April 6, 2020, Hi everybody! This one has been relisted and can now be viewed here on eBay.
I’m flummoxed, a $6K plus Chevy Vega! Really! Yes, for real and it’s pretty original and definitely not an everyday, sighting, at least not anymore. And there’s a reason for that. Nevertheless, located in Cheney, Washington is this 1973 Chevrolet Vega hatchback, available here on eBay for a current bid of $6,100, two bids tendered as of this writing.
I worked in the mechanical shop of a Chevrolet dealership off and on in the ’70s and Vegas were pretty much the bane of my existence. If it wasn’t a cracked block, it was at least a blown head gasket or sometimes even a cracked cylinder head. And rust, it just seemed to rise up from horizontal surfaces like stalagmites. They were truly a challenging encounter and I seemed to get assigned an inordinate number of them for various repairs. You didn’t know exactly what you would do each day but you could be sure a Vega would be involved. Even if it was something indirect like witnessing a disgruntled owner chasing the Service Manager in a circle around her still not fixed after twelve service visits Vega. I remember doing some minor clean-up on a ’74 “Woodie” wagon when the new car processing department manager strolled over, looked at the $3,900 price sticker and disgustedly said, “Should be $390.” before sauntering off to brighten someone else’s day. Not a lot of Vega love going around in those days.
Anyway, this example is remarkable, 47 years of age and only 39K miles. Right out of the gate, we’re getting off on the wrong foot though with the seller’s comment, “I was told that it had a blown head gasket when I bought it but I had planned on putting a V8 in it so I didn’t care and never checked the original engine. I have no idea if the engine is good or not? If you plan on running the original engine then I would plan on a rebuild of it or at least a freshen up of the engine. ” Those pesky head gaskets again. This 2.3 liter, four-cylinder, in-line engine was odd in that it has an aluminum block with a cast iron head. After all of these years, that still doesn’t make sense to me. Anyway, the block didn’t use iron cylinder sleeves, instead, employing a silicon compound of some sort that didn’t work. I wouldn’t rebuild one of these engines but I would try to find out what’s wrong with this one. The shift quadrant would appear to indicate a Turbo-Hydramatic, three-speed, automatic transmission instead of the commonly found slip and slide Powerglide. The PG was phased out just before the end of the ’73 model year and the Vega was one of the last, if not the last, recipients of that two-speed gearbox. I can tell you from experience, a smogged-down ’73 Vega with a Powerglide is just…..well you’d have to savor the experience for yourself.
The body of this Vega has a big boo-boo in its driver’s side fender but the seller has a $1,000 (I’m serious) replacement. The rest of this, “Little car that does everything well”, as Chevrolet proclaimed in ’73 looks pretty good. It has a slightly faded finish but it is still very passable and a sound body free of any rot or damage other than the aforementioned front fender crunch. It is doubtful that there would be any underside structural integrity issues; this car has obviously been stored well and the seller claims that it has always been garaged. All that said, this is a basic “no-frills” model.
I do not recall two-tone interiors. It was a long time ago and I’ve had to give up some things that I don’t need to remember anymore as I have started to run out of storage space. Perhaps the carpet was replaced and in the process, there was an attempt to jazz up the rather bland interior. But if so, is there anything under the carpet of concern? Probably nothing. The rest of the interior looks fine. The seller does admit that the driver’s seat is split but that’s to be expected at this age. As with the exterior, this Vega’s interior is a no-frills affair too. This one is quite clean and tidy, however, so it has that going for it.
Ok, what to do with it? Sounds like it doesn’t run so the engine probably has to go. If the head gasket is blown, I’d lay dollars to donuts the block is bad too but that has to be ascertained. The seller claims that he thought about a V8 transplant but that can be a challenge as well, mostly because of the suspension, differential and hood clearance. I have an old friend who had a ’71 Vega with a 283 V8, bored out to 301 CI, four-speed manual transmission and a fiberglass lift-off, cowl-induction hood. It was a challenge to drive, when (or if) it would start because the front end would bottom out and the steering was wonky. You also had to take it easy on launches or you’d have Chevrolet salisbury style differential parts all over the highway. We were out hooning around in it one day and the hood flew off, hit the roof, and then the asphalt breaking into a whole bunch of parts. And of course, blinding our forward view for a bit; scared the dickens out of me. I’m a little off on the whole V8 engine transplant idea. Anyway, tell me what you think, what would you do with this ace of ’70s American economy car design?
There is a little more than just a bent fender. Other than damage the body is quite nice but 7K nice I don’t know. Must want to build a Vega pretty bad. Not too many to V-8 now a days, so….
