I had one new .1972 G.T. vega. Green out side .4 SPEED .COUSE WORTH .FOR ITS TIME IT WAS QUICK. SOLD IT GO A GIRL WHO LOVED IT .but she did not know how to drive a sick .so i guess she blew the clutch.this was a nice one though for its age .
@@williamloper7283 - You prolly had the clutch about ready to go! ... LOL ! Still have my rare '77 Pontiac Astre FORMULA Safari Station Wagon... Iron duke, 5 speed, posi...
Out of all the small blocks that Chevy used in cars for some reason the 327 feels perfectly designed for the cars it was in. Always run smoothly no matter what, one of my favorite engines ever made.
@@mtsilvagt I like em don't get me wrong 283s are nice. I don't know how to explain it the (stock) 327 has the perfect amount of torque and horsepower that all seems to be in the right place, yet it still revs nice and has power all the way up to the bottom of the red. They were good with power glides, THM350/400 autos but put one in a camaro with a Muncie 4 speed and it will be happy as hell.
@Z I think its just because most people don't have experience with what they speak of. If you had a 327 and maintained it well they were (dare I say) Toyota kind of reliable and you couldn't hurt them from beating on them, I've tried.
@Z Unless you have a car that came one there is no good reason to use a 327 vs 350. The primary difference is that a 350 uses a 3.5" stroke vs the 3.25" in the 327. All 327 blocks had 2 bolt mains, where 350 came with either 2 or 4 bolt mains. In either case they are fairly short stroke engines and could be built to rev to 8500+. All things being otherwise equal the 350 will make noticeably more torque and hit peak power a bit lower rpm vs 327. In theory all else being the same the peak power should be close to the same but average power power will be higher with the 350 between the peaks.
I owned one of these, a 1973 model with a 327 stuffed in it by a mechanic friend in Delaware.. He even put cut-outs for the headers on it for me. That little sucker was fast and actually handled pretty well.. Street raced with it several times and made a few bucks. I remember would bust my balls a bout owning a Vega...until they saw it run that is.
My 3 car was same as this only all beat up. I was a teenager and couldn't afford to upgrade the stock axle. I would leave one line of black rubber for 100 feet all over town. I couldn't just drive it normally. Burnouts were just too much fun!
I had one ,got the block sleeved and it was wonderfull AND REALLY GOOD looking Vega Gt.........until the frame broke from rust. Broke my heart, and I am a FORD GUY!!
WOW Brings back some fond memories. Nice car. My first car was a 73 4 banger which a dropped a 283 in. Loved that car. Getting rid of it is one of my biggest regrets.
Beautiful car, i miss riding around with my dad in his cherry red 72 vega. The pur of the engine giving that feeling of power over the road. I would do anything to have that car again.
Wow, this takes me back! I had a new '72 Vega GT that started buring more oil than gas at about 50K miles. Bought a kit from Herbert and Meek (headers, engine and trans mounts) and a junk yard 283. Plan was to do a simple rebuilt of the 283 and install with a turbo 350. Plan lasted until I discovered that my junkyard 283 had a forged crank and needed to be bored out. Ended up as a backyard 302, with fuelie heads, Duntov cam, 11.5:1 pistons, Mallory dualpoint ignition, Torquer manifild and 650 double pumper, Hayes clutch and pressure plate, Lakewood scattershield, Muncie M22 and 12 bolt rear. Never should have gotten rid of it!
Dang, you had every single thing that I had in a 72 GT Wagon. One difference, I had a nice Borg Warner 4 speed transmission, special ordered with low first & second gears. 5:37 1st, 4:35 2nd. In my narrowed 12 bolt, I was running 5:13's. Yup, if I wanted to, I could be in 4th gear just putting across a nice big intersection. I ran a 65 Vette 327 and massaged it real nice. 12 to 1 forged pistons, Sig Erson cam, 5:74 lift and 3:02 duration. Camel hump heads all ported & polished. Oh, I also had a purple ZooM clutch plate & disk. A Weiand tunnel ram with a nice Holley 780 up on top. The wagon was the factory silver with the black stripe. One more, frame connectors, had to weld those suckered in. Haa ha, on cruise night I would park it on a dead-end street where everyone would turn into so they could turn back onto the cruise boulevard. I parked it way back in the dark, but walk up front and tell certain guys who thought they were fast, HEY, I've got a station wagon that will beat your POS! Then the fun began!
In the early 80s there was a guy in our area that built a Vega and added a rear spoiler and front ground effects that made it look very much like a small camaro. In fact, he named it the "Mini Z" and it was FAST! The windows were blacked out so you couldn't see inside. It looked pretty ominous to be honest. That guy took a lot of money from the hotrodders in this area - lol. (do guys still name their hotrods?) I remember one day in high school the "Mini Z" drove by the front of our high school very slowly, just loping the hell outta that big cam of his. It was like he was mocking the guys with "fast cars" at our school. That was the day I fell in love with that lil body style. Never owned one but have always admired and respected it.
