“No matter where you’re going or what you’re doing, you’ll have fun with a Vega. Because Vegas are just plain sporty, spunky, tough exciting cars. They give you the time of your life for a lot of years.” So says a 1977 Chevy Vega brochure. This one is a 1977 Chevrolet Vega Coupe and it’s posted here on Facebook Marketplace in Powder Springs, Georgia and the seller is asking $5,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Chevy renamed the notchback body style for the Vega in 1977 and it became the Coupe. There was never a four-door Vega and clearly, I didn’t spend enough time on this Photoshop version that I just did, something is way off. More coffee is needed, it’s got limo-like room back there. The seller says that this example has been in storage for years but we don’t know how long or where. It sure looks great from the not-really-great photos that are provided in the listing.
The giant 5-mph bumpers front and rear didn’t help the Vega, at least in the looks department. Chevrolet seemed to like to do 300 revisions on the Vega, it happened at least twice, once in 1973 and again in 1976. The 1975 Vega only received 264 changes. What?! The Vega was made from 1970 for the 1971 model year until the end of the 1977 model year.
I don’t understand the thinking of sellers only providing a handful of photos, you’re buying something online sight unseen. And then they’re often verticals, probably because 90% of people look at everything with their vertical phones these days rather than on a horizontal computer screen. The interior looks appropriately storage-moldy, but a session with a dry-ice-blaster detail service will hopefully make it look almost new inside. Sadly, this car has an automatic transmission rather than a four or five-speed.
All the seller says is that this car has low miles (16,000 miles) and that it’s been in storage for many years. And, of course, there are no engine photos, but you already knew that. It should be a “Dura-Bilt” 140-cu.in. (2.3-liter) inline-four with 84 horsepower and 117 lb-ft of torque. Does it run? We don’t know, you’ll have to try to get in touch with the seller for any more photos or questions, but this sure looks like a nice example. Any thoughts on this Vega?
You should probably switch to espresso Scotty. It has way more caffeine in it!!!
Noticed it’s under “Bring a Trailer”. Given it’s a Vega, “Bring a Dustpan” might be more apropos.
“bring a trashcan”..and if that thing has only 16k miles then I’m still in high school.
Normally I’d say 116K, but it’s a Vega, so……
My Dad had a 1975 Vega with a 4-speed. He parked it for good with 320,000 miles on the odometer.
The words “Fun” & (this) “Vega” just don’t begin to
define this one.
Then the next model year GM dumped the Vega for another “fun” vehicle, the Chevette.
And the equally horrible monza.
The Chevette wasn’t a replacement for the Vega, and it made its debut in 1976 .The Monza, was Vega’s replacement , although it was really just a reskinned Vega
It’ll drive you happy!
Any Vega still wearing most of its body panels is a “nice example”
I think it could make a fun restomod. Maybe with a GM/Buick 3800 under the hood.
How about a 4.3 V-6.
An Ecotech 2.2 or turbo 2.0 would be a great engine upgrade. Finally getting the engine that it should have got in the 1970’s.
Remember BILL”GRUMPY” JENKINS!
WHAT A CAR !
A guy up here in Vermont had a Vega drag car that he said was a Grumpy Jenkins car with some supporting documentation. He passed away and I have no idea where all his stuff ended up.
That would make a nice hotrod. 350cc engine, and tubo transmission. I would replace the front and rear grills with a 72 or 73, they looked much cooler. Hard to find any intact Vagas anywhere, it’s probably worth more for just the body alone. Sold.
Don’t forget to update the rear end. Most wouldn’t survive a hard 1-2 shift when the guys threw a 350 in them ‘back in the day”.
Chevy should been sued, for lying to the public, with that brochure. And I guess $5,000 is the new $500, in this Welcome Back, Carter, economy.
Love the pic of the rare 4 door Vega in the brochure.. LOL
Ha! That wasn’t my best work for sure, I’ll have to try to tweak that today and do an update. Not that anyone cares about a Vega in the first place, considering most of the comments.
Truly. Enough Vega crap. It’s painful…
I’m not going to knock any car that has survived this long. And I love it when things like this come up. If it went the way many that post on this page want it to go, future generations would think all we drove were Mustangs, Camaros and GTOs!! The lesser cars need preserved, too, for automotive history. Hurray for the Vegas, Omnis, Chevettes, Yugos and Tempos!
Wasn’t the Vega also available as a Station Wagon, it was a 2 or 4dr.??? I’m just into the fast/
lift back model anyways..that I
am sure everyone else is, they..
just look sportier, fun looking!!!
yes. The Vega was available as the two door cam back station wagon.
This version with the Monza front was also available with the virtually unchanged Vega station wagon.
A fine example of America’s attempt to build a fuel efficent car to compete with the imports. The Durabuilt engine helped fix the reliability problems with the earlier models. The body panels do not appear badly rusted unlike other Vega models. A seller should state whether the car runs, if there is documentation for the claimed low miles and some information on where and why it was mothballed. I never see a Vega survivor on the road today or at shows so this car would be unique. Not interested at $5,000; too pricey.
Vegas, like most cars from that era, started rusting on the assembly line. The aluminum block with steel pistons was a real innovation by GM.
The Nikasil Alloy worked well in the 928. The problem was that to work properly, the Nikasil has to be kept in a very narrow range of operating temperatures.
