‍The crowd wasn't expecting this news

It was a surprise announcement, and it took place on October 3rd, 1968, when a very bold and unexpected news story came out about a new subcompact vehicle to come, revealed by General Motors Chairman James M. Roche.

What was announced that day was that in two years, a new small car from General Motors will be released and, in his statement, Roche said this: " An economical, durable, safe, comfortable, and styled car, made possible only through important advances in technology." That upcoming vehicle was only identified by its code-name "XP-887". The crowd wasn't expecting this news, and anyone connected in top positions with Chevrolet and Pontiac at the time was equally surprised, as these divisions were independently working on and designing their own new small cars for their divisions. The announcement made clear that the top decision-makers at the corporation were going to bring out a car that General Motors Research, Manufacturing and Engineering staff would construct, not the ones that Chevy and Pontiac were developing at the time.

General Motors was already selling a small car in their Buick dealerships, the Opel from Germany. However, the salesmen at Buick were much more interested in selling the big, expensive Buicks rather than the "little German Opels" and the demeaning attitudes they had really didn't generate all that many sales of the small cars. In fact, it was looked at more like they stole sales from the bigger, costlier Buicks.

The new car would be marketed and sold by Chevrolet, even though the Chevrolet engineers really had nothing to do with it. When John Z. DeLorean was promoted from head of Pontiac Division to General Manager of Chevrolet, that was a big deal, as Chevy was bigger than all the other GM divisions combined. His first day on the new job of leading Chevrolet was February 15th, 1969, and the new GM import fighter was going to be his car, like it or not.

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DeLorean and Cole bumped heads on what they wanted

"The Vega was a disaster from the word go," DeLorean said years later. "My repugnance and distaste for selling and marketing a product I did not believe in had reached its peak at Chevrolet with the Vega, an absolutely disastrous car designed by Pete Estes and Ed Cole, GM's president, and 'chief engineer."

At the earliest stages when this new subcompact car project was first sold to the upper General Motors management, DeLorean was still at Pontiac. At that time the car was going to be a joint venture between Chevy and Pontiac, like the Camaro/Firebird was, in terms of sharing styling. During early meetings, John DeLorean and Ed Cole bumped heads on what they wanted the car to be. "We were on different wavelengths," recalled DeLorean. "I wanted to build a really fine small car, a mini-BMW, not just a super-cheap car."

The biggest objection from Chevrolet about the Vega was their engineering staff and the engine. According to John DeLorean, Chevrolet had already developed a better powerplant, but it was never considered. The Chevy powerplant was a 4-cylinder as well, however, it had a hemispherical cylinder head featuring cross-flow cooling passages, and a short stroke, and both the block and head were to be manufactured from traditional cast iron. The Engineering Policy Group of the corporation discarded this engine and went with the Ed Cole-pushed engine that ended up in the Vega.

Unfortunately, the overall design of the Vega powerplant had a major shortcoming. There was a lack of suitable cooling capacity, the Vega used a small radiator, and with no coolant recovery system built into the car, soon there were to be serious problems for many Vega owners. Engines were running too hot, and would overheat, then the loss of coolant would cause cylinder head leakage, resultant blown head gaskets, and oftentimes catastrophic engine failure. This overheating caused at the very least excessive oil consumption, as the cylinders became distorted, and the pistons would cause rapid wear.

New manufacturing technology

As designed, the new small car was conceived as a "zero defect" car. A big part of that proclamation was because it was the first vehicle from GM to be built with modernized, highly automated robots, of which 95-percent of the 3,900 welds on each car would be done by these automatic welders. Over 100 Vegas could be built with this new manufacturing technology, done at the Lordstown, OH, assembly plant. However, there were labor problems at the factory, and reports of workers purposely not properly installing the parts of cars, sabotaging them, as they went down the line.  

Keeping the car as light in weight as possible was important, as a goal of 2000 pounds for the car was set early on in its development. Besides the aluminum engine block, inner fenders were eliminated as a weight savings measure. Even though the Vega was dipped into special tanks of zinc-phosphate "rust proofing" solution. The only problem with the process was that the way the bodies were submerged, some areas never received the treatment (because of air pockets) and as a result, Vegas that were operated in the states with snow and the salt that cities put on the roads saw the tops of the fenders rust quickly, in as little as one winter.

Because General Motors and all Detroit car manufacturers in general, at the time felt the small cars were not really to be taken very seriously, they were just "import fighters" in the low-priced segment of the marketplace. Many in the industry felt that if the Vega was a very well-built car, and very successful, then it would intrude on the sales of their larger Chevrolets and go way beyond just "stealing" sales from the foreign carmakers, mostly the VW Beetle. And because the costs of building a big Chevrolet Caprice, loaded with options weren't all that much more than what the factory produced the Vega for, there were tremendous profits to be had with the big cars. And nobody in the front office wanted to lose those sales.  

With the various engine problems, the rust that ate away the front fenders, and quality-control recall, the Vega certainly did tarnish the Chevrolet brand as well as the reputation of the entire General Motors line of automobiles. The factory did address the rust problems with plastic shields, plus there were coolant recovery systems added in later model years and retro-fitted to the early cars, plus the Vega engine was re-engineered starting in 1976. Had the problems been able to be solved earlier, the Vega would have not generated so much negative press.

‍Few Vegas survived

In the end, slightly over 2 million Vegas were sold, and to that number can be the added over 200,000 Pontiac Astre Versions, and Monza "S" versions from 1978-79 (which were Vegas, albeit with the Pontiac Iron Duke engine) in the Hatchbacks and Wagons. That's a total of nine model years for the body stampings, fenders, floor pans, and most other components of the original design.

While there was a tremendous amount of bad publicity generated by the Vega, mostly the engine oil consumption problems, overheating problems, and rusting problems, people still bought them and in pretty big numbers. The Monza was introduced in 1975 and those were known as "Italian Vegas" and the underpinnings were also H-body vehicles. Five inches longer and different styling, and enough visual changes to make it not look like anything that had to do with the Vega.

Few Vegas survived, and some say they are the symbol for all that went wrong with General Motors during that time period. But with their ample sales and the fact that very little was changed on the car over its lifespan, there had to be a good deal of pure profit in them, especially in their final years. All the tooling was paid off and the factory simply kept cranking them out, even with the Chevette, which came in 1975 and Monza. There was some embarrassment with the car for General Motors, no doubt, however, it was far from a total failure with such high production numbers.    

Today, there's a slight gain in popularity of H-body cars among enthusiasts. A possible reason for the resurgence as a street machine is because a high number of the V8 Vegas built as hot rods created a lasting impression for many guys that were young and saw them, and remembered them, in their youth. The lowly Vega has a small number of builders today that are finding them, and they are available cheap, with the goal of creating something different. There are companies still making replacement fiberglass body parts for Vegas and looking at old pictures of Pro Stock Vegas can offer inspiration for "the look" and stance of what a bad-boy hot rod can be.

The Pontiac Vega

When the H-Platform car was first developed, it was given to Chevrolet to market and sell. Pontiac dealers in Canada were given the car for their dealers to sell during the 1973-74 model years, with very slight cosmetic changes. Named "Astre"(which is French for "star") USA Pontiac dealers also were given the opportunity to add the Vega to their product lineup as re-badged variants for the 1975 model year, and with that came a revised split grille, early Firebird style taillights (on the Coupes and Hatchbacks) and available was the station wagon, as a Pontiac now called "Safari Wagon." In 1977 the Pontiac Astre was fitted with the "Iron Duke" 4-cylinder engine, a 151-cdi powerplant with iron block and head, pushrods and was simple in design.

There was a company called Motortown that put together a sporty appearance package for the Astre to give it more appeal to Pontiac buyers, and it was known as the "Li'L WideTrack" program. It featured a front air dam, rear spoiler, side window vents and cross-spoke aluminum wide wheels on white-lettered radials, plus colorful graphics. Dreamed up by Jim Wangers (who had a lot to do with GTO marketing in the 1960s) the stunt gave the car a new look and at first 500 of them were sold to local Detroit area Pontiac dealers. Then the marketing department noticed that the Astre was selling well in that city and investigated into it. Soon orders came rolling in from Pontiac dealers all over the country and more than 7,000 Li'L Wide Track Astre models were sold.  

The Vega passenger car body shells were discontinued for 1978, however, the Vega station wagon body continued for two additional model years (1978-79) and in that last gasp of life for the Vega-based Pontiac (Sunbird Safari) there were 11,326 of them sold. Legend has it the factory had several "left-over" Vega station wagon body shells and giving them to Pontiac was a way to further unload them to the public.

In Canada during the 1973-74 model years, there was a Pontiac version called the Astre, and it was all Vega save for a slightly different "split" grille, chromed headlight bezels and revised taillights.

For Pontiac dealers in the USA, a version of the Vega, albeit with a revised split grille and different taillights was offered from 1975-to 1977.

The Astre did up in "li'l Wide Track appearance upgrades, which added a unique look to the car. The year 1977 saw the 2300cc Vega motor go away on these cars and replaced by the "Iron Duke" 4-cylinder cast-iron Pontiac engine, it was a way for GM to finally admit the Vega engine with its unusual aluminum block was not all that innovative and great after all.

‍The Name Vega

The bigwigs at GM named the car "Vega" against Chevrolet's wishes. Chevy PR market-tested hundreds of names for the car and they felt it should be named "Gemini." That name was in the news all the time during the period the market research was being conducted, as it was the name for the Moon rockets that NASA was launching. Also, the Gemini name had "GM" in it and "mini" and it was catchy, or so thought the Chevrolet people. Ed Cole from corporate General Motors insisted on the name Vega (which was named after a bright star) and flatly told the head of Chevrolet, John DeLorean, noon Gemini. In a heated exchange, DeLorean shouted to Cole: "Cole, it sounds like a venereal disease!"

Press Quotes at Launch

"The Vega 2300 was one of those 'starts with a clean sheet of paper' projects that come along every 10-or-so years and fills engineers with a kind of missionary zeal as they are given a license to freak out. The new engine is a product of this milieu and is interesting for several reasons, not the least of which was the interplay between manufacturing techniques and general design." Motor Trend Magazine July 1970

"A lot of traditionalists, particularly the European-minded purists, are going to find the new engine hard to understand. Instead of an iron block and aluminum head, the normal scheme for many European engines, the Vega (née XP-887) Four has an iron head and aluminum block. It's not a high-revving, high-speed engine; instead, it's designed for good performance at moderate speeds. Still, it has an overhead camshaft. and in an age of big-bore engines, it's a long-stroke design. More expected is the fact that Chevrolet cared more for manufacturing it cheaply than the aesthetic sophistication we sometimes see in foreign car engines. As a result, it is one of the most unusual -- and ugly -- power units in the world." Car and Driver Magazine July 1970  

"'Seventy-one Performers' Chevrolet: Now we bring up the Vega. Believe it or not, this one's all-new, and it represents hundreds of millions of dollars to General Motors and Chevrolet. After driving it, we think it was worth the price and effort. It has a die-cast140-cubic-inch, four-cylinder OHC; choice of three-speed or four-speed manual, or a two-speed Powerglide; a standard engine with 90 horses or a 'super' model with 110; four different body shapes, including a hatchback model that allows full-body access; 97.0-inch wheelbase; 169.7-inch overall length and a curb weight right around 2200 pounds. With a little work, it would make a tremendous Pro Stocker, yet the as-sold car is something better than we ever expected." Hot Rod Magazine October 1970

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It's John Z DeLorean and his then-wife Kelly Harmon, a honey-haired 21-year-old that was 23 years his junior and daughter of football star Tom Harmon. She added to the flamboyance of DeLorean, who was the youngest ever to make it to being vice president of GM and general manager of Chevrolet. When interviewed in the Look Magazine on August 25, 1970, he said this about the new Vega: "This will be the best-damned car ever built in America. It's so much much better than most of the foreign cars, we're going to whip their ass in their own market."  

John DeLorean was newly appointed to the head of Chevrolet and even though at the time of the release of the new Vega he said a lot of wonderful things about the car, he really wasn't involved in its development. However, he jumped into the project and worked to increase the quality control at the factory so that the Vega could be the best it could be.  

Accompanying the see-through rendering of the all-new Vega 2300 Hatchback Coupe were descriptions of the features including:

• front disc brakes
• full coil-spring suspension
• unitized construction
• side-guard door beams
• zinc-phosphate rust proofing
• a die-cast aluminum 4-cylinder engine available in 90- and 110-hp versions

All models share the same floor plan, rocker panels, hood, front fenders lower door skins, grille, front bumper and engine compartment. In addition to the hatchback and sedan models, there was a Kammback wagon and Panel Express, which was essentially the wagon without the rear side glass, replaced by sheet metal.

Well, it seemed like a great new car from Chevrolet! Crisp and clean styling, a small size to directly compete with the influx of foreign cars, better fuel economy than the traditional large Chevrolets, and a high-tech new engine. That last one was the big problem with the Vega, overheating and resultant cylinder problems that it quickly caused. Add in rusting problems, the Vega could have been much more of a success had the factory had the time to better engineer the car.  

Rather than come up with an engine for the new car that was "traditional" in design, which GM knew plenty of how to do, they rather chose to take a high-tech route with the Vega powerplant and looking back, it wasn't the best way of introducing a completely new car with an "untested" powerplant. The part of the new engine that was untested was the unlined cylinder bores, "Siamesed" and freestanding. When the engines would overhead, it caused the liners to move around, the pistons would wear, and oil consumption quickly became a major problem.

 The 2300 Vega engine ran a 3.625-inch stroke and a 3.5-inch bore, and that combination provided for 140 cubic inches. The overhead camshaft design was driven by a cog belt. The radiator was too small and without the benefit of an overflow for the radiator, and a coolant recovery system, drivers would let the coolant level get low causing overheating, and massive amounts of warranty problems.  

The 2300 Vega engine ran a 3.625-inch stroke and a 3.5-inch bore, and that combination provided for 140 cubic inches. The overhead camshaft design was driven by a cog belt. The radiator was too small and without the benefit of an overflow for the radiator, and a coolant recovery system, drivers would let the coolant level get low causing overheating, and massive amounts of warranty problems.  

Nothing particularly fantastic about the interior, however, it provided decent legroom for tall occupants. All versions came with bucket seats, except for the Vega Panel, which came with a single driver's bench seat.  

This is the Vega Sedan, it was the least expensive model at $2090.00 and the lightest at 2146 pounds. It came with a trunk lid, not the lift-up hatch.  

A small station wagon was offered in the line, Body Code 77, and it was called the "Kammback Wagon”, and it was equipped with a rear door/window that opened for maximum accessibility. The rear seat is folded down for an increased cargo area.

The simple filling in of the rear side glass with sheet metal provided for a "Panel Wagon" version of the Vega, Body Code 05, and with no rear seat and a raised metal-enclosed storage compartment, it provided for 5-plus feet of flat cargo area. Interior colors were limited to black or green, and in either case, Sandlewood Beige was the seat color.

Reynolds Aluminum advertisement featured the Chevrolet aluminum big-block-powered McLaren Can-Am car and driver Denis Hume posing with the new Vega. With the lightweight aluminum block, there was 53.2-percent of the overall weight was on the front wheels, with 46.8-percent on the rear. "Because it's tough and scuff-and-wear resisting, the alloy eliminates the need for cylinder liners, so the engine is lighter and more economical."

The front styling had a "miniature Camaro" flavor to it, and that was a styling feature that helped give the Vega an appealing appearance, which proved to help sales at the dealerships. When they first came out, there were no negatives on the Vega, it was only after the first winter hit and the tops of the front fenders immediately started to rust out! The car remained the same for the 1972 model year, save for the addition of a standard glove box and minor exhaust and rear shock absorber changes.

When the Vega GT came out it featured the two-barrel engine rated at 110 horsepower @ 5000 rpm in 1971 and that featured a higher-lift camshaft. Stabilizer bars front and rear, wider wheels (13 x 6), white-lettered wider tires (A70-13), an upgraded steering wheel, upgraded interior trim, a tach and gauges, remote mirrors, blacked-out grille and available hood sport stripe.

Over 300 changes were done on the 1973, the most noticeable was that the front bumper was extended 3-inches forward to meet the new bumper requirements. Here's an advertisement for the "Sports Decor" appearance package, a way to add a little pizzazz to the base model.

Chevrolet took advantage of a 'photo op' for 1973 when the 1,000,000 Vega rolled down the assembly line, it was a GT version with Bright Orange Code 86 paint. 6500 of these Orange/White GTs, option code ZM5, were built, and for the first time, cloth upholstery in black or blue, was available.

A free "Hatchback Hutch" tent attachment was offered to Vega buyers from time to time and with side roll-up screen openings to keep the bugs out. With a 66-inch by 42-inch "sleeping area," it wasn't a big place; however, it was a fun gimmick to lure buyers in. Matching pajamas were not included.

With the newly required 5-mph bumpers came a different look for the 1974 Vega. A slanted nose was added, which was how the stylists chose to blend in the massive new aluminum front bumper. It seemed to work as sales continued strong, outselling the previous year.

Along with the new stronger F&R bumpers for '74 was the addition of larger rear taillights and higher-grade carpeting. On hatchback versions, the use of telescopic arms replaced the previous "grasshopper legs" that supported the hatch when lifted. GT models get available new lower side stripes.

A freshened full-width louver grille opening came with the 1976 model year Vegas, and the bigger news came under the hood. It was a revised engine, now known as the Dura-Built 140" and to try and convince potential buyers it was given a 5-year / 60,000-mile warranty. Changes to the powerplant included a redesigned cylinder head, hydraulic lifters, improved valve stem seals, increased cooling capacity because of improved coolant pathways inside the engine, and a better water pump. Also came that year was the addition of a rear "torque arm" that replaced the previous 4-link suspension arrangement. 1977 was the last year for the Vega, and it looked the same as the 1976 models.

Don Yenko was a Chevrolet dealer in Canonsburg, PA, and he was famous for his big-block Camaros, Novas and Chevelles, as he figured out a way to special order cars via factory paperwork by COPO, Central Office Production Order and by the time the Vega was released to the buying public, the dealership saw potential in the new little car and soon went to work in getting a "Stinger" Vega car put together, and compete with a Schwitzer turbocharger added to the engine. A prototype car was built, and it was impressive: 155 horsepower and low 15-second 1/4-mile times on the drag strip. Chevy built special engines (COPO 9C2AA2) that featured forged pistons designed to withstand the added boost from the use of a turbocharger. This attempt to produce a Yenko high-performance Vega Stinger came to a screeching halt when Environmental Protection Agency demanded that if the Vegas that was planned, it would require an extensive 50,000-mile durability test. The Turbo unit was then listed as an "accessory" and the customer would have to install it. In addition, Offenhauser intake manifolds, small Holley four-barrel carburetor and equal-length tubular headers were also available as customer-installed components. Spoilers, suspension upgrades (rear-axle traction bars) and graphics were added to the cars sold. Very rare today (only 11 are known to exist), both hatchbacks and wagons from 1971-72.

Adding a bit of "retro" styling to Vega wagons took place for the 1976 model year for Chevrolet dealers that wanted to add some attention to these little wagons. Reminiscent of the famous 1955-57 Chevrolet Nomad two-door wagons, which featured angled B-pillars to give a sleek appearance. The unique trim pieces added $168, wholesale, to the window sticker price.

Engine swapping was nothing new in the early 1970s when the Vega appeared, however, in this case, it was something that came quicker than most situations from the past. There were nearly brand-new, or in some cases from Chevrolet dealerships, actually brand-new, Vegas where the factory four-banger was discarded and in went a tried-and-true small-block Chevrolet engine.

Everything from 283-cid stockers to all-out LT-1 350s, and engine mounts and custom tubular headers were made from scratch. It was soon afterward that complete engine swap kits started to become available, and later down the road the Chevy Monza which was based on the Vega platform had an available V8, a 305 smogger, but it was a V8!

There were "V8 Vegas" and there were "Pro Street Vegas" and the main difference was, well they both had V8s, but the standard V8 Vega conversion saw the engine installed in a position that was not very far rearward in the engine compartment, as a result of the stock Vega firewall being positioned in a fashion that didn't allow for the V8 to fitted rearward, similar in the position of a Camaro or Nova as an example.

A Pro Street Vega typically had the firewall either completely removed and replaced with a flat panel, or it was modified to allow the fitment of the engine to be more rearward than a regular V8 Vega kit. Also, Pro Street Vegas had, as a general rule, a seriously narrowed and tubbed rear end and some large, meaty rubber on the back, with stretched wheel openings. Five lug wheels (front and rear) were part of the build of Pro Street V8 Vegas, and the actual V8 engines for the Pro Streeters were often big-block Chevrolet engines, and with 6-71 superchargers if it was a serious build!  

Today there's a rejuvenated interest in the modified Vegas and shown are a few examples. One build that doesn't seem to have ever happened (or at least publicized) would be an "Astre" Vega built up with a real Pontiac V8 engine, say a 400 or 455, with stock or Edelbrock aftermarket heads. That would be a serious head-turner vehicle to be certain, and a faithful engine package for "pure Pontiac" enthusiasts.

The Mr. Gasket Company out of Cleveland, OH, chose a V8 Vega as a company project car. Full roll cage tubbed rear end and "snorkel" Pro Stock hood scoop with lift-off fiberglass hood were typical modifications of the day.

Plenty of 24 karat gold-adorned this 1972 Pro Street Vega, fully equipped with a 426 Hemi engine complete with dual ignition and Hilborn injectors. It was a top show car during the 1979-80 auto show seasons.

With a smaller, more compact overall size than a Camaro or Mustang, the idea of setting up a Vega for autocross is an appealing prospect for anyone who desires something out of the ordinary. Pictured is David Carroll's 1973 example doing its thing on the track, it's powered by an LTG 2.0 turbo inline-four crate engine and rolls on 18-inch Jong blood wheels wrapped with sticky Falken rubber.

Baseball slugger Reggie Jackson built a 1974 Vega with a tunnel ram 454 big-block Chevrolet engine, done up as a serious Pro Streetcar complete with manual valve body Turbo 400 and spool-equipped Dana 60 rear end. It was sponsored by Accel Ignition and used for advertising promotions and car show exhibits. Years later it sold at the 2003 Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction for $12,100.00 and later resold the next year for $15,660.00, still a great deal considering the costs to re-create.

General Tire ran this ad in 1973 with the focus "The hot cars of '73 ride on the new General 60-series Grabbers" showing a new Vega equipped with an aftermarket air scoop located on the driver's side of the hood where the carburetor is located on the 2300cc 4-cylinder engine. The idea that a 4-cylinder Vega was a "hot car" truly reflects how, in general, the "high-performance" automotive world had sunk in this low-horsepower time period.

Motion Performance (Baldwin, NY) put together "package cars" that were Vega GTs fitted with Corvette LT-1 350-cid power with narrowed 12-bolt Camaro differential. Stiffer springs and Koni shocks added to the suspension capacity of the car to handle the extra weight of the V8 engine.

In this cover story in the August 1983 Car Craft the subject was engine swaps. "The Vega has become as popular as the classic 1955-57's in the engine swap category," the story proclaimed. In this case, the engine swap was to a Chevy V6 engine and the car, a 1974 Vega, started out as a $130.00 basket case. Pete Santini painted the car Corvette Yellow (RM Code 56)

Don Hardy from Floydada, TX, created a complete conversion kit to install the small block Chevrolet engine into the Vega, as well as chassis upgrades and complete replacement rear end assemblies to handle the extra power output. It all started early on after the Vega was introduced when Hardy traveled to Dick Harrell's Kansas City shop to install a 350 into a Vega, and soon after Hot Rod magazine ran a story on it, Hardy's mail order business took off like wildfire selling Vega V8 kits in large numbers (and for several years, well into the new millennium) and it helped a great deal of hot rodders in creating affordable home-built muscle machines.

Hooker Headers also got on the V8 Vega bandwagon with their creation of tubular headers and engine-transmission mounts in the mid-1970s. They took it one step further by releasing a "love it or hate it" complete fiberglass body kit that transformed a Vega into a wild wide body that looked like nothing else on the road.

It takes a lot of courage to go all-out on a Vega project, and that didn't stop El Cajon, CA's Bryon Burnham when he embarked on creating a wild "IMSA" (International Motor Sports Association) Wide-Body Vega (based on the original Hooker Headers body kit). Set up for autocrossing, the car has a potent LS3 engine with Tremec TKO 500 trans, and Art Morrison 3-link with 9-inch Ford differential. Add in 13-inch Brembos and some Ridetech coil-overs, and its truly road-race-worthy.

Mail-order giant Jeg's (Columbus, OH) built a 1971 Vega called "Jega" and it features an LSX 454 engine and Art Morrison "Max G" chassis. A completely re-fabricated firewall and floor, transmission tunnel was also part of the built, as this was a far-cry from the old days of V8 Vega conversion kits. Bright yellow PPG paint and an L88-style hood was added, plus split front bumperettes and a full width front air dam. The idea came to build up a Vega as a throwback to the early days, with modern components. `With the high prices that cars like Camaros and Firebirds are commanding, a Chevy Vega can make a great platform for building a lightweight street machine, and one that a small-block Chevrolet engine easily fits into. If you can find a Vega, there are still plenty of aftermarket parts available to make it a fast machine, and with a fun "retro" flavor.

Vegas in Drag Racing

Announced late in 1971, the National Hot Rod Association had made a radical change in their Pro Stock class, by allowing sub-compacts to compete with smaller engines, previously the cars that raced exclusively in the class were big-block Camaros, Hemi Barracuda and big-block Mavericks. As soon as that news hit Malvern, PA, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins parked his 427-cid Camaro and started work on a Pro Stock Vega.

Jenkins built the Vega with one hand holding the NHRA 1972 rulebook and noticed that it was legal to add a full roll cage and tubular frame. He was able to get a "body-in-white" from Chevrolet, which was a bare body shell without any paint or insulation, undercoating, it was "acid-dipped for further weight loss. The car was constructed to be a light as possible. The crown-jewell of the car was the engine, a 331-cid small block that was derived from a bored-out 327. It ran a set of 4.016-inch 350 pistons and the Grump ran aluminum connecting rods, a flat vintage tray from a Corvette. The cylinder heads were from Air Flow Research (58cc combustion chambers) and a General Kinetics roller cam was used. Induction consisted of an Edelbrock TR1X tunnel ram manifold with a pair of 660-cfm Holleys, mounted sideways on the intake and at a 5-degree angle (using wedge plates). Hooker 2-inch primary headers attach to the cylinder heads via port plates to insure optimum air flow.

The Vega Dominated the Class

With a set of 5.57:1 rear gears and shifted through a Super T-10 4-speed manual transmission, the little Vega ran 9.30s in the 1/4-mile, all legal as it was able to race at 6.75 pounds per cubic inch (as compared to the Hemi Dodge/Plymouth cars that had to run at 7.25 pounds) and with the weight advantage, the Vega dominated the class.

There were numerous other Vega Pro Stocks built, and many of them were welded-up at SRD (Speed Research and Development) and at that time, they purposely kept the rear of the Vega high-up in the air, as testing had shown that lowering the back of the car hurt the mph performance. The low front (with lip spoiler) helped cut through the air and no rear spoilers were used. It was started with Bill Jenkins Vega, and the many more to follow from other racers proved that the small subcompact body, and the ample power from highly modified Chevy V8 engines was more than enough to beat the higher- horsepower (but heavier) Hemi Mopars in Pro Stock.