If Chevrolet had stuck with the idea of putting a 283 ci motor married to a 4 speed manual transmission, and a positrsck rear end, & a serious coat of rust PREVENTATIVE at the factory , the Vega GT would have been an outstanding little muscle car!
Chevy did put it through a 5 or 6 step rust proofing treatment but there were too many air pockets where the rust proofing didn't reach when dipped. A two speed power glide automatic transmission fit well onto most small blocks and didn't require much in the way of modifying the body transmission area. The power glide was originally used on some of the first Corvettes.
I bought a 1975 Monza 2+2 with a 262 V8 Auto in 1979 and had it for a couple of years before we dropped a 1968 327 bored .030 over with 202 heads and a pretty strong cam. Behind we put a Fairbanks Turbo 400 with a Manual valve body. It had a 8” ford rear with 4:10 gears from a 64 Comet/Falcon which was off center I think two inches. So you get the tube and axle from short side and you could put a pretty nice sized tire in the rear. Fun car, I never got to race it in that form. But I did do a couple runs with a stock turbo 350 and 3:23 gears and it did 14.2 and 101 mph.
Had one as well. Nice, poor gas mileage, 9 mpg. Manual steering, power brakes. Had the bottom of the doors not skins but shell not rotted out by the time it was 4 years old I would have kept. But if doors were shot, there was more hidden rust. Did have to have front structure rails reinforced as the (Vega Design) was unable to handle the torque. Cracked in several places. There were many V8 Monzas in my city. Frame shop was doing 3 a week.
My Uncle had one with a 327 350 horse motor out of a 65 Vette thing would get on down the road I can remember riding around in it and just whopping up on about 90 % of whatever challenged us
i had a 72 i put a SB 400 in. loved it. i had over $7000 in it and it was just as cherry as yours. then my drunk ex brother in law got drunk and drove over it with his 4 wheel drive. and back in the early 80's that was a lot of money.
Very nicely done. It kinda sorta reminds me of a Jensen Interceptor. My crazy Uncle Bud used to drag race and his preferred car was either a Vega or a Monza. His son is currently driving a big-wheeled Mustang II.
That is a nice one. I had a Vega with a 350 small block. Yeah, it was crazy. Brought back memories. Wish I's known about when it was for sale. I's been a bidder.
I built a '74 Astra GT 327 off a '67 Corvette engine hooked headers. 4 spd black with black interior. I got most of the info on the swap from hotrod magazines and parts from auto wreckers lots of fun.
Great job. What you built here is what the Vega should have been. The body and especially the front end on the 1970-73 models was just awesome. Unfortunately that was were awesome ended and woeful began; i.e. mechanically these cars were absolute TURDS. The V6 Mercury Capris built in Germany were light years better than the Vega. That's why the TLC you put into this vehicle is so appreciated. I love to see these Vegas resto-modded w V8's.
@@albertpenello Well you really nailed it. It's hard to find these nowadays because unless they were kept in Arizona or garaged, the bodies have rusted into oblivion. Most of what has survived has been tubbed & caged for racing so to street them usually takes a lot of work. The upside of that though is that it's usually less metal / frame fabrication and more tedious work like wiring etc.
Just a beautiful Vega man. Those torque thrust sandstones look immaculate on that car. Sounds extremely healthy and spicy. Hard to find these that aren't rusted completely down. I'd be proud to call that 72 mine. Beautiful build brother. Must be a pretty special car taking its place huh??
The story goes that the Vegas was never granny tested , as they were in a hurry to rival the Pinto . The Vega was a delicate car and they dipped the frames / bodies in vasts for rust proofing which was stupid , as air bubbles would happen , and that's how they were prone to rust . For 1976 and 77 , they worked all the bugs out of the car , but consumers lost interest as the reputation for these cool little cars was already done , so they gave up after small sales in 77. Its a shame as they needed more power than 90 horses . I had a 1976 V 8 , with a 906 cam , Truck CID 350 engine in it with a 9 inch Ford rear end . What a blast that was ! Though it was a automatic , it had a shift kit in it .
Had a red and white one in the early 1980s with a Monday front end and a Buick v6 ,when it ran it was a little hot rod and always got a lot of attention
I've always though the Vega was a good looking car. It reminds me a lot of a small camaro of that period. It was just the engine and transmission that was terrible.
Oh yea, it was aerodynamic and looked cool. I had a 74 that i called a poor mans mustang. More solid than it looked, when ya run out of gas just try to push it a block by yourself!
They never had transmission problems, just an aluminum block that was ruined by bean counters reducing the cylinder coating to a point of rapid wear. Properly undercoated they didn't rust, either. It was a cheap car and treated as such. There are no early pintos, opels, corollas, civics, or anything else left on the road, either.
@@wymple09 My parents bought a 1977 Vega Stationwagon new in 77 and it was dead by before I graduated in 1982. I typically don't even by cars now until they are 5 years old and most are like new still.
Nicely executed V8 swap. Back in the day, $250 or so would get you the complete kit to shove a junkyard motor into one of these things. This one is very clean and the bodywork is well done; you can't hide with that black paint. Always a puzzlement to me how "Bring a Trailer" went from a sight with reasonable deals where you had to, y'know, actually bring a trailer to pick up your junk to a high-end car sales site.
Been looking for a good car and there's a racket going down with the dealers. They are picking up nice cars for fair prices and re-selling for 100-200% profit. It's getting crazy.
Since the 70's I have come across at least 5 or 6 Vegas with small blocks, all are bad ass little cars, want to see more and, more small cars like them.
My neighbor had one with a 327 his dad built for him. He was only 16 and could not handle the power. Car was a beast. His dad actually got him something else to drive.
had a 72 gt myself..... steel sleeves in my 74 motor( bought for$400 in 76) that i wrecked and dropped the motor in the 72 gt that i bought with no engine for 200...back in 77... put over 100,000 on that motor...
This evening the miracle of the modern internet has taken me back to 1972 when my grandmother offered to buy me any car I wanted to go to college. I found a 1972 Vega GT (orange with black stripes) that I fell in love with at first sight. Drove it through all manner of mischief in Nashville when "Houses of the Holy" Led Zeplin and a magnificent mixture of window pane and mescalin was putting a few people in the hospital but I was really into it. Bob Dylan and the Grateful dead, Linda Rondstadt, etc, etc, Deep Purple, Argent, ZZ Top (with the rattlesnakes), Allman Brothers (with grandmother on the stage in a rocking chair) . Yes. "Close to the edge". When there was a lot of moisture in the air, $2 worth of gas could and a rear end change (brother damaged the positrack rear end but I was a poor student and replaced it with a lower ratio.) would drive a very long way. After market 8 track and antenna booster and the configuration of the frame with the old whip antenna would pick up Rock 103 in Nashville easily as far as Birmingham, AL. where I was in pharmacy school.
I once , years ago looked at one of these cars. At ten am I drove it and was pleased . Went back at 2 pm to buy car but first took another ride to refresh my memory of the ride . Sometime after I left in the am , some yokel took it out and lunched the motor ! Hence , no sale .
I had a 1975 Monza with the pathetic 262. In 1978 I dropped a 383 pro built V8, B&M turbo 350 transmission and a 12 bolt 3:73 posi. Not bad for a high school kid. I miss it. Would love to have another, but this Vega fits the bill for this 62 year old. Probably not available. But cool. VERY cool!
My first car was a used '71 Vega with the four cylinder aluminum block engine, I bought ~ 1975. Engine was crap when I bought it but it was a fun car to drive (while it drove). I got in trouble with my mother because I put a pillow on the emergency brake so my dates could sit closer to me while I was driving (mother thought I had an ulterior motive with the pillow). It was a good first car and made me respect every car I've had since....
This is one of the best stock looking Vega’s I’ve seen. Nice car! I know about the dual exhaust thing. I really would like to have my very clean 73 I had in HS. It was just a couple of years old when I got it. Mine was the GT. It was a green color, had the posi rear end, and the crappy opel 4 speed. I did a few other things to it but, didn’t quite make the V-8 conversion. I’m wondering how a set of chrome side pipes would look like on the car, especially with it being black.
Wow! Very nice! I had a Ford Pinto and put a 289 in it! It would bring the wheels! Fast car with lots of horsepower! Ex-wife totaled it ! Wonder what you’re asking for it!
I was about to ask where is the cooling system fan, but then I saw you had it in the front behind the grill. Nice, I had some awesome cars as a teen in the 80's, a 72 Charger, 72 Malibu, 69 Camaro and a Mach 1 ford. Bought my brother a Trans am like the Smokey and the bandit one.
V8 Vegas were all the rage during the 70's and 80's! Simple power-to-weight ratio! My friend had one with a bone stock 350! It even had It's cast iron intake manifold! Just 275 hp and would blow the Doors off a Big block Chevelle! Even got 20mpg on cheap regular gas!
I had some bolt on power on mine and a mild cam. I put a 350 4 bolt main in it. Performer intake. Holley 600cfm secondary vacuum carb. Nothing too great. My exhaust was a joke. 2 1/2 inch headers with bullet mufflers welded to it. No pipes at all. Put it on top of a Munci M21. I guess I did get a little crazy with the rear end. I put 4.11 gears out back. I wpuld guess it put out somewhere around 300 HP and the torque was probably around 400 to 425. It pulled low 11s but was squirrelly as hell. Best drag car I ever had for the total cost. 4200. That was in 2001 2002. Fun car. Rice drivers wanted no part of it. Muscle and pony drivers got good views of the tail lights.
Thy did actually! July 1972 issue of Hot Rod magazine - road test including 1/4 mile time for an aluminum 302 V-8 Vega. I believe that they built a total of 12, even a couple of 4 speed cars. It was this experimentation that the V-8 Monza grew from just a couple of years later in 1974 - search for "The Vega Tapes" here on You Tube to see my 1974 GT wagon that I built in 1988/89 with a 406 CID small block.
In the 70's the Vega didn't get much respect because it was an economy car. But this in black with a v-8 is very good looking. Looking at it in isolation today it maybe one of the best looking cars of the '70s.
Memories.. I had two.. 71 and a 74. The 74 was the best.. 327 with M21, ford 9inch curry axles and retainers. It went through a few rebuilds going from pull the wheels off the ground to a batsh*t crazy fast roadster. I ended up with 3:00 gears on the 13 inch facotry GT tires, cut down Monza V6 springs in front so the suspension actually worked, big Monza sport bars front and back tho the back required a minor mod to drop it to clear the 9 inch ring gear. Dual exhaust all the to the back of the tires like this. And yes, total PIA to get it tucked up. I could race Ninjas off the line and beat them for 90 ishg MPH then they would pull away. THe only car that ever stayed even with me on the street was a blown 69 El Camino. Stupid fast.. CHP clocked at 145 plus.. The officer had gotten behind me and I Didnt see him. I had clear freeway and good tunes so I dropped the hammer. Left him like he had hit his brakes. That was fun to explain away. End up he was building one like this so he and I talked for a godo 45 mins about the car after I signed for a 65 plus exceeding the max speed limit. And was very polite during the stop. Ah.. good times ;D
327 eng. 1962- 19671/2 small journal crankshaft engines has an oil fil tube in the front of the engine by the water gooseneck on the manifold. Under the intake it had a oil can mounted and the small journal intake was made for the oil can. In 1968 they changed to a large journal crankshaft and the oil tube hole, plus a oil can under the intake was removed. The early model was changed and in 68 there was no more small journal 327. The engine is 68 or newer, there is a place in front of the head on drivers side with the manufacture code and info on the eng. was stamped.
I had a 72 (not GT) Vega for a long time with a 307/Powerglide in it. Engine was basically stock but with a 4BBL (AFB) carb on a chevy cast iron 'high rise' and headers. It was a lot of fun, but it rusted away to nothing.
Absolutely a sweet ride. Very well done. I think the 327 is one of the greatest small block V8 engines ever produced - and I am a Mopar guy. ;-)
Sold a year ago for $17K... S10 rear end... fan in front of radiator...
I had one new .1972 G.T. vega. Green out side .4 SPEED .COUSE WORTH .FOR ITS TIME IT WAS QUICK. SOLD IT GO A GIRL WHO LOVED IT .but she did not know how to drive a sick .so i guess she blew the clutch.this was a nice one though for its age .
@@williamloper7283 - You prolly had the clutch about ready to go! ... LOL !
Still have my rare '77 Pontiac Astre FORMULA Safari Station Wagon... Iron duke, 5 speed, posi...
My favorite small block is the 340, but the 327 is a close second.
@@freedomfirst5420 Love the 340!
Out of all the small blocks that Chevy used in cars for some reason the 327 feels perfectly designed for the cars it was in. Always run smoothly no matter what, one of my favorite engines ever made.
Hey Matt what about the 283ci ? Jus’ askin’ ! 👍
@@mtsilvagt I like em don't get me wrong 283s are nice. I don't know how to explain it the (stock) 327 has the perfect amount of torque and horsepower that all seems to be in the right place, yet it still revs nice and has power all the way up to the bottom of the red. They were good with power glides, THM350/400 autos but put one in a camaro with a Muncie 4 speed and it will be happy as hell.
@Z I think its just because most people don't have experience with what they speak of. If you had a 327 and maintained it well they were (dare I say) Toyota kind of reliable and you couldn't hurt them from beating on them, I've tried.
@Z Unless you have a car that came one there is no good reason to use a 327 vs 350. The primary difference is that a 350 uses a 3.5" stroke vs the 3.25" in the 327. All 327 blocks had 2 bolt mains, where 350 came with either 2 or 4 bolt mains. In either case they are fairly short stroke engines and could be built to rev to 8500+. All things being otherwise equal the 350 will make noticeably more torque and hit peak power a bit lower rpm vs 327. In theory all else being the same the peak power should be close to the same but average power power will be higher with the 350 between the peaks.
It was underpowered for the 1967 Impala and C10.
what a beauty of a Vega. one of my favorite car body styles.
I owned one of these, a 1973 model with a 327 stuffed in it by a mechanic friend in Delaware.. He even put cut-outs for the headers on it for me. That little sucker was fast and actually handled pretty well.. Street raced with it several times and made a few bucks. I remember would bust my balls a
bout owning a Vega...until they saw it run that is.
My 3 car was same as this only all beat up. I was a teenager and couldn't afford to upgrade the stock axle. I would leave one line of black rubber for 100 feet all over town. I couldn't just drive it normally. Burnouts were just too much fun!
It’s available now..?? I like this..!! How much $$$
I had one ,got the block sleeved and it was wonderfull AND REALLY GOOD looking Vega Gt.........until the frame broke from rust. Broke my heart, and I am a FORD GUY!!
WOW Brings back some fond memories. Nice car. My first car was a 73 4 banger which a dropped a 283 in. Loved that car. Getting rid of it is one of my biggest regrets.
I had a 72 with a 327 in it back in the 80s. I still miss that car to this day.
Beautiful car, i miss riding around with my dad in his cherry red 72 vega. The pur of the engine giving that feeling of power over the road. I would do anything to have that car again.
I never thought I say it, but that's a nice Vega.
Don't fool yourself. There's no such thing. The Corvair was a better car.
Very clean! I have owned 4 v8 Vegas, every one was a kick in the ass to drive. You're lucky your doors still close so well.
I remember the v8 vegas of motion performance in Baldwin NY. Joel Rosen was amazing!
Absolutely beautiful! Wish I was the next owner!
Wow, this takes me back!
I had a new '72 Vega GT that started buring more oil than gas at about 50K miles. Bought a kit from Herbert and Meek (headers, engine and trans mounts) and a junk yard 283. Plan was to do a simple rebuilt of the 283 and install with a turbo 350. Plan lasted until I discovered that my junkyard 283 had a forged crank and needed to be bored out. Ended up as a backyard 302, with fuelie heads, Duntov cam, 11.5:1 pistons, Mallory dualpoint ignition, Torquer manifild and 650 double pumper, Hayes clutch and pressure plate, Lakewood scattershield, Muncie M22 and 12 bolt rear.
Never should have gotten rid of it!
That was a 283 truck engine,they all had forged cranks from what I'
ve been told.
JSC1951 back when all of those parts ran you less than 500 dollars. Now the headers alone are that
Dang, you had every single thing that I had in a 72 GT Wagon. One difference, I had a nice Borg Warner 4 speed transmission, special ordered with low first & second gears. 5:37 1st,
4:35 2nd. In my narrowed 12 bolt, I was running 5:13's. Yup, if I wanted to, I could be in 4th gear just putting across a nice big intersection. I ran a 65 Vette 327 and massaged it real nice.
12 to 1 forged pistons,
Sig Erson cam, 5:74 lift
and 3:02 duration. Camel hump heads all ported & polished. Oh, I also had a purple ZooM clutch plate & disk. A
Weiand tunnel ram with a nice Holley 780 up on top. The wagon was the factory silver with the black stripe. One more, frame connectors, had to weld those suckered in. Haa ha, on cruise night I would park it on a dead-end street where everyone would turn into so they could turn back onto the cruise boulevard. I parked it way back in the dark, but walk up front and tell certain guys who thought they were fast, HEY, I've got a station wagon that will beat your POS! Then the fun began!
Had a friend with a 350 LT-1 4 speed Vega in the mid seventies. He finally put a turbo 400 in it because the 4 speed was just insane.
In the early 80s there was a guy in our area that built a Vega and added a rear spoiler and front ground effects that made it look very much like a small camaro. In fact, he named it the "Mini Z" and it was FAST! The windows were blacked out so you couldn't see inside. It looked pretty ominous to be honest. That guy took a lot of money from the hotrodders in this area - lol. (do guys still name their hotrods?) I remember one day in high school the "Mini Z" drove by the front of our high school very slowly, just loping the hell outta that big cam of his. It was like he was mocking the guys with "fast cars" at our school. That was the day I fell in love with that lil body style. Never owned one but have always admired and respected it.
Excellent job, hands done one of the best I’ve seen!
Back in the mid 70's one of the fastest cars in Salinas, CA was a Vega with a 350.
Always wanted a V-8 Chevy Vega…….I think they have great looks!
Sweet build. Engine bay looks clean and very neat.
There were several companies who made the conversion kits for the V8 Vega so you already have an advantage . I love the old school mags on this !
If Chevrolet had stuck with the idea of putting a 283 ci motor married to a 4 speed manual transmission, and a positrsck rear end, & a serious coat of rust PREVENTATIVE at the factory , the Vega GT would have been an outstanding little muscle car!
You could have purchased a Baldwin-Motion V8 vega during those years.
Chevy did put it through a 5 or 6 step rust proofing treatment but there were too many air pockets where the rust proofing didn't reach when dipped. A two speed power glide automatic transmission fit well onto most small blocks and didn't require much in the way of modifying the body transmission area. The power glide was originally used on some of the first Corvettes.
I bought a 1975 Monza 2+2 with a 262 V8 Auto in 1979 and had it for a couple of years before we dropped a 1968 327 bored .030 over with 202 heads and a pretty strong cam. Behind we put a Fairbanks Turbo 400 with a Manual valve body. It had a 8” ford rear with 4:10 gears from a 64 Comet/Falcon which was off center I think two inches. So you get the tube and axle from short side and you could put a pretty nice sized tire in the rear. Fun car, I never got to race it in that form. But I did do a couple runs with a stock turbo 350 and 3:23 gears and it did 14.2 and 101 mph.
Nice!
