U.S. Automotive History and the Chevy Vega

I was one of the drivers in the 1975 60,000 miles in 60 day Vega endurance test. 3 shifts of drivers drove from Vegas to Beatty NV, into Death Valley, exited south of Furnace Creek and back again to Vegas, about 7.5 hours including a couple short breaks during the test...during the summer! The cars never cooled down for the 60 days. We were testing the endurance of the aluminum block engine. Even made a TV commercial during the test. Fun job!

"Check the gas, fill the oil" is what my Dad used to say about his Vega...

My mom won a 1974 Vega in a little league baseball raffle. This gave her the freedom to get away from my father and complete her education.

I had a 72 Vega GT, 4 speed manual transmission that I loved. At 110k miles I replaced the short block with a factory steel sleaved short block. When I sold it, it had 230k miles and was still running strong.

My father owned a 1976 Chevy Vega. The oil pan hung down below the skid plates. He put three oil pans in that car because the suspension was so terrible he kept bottoming it out on relatively well paved city streets.

In the beginning, 96% of the Vegas produced were still on the road, the rest made it home.

I had a 76 Cosworth Vega. Really liked that car. But I knew going in the tendency to rust (think happy thoughts, a Vega will rust if you cry in it). I washed it weekly, even in winter (living in Atlanta helped). I took care it, and it never let me down. Sold it before I moved to Texas in 1978.

We bought one of the '76 models at a discount. It was actually a pretty good car for commuting. I took it over 100K miles with very few mechanical problems.

The Vega was the car where you said "Fillerup with oil and check the gas."

as a poor college student, it got me where i needed to go, saved me more money for uni living - cheers, my lil red vega)

Still have my 72 Vega, gave $100 for it in 1992. Now has a 377 cid small block, th 350 trans, narrowed 9" with 4.86 gears. Body has all original sheet metal, no rust ever, only the windshield was replaced. 99 times out of a hundred, when I go to a car show or cruise night, I've got the only Vega there. Still see them on the drag strip a lot, very light car.

In 1972 I bought a Vega. I changed the oil every 3,000 miles and when I got rid of it in 1975 because I got married and the wife wanted more room. I had NO problems or complaints. When I traded it in, I had 150,000 miles on it and burned 1/2 quart of oil between oil changes. I wish I could find such a vehicle today. The same year, my dad bought a 1972 Caprice and we got 5 miles from the dealer when the transmission fell out on the road. Give me a Vega any day!

The Vega had the reputation of being the first car to rust on the showroom floor.

I had a Vega, it taught me a lot about Bondo.

Well done! My first new car was a 1973 Chevy Vega. Within 5,000 miles, the engine burned a quart of oil per tank of gas. It (the entire engine) was replaced under warranty. I sold the car with only 30,000 miles on it. The person who purchased it worked at the same plant that I did and I occasionally saw the car coming in the main gate. Within a few years, the paint had worn off of the roof and there was rust all around the rear window. I would be very surprised it there were very many of these cars still in working order.

I bought a well used '75 in '84 when I was in the Navy at NAS Miramar. We had a great auto hobby shop on base, and it lived there for a bit while I went through the engine, and shot a coat of Pennzoil yellow lacquer on it. Out of the Navy, back in IL/IA, took me back and forth to NAS Glenview for reserve duty. Loved that car!

In 1974 I was looking for a new car. I looked at the Chevy Vega because the price was $1,999. BUT(!), 2 speed wipers were optional, windows that rolled down were optional, high beams were optional, a cigarette lighter was optional, a glove box (iirc) was optional, a basic AM radio was optional. I passed on it then. 4 years later I was working in Waukegan, Illinois and needed a car while I was there. I was given a Checy Vega for free. It had 38K miles and had never been in an accident. The great thing about the Vega was that I could not lock my keys in the car. The ENTIRE outside skin of the doors, fenders and quarter-panels were rusted completely...GONE! To get into the car, you merely had to grab the rod and pull to gain access. I finally had to let it go when the floor pan was so rusted that the seat came loose and threatened to drop me onto the tollway. Also, the tires were flinging slush and road salt all over me through the non-existent fender well and my judge didn't like me covered in road %#&! while testifying in court every day. Not a good look!

It was my first car, I loved it. Two months later, I wasn't quite as happy about the blown head gasket or the transmission that was slipping. Yes, I raised such hell at the dealership that they gave a choice of a replacement vehicle... My new Plymouth Valiant Duster was awesome...

As a front suspension mechanic in the 70s, I became very familiar with the Vega, it had an issue with the chassis spreading at the point where the lower swing arm was adjusted, it would spread so much you couldn't adjust out the negative camber, thus causing tires to wear out faster than they should. There were a few aftermarket kits developed to try and resolve this but for the most part it only slowed the eventual failure. Moog even had special offset bushing to help reduce the problem. What is curious to me is the lack of coverage about this issue. Maybe eclipsed by all the others, but as a suspension mechanic it was often I had to tell the Vega owner the bad news.

I bought a 76 Vega with a 5 speed transmission and a slightly hopped up engine, had some Cosworth parts on it. The 5 speed needed rebuilding after about 10K miles but after that I put over 100K on the car and sold it for $600. It turned out to be a great car!