You don't see too many of these around anymore http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2450260573 If I had the space I would have bought this for myself :cool:

I am partial to the earlier chrome bumpered little S/W type hatch Vegas!! And really liked the '75 2+2 Monza V-8 I got the wife..

But I have read that the little buggers are kinda like driving a Gasser if you really put in a lot of power b/c they are so small!!

pdq67

my cousin had a 74 v8, and i bought a 72 panel, an actual two seater wagon, had all the parts for v8 conversion, but got so burned out on working on my cousins i sold mine without finishing it. working on those things is a joke, any kind of power starts ripping suspension pieces from underneath, and anyone whos put on the 3 or 4 piece headers that snake all over, graemlins/angry.gif well you know what i'm talking about, its just no fun.
they do make a cool little hotrod when done right though graemlins/thumbsup.gif

You know I just saw a really mint Pinto in a parking lot? An orange one. I sure don't see many of those around either. Especially nice ones like this one was.

Forgot about the panel wagon, but yes! And the hatches are easier to work on b/c the hatch goes up out of the way so for when you tube the back half vs the panel body top staying in the way..

pdq67

Originally posted by ruquikr:
You know I just saw a really mint Pinto in a parking lot? An orange one. I sure don't see many of those around either. Especially nice ones like this one was. Wasn't that the Ford model that would blow up if rear ended, even at low speed impact. (due to the location of the gas tank and all)? :eek:

no that was any year mustang with a through the trunk floor gas tank. They make a kit now that bolts a sheet of metal to the back side of your back seat so flaming gas wont spray all over the passengers on impact.

I had a powder blue 76 Vega "Turkeyback" 2 door sedan that I used as a winter car while the Camaro was in storage. It was slightly different bodystyle from the more common hatchback as it had a trunk lid instead of a hatch and it used the doors from a wagon.

Here is how I know about the doors...

So, I am driving up to the 7-11 store on Saturday to pick up a 6-pack and when I go to get out of the car, the door falls completely off of the car and on to the ground!!! :mad:
The hinge area on the inside of the door was totaly rusted out under a thick layer of bondo! Picture the check-out girl in the store laughing hystericaly as I walk in the door. I am realy imbarassed but what can I do? redface.gif So I come out with my beverages and throw the bag in the back seat. I then pick up the door off of the ground and basicaly slam it back on the car in approximately the right location and, lucky for me, the latch held it in place graemlins/thumbsup.gif Now I just casualy walk around to the passenger side and climb over the shifter and away I go.

I find the only available 76 Vega door in town on Saturday and plan on installing it on Sunday. It is a very easy install as there is nothing to align. The hinges are welded from the factory and all you do to hang the door is whack out the old pin with a hammer and replace the same way. Super easy! :D Anyway, The new door is red while the car is blue so it REALY catches your eye if you know what I mean. :eek: I am thrilled at how easy it was to install the new door and I congratulate myself on a job well done :cool: ....

But my imbarassment was not over...Then I shut the door and see the 2"-3" gap above the door frame. :eek: The roof was taller on the wagon and the Turkeyback and so the original doors were 2"-3" taller than the doors on a more common hatchback (where the donor door had come from). It is now Sunday and I have to go to work in the morning! Sure enough, it is a torrential downpour on my way to work in my bright blue Vega with the red door that does not even get close to the roofline and I am driving to work in a total down pour. The fun just keeps on coming!

Sorry for the long post but the Vega post brought back some memories that were probably better left forgotten. :rolleyes:

-Mark.

I have two Vega's a 73 Hatchback and a 72 V-8 station wagon. I like them because you just don't see them around . In my area at one time the Pick a Parts put up a sign that said they will no longer take Pinto's and Vega's (years ago) but now as with Camaro's the price of good clean fenders, doors is getting higher and higher. My 73 I drove the pi** out of it (I put in a steel sleeved motor) and it never let me down. It's funny because people either love them or hate them and have a nightmare story about how they bought one brand new then it blew up.They sell a bushing kit to put bigger GM disc brakes on them and Sanderson sell a real nice shorty header to do away with the Hooker slip tubes (I just ordered the Sanderson Headers for the 72) which were famous for leaking. If your thinking about building a V-8 Vega keep a eye on the local papers because there's always a guy that started one and gave up on it and wants to sell it real cheap. Buy it and stash it for a later project because the market is drying up for them. You have to remember that these cars (Vegas and Pintos) were thrown away like trash. When was the last time you saw a V-8 Pinto street car ?

Garfield - yep thats the one. Famously poor design where you see this flimsy little bumper then the gas tank right behind it. Ford was in court a lot over the Pinto.
Interesting aside: my best friend had a Boss 302 Pinto for a while. The guy who built it originally had a Boss Mustang that was wrapped around a pole. He transferred the nodular 9", the Toploader and the Boss into the Pinto. The rear was a bit too wide even w' backspaced wheels, but man!!!!! That thing was a weapon. The sound of that thing was like nothing else.

