by 74_Vega_GT » Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:47 am
Thanks for the posting tip, I'll try it. O.K. Here we go...
I got the 74 GT with AC in '79 and drove it for many years. It was all stock and Firethorn color, when in 84, it developed a head gasket issue and we re-sleeved the block added new rings and rod bearings and shaved the block .010 and the head .010, put fresh cam bearings in the head, added the Offenhauser dual-plane intake and a set of Hedman headers.
This woke up the little Vega quite a bit. It developed another oil issue where at a constant 60 to 65mph on the interstate, she would be the envy of any professional mosquito fogger and might have even caused some visual impairment for the traffic behind me, I hope no one wrecked. I never laughed so hard, but I knew this needed to be taken care of, so, we determined that the head was filling up with oil and sucking back through the intake and the cure was simple, replace the valve cover of the 74 L4 with 76 valve cover.
Problem solved (I think). The PCV pickup is located a bit higher and the problem never re-occurred. We replaced the points ignition with high energy distributor and ignition from a 77 vega. Added tilt steering from a Monza. New pressure plate, clutch and TO bearing, Oh, almost forgot, we replaced the automatic in it to a 4-speed Saginaw. Drove it a couple more years and parked it, outside, under an oak tree, and it sat for maybe 2 years. I moved out of state and left it here in Florida where it sat, rusting away in places.
When I returned to Florida, after the back-to-back hurricanes, I went out to check on the Vega where it sat and discovered that all the glass (except the swing-out-quarter glass) had been broken out and the floor and interior was a soggy rusting mess. I knew where there was a junkyard with 12 Vegas sitting in it, so I had access to glass. I moved once again to a different location in Florida and had the Vega towed once again, awaiting the day I might be financially flush enough to restore her.
I met a mechanic looking for work who had experience with welding of which I had none and he had build roundy round racers and knew how to work sheet metal. After purchasing more tools and a large air compressor and sandblaster and big canopy to work under, the project was ready to begin after over 35 years of waiting.
So far, we removed both firewalls to use the one with AC, the evap coil looked virgin as well as the heater core., found the Cosworth brain box and sold it which recouped half of the investment the same day I found it, gutted both interiors, renewed all of the interior plastic pieces, waterproofed and rustproofed all of the windshