The Chevrolet Vega was meant to be a lightweight, economic alternative to import cars of the early 1970s. The Vega had a number of engineering flaws and other shortcomings that ultimately doomed it. Rust had a field day with Vegas, with some dealers claiming they were touching up rust spots on brand-new cars. Suspension problems, engine problems, and labor strikes all played parts in the Vega’s demise. Even the name “Vega” got a chilly reception from the public.
The one upside to the Chevrolet Vegas was their weight, or more accurately, the lack of it. The 2,200-pound curb weight was fully one thousand pounds lighter than Corvettes of the era. Hot Rodders all know that the equation for speed is light weight and big power, so why not start with a light little car?
Mike Couglin thought this sounded like a good idea, and enlisted the crew at Woody’s Hot Rodz to build his dream. His Chevrolet Vega is a brilliant bright yellow color with matte black stripes and rear panel. It sports a power bulge hood lettered with LSX 454, a low, black chin spoiler, and blacked out grille.
Under the hood is a LSX 454, equipped with F.A.S.T. LSX-R Port Fuel Injection, 46-pound injectors, and Holley Dominator engine management system. It produces 620 horsepower. The whole affair is backed by a 4L60E automatic trans, and cooled by a Be Cool radiator and fans.
Power is nothing if you can’t get it to the ground, so this Chevrolet Vega has a full Art Morrison Max G suspension with sway bars, adjustable shocks, and a Ford 9-inch rear with a Strange Posi. Stopping is courtesy of Wilwood four piston Superlite calipers and 13-inch rotors. The ride height has been lowered, and the fender flares barely contain the two-tone Weld S71 performance wheels and tires.
The tidy cockpit of this Chevrolet Vega missile features ProCar black vinyl racing seats and G-Force Harnesses. The gauges are by JEGS, with the J logo in the center of both the speedo and tach. There is a stock AM pushbutton radio in the dash, just to the right of the added aftermarket A/C control knobs which blend in with the stock dash quite well. Beneath the dash and just forward of the shifter is a Holley touchscreen monitor. Under the rear hatch, there is a placard with the issue of Hot Rod Magazine that featured the Vega, and one with the build sheet and tag.
Every inch of this Chevrolet Vega build shows the obvious quality and attention to detail that occasion superior craftsmanship. It is obvious from every angle of the car. If this sounds like your cup of tea, you can have this remarkable little rocket; it is for sale at Cruisin’ Classics of Columbus, OH.
Comments
Looks like a very professional job. I can’t say I would like to own it but I would sure love to take it for a few WOT blasts
2200 pond car with a 500 horse power…appox 4.4 pounds to 1 horsepower is an incredible power to weight ratio. High performance cars from the factory in the late 60’s were around 9 to i ratio and performing quite well on the street. this should be a screamer…question is can the suspension handle this kind of power. If so you got a winner..
Dear Sirs: Whoever purchases the 1971 Vega/454 would be well advised to be prepared to put up with rainwater leaks at the windshield driver-side lower corner. Winter 1976/1977 my father and I installed a Oldsmobile 215 V8 in a 1974 Vega GT Hatchback. Using a D&D Fabrications conversion kit it ended up being a great car after we were done, but it developed that pesky rainwater leak. Loved the car and loved the conversion, because it was a real sleeper. I especially enjoyed dusting off all those arrogant Datsun 240Z owners with a stock-looking Vega. Drove all of them bugs and still makes me smile.
Always thought a Vega was good car to soup-up, put a V-8 in. As was said, a real sleeper. This does indeed look like a very professional job. A lot of work. Noticed a price wasn’t mentioned. Mighty nice looking car, should be a screamer.
Thanks much for the note. The Buick/Olds/Pontiac 215 engine weighed only about 30 lb. more than the Vega OE engine, the Vega GT 12″ x 20″ radiator was more adequate than the std. Vega 12″ x 12″ rad and it cooled well enough in the Indiana summers. The engine was narrow enough that with the D&D Fabrications Kit it was nearly a drop-in. I was able to use the stock hood and the exterior was unchanged except for the 2″ exhaust pipe (vs the stock 1.75″). I also used the low-compression pistons with the high-output engine’s Rochester 4GC carb. It took a lot of trial and error to get the carb setup right for that oddball combination. In the late 1970’s I was a Cooling Systems Engineer for a company named Schwitzer and one of my POCs in the Chevrolet C-K Truck Engineering Group gave me a copy of the 1960 GMR Design Report on the 215 Engine. It was a fascinating project and I would call it a “poetic” installation. The only ill effect I had was the windshield LH lower corner water leak caused by the greater engine torque twisting the stock Vega body pan. Well done otherwise.
I do like to see some of the more obscure, less thought of cars being resto-modded – Vegas, Monzas, and Mavericks, etc. I have even seen a couple Mustang II’s that didn’t make me nauseous.
That is the beauty of the sport of hot rodding, making what you want out of what you have, that was the premise in the 1950’s, when guys took the Model A’s and T’s and hopped them up with Flathead Ford (and Lincoln) V8’s with Offenhauser heads and intake manifolds with 3 or 4 one-barrels, 2 or 3 two-barrels etc. Even Roots-type superchargers and Hilborn (mechanical) fuel injection still make their way onto those never-say-die engines.
That is what makes this hobby great – varying opinions, styles and lack of adherence to any implied set of rules. There are no rules, except having fun.
The lines of the Vega aren’t unattractive, and this particular example is done very well.
The Vega front-end is not even trying to hide the fact that looks like the early 2nd-gen Camaro, so there are some redeeming qualities, especially given the fact that you can stuff an LS-based engine into its almost-too-small engine compartment.
Which leads me to my next point – ANY LS (or even Small Block Chevy), no matter what its cubic inch displacement, is NOT a big block. PERIOD.
I understand that the engine in this particular car is a 454, which, when you hear that, may lead one to think big block, but cubic inches do NOT determine the physical size of the engine itself.
There are 415, 427, 454 (and higher) LS -based engine’s and 396, 427, and even 454 CID SMALL Block Chevy’s available from any number of crate engine companies, that doesn’t make them a “big block”.
There were 366 CID BIG block chevy’s in trucks and buses into the 1990’s, their displacement is lower than some small blocks but that doesn’t make them SMALL blocks.
Calling the website “GM Authority” is starting to sound like a contradiction in terms….
Chevy Vegas have been my addiction for forty years and as a owner of a half dozen V8 hatchbacks from 71-75 I must say they are making a comeback as there are numerous clubs on Facebook and a select few in the aftermarket like PowerbyAce,Overkill racing,that feed us the parts we need to keep these little Chevy on the road