Had one as well. Nice, poor gas mileage, 9 mpg. Manual steering, power brakes. Had the bottom of the doors not skins but shell not rotted out by the time it was 4 years old I would have kept.
But if doors were shot, there was more hidden rust. Did have to have front structure rails reinforced as the (Vega Design) was unable to handle the torque. Cracked in several places. There were many V8 Monzas in my city. Frame shop was doing 3 a week.
My Uncle had one with a 327 350 horse motor out of a 65 Vette thing would get on down the road I can remember riding around in it and just whopping up on about 90 % of whatever challenged us
There is a lot of skill, payience and time that goes into such a build, I would have loved this in the 70s.
i had a 72 i put a SB 400 in. loved it. i had over $7000 in it and it was just as cherry as yours. then my drunk ex brother in law got drunk and drove over it with his 4 wheel drive. and back in the early 80's that was a lot of money.
Very nicely done. It kinda sorta reminds me of a Jensen Interceptor. My crazy Uncle Bud used to drag race and his preferred car was either a Vega or a Monza. His son is currently driving a big-wheeled Mustang II.
Very cool. A Vega I wouldn’t mind having.
Small car with a big punch.... very nice ! Sounds tough,great choice on the engine ✌😎
That is a great vega! Love the wheels!
That is a nice one. I had a Vega with a 350 small block. Yeah, it was crazy. Brought back memories. Wish I's known about when it was for sale. I's been a bidder.
I built a '74 Astra GT 327 off a '67 Corvette engine hooked headers. 4 spd black with black interior. I got most of the info on the swap from hotrod magazines and parts from auto wreckers lots of fun.
Sweet I had 2 v8 Vegas that one is awesome!
I had one in the exact same condition in 1977 love the car....
I owned a 72 Chevy Vega, mustard yellow. Loved that car.
mine was orange
Mine was silver
never been a vega person but that is one nice one good job on it
Nicely done , I love these pump gas light to light assasins.
Great job. What you built here is what the Vega should have been. The body and especially the front end on the 1970-73 models was just awesome. Unfortunately that was were awesome ended and woeful began; i.e. mechanically these cars were absolute TURDS. The V6 Mercury Capris built in Germany were light years better than the Vega. That's why the TLC you put into this vehicle is so appreciated. I love to see these Vegas resto-modded w V8's.
My goal with the build was to make it look as "factory" as possible. I hope the new owner is still enjoying it.
@@albertpenello Well you really nailed it. It's hard to find these nowadays because unless they were kept in Arizona or garaged, the bodies have rusted into oblivion. Most of what has survived has been tubbed & caged for racing so to street them usually takes a lot of work. The upside of that though is that it's usually less metal / frame fabrication and more tedious work like wiring etc.
Wauw thats such a nice ride, love the paintjob man, like a mirror 👍🏻👊🏻😎
Just a beautiful Vega man. Those torque thrust sandstones look immaculate on that car. Sounds extremely healthy and spicy. Hard to find these that aren't rusted completely down. I'd be proud to call that 72 mine. Beautiful build brother. Must be a pretty special car taking its place huh??
Split bumper
Very nice ! Well thought out and executed perfectly. I like how simple it is. To me less is more..
The story goes that the Vegas was never granny tested , as they were in a hurry to rival the Pinto . The Vega was a delicate car and they dipped the frames / bodies in vasts for rust proofing which was stupid , as air bubbles would happen , and that's how they were prone to rust . For 1976 and 77 , they worked all the bugs out of the car , but consumers lost interest as the reputation for these cool little cars was already done , so they gave up after small sales in 77. Its a shame as they needed more power than 90 horses . I had a 1976 V 8 , with a 906 cam , Truck CID 350 engine in it with a 9 inch Ford rear end . What a blast that was ! Though it was a automatic , it had a shift kit in it .
I love these cars. Always wanted to LS swap one
I always wanted one of these V8 Vega's, it's beautiful. 🙂☺
Had a 73 panel wagon 350 4sp & 72 hatchback 454 power glide that I got for $5000, both had narrowed 12 bolt posi.
Great job - looks factory. Can't go wrong with black/black.
Had a red and white one in the early 1980s with a Monday front end and a Buick v6 ,when it ran it was a little hot rod and always got a lot of attention
I've always though the Vega was a good looking car. It reminds me a lot of a small camaro of that period. It was just the engine and transmission that was terrible.
Oh yea, it was aerodynamic and looked cool. I had a 74 that i called a poor mans mustang. More solid than it looked, when ya run out of gas just try to push it a block by yourself!
They never had transmission problems, just an aluminum block that was ruined by bean counters reducing the cylinder coating to a point of rapid wear. Properly undercoated they didn't rust, either. It was a cheap car and treated as such. There are no early pintos, opels, corollas, civics, or anything else left on the road, either.
@@wymple09 My parents bought a 1977 Vega Stationwagon new in 77 and it was dead by before I graduated in 1982. I typically don't even by cars now until they are 5 years old and most are like new still.
You could always cut out the drivers side floorboard and turn it into a flintstonemobile
@@loyevangelists That would make it a Ford
The Vega had a nice body style.
