The Chevy Vega

It's been a while since I did a "sucking in the 70s post".

I've been meaning to post about our Chevy Vega for a while, but just haven't gotten around to it.

I learned to drive in a Chevy Vega and it was my first car.  I shared with my brother Rod who is a year older than me.

Rod says it was a 1974 hatchback. My dad says either 1974 or 1975.  My guess is 1974.  Rod knew that car better than anyone else in our house.

It was bright red Orange.  My dad says he got a great deal on it because nobody wanted it in that color.

Ours was manual transmission.  Maybe they all were.  Who knows?

That car was a major lemon.  Not just our car.  Every Chevy Vega.

It was the worst car ever made according to many people who know a lot more about cars than me.

It had an alluminum engine.  It consumed a ton of oil.  And it made noises.

The interior fell apart. The ride was terrible.

But even with all of that abuse I just laid on the Chevy Vega, I have a soft spot in my heart for that car.

I failed my driver's test in that car.  My dad thought we should pass the drivers test in a stick shift.  So that's what I tried to do.  But I was so nervous doing the parallel parking test, that I kept stalling out on the clutch.  Eventually I passed the drivers test in my parents automatic station wagon.

Before I had a license, my brother used to drive the car.

I really wanted to drive it too.

One day, when my parents were out, I decided to take the Vega for a spin. So I got the keys, went into the driveway, turned on the car, and pulled out of the driveway.

There was a pretty steep hill on the way out of the neighborhood we lived in.

As I was driving down that hill, I passed my parents heading up the hill.

The look I got from both of them is still planted front and center in my brain.

Lot's of good memories from that 1974 Chevy Vega.

The worst car ever made.

Comments

[jackson]

The Vega - a part of growing up Wilson. You certainly couldn't hide out driving that thing - it was known.

I first heard Floyd in that car - among other firsts we shan't go into....

[Rod]

This was not the worst car ever made, maybe it burned a lot of oil, but with the abuse that car got, it owed us nothing. It died in 1985, the engine seized, I never changed the oil, just added more, so the oil filter was probably clogged shut. I loved this car.

[fred]

i am sure there is a lot of music i first heard in the Vega but the two songs that come to mind are Dire Straits Sultan of Swing and Talking Heads Take Me To The River.

as i said, lots of good memories in that car!

[walterw]

Ahh! First girl friend has this car. Bright Yellow. Girl friend looked just like Carly Simon. The memories..
I swear I could hear the thing rusting while it sat in the drive way.

[Ben Barren]

that is plain funny. what was the punishment ? (a life in venture capital ?) bb

[MacSmiley]

I heard that one year, the Vega was the MototTrend Car of the Year. Don't know which. Never looked it up.

My ex-hus and I owned a 1983 Renault Alliance, which also "had problems" despite being the 1983 MotorTrend Car of the Year. Basically it fell apart piece by piece after it hit 50,000 miles.

When I complained to a friend that being a MT CotY meant we shouldn't have been having such problems with our "baby", he told me the Vega was a MT CotY, too, so that meant diddly.

Funny, I have a soft spot in my heart for that bucket, too.

Food for web surfing.

[JayR]

I had the '74 Vega, in green. It was my college car, and I bought it with my own money for $1100. I can't believe my parents let me go through with buying it. A friend of mine used to call it the perfect pizza-delivery car. Had a giant rust hole right above the tailpipe and every once in a while you'd get a cloud of dark smoke coming through the back of the car. I had to buy motor oil by the case - two quarts per tankful. My musical memory from that car was "Cars" by Gary Numan, because it was on the radio (AM only) one day and my friends and I banged on the dashboard in time to the percussion, and knocked the radio out, never to be heard from again.

I'm impressed that yours lasted until 1985 - mine died in 1982, with just over 40,000 miles on it. I don't know if it was the worst car ever made, but it had to be in the top three along with the Pinto and the Ford Maverick. It was a good education, though, since I got to experience pretty much any problem a car could have.

[Alan]

Yes, the Vega was the MT COTY.

