, and that these did have a tendency to rust out rather quickly, it does look pretty solid overall. Its got the nicer rims, and it’s a stick. If you’re into collecting or restoring Vegas this could be a good car to get. If the carburetor wasn’t left uncovered for 35 years, who knows? You just might be able to fire it up. The Title issue though could be a potential headache. I’m wondering what sidelined this one in the 80’s?
Mr. flipper and no title. no thanks.
Owned a V-8 version and a 4 cylinder version. Both were rust free and bought very cheaply!!
Should have been a huge success and it did launch well but the short cuts showed up early. Then a decade later GM tried to pull off another hero car only to betray customers again. In-between we had wonderful full and midsized cars that kept people coming back for more. I agree. Swap out the 4 for a V6 and make it tolerable.
These cars got a bad rap that was undeserved for the most part. I never had an overheating issue except for one where the thermostat stuck shut. Yes, they burned oil but they weren’t any worse at rusting than the trash cans that came from the Rising Sun.
I saw two 10 year old imports break in two at the firewall, going over a railroad crossing, then I saw a Domestic pickup break in two while being raised on a hoist. A lot of the bad rap came from the import dealerships themselves, where, on any given day, the service departments were full of broken imports, the same as domestic service departments were full of broken domestics.
If we ever had an engine apart we had the block sleeved; no sense attempting to seat a set of rings into the original cylinders. The engines stood up very well otherwise. I saw a lot of these pass the 100K mark and keep on going.
Personally I’d rather have a Chevelle than a Vega but I’d never kick a car like this off my driveway.
Bottom line: No one ever designed a car to fail…
Drop an Iron Duke 4 cylinder in it like the 78 Sunbird Sport Safari had that year. Nice complement for that Chevelle with the Pontiac 215 six on Barn Finds today.
I’m surprised a Minnesota Vega survived after even the first three winters, much less to 1983. Or didn’t just dissolve over these past dceades.
Long over due for the crusher – a death trap junker.
… and to think that John Z’s crew dissected four FIAT 124 Sport Spiders for clues about how to build a proper car. The design of the Vega, pretty true to the 124, was pretty good only the execution was worthy of execution!
Drop in a 350 and auto trans and let er rip! At least until the rear diff blows up, then a narrowed 9″ works fine.
Always liked their looks. There’s one that we often see at car shows that is done up really nice with front and rear spoilers, never saw under the hood but it has big tires and traction bars and sounds great. Might be a start for somebody to to that!
No title…NO BUENO.
What? No engine horror stories? There usually are some when a Vega is posted. I’m an exception. I had a 72 and a 75, live in Arizona, Phoenix 🔥 while owning the 75 and had zero issues with mine. No overheating and no oil consumption aside from half a quart between changes. No powerhouse but I’ll never talk crap about a Vega. As another commentator stated, a Chevy 4.3 would make for an excellent swap.
I worked for a GM dealer for a number of years, which also included the Vega and Astra when they were in their prime. Some problems with the engines but nothing worse than anyone else in their imports or other domestics. Like I said, we sleeved the cylinders when we tore them down, and we had no other problems.
We ran through some imports in our family (before the shop I worked for got the GM franchise of course). The absolute worst vehicle I ever had (in my entire life to date) was an import pickup. My mother had a small car which sweated transmission fluid through a porous case for over a year before they could get parts to fix it. Then denied the warranty because the time ran out.
The only problems Vegas had out west occured during the winter when you ran through a snow bank. Snow would get in the timing belt and throw it off. I had a couple of friends, one with a Pinto and the other with a Vega, who became experts on timing them back up and continuing on their way…
Had a 73 GT wagon with a 70 LT1and th 400. Brutal car, could get sideways at 70 mph. Had an orange 75 hatch with a 355 turbo 350, not as fast but a lot of fun. Love me a Vega.
How the HE DOUBLE HOKEY STICKS, did they get a 100 thousands miles out of it? Pulled it with another car?
Hasn’t run in 43 years? Sounds like a job for Derek of Vicegrip Garage.
Would a 305 fit in that engine bay, along with a 350 turbo-hydramatic transmission? The rear gears MIGHT hold up if driven “normally” most of the time. Paint it black and tint the back windows.
I had a 75 like this in college. Mine had the fake woodgrain and auto-magic tranny. SLOW was the name of the game. Didn’t keep it very long. I think dad paid $100 for it in 1980.