The Vega in Funny Car Racing added a lot of Color and Excitement

As soon as the Vega was released, molds were taken off their bodies, the front section lengthened stretching the wheelbase to 115-120-inches and with the rear wheel openings enlarged, soon they were reproduced in fiberglass and appearing on Funny Cars and quickly became one of the most popular bodies of the era. The top chassis builder at the time was John Buttera, and Hemi power came from engine gurus such as Keith Black, Ed Pink and the Ramchargers. These Vegas ran in the mid-six-second zone at speeds over 220 miles per hour. The teams were just starting to learn about aerodynamics, and how important rear spoilers were to provide "down force" on the rear for tire traction. The other important feature of the Funny Cars in that early 1970s-time frame was the use of "zoomie" exhaust headers, where they were pointed upwards which allowed the thrust of the supercharged engines to push the car downward as it went down the track. A few attempts were made to run the Vega Panel body, however there was a terrible price to pay for the novelty of the looks of it, the long, flat roof caused "lift" on the rear as the car traveled down the racetrack, making it nearly impossible for the driver to keep control.

Aerodynamics was starting to take a more important role in the design of Funny Car bodies, and the Vega was at the forefront. The most radical design done in 1973 was on Don Schmacher's yellow Vega, built by John Buttera. "At the time Schmacher was  running Barracuda bodies," said Buttera in an interview. "And I told him the new Funny should have a Vega body as a starting point and we'll do everything we could to make it go fast." The further lowering of the front of the cars saw the introduction of "fender bubbles" that were positioned on top of the front fenders, which was a way of pushing the rules. "The tech officials squirmed a little but accepted it, since the idea of lowering the front of the car meant improved steering control, and this safety," Buttera added.  

There's no question that the use of the Chevy Vega in Funny Car racing added a lot of color and excitement to the sport, and it all happened during a time with Funny Cars actually had the general look of their production counterparts. The Vega was one body shape that certainly looked better as a race car than a regular street vehicle.

This car rocked the drag racing world and came as a total shock to all associated with NHRA Pro Stock: Bill Jenkins' lightweight 1972 Chevy Vega with 331-cid small block engine. This car revolutionized the Pro Stock class as it saw victory in six of the eight 1972 NHRA national events, earning Jenkins the season championship. Jenkins is credited with popularizing such technical advances as tube-frame construction, dry-sump oiling systems and MacPherson strut front suspensions.

This is the surviving 1974 Vega "Grumpy's Toy XI" Pro Stocker that ran 8.70s at 154 mph in the 1/4-mile. The car was restored by Glenn Sharp and is flawlessly accurate, right down to the correct Cragar "Super Trick" spun aluminum racing wheels. It sold for $577,500.00 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale event in 2007.

Winner of the 1972 US Nationals, Ray Allen's Vega Pro Stock car was a heavy hitter and he hailed from South Orange, NJ, representing the East Coast for the Chevy Pro Stock lovers, running 9.20s at 146+ mph during that season.

Gotta love this shot of Dave Stickler in his 1973 "Old Reliable" Pro Stock Vega doing a launch at the York, PA, drag strip with wheels up, and no helmet. Things were different back then! Stickler was a pioneer in early Super Stock drag racing and a close friend of Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins.

Bruce Larson was a nitro Funny Car racer in the 1960s however he felt that they were no longer safe, so he switched to running Pro Stock, shown here with his 1972 USA-1 Vega small block car.

There was even a Vega station wagon run in Pro Stock, the "Jungle Jim" car, driven by Dutch Irrgang, who was a former employee of Bill Jenkins and built the chassis for the car that mostly ran match races. Panel trucks running in the Pro Stock class was highly unusual to say the least.

Early in Warren Johnson's career saw him in this big block-powered Vega Pro Stock, a 1972 car built with a chassis by Minnesota Customs and cylinder head work by Larry Ofrea of Valley Head Service. A wheels-up launch was the way things were done back then. Front wheels are Motor Wheel "Flys" and rears were Motor Wheel "Spyders" and were lightweight race-only drag wheels, today extremely rare and desirable.

Paul Blevens campaigned this 1974 Vega Pro Stock car and was a heavy-hitter in the class, at one time considered the second-most feared Chevy Pro Stock car behind Bill Jenkins. SRD (Speed Research & Development) built the tube chassis for this car, and it was a test vehicle for Duffy's Performance. At this stage of the game, there was no need for any type of rear spoiler for these cars, however, that would change as the speeds increased and the need to "plant" the rear slicks on the track became necessary.

Revell models sponsored a number of popular Funny Cars in the early 1970s, including the colorful and well-detailed "Pisano Matsubara" Vega, owned by Joe Pisano and driven by Sush Matsubara. Whenever you saw a P&M Funny Car, you always saw it with "Venolia Pistons" logos, because Joe owned the company.

There was a wild drag racing promotion in 1972 where ITT Continental Baking (maker of Wonder Bread) that put a pair of Vega "Wonderwagon" panel wagon Funny Cars on the track, with drivers Kelly Brown and Glenn Way. The aerodynamics of the long flat roof of the wagon was terrible for rear downforce. Even with Ed Pink power, the fact that the rear slicks could never gain traction was a huge problem, and eventually, the Wonder Bread program was turned over to Don Schumacher (who got rid of the panel body after he crashed the car) and later ran a Vega coupe body but was extremely lowered and modified for less wind resistance.

A Speed Shop in St. Louis, MO, ran this Vega Funny car, Wise Speed Shop, and it was top-shelf all the way complete with Ed Pink Hemi power. John Buttera built the chassis and the Radici & Wise car was one of the most popular race cars of its kind in the midwest in the early 1970s. Later on the car became the "China Syndrome" car that Al Hofmann owned and drove.

Dallas, TX-based Racing Fuels, Inc. owned the 1971 Vega Funny Car driven by Mart Higginbotham and it ran a Ramchargers Hemi engine (even though a local Chevrolet dealership, Doran, was a sponsor. This was the beginning of the time where Funny Cars were starting to have Mopar Hemi power regardless of if the body was that of a GM or Ford body. The Drag-On Vega ran 6.60 second ETs at 215 mph.

The Phillips and Shores "Fireball Vega" was an East Coast nitro Funny Car that also ran a Chrysler 426 Hemi engine, which had become the standard of the class starting in the early 1970s.

"Jungle Pam" Hardy joined in the fun with a Rupp-manufactured Vega go-cart, a pint-sized version painted up like her then boyfriend, Jim Liberman's Vega Funny Car.

"Jungle Jim" Liberman was a super-showman with his Funny Cars, and the pictured Vega was one of his all-time most popular cars that he raced. The Vega body was a favorite with racers all through the 1970s and as this image shows, there were some racers that didn't believe in running wheelie bars, which added greatly to the excitement on the starting line of drag strips nationwide.

The Don Schumacher "Super Shoe" Vega Funny Car was front and center on the May 1974 issue of Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine in all its aerodynamic glory.

Many considered the "Black Magic" Vega Funny Car, originally built by Jim Beattie, owner of ATI Transmissions, as one of the best-looking cars in the class during the era, and the Kenny Youngblood-designed paint scheme was a big part of the success of the visual presentation of this race car.

This is the rarely seen Don Prudhomme 1974 Vega Funny Car, originally built by John Buttera and only raced at two events by the Snake (it was too heavy) before being sold to Tom "Showtime" Hoover. It was purchased back and fully restored back to its former glory as seen here in the Prudhomme race shop, Vista, CA.

Today there's still a loyal group that drag-raced Vegas, here's a 9.90-second index Super Gas car doing its thing! Except for a newer style hood scoop and the fitting of a lay-down rear spoiler, these cars look closer to what they did back in the early 1970s as NHRA Pro Stockers.

Cosworth Twin Cam Vega

There was a movement early on to create an exciting, high-performance version of the Vega and it was the brainchild of John Z. DeLorean. DeLorean loved fast cars and when he was at Pontiac, it was his personal car that prompted the packaging of the "GTO" which history shows was the industry's first muscle car. There was a sense of pride in and around the Chevrolet Division with regards to engineering, and DeLorean's interest in offering a "muscular" Vega was fueled largely because he really didn't like the standard Vega engine that GM corporate had forced on the division. He wanted to do something out-of-the ordinary with a special version of the Vega to, if nothing else, to show the front office what the Chevrolet engineering staff was capable of.

In his writings after he left General Motors he reflected on that standard Vega engine, here's his words: "It looked like it had been taken off a 1920 farm tractor and weighed more than the cast iron Chevy had proposed." Even though John DeLorean was the General Manager of the Chevrolet Division, he also was an engineer, and identified with his engineers at Chevrolet. "The Chevy engineers were ashamed of the engine."

The result of the efforts made was the Twin Cam Cosworth Vega. How it all started was, in 1969 Keith Duckworth of Cosworth Engineering Ltd., headquartered in Northhampton, England, had heard that General Motors was developing a new 4-cylinder aluminum engine. Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth (COStin-duckWORTH) had started the company in 1958 and had worked closely with building winning race engines with Ford Motor Company of England, so to work on a project with GM at that time was big news.

DeLorean gave the project his full blessings

Cosworth being a very successful international race car builder, was always looking for an advantage and was searching for a new engine block for their development in 2.0L road racing. A trip to Detroit in October of 1969 got the ball rolling, and John DeLorean gave the project his full blessings, green-lighting research, and development funding to Cosworth to develop a sophisticated cylinder head for competition use (for Cosworth). But it was also for high-performance production use (a special high-performance Chevrolet Vega). The idea was to incorporate some Formula One magic to the new cylinder head, to "grab some glory" for Chevrolet, to create something for the division to be proud of.

The Cosworth head features 4-valves per cylinder (1.38-inch intake, 1.25-inch exhaust), double-overhead camshafts and a pent-roof design of the combustion chambers, using centrally located spark plugs. All valves are inclined at 20-degrees from the vertical. The head was made of aluminum, the inlet ports were Siamesed, the oval exhaust ports were large, a stainless-steel tubular header was used, and the cams are belt-driven and fit in a separate casting positioned above the head, providing for a very short valve stem and relatively lightweight valve train.

Chevrolet expected to sell 5,000 Cosworth Vegas. It wasn't a simple matter of installing the Cosworth twin cam aluminum head on to the existing Vega engine block. Numerous changes and revisions were done to the block, including shrinking the output down from 140-cublic inches (2292cc) which had a 3.501-inch bore, and 3.625-inch stroke) down to 121.6-cubic inches (1990cc) via a short-stroke forged crankshaft with a 3.160-inch stroke. It was said that the reduction in stroke was to enhance the engine's revving ability. Included with the fitting of a Tuftrided forged crankshaft, shot-peened connecting rods (measuring 5.7-inches in length) and forged aluminum pistons, 8.5:1 compression ratio was used, along with forged, shot-peened, magnafluxed connecting rods. A Bendix electronic fuel injection supplied the fuel and all the Cosworth Vega engines were hand-built in a special climate-controlled "clean room' at the GM Tonawanda, NY, engine plant. 5,000 were all built at one time and stored waiting to be installed as the cars were built and sold.