Stinger, that was a funny story.LOL :D
The only thing missing was butthead. LOL Or Beavis. LOL

I just flashed on this dude I saw getting on I-5 in Eugene Or. a few years back. Not sure what kinds car it was because it was missing the doors & all the glass & bumpers & lights & grill etc.
But it was a torential downpour, raining like hell. And this guy's got full raingear with goggles & hat, crouched down merging onto the freeway! LOL :D :eek:

They'll let you drive anything in Or. though. LOL tongue.gif

The 1975 car that I would want to find is a california monza coupe (not hatchback)! I had one in college (bought it for $250), it came stock with a 350! I loved that car, it was a great sleeper hotrod. I put a big ol RV cam, aftermarket heads, intake, headers and a holley 650. Man that thing idled like crap, all loping and coughing the whole car shaking! graemlins/thumbsup.gif

But when you stomped the gas it really went!

Back in the day, my best friend had a Monza Corvair convertible...It was a hot sunny day and we decided to go through the car wash. When the guy at the start says "Aren't you gonna put the top up?" My buddy Rick and I look at each other and laugh as we pull the rotted and rusty vert frame up and put it in place! :eek: We went through the carwash like that and by the end we were soaked, but very clean :D The guy from the start ran to the end and chewed us out stating that the frame could have wrecked his spin brushes etc. It was a chick magnet! NOT.LOL But it sure was a fun thrasher-mobile ;)


Dan B graemlins/clonk.gif

a good friend of mine made a tub chassie
framed one to put his 540 in
it ran a 8.83 in the 1/4 at 137+ mph
it also looks like a 3/4 scale 701/2
camaro graemlins/thumbsup.gif graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I have always loved the 71-73 Vegas and the 75-77 Monzas. I have owned two of each. The main problem with the cars is that they are not built very well. I syill like the way they look but, unless you really build them right they fall apart (very flimsy "frame", lots of spot welds, the whole car is basically sheet metal). If I found a tube chassis roller I would be interested but, other than that I don't know if I would play with one again.

there looks to be a black monza about 2 min from my house just sitting there. its been there for as long as i could remember, and once i get the chevelle going and have a garage, im going to pay the old dude a visit and see if he is intersted in getting rid of it.

also there is a 1st gen i think camaro, could be trans am as well. sitting on top of the hill from the camaro w/ a tarp type deal on it, w/ no motor in it,i wouldnt mind that either.


aaron

That's very true Royce! The reason that I finally sold my monza was because the front frame had been cracked, broken and welded too many times. I loved that car, but the motor was tearing it apart....not too mention me as a late teens, early 20's driver beating on it! :D

I named that car Molly after an old girlfriend....Oh the memories....

Back in the day when I was 18 (20 years ago) I bought a Balk Halfed Pro Street Car (77 Pontiac Astre / Same as Vega)that was built by George Brazier Racing of Winnipeg. It was fully tubbed with a 12 bolt, strange axles, 488 gears and the power came from an ex-dragster motor (destroked 327) and ran a 2 Speed Glide with a 3500 Stall.

When you nailed that thing from the line the wheels would carry for about 10-15 feet and you were pinned to the seat. We used to cruise Portage Avenue (Longest Avenue in Canada with 4 lanes each) and we would drag race against any car that came along. Back then there were dozens of small block vega's including a blown small block car that were regulars every sunday night.

Word has it that now days people line the strip (Portage Avenue in Winnipeg) every sunday night now to watch all the hot rods when they come out for a cruise. I was told last summer that the Fast and the Furious 3 is set to be shot there because of all the high perf cars that still rain terror there even to this day. Every Sunday night, the Winipeg Police are in full force because there is so many cars out and the drags are dangerous on a street with so much cross traffic.

Thanks for making me remember those days. They were fun!

Some of you Guys should have kept the "I won't smoke any more Crack in 2004" resoultion. Probably a world record for breakin one. :D

A Vega!!??

When they were still around you could get a running, driveable used Vega for $100.

I had a '74 GT Hatchback that I put a steel sleeved motor in and drove it for over 100,000 miles. It gave great service. It eventually fell apart, though. They always seemed to rust out around the windshield. The battery box always rusted out as well - I think it's because they were shipped nose down on the rail cars and the batteries leaked.

I know two people who still have Cosworth Vegas. (Remember those?) I doubt they'll ever be a highly sought collector car, but they are interesting.

One of two brand new vehicles I ever bought was a black '79 Monza Town Coupe. (Vega with diff sheetmetal) I ordered it from the factory with a 305V8, 4 speed, F41 susp, factory gauges. It was fun to sneak up on some unsuspecting T/A Firebirds and give them a good run. Due to the Calif. smog laws, the Monza was available there with a 350.