That car is bad ass, the black, the wheels, the stance and the lack of some goofy rear spoiler !! great job
Nice job. Everything looks professionally done.
Love that car! 327. Yeah! Better than a 350.
Nicely executed V8 swap. Back in the day, $250 or so would get you the complete kit to shove a junkyard motor into one of these things. This one is very clean and the bodywork is well done; you can't hide with that black paint.
Always a puzzlement to me how "Bring a Trailer" went from a sight with reasonable deals where you had to, y'know, actually bring a trailer to pick up your junk to a high-end car sales site.
Been looking for a good car and there's a racket going down with the dealers. They are picking up nice cars for fair prices and re-selling for 100-200% profit. It's getting crazy.
I HAD A 72 GT ORANGE WITH BLACKSTRIPE, I LOVED THAT LITTLE CAR, WISH I STILL HAD IT...
Since the 70's I have come across at least 5 or 6 Vegas with small blocks, all are bad ass little cars, want to see more and, more small cars like them.
My first car. 1972 Vega GT with a '69 327. Bought it in '79. Gold with black stripe. This one is sharper looking. Very tasteful.
Yeah that 327 sounds Soo good ! I don't know what it is about the 327, but they are tough to beat .
@@1Thirty1 I had a 350 4 bolt block, put a 400 crank in it... you know the rest of the story!
The 327 winds out nicer than the 350 . Love them both !
very clean engine install, nice factory look
My neighbor had one with a 327 his dad built for him. He was only 16 and could not handle the power. Car was a beast. His dad actually got him something else to drive.
had a 72 gt myself..... steel sleeves in my 74 motor( bought for$400 in 76) that i wrecked and dropped the motor in the 72 gt that i bought with no engine for 200...back in 77... put over 100,000 on that motor...
This evening the miracle of the modern internet has taken me back to 1972 when my grandmother offered to buy me any car I wanted to go to college. I found a 1972 Vega GT (orange with black stripes) that I fell in love with at first sight. Drove it through all manner of mischief in Nashville when "Houses of the Holy" Led Zeplin and a magnificent mixture of window pane and mescalin was putting a few people in the hospital but I was really into it. Bob Dylan and the Grateful dead, Linda Rondstadt, etc, etc,
Deep Purple, Argent, ZZ Top (with the rattlesnakes), Allman Brothers (with grandmother on the stage in a rocking chair) .
Yes. "Close to the edge".
When there was a lot of moisture in the air, $2 worth of gas could and a rear end change (brother damaged the positrack rear end but I was a poor student and replaced it with a lower ratio.) would drive a very long way.
After market 8 track and antenna booster and the configuration of the frame with the old whip antenna would pick up Rock 103 in Nashville easily as far as Birmingham, AL. where I was in pharmacy school.
You forgot to mention all the illegal narcotics consumed while enjoying your new ride.
No he said he was in pharmacy school, I’m sure he had access to the prescription stuff.
@@mfslyphantom8811
Riiiiight
Yes very good car. Well made restoration.
I once , years ago looked at one of these cars. At ten am I drove it and was pleased . Went back at 2 pm to buy car but first took another ride to refresh my memory of the ride . Sometime after I left in the am , some yokel took it out and lunched the motor ! Hence , no sale .
I had a 1975 Monza with the pathetic 262. In 1978 I dropped a 383 pro built V8, B&M turbo 350 transmission and a 12 bolt 3:73 posi. Not bad for a high school kid. I miss it. Would love to have another, but this Vega fits the bill for this 62 year old. Probably not available. But cool. VERY cool!
My first car was a used '71 Vega with the four cylinder aluminum block engine, I bought ~ 1975. Engine was crap when I bought it but it was a fun car to drive (while it drove). I got in trouble with my mother because I put a pillow on the emergency brake so my dates could sit closer to me while I was driving (mother thought I had an ulterior motive with the pillow). It was a good first car and made me respect every car I've had since....
This is one of the best stock looking Vega’s I’ve seen. Nice car! I know about the dual exhaust thing. I really would like to have my very clean 73 I had in HS. It was just a couple of years old when I got it. Mine was the GT. It was a green color, had the posi rear end, and the crappy opel 4 speed. I did a few other things to it but, didn’t quite make the V-8 conversion. I’m wondering how a set of chrome side pipes would look like on the car, especially with it being black.
Wow! Very nice! I had a Ford Pinto and put a 289 in it! It would bring the wheels! Fast car with lots of horsepower! Ex-wife totaled it ! Wonder what you’re asking for it!
Nice work Albert!
Sweet ride!
Thanx
WOW I LOVE THIS CAR!!!
Thanks!
completely sick! nice job!
wouldve been nice if GM had offered
a version like this back in the day!
Beautiful car !!! Now let's talk power to weight ratio....nuts !
GM is Opel in Europe, we had less looking Kadett´s and Ascona´s. Goodluck with the channel and V8 for the masses.
