NGC - Chevy Vega

[Alfetta]

So,
in another thread "Frulk" made a post in gest about a Chevy Vega as the last few comments were discussing car oil usage.

I know that the Vega has a bad reputation for burning oil as this was GM's first volume engine that used an aluminum block with plated cylinders. The engine was a copy of the "Iron Duke" that actually was a good, reliable power plant. For the Vega the Iron block was swapped for the alloy unit with poor plating, and thus the beginning of the Vega's demise.

If you are old enough to recall the 70's you may remember that the big 3 US manufactures lobbied the government to place tariffs on import cars to allow them time to develop their offerings to the market as they were only producing large vehicles like the Newport Imperial, LTD and Caprice.

The result was GM's Vega, Ford's Pinto, and Chrysler's complete lack of effort and importing re-branded Mitsubishi's. (Omni and Horizon)

Of the two real attempts, i have to say the Vega was spot on with the exception of the alloy block that they refused to replace with the proven Iron unit. The Vega dimensions weight and general performance was inline with the imports. the utilization of space was well done.

Ford's Pinto on the other hand was a piss poor solution, It was nothing more than a big car cut down in length and width making the internal space cramped, and the car too heavy for a little 4 cylinder to move around reasonably.

It is unfortunate the GM stuck to the bad Block in the Vega, and it is unfortunate that Ford fitted 2 foot thick doors to a small car, but worst yet is Chrysler as they didn't even try..

not that any of this matters today, just though i would share...
 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I had a '73 Vega, purchased from a friend's father for only $50. only 50k miles on it. Needed rear tires to pass inspection. Generally nice condition except for the very common cowl rust which resulted in water leaking onto my feet.

At first it "only" used a quart every 500 miles, but quickly increased to "fill it up with oil and check the gas". 

It overheated one day and that was all she wrote. Thought about a Buick 215 swap, but lacking the $$, just sold it (at a profit!) and moved on. My brother did have the $$ and built his Vega with a 327 at first, then a 396 later (with subframe, roll cage, tubs, and narrowed rear end).

The "Iron Duke" wasn't built until '77 and was an overhead-valve design and not overhead-cam like the Vega engine. IIRC, the Vega cylinders weren't plated, the block was cast in a high-silicon alloy. It would have been better if they'd done iron liners (the Cosworth had them), or better yet - made the block in cast-iron and the head in aluminum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Duke_engine

The Omni and Horizon weren't rebadged Mitsubishis - they were built in the US, based on the Chrysler Horizon developed in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Omni They didn't go on sale until the '78 model year and until '81 used Volkswagen Rabbit engines. Chrysler did import the Hillman Avenger, renamed the Plymouth Cricket and the Mitsubishi built Dodge Colt in the early '70s.

The Pacer was AMC's small car. 

[bronzestar1]

A Cosworth Vega would've been cool to have...

[SIR REAL ED]

When I co-oped at the GM engine plant in Tonawanda NY back in 1983, the made the 454 big block, an in-line four cylinder, ant two V6's,  a 60 degree V and and a 90 degree V.

The cylinders in the 454 were honed old school, while a couple of the other engines had "polished" cylinder bores.  They had a mirror finish that anyone would be proud to have on their motorcycle engine cases or Aluminum gas tanks!

I asked an engineer who had worked there for over 30 years and he explained to me that the polished cylinders were considered to be "broken in" from the start.  As someone who was not involved in the "inner design circles" in Detroit there were more than a few new design changes that he questioned were improvements.

Perhaps this was due to the introduction of synthetic oils.

It was dumbfounding to see so many engines being produced.  IIRC, it was between 120 and 250 per hour depending upon which line you were looking at.

IIRC, almost all the 454's were going into boats at that time.

[guzzisteve]

Ford's smallest car was the Mustang & Chevy's was the Camaro just to get it correct. I remember plenty of Vegas at the drag strip. My brother bought a Pinto and went on a east coast trip, when they got to DC from W.Chicago the front wheels disconnected and were facing the outside on each. Only issue he had. His Datsun pick up literally rusted in half. Got in one day and it sunk to the driveway. Old folks reminiscing,  who would have thought . STILL better than utube.

[bronzestar1]

Took this pic at a car show a couple of years ago...

[bmc5733946]

From memory, Omni/Horizon was a faithful copy of the VW Rabbit including the cylinder head with a substantial VW cast in. Engine parts were mainly interchangeable and also some suspension parts. The VW venture brought the 2.5L overhead cam engineered in house but still a VW copy. The Mitsubishi clones were Dodge Colts and I forget the Plymouth version, maybe it was Rampage.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Omni

Brian

[Moparnut72]

My new wife had a Horizon which she brought with her. I spent too many hours under the hood of that thing. The engine was a mishmash of VW and Mopar stuff. It was an awful car, one of the early ones. The later ones were mainly Mopar with the excellent 2.2 engine. If I remember correctly the 2.2 wasn't ready when Chrysler rushed the Omni/Horizon to market to compete with Ford and GM. They should have waited and done it right. Remember the Omni GLH, Goes Like Hell, it gave 5.0 Mustangs fits.
kk

[Clifton]

I recall my father coming home and telling me he'd ordered a new Vega for our shop as a company car, which meant he'd be driving it, therefore I'd occasionally get to. This was about 1970 or 71 when I was 17. Considering myself "a car guy" back then I was excited and asked what model and how he optioned it out?