All MT COTY Winners

[Tony Alva]

Ah the Vega, without having read this post I reference the Wilson mobile in a post over at IDM. Great car. Seen parked in front of South Gate Tavern many nights.

[steve]

I had a 1976 Vega Rusted out silver, with 2 junk yard blue finders. I bought it for $3oo.oo in 1980 ,best money ever spent. It used very little oil or maybe I just pit very little in it. We have very little snow in TN. where I live. When we did have snow it was a horse it would go when others would not. I gave the car to my dad in 1983. He spray-painted it black and applyed white pin stripes. He drove it to work 30 miles one way for over 2 years. a great looking car from a distance ,but Dad did not care. He eventally sold it for $350.00 in 1985 or 86.
Me and my dad would laugh about that car as we got older. he passed away in 1999 and I still think about him with that spray paint shaking the can an steping back to look at it. The vega and my dad good Memories.

[steve]

I had a 1976 Vega Rusted out silver, with 2 junk yard blue finders. I bought it for $3oo.oo in 1980 ,best money ever spent. It used very little oil or maybe I just pit very little in it. We have very little snow in TN. where I live. When we did have snow it was a horse it would go when others would not. I gave the car to my dad in 1983. He spray-painted it black and applyed white pin stripes. He drove it to work 30 miles one way for over 2 years. a great looking car from a distance ,but Dad did not care. He eventally sold it for $350.00 in 1985 or 86.
Me and my dad would laugh about that car as we got older. he passed away in 1999 and I still think about him with that spray paint shaking the can an steping back to look at it. The vega and my dad good Memories.

[Scott]

I just bought my First car.. As you well know it was a Vega. A 1972 Green Vega. It got rust through out the car and the tranny sounds like it is going to break apart everytime i drive it. i have a question, does anyone know or know someone that can tell me where i can buy things to make this car work better. My dad and I are sometime during the winter or next summer putting in a small block 350 out of my dads 56 Nomad.

[Paula]

I owned a bright orange vega in the late 70's/early 80's. It had some problems too. The thing that interest me about the car was the door handles said "one millionth". Anybody ever heard of this? I don't know what happened to the car. But I've always wondered if it was worth anything since it was one millionth to be produced, or I guess that is what it meant.

[Dave]

I just happened onto this thread because a co-worker and I were discussing some of our old cars and I mentioned that I had owned a 1976 Vega. During our conversation, I also mentioned that a friend and I once stumbled onto an old orange Vega with the "one millionth" decal on the door handles. The car was found during the mid 80s(?) on a used car lot in Frederickburg Va. It was in rough shape from what I remember. I can only guess that this was the very same car. Who knows where it ended up ?

[Tom Webb]

There were 6100 of these Limited Edition Vegas "One Millionth" made. Only one per Chevy dealer. The option code was ZM5.

[Tom Webb]

These were Vega GTs.

[Ed]

My first car was a 74 Vega, white. My dad and I went shopping for a car, I wanted a Dodge 440 but ended up with the Vega. I took it shop class in High school ( Mission San Jose - Fremont CA ) and found out it had a crosworth in it - had to tell my Dad. I put centerlines on it, the original rims had to go - M50's on the rear and jacked it up with airshocks. All was good until my dad found out that I was grudge racing at Fremnot raceway - the original winter nationals ( Drags ) in the 70's. Stero systems were new but when I put my bookshelf spearkers in the back it was thumping. Enough room if you put the back seat down to enjoy a drive in with the girl friend or a drive up to mission peak. Love to find the same year car - I would be proud to drive it - had a blast with that car. It all ended when my english teachers kid t-boned me in front of my house, damn unibody :)

[clem]

had a '75 vega wagon bought it brand new,$3200 engine was rebuilt under warranty at 50,000 miles,
at the end i swear it used more oil than gas, sold it for 100 bucks, it still went another year or two until it was hit by an 18 wheeler "The End of Poor Vega"..i loved the little car

[Travis]

I own 2 Vegas a 76,and a 72 both GT Hatchbacks I have own the 76 GT since I was 5 years old my first car I rebuild it I put a 2.8 v6 motor in it with a a 5 speed borg warner tranny behind it I take it to car shows and show it is a really fun car to drive it handles really really good as for my 72 I just bought it last summer for $400.00 I to plan on rebuilding it and showing it to I plan on putting a small block 350 motor in it with a turbo 350 tranny behind it.My dad had a 71 GT Hatchback that was green with white strips with the original 4 clyinder motor and a 4 speed opel tranny with the posi trac rearend in it he told me about one day coming home from work with it he had the needle peged at a 130 mph and the motor started to overheat and after that the car never ran right again so he sold it to buy a chevy pickup and found out later on that the vega went to the junk yard with a blow up motor and then the last time he told me he seen it it was crushed he to this day still says how he should had kept thet car and small blocked it

[Travis]

In my mind the Chevy Vega was a good little car a fun car and still is the ride and handleing and styleing were good on them but the reason the Vega got such a bad name was because of the motors that were in them they were junk they all were made out of allumiun and when they got hot they burned oil like crazy but if you think about it alot of the newer cars of today got alluminum motors in them and with the tecnology he have today it has help us build better motors for our cars just look at the Cosworth Vega it came out with the 16 valve duel overhead cam motor in them neat car and motor samething a lot of are newer cars even overseas cars have some kind of a duel overhad cam or valve set up on there motors. Also the Vega is not anywhere close to being a worst car ever built I can think of few right off the top of my head the Ford Pinto, AMC Gremlin,and AMC Pacer them three cars were an ugly piece junk. So the next time you look under the hood of a newer car and you see a alluminum motor or a duel overhead cam and valve set up just remeber what car the idea came off of

[Mark]

I had a 74 GT hatchback Orange. I loved that car. The only problem was that I used it like a Corvette/Jeep. I had orange & black sheepskins throughout the front and installled an 8 track player in the glove compartment and rigged up four speakers. I burned up the head once, then the tranny went and it was turned to scrap by 1979. Too many great memories to even begin to list. I so wish I would have kept it just to do a restoration now.

[Tim]

I owned a 73 Vega...Green....got it from a guy I went to high school with in 1989. He had been driving it right up until the winter prior to me getting it. He had the entire interior removed so he could get new vinyl...and thats when I got it. Came with a milk crate for a seat...and a steering wheel! LOL

Something to consider with Vegas...and with any classic car. I keep seeing over and over again, people having purchased these old cars about 15 years after they were new. They leak because they're old! LOL That and the fact that the aluminum blocks at the time werent great yes...but seriously....old engines mean cracked and rotting gaskets! You should NEVER drive a car 10yrs old or more without having changed the gaskets and rubber!

[Joan]

The 1974 Vega hatchback was my first, very own car. I absolutely loved my pumpkin. I bought it--well, OK, Dad did--brand new as a senior in high school. I had not an ounce of trouble with it for 2 years until I smashed the oil pan cruising with friends in Boston's North End. We hit a pothole and took a little too long to find a service station. The attendant poured in quart after quart and still the oil light came on. Finally the light came on for both of us and we realized all that oil was going right out the bottom. Lucky me! My sweetie recently built me one just like it thanks to Fresh Cherries!

[Steve]

I had 7 Vegas back in the 70's 5 Hatchbacks 2 71's gt's 2 72's gt's and 2 73's gt's and and one wagon and a 76 gt the back of the 76 gt wagon is where I got my first wife Connie pergnet twice I don't drive Vegas anymore and I'm not married to Connie anymore I got remarried to Deby (she got big a ass that I like)and drive around in a blue dogde cara van the the van is not as fun to dive and play aroud in as the Vegas were they were all very good car fun cars and I mean fun cars

[Steve]

I had 7 Vegas back in the 70's 5 Hatchbacks 2 71's gt's 2 72's gt's and 2 73's gt's and and one wagon and a 76 gt the back of the 76 gt wagon is where I got my first wife Connie pergnet twice I don't drive Vegas anymore and I'm not married to Connie anymore I got remarried to Deby (she got big a ass that I like)and drive around in a blue dogde cara van the the van is not as fun to dive and play aroud in as the Vegas were they were all very good car fun cars and I mean fun cars