Great looking cars , too bad GM gave up on it !
I was about to ask where is the cooling system fan, but then I saw you had it in the front behind the grill. Nice, I had some awesome cars as a teen in the 80's, a 72 Charger, 72 Malibu, 69 Camaro and a Mach 1 ford. Bought my brother a Trans am like the Smokey and the bandit one.
FN..AWSOME,,,MAN
Beautiful job sir
The original vega looked great. This is very nice one.
Very clean Vega. Nice paint!
Had one like it in early 80's wish I had yours.
Wow that's my child hood car. Except I cut the middle of the front bumper to expose the beautiful front vent..
VERY NICE CAR , SUPER CLEAN
Beautiful car.
Wish I had seen this earlier.
V8 Vegas were all the rage during the 70's and 80's! Simple power-to-weight ratio! My friend had one with a bone stock 350! It even had It's cast iron intake manifold! Just 275 hp and would blow the Doors off a Big block Chevelle! Even got 20mpg on cheap regular gas!
I had some bolt on power on mine and a mild cam. I put a 350 4 bolt main in it. Performer intake. Holley 600cfm secondary vacuum carb. Nothing too great. My exhaust was a joke. 2 1/2 inch headers with bullet mufflers welded to it. No pipes at all. Put it on top of a Munci M21. I guess I did get a little crazy with the rear end. I put 4.11 gears out back. I wpuld guess it put out somewhere around 300 HP and the torque was probably around 400 to 425. It pulled low 11s but was squirrelly as hell. Best drag car I ever had for the total cost. 4200. That was in 2001 2002. Fun car. Rice drivers wanted no part of it. Muscle and pony drivers got good views of the tail lights.
I love the Vegas. They were essentially a mini camaro, and I wish GM would have experimented with a v8 option as they did with the Monza.
I always called them a poor mans corvette lol.
@@anthonypickens3236 The Buick Opel GT is the poor mans Corvette.
Thy did actually! July 1972 issue of Hot Rod magazine - road test including 1/4 mile time for an aluminum 302 V-8 Vega. I believe that they built a total of 12, even a couple of 4 speed cars. It was this experimentation that the V-8 Monza grew from just a couple of years later in 1974 - search for "The Vega Tapes" here on You Tube to see my 1974 GT wagon that I built in 1988/89 with a 406 CID small block.
@@davidkastin4240 And many did end up at the drag strip with a small block between the front wheels
I always thought the Vega was a compact version of the Camaro, and should have been produced with a V8
NICE i miss my vega
In the 70's the Vega didn't get much respect because it was an economy car. But this in black with a v-8 is very good looking. Looking at it in isolation today it maybe one of the best looking cars of the '70s.
Memories.. I had two.. 71 and a 74. The 74 was the best.. 327 with M21, ford 9inch curry axles and retainers. It went through a few rebuilds going from pull the wheels off the ground to a batsh*t crazy fast roadster. I ended up with 3:00 gears on the 13 inch facotry GT tires, cut down Monza V6 springs in front so the suspension actually worked, big Monza sport bars front and back tho the back required a minor mod to drop it to clear the 9 inch ring gear. Dual exhaust all the to the back of the tires like this. And yes, total PIA to get it tucked up. I could race Ninjas off the line and beat them for 90 ishg MPH then they would pull away. THe only car that ever stayed even with me on the street was a blown 69 El Camino. Stupid fast.. CHP clocked at 145 plus.. The officer had gotten behind me and I Didnt see him. I had clear freeway and good tunes so I dropped the hammer. Left him like he had hit his brakes. That was fun to explain away. End up he was building one like this so he and I talked for a godo 45 mins about the car after I signed for a 65 plus exceeding the max speed limit. And was very polite during the stop. Ah.. good times ;D
Awesome, nice and uniform clean.. still wished I had mine..😢 hey you mentioned blazer that's where this car went, to the S10
Saginaw 4 speed fit fine for me don't remember where the bellhousing came from though. Ended up th350 with shift kit later
327 eng. 1962- 19671/2 small journal crankshaft engines has an oil fil tube in the front of the engine by the water gooseneck on the manifold. Under the intake it had a oil can mounted and the small journal intake was made for the oil can. In 1968 they changed to a large journal crankshaft and the oil tube hole, plus a oil can under the intake was removed. The early model was changed and in 68 there was no more small journal 327. The engine is 68 or newer, there is a place in front of the head on drivers side with the manufacture code and info on the eng. was stamped.
That's gotta be a Nice Little Daily Driver for me.😊👍 I Grew up with the 74 with the 3 Speed if I Remember.
Nice video and a thumbs up liked.
Nice car, loved mine.
nice ride
How wide a back tire can you fit
I had a 72 (not GT) Vega for a long time with a 307/Powerglide in it. Engine was basically stock but with a 4BBL (AFB) carb on a chevy cast iron 'high rise' and headers. It was a lot of fun, but it rusted away to nothing.
Sweet ride!!!
Great car. So many had rust issues ...sad.
Nice job man