Chevrolet eliminated an adequate radiator for the car, guaranteeing failure at low mileage. This later version with better heads, a stainless steel head gasket (as originally specified) and a real radiator was actually a decent car.
I would worry what internal corrosion might have happened over the last few decades, though.
Even more unusual is that this is a notchback. I haven’t seen one of those since the 80s.
By the 77 model year the quality of the Vega had improved and the “Dura-Bilt” 140 was far more reliable. However by then their reputation was tarnished enough that buyers went for the platform mate Monza which offered the more reliable Iron Duke or V6 or moved on to other brands. I had a coworker who owned a Monza wagon, a Vega with a revised nose with the Buick 231-6 and the 4 speed. It was a nicely balanced combo that drove well and was reliable.
I can smell the mold from 2000+ miles away , but it would be kinda fun to put a modern engine and transmission in it and street race some of the rice burning imports
5 grand for a Vegamatic?? Man I must be getting old. Wrecking yards were full of them in my day.
And wrecking yards were full of 60s Camaros in the day, too. The older and more uncommon a car gets, the more desirable.
Three of my fraternity brothers had new Vegas in college. The two with 4 speed transmissions were great little cars, until they hit 50,000 miles that is. The one with the Powerglide was a dog from day one.
From the interior shots it must have been at the Wuhan lab. A full environmental suit must be included with the 5k price. 37.83 for the car and 4,962.17 for the suit.
One might wonder if it was a flood car, but I’m not sure a Vega body would still be solid if that was the case.
They were never solid. So, there’s that.
or, perhaps it was in the south of France, being used to cultivate Roquefort? Or it was the personal car of Cheddar Man?
Guess it’s a safe bet you’re not in the market on this one, eh, Chris?😆
Things that don’t run that are pricey and weren’t that reliable when new, that excite few and are likely to cost, ” in this units case” at minimum of 1,500.00 to just see what you have are a NO. That is if you do the work. To take this to a shop is laughable. If it ran, wasn’t a mold fest and you could slide in and get it tip top, maybe 2k. As this thing is, it is a potential row warmer at the u-pull-it.
If he wanted $5000 maybe he should have spent a few dollars having the car detailed.
Ah, the lowly Vega, in the seldom seen trunk version at that. I have a cousin that bought two of those new, a 74 like this for himself and a 76 GT hatch for his wife. They drove both of them for years without any major problems, and surprisingly no rust out! I think they finally got rid of them in the 80’s or early 90’s.
My self, I had three hatchbacks, one I drove home and pulled the motor for a V8 swap, and two parts cars. None of mine were rusty, either, just well worn. My little 283 powered one was a blast, the 283 fit like it was made to go there. Never really got finished with it like I wanted too, somebody else came along and wanted it more than I did so it got traded for something. Have thought about building another one for years but they are pretty rare anymore.
Here’s your chance. Good luck.
I love the Vega! I had 2 of them- both good cars.
Me too. I thought they were very cool looking, from 72 to 74. I bought two, at a car auction. One was a 73 GT that had a good engine, the other had a blown engine, but the body was in great shape, for two hundred bucks. My Dad and I just changed the engine, and we put a bigger radiator in it, to help cool it better. Spayed oil in the door panels and underneath it. It ran me for years at college. Now, I wish I had another one. Don’t care what other think of the Vega, just needed some fine tuning.
Put a small block, 4 speed and Ford 9” and have some fun. They still make conversion kits! 😂
Thank you Lothar!!
A guy in my hometown in N. Mn. bought a new ’71, dark green fastback.
One winter morning at about -35 he pulls into the gas station I worked at and besides the gas, wanted STP oil treatment. Any of you know that crap pours slow in the summer. So I went in the service department grabbed a hand torch, heated that crap til it was almost like water went out and put it in. Stepped back and said, “there’s your STP you sob.” Heard this someplace:
“On a quiet night you can hear a Chevy Vega rusting out on the showroom floor.”
In the rust belt everything rusted! Nothing like salt on the roads to get rust started. In 1976 in western New York i saw a 1971 ford with holes rusted through the rear bumper. Every vehicle rusted.
Occasionally there is a Cosworth Vega for sale. Probably from a southern or western state. A few months ago, there was a Cosworth Vega that had a V-8 swapped into it.
Gary, I’ve told this story on here before about my buddy’s ’67 Biscayne who, when he was going home one night, felt the body shift on the frame when he was going around a curve! LOL!
Seen tons of especially ’80s cars with the rear bumper bungie corded to the frame because it’s all gone between the bumper and the brace. Lol! Yup, I know about rust.
We have a ’15 Equinox LTZ that GM replaced the front fenders on some years ago under the corrosion warranty. As fussy as I am, I couldn’t believe it. So since then, I open the front doors and blast that area of the fender out with high pressure at the car wash as well as opening all the doors and rinsing until water runs out the opposite drain holes. Then I’m able to get behind the rear inner fenders and go until water runs out both ends. That crap sits on top and starts eating away. I also have a ’09 Lucerne from Louisiana with 89k. So far so good. Lucky to have a self service wash with heated bays 3 miles from the house.
Class dismissed! Lol!
Listing update: this one is still available for $5,000, a month later… I would have thought it’d be $4,500 by now or would be on eBay. They could make $5,000 by cleaning it, detailing it, and getting it running on YouTube.