He said "station wagon with radio and AC".
I said "nice, what else will be on it"?

"That's it, that's all we need for a company car."
"AM FM" radio?

"No, just AM"
"Awe man no FM? 4-speed, right"?

"No it comes with a 3-speed manual." (The 4 speed transmission was a $49 option). There was also a 2-speed automatic available.

So it was a very basic car but I loved driving it. The little wagon was handy for delivering things and economical for just driving around giving estimates.

[OCRider]

My first car (around 1978) was a 1975 Chevy Vega.  I had heard about all the problems with cracked blocks, burning oil, premature rusting, etc. but I really didn't experience any of those issues.  It had an automatic transmission and AM/FM radio.  What I remember most about it is that the car was so light it never seemed to get stuck in the snow.  I lived in Indiana at the time and the winters there in the late 70's, early 80's could be pretty harsh.  There were times where I drove around other vehicles stuck in the snow so I was happy it always got me to where I was going. 

Around 1986 I bought a yellow 6 cylinder Ford Pinto (can't remember the year anymore).  The engine smoked pretty bad when I stepped on the gas, so my friends nicknamed it "The Yellow Flash" as a joke.  One morning at the apartment complex where I lived, I walked outside to see all the cars in my parking row on cinder blocks with the tires stolen.  The only car ignored by the thieves was "The Yellow Flash", because it had 4 ply (non-radial) tires.  I guess it paid to drive around in a junker at the time.   

[LowRyter]

So,
in another thread "Frulk" made a post in gest about a Chevy Vega as the last few comments were discussing car oil usage.

I know that the Vega has a bad reputation for burning oil as this was GM's first volume engine that used an aluminum block with plated cylinders. The engine was a copy of the "Iron Duke" that actually was a good, reliable power plant. For the Vega the Iron block was swapped for the alloy unit with poor plating, and thus the beginning of the Vega's demise.

If you are old enough to recall the 70's you may remember that the big 3 US manufactures lobbied the government to place tariffs on import cars to allow them time to develop their offerings to the market as they were only producing large vehicles like the Newport Imperial, LTD and Caprice.

The result was GM's Vega, Ford's Pinto, and Chrysler's complete lack of effort and importing re-branded Mitsubishi's. (Omni and Horizon)

Of the two real attempts, i have to say the Vega was spot on with the exception of the alloy block that they refused to replace with the proven Iron unit. The Vega dimensions weight and general performance was inline with the imports. the utilization of space was well done.

Ford's Pinto on the other hand was a piss poor solution, It was nothing more than a big car cut down in length and width making the internal space cramped, and the car too heavy for a little 4 cylinder to move around reasonably.

It is unfortunate the GM stuck to the bad Block in the Vega, and it is unfortunate that Ford fitted 2 foot thick doors to a small car, but worst yet is Chrysler as they didn't even try..

not that any of this matters today, just though i would share...

I thought  the Vega was an OHC engine, not like the pushrod Iron Duke.  Chevy should've used steel wall cylinder liners although Mercedes was able to make the silicone liners work.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I thought  the Vega was an OHC engine, not like the pushrod Iron Duke.  Chevy should've used steel wall cylinder liners although Mercedes was able to make the silicone liners work.

As i wrote above...

The "Iron Duke" wasn't built until '77 and was an overhead-valve design and not overhead-cam like the Vega engine. IIRC, the Vega cylinders weren't plated, the block was cast in a high-silicon alloy. It would have been better if they'd done iron liners (the Cosworth had them), or better yet - made the block in cast-iron and the head in aluminum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Duke_engine

[Clifton]

... Chevy should've used steel wall cylinder liners although Mercedes was able to make the silicone liners work.

My understanding is Reynolds developed a new hardening process for aluminum cylinders which GM adopted for the Vega engine. Unfortunately the hardening didn't hold up well and after wearing through, the soft aluminum bore wore rapidly. After some years GM changed back to pressing iron liners in the aluminum block for Vega engines to remedy the premature wear and oil consumption, but by that time the Vega's reputation was tarnished.

Meanwhile in Germany companies had developed hardened coatings such as Nikasil which was applied directly to aluminum bores, that worked.

[kballowe]

I had a 1973 Chevy Vega.  It certainly was a departure from the large cars of that era.  And yes, it was an oil burner.  I gave it away at the 70,000 mile mark and headed overseas for a few years.

In 1988 I was commuting 64 miles (one way) to work, and bought a 1988 Plymouth Horizon 2.2L 4-banger.  The cheapest one on the lot.  No AC, no radio.  Five-speed stick and crank windows,  No power steering.  175,000 miles later, I gave that one to a relative. I still miss that car.