There was a labor dispute at GM when the Vega’s were made. I’ve read that they were sabotaged on the assembly line. Friend of mine had one, it needed at least a quart of oil a week. The engine finally blew on the Belt Pkwy in Brooklyn. We still liked it, at least we had a car .
We said that about the AMC/Renault Alliance too. Disgruntled workers knew the end was near and purposely left loose bolts in the doors, for rattles and such.
I got suckered into flying to florida to drive one of these heaps back to toronto as their parents got sick down there and were flown home this thing was a gutless wonder,If I had not got paid well to do it I’d left it there when I got back, they had a firenza in the drive way for a second car, another pile of junk, gm couldn’t give those lemons away!
Good to see ***any*** 70’s economy cars, they were the ultimate in throw-away automotive appliances. This example does have its problems, but there must be some folks out there who want it.
My only experience with a Vega: helping my college roommate replace a clutch, in the college gravel parking lot. Two amateurs, I’m surprised we got it done (not without much difficulty). I think his was a ’73 and if I recall it had 30k miles at the time.
I know I’m in the minority, but an all original rust free first generation Vega is one of my dream cars. I got hooked as a kid as I was a huge Jungle Jim fan (still have my original Revell 1/16th model unbuilt in the box). Then there was the Grump’s Pro Stock and many others. Imo these make fantastic Pro Street cars if done right. GLWTS.
My father co-signed on a loan for my cousin for a 1974 Vega GT 4 speed. When he fell behind on the payments it became my mother’s car. I learned to drive standard transmission at age 14 on that car. We only kept that car for a year. My sister had an automatic 1975 Vega for two years before the head warped. Alway wanted a V-8 Vega. Still on the list.
I was just looking on the local craigslist (Roanoke,VA),
& found a 1972 “DO IT YOURSELF SERVICE MANUAL” from
Chevrolet($5) ,& a Vega funnycar body $900!
The red carpet is an add on, these had Turkish prison level base interiors, you can see this one doesn’t even have a dome light switch in the door jamb and I’m 99% sure the passenger seat is a non adjustable fixed unit which came on the base cars.
Wow! A Vega with 39 miles that still runs? What, it’s 39k miles? That’s even more amazing!
Those GM engineers sure are slow learners… after the Vega engine debacle they developed the Cadillac HT4100 transverse V8. Iron heads on top of an aluminum block and a sub-standard cooling system to boot. I was in 2 that left us on the side of the road, an ‘83 Seville and ‘85 Fleetwood. Seems like any 1st year engineering student would know iron and aluminum expand and contract at different rates and Require careful thermal management for reliable operation. Wonder if GM will try that experiment again?
GM’s current experiments: Dexcool that has sucked for 95 years yet they still keep using it. The Camaro that looks like an Aztek but uglier when Ford and Mopar nailed it on their throwback musclecars. Gas tank sending units on every GM. Everyone has to be replaced, then replaced again. Front suspension components on their truck line that are about as sturdy enough for a kids wagon. Window regulators, leaking windshields and sunroofs…… those old employees who sabotaged cars on the production line??? the ghosts of them are still punching the clock…
Maybe this was a leftover from the original “Let’s Make a Deal” that no one won?
I would think the Vega’s recirculating ball steering box would be as good as any other excellent GM box from that era.
Those decal stripes are not from a GT or even a Stinger. Aftermkt?
“$3900 should be $390.” Funny that’s what i say about ALL new cars with all that plastic junk on them – i say that the decimal pt on all stickers’ suggested retail price should be moved 1 position to the left(& i would STILL not buy one)!! lol
Would be good for a Nascar Modified
racecar doner
Funny how stuff works. I had a 1982 gas Rabbit with a 1.7L engine that had an iron block and aluminum head and it never leaked one drop.
Assuming that it’s not a rotbox, a 4.3 and trans out of an Astro Van would go nice or maybe find an Iron Duke?
In 1972 I darn near bought a Vega Wagon as I was looking for something more fuel efficient that is until a friend who had bought one the year before and warned me not to telling all the problems he had with the engine. So even though I like the looks of the Vega I bought a 1972 Pinto Wagon with a good engine and never regretted the decision.
Quite a find, indeed. The Vega was an ok car, not good or great. I knew people that had Vegas, changed the oil like the manual said, every 2,000 miles, I think, never ran them hard so they wouldn’t overheat, and got good service from them. Vegas biggest problem, was Americans were used to 455 V8’s, and ran these with their foot to the floor all day, and the kiss of death for a 4 cylinder, any 4 cylinder. No doubt destined for a V8 hot rod, but great to see one again.
I was a service manager/director for a Chevrolet dealership during the Vega era. The oil consumption and other engine woes usually did not develop until the cooling system was opened for a repair (hoses, leak, etc.) or the 24-month/24,000-mile coolant change.