Other modifications and additions to the car were a set of gold-finish aluminum die-cast 6-inch x 13 wheels (manufactured by GKN in England), BR70 radial tires, 7.5-inch rear axle upgrade 3.73:1 ratio), torque arm rear suspension, heavy-duty radiator, gold-hued engine-turned instrument panel, 8,000-rpm tachometer, and identification plate on dash with consecutive vehicle number. All 1975 cars were painted in black acrylic lacquer with gold stripes and lettering. Power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission and air-conditioning were not available options. Vega GT suspension was used, and with a stiffer rear sway bar. The steering ratio was quickened up from a stock Vega, and all Cosworth Vegas had four-speed manual transmissions in that first year, and for 1976, a five-speed manual was available as was a 4.11:1 rear gear ratio. As a result of the Cosworth engine being some 35-pounds lighter than the normal Vega, the front/rear bias was 53/47, as compared to the regular Vega having 58/42 weight distribution.

The factory gave up on the car

Without question, the Cosworth Vega bombed in the marketplace. It was too expensive, too slow, and came too late in the game. When the idea for a high-performance version of the Vega first came, it seemed like an exciting project however it never lived up to the hype. Original press reports dated May 1972 claimed it would have a weight of 2500 pounds and deliver 190 horsepower. Unfortunately, it fell short of those objectives, plus it became too pricy. April of 1973 saw John DeLorean leave General Motors, leaving the future of the car out of his hands. He was long-gone by the time his pet-project made production, and while some purchased the cars with hope that they would become valuable collectables (they never did) the Cosworth Twin Cam came up way short of sales projections.

Perhaps the saddest part of the whole Cosworth Vega story is that when they decided to discontinue the car, there still was a large number of the hand-build Cosworth engines staged in a company warehouse, and nearly all of them were scrapped as a tax write-off. Close to 1500 engines all destroyed. A total waste! Rather than donate them to automotive technical schools, high school auto shop classes, or simply give to a racing organization for possible use in a "spec" racing class that could have been developed, they were melted down for the recycling of the aluminum. The factory gave up on the car, the engine, and the memories. It was a true "Rube Goldberg machine" of the American automobile scene, as it, by the time it made production, represented a huge amount of time, energy, effort, and expense all for the addition of a meager 23 horsepower.

It seemed like a good idea at the time that John DeLorean first came up with it, however it took a long time to develop for production and by the time it finally was released, the 1975 "Cosworth Twin Cam" really didn't amount to that much of a big deal. It had been detuned so much that it only had 110 horsepower, which came at 5600 rpm. Thus, the performance wasn't all that impressive (17.6 seconds on the 1/4-mile) and it was no lightweight at 2,760 pounds. A novelty vehicle, something for Chevy dealers to talk about, but not a car that was very exciting, beyond its good handling.

"One Vega for The Price of Two" was the headline for the 1975 Cosworth Twin Cam Vega advertisement, and it stated that "if you're not willing to pay handsomely for a sophisticated, performance-type engine, a sleek exterior trim and special instrumentation, you're probably better off considering one of out more traditional Vegas." What they didn't mention was the actual price: $5916.00 and if you wanted an AM radio that was another $63.00. As example, that year a Corvette convertible that year was priced $935.00 more than the Cosworth Vega, and the Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am was $1,176.00 less. One definitely paid a premium price if they wanted this car. Only 2,061 1975 Cosworth Vegas found buyers.

This blueprint is for the Vega-block-derived Cosworth competition engine that displaced 121.7 cubic inches (1994cc) and developed 270 horsepower @ 8750 rpm on alcohol. It featured machined combustion chambers and induction came via a Lucas mechanical fuel injection system. It relied on the standard Vega bottom end, including the stock main bearing caps, but featured a dry-sump oiling system. The racing version (Project EA) was at the time the most powerful 2.0-litre normally aspirated engine in the world and won in its first outing.

The Cosworth Vega cylinder head features a valve train that is exceptionally simplified, and cam lobe action is transferred to valve stems in a straight line. The use of separate intake and exhaust camshafts greatly benefits gas flow, and this design effectively enhances spark charging and fuel scavenging in the combustion chambers. An 8.5:1 compression ratio was used in the production engines.

This cut-a-way shows the 4-valves per cylinder as they approach the combustion chambers, at an angle of 20-degrees. This was the first American production car application for such an exotic layout, 4-valves per cylinder, double-overhead camshaft design, since the Duesenberg straight-8 engines produced from 1928-1927.

It was a sophisticated vehicle, with a Bendix computer control unit, the first of its kind on a GM production vehicle, along with a magnetic-pulse transistorized ignition system. The 8 x 11-inch control box was located behind the dashboard. The electric fuel injection was controlled by a central micro-processor that received information of five major engine conditions: inlet manifold air temperature and pressure, coolant temperature, throttle-body position, and engine speed from multiple sensors.

1976 saw the new, revised full-width grille opening and a price increase, adding $150.00, to $6060.00. Just 1,446 were sold before Chevrolet pulled the plug on the Cosworth Vega in July. The 1976 versions could be ordered in other colors besides the black with gold: Antique White, Dark Blue Metallic, Firethorn Red, Mahogany Metallic, Buckskin, Medium Saddle Metallic and Medium Orange.