The cause of those problems was the fact that the cooling system could not be refilled completely with vehicle sitting level because the radiator filler was lower than the cylinder head. Chevrolet held service manager meetings instructing us the elevate the front of the car so that condition didn’t exist when adding coolant. The assembly plants use the same method as charging an air conditioning system with refrigerant to fill the brake and cooling systems – they pump them down to a vacuum and then allow the system to draw the fluid in.
Filling the cooling system through the radiator filler left the cylinder head devoid of coolant and that bubble of hot air traveled through the engine, causing the free-standing cylinders to distort from round, allowing oil to get past the rings.
Wow, so the design of the motor was adequate, despite the iron head & aluminum block? I thought the problem was the lack of iron or steel cylinder liners. If not & it’s what you state, would any dealer or neighborhood corner car mechanic know the above special refill procedure from just looking under the hood?
If so, problem still remains if you lose a hose on the road, have a spare hose & refill system temporarily with water, unless you know to jack up the front end. lol
GM should have at LEAST spent the 5 cents!! for a stamp, sending out a warning letter!
With its sloping hood & looking at
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/6iwAAOSwQJ1egBNq/s-l1600.jpg
can the radiator be raised higher to solve the problem, or is the hood in the way?
Is there a replacement head avail that sits lower?
I guess the later durabuilt motor had such a head?
Or the whole motor was shorter, i guess.
I suppose when GM torture tested the early test mules, they may have changed the oil but never the coolant.
Here’s a case where you be better off never changing the coolant vs doing the refill wrong! lol
Good body proportions on the Vega hatchback.
Sure would like to see a dynacorn & even a Pinto one too.
The Vega was a terrible piece of engineering, from the failing engine to the inevitable cancer. But visually, I always thought the design of the first couple years was beautiful. Loved the look all around. So sad that what was underneath was so poorly made.
A friend of mine bought a three speed Vega, and I learned to drive stick in it. As far as I know, he didn’t have any problems with it, and traded it in on a ’74 Nova. I have a fond memory of these, and I ALWAYS did like the styling. I once found a 4 speed GT with the cleanest, most sanitary installation of a 283. c.i. engine in it, but the owner wouldn’t sell it; it looked as though it came from GM that way!! :-)
I almost bought a Vega about 9 years ago, but the brakes were shot so I declined. It had this engine on it too. GM used a variant of this Vega 2.3 which was a 2.3 H.O.dual overhead cam engine on the late 80s early 90s Pontiac Grand Am that had a 180 horsepower rating in the later 90s model. However, after watching some videos from that era of these engines, they seemed to have the same configuration as far as the ‘iron block and aluminum head’. There is a 90 Grand Am where I am located at for sale with only 109k on the odometer. I don’t know if I’m willing to take a chance ($), they are interesting engines though.
Sorry no, the Quad 4 and this engine are not related other than they were both made by GM and had a 2300cc displacement…..
i own a 73 vega ( wish it were a hatchback ) but it is a fun little car , i have rebuilt the front end and installed an early 61′-63 buick aluminum block 215 v8 , it’s a hoot to drive , people always ask what it is and i couldn’t be happier
same here, 71 hatchback with 63 Skylark hi-comp 215 and Carter AFB with a 4-speed.
tons of fun whether it hooks up or not!
Awesome guys ! That aluminum Buick 215 CID couldn’t be a better match for the Vega ! Probably a pretty tall order to find that motor, pretty limited run of them…
The aluminum Buick 215 CID couldn’t be a more perfect match for the Vega ! Great work guys…bet it’s a pretty tough motor to score. I know the weren’t produced very long.
Too much coin. That said … for half the price, I would repair the front clip and swap in an Ecotec and 5-speed. Or maybe a VW TDI and 2wd Tacoma 5-speed. It would be a updated version of what the car was meant to be – an economical DD.
My first car was a new 71 Vega hatchback, one of the first off the line. (I am hopefully a lot smarter now.) It was so rare that owners would proudly flash a peace sign (aka “V” for “Vega”) at each other when we passed on the road. I only kept it for 3 years and 33,000 miles, so I traded it in before the blocks all started cracking and you couldn’t give one away. Besides the usual problems everyone else mentions (as I recall, the head gasket blew at around 20,000 miles), I had the pleasure of cracking the seat when the vinyl froze during the winter (and I was living in St. Louis, not the Yukon) and having a piece of interior trim on the hatchback warp in the summer while still under warranty. The car had a tan interior and the dealer told me they didn’t make tan replacements. Less than one year in and he couldn’t get parts for it! They ended up installing a black piece and painting it tan. You can imagine how well that turned out.
Still, I bought the car for $2100 and sold it 3 years later for $1500, so it served me well, if I ignore all of the time I spent in the dealership “chasing the Service Manager in a circle around [my] still not fixed after twelve service visits Vega.”
When I was a teenager I helped a friend put a 327 in a 73 Vega. Stiffer springs in the front end kept it off the ground. The engine had a little bit of a lumpy cam, edelbrock manifold & a Holley 650 double pump. We even tucked in a set of headers. We had the stock Saginaw 4 speed with mechanical clutch linkage and a ford rear end. A little wider tires (as the wheel wells would allow) This was all done relatively on the cheap. Mostly used parts but it came together really well!!!
For 2 or 3 years came off a lot of stop lights leaving a lot of other “muscle cars” looking at our tail lights….
I had 3 different ones in my younger years. I honestly never had any of the known dreaded issues. Maybe I was just lucky? Had a lot of good times with and in those cars. The last one, a 1974, was by far the biggest dog of the bunch though because of having an automatic instead of a stick. It was still a good car though and served me well for years.
Bought a brand new GT 4 speed hatchback in 74. It had every option and for some reason I can remember I paid $3271.00. Traded a 65 coupe deville for it during the gas crisis. It was actually a fun little car to drive and mine had no issues.
One bidder now, one re-tracked his bid. Lone bidder has only 1 feedback score. Probably a straw bidder trying to get others to be stupid enough to buy it. Watch for it to be listed again.
Yes, switch the engine to something less prone to breakage, do the Interior in Tan, and use it as a driver when you live in a City you can’t find a place to park in.
So if the opening bid was $6,100 and the only bid was $6,100, does that indicate the seller bought his own car?
If it sold for $6,100, it indicates that I have sold my last few cars way too cheap.
Watch it gets relisted. Looks like straw bidder.
SOLD for $6,000.
I think you’re right. It was sold to a bidder with a history of 1, probably the seller.
Had a vaga wagon out in Wyoming back in 1982 working in the oil fields it had a 283 in it when I bought it. Was fun to drive till the motor blew up so just for wild project we found a 455 olds toronado chase and welded it in the back. Was going to use it for the sand races but the oil fields shut down so never got a chance to finish it. We did drive it a little bit but couldn’t keep the front down. Popped ahell of wheely though. Probably it’s still out there somewhere .
Well now. I have a 73 Vega GT in Melbourne Australia. I bought it about 2 months ago. Great little car all my freinds love it, i have already put 17” wheels had front sway bar made changed the rear upper control arms and added 2” to the diff mounts to stop axle hop. Next change is to put a 4ltr Toyota century all alloy Hemi V8. I already have the engine. You might wonder why well the complete engine only weighs 160 KGs. With not much work will make about 300hp, enough in a 2200 lb car. Happy motoring. Cheers Hans in Aus
When this thing was developed, GM for whatever stupid reason, had decided that even it’s small vehicles had to be designed in America for the American market. Thus, the Vega became one of the worst cars ever designed in the century of the automobile. Why did GM do this when it already had a very viable quality product being produced in Europe by Opel? Strange. If anyone really wanted a GM small car product in the early to mid seventies, they were wise to stay away from a Chevy dealership and go across the street to visit a Buick/Opel dealership and buy a proven superior product like the Manta coupe or 1900 sedan.
Already relisted with a starting price of $5300.00. Looks like he a fake bidder, or it was himself.
Updated the link Joe, thanks for the heads-up.
Relisted already means it was the seller who bid on his own item.
Don’t think I would want to deal with someone like that.
An incredible steaming POS when new for 3k. Who wants to relive the early 70s bad enough to pay double that today, even with the bordello red carpet. Better hope PT Barnum was right…
I wonder sometimes if this is how Mustang Foxbodys should be used. Lol. I did exactly that with mine at Lowes yesterday on a interior house paint run. I parked it in the crowded parking lot towards the front of the building. And yes, I was concerned of someone giving it a door ding. But the car is small like a Vega afterall.
Sweet, good news on the Quad 4 then.
Hey Hans, glad and refreshing to see you made it work for you over there despite all the dogging down of the vehicle over here. Great Work!
Hi Ic. It would seem to me that the engine was the major problem,
mine is still running fine i,m not sure on the miles of 22.000 maybe 122.000 i t is in very good nick, the guy i bought it of claims it was a one owner i,m going to get all the books for the car soon he forgot he had them. He also lives in Melbourne the books will tell the story.
Back in the early 1990s my buddy picked up a 75 Vega coupe from a local salvage yard to make a 4cyl enduro car out of it. It was a trade in from a dealership, and they must have junked it, but it was in great shape for a Vega in CT. He got it built up , went to the track and the thing was so nutless that he couldn’t even pass an old Plymouth TC3 ! After two races with it and finishing many laps down each time ,he cut it up and built a fox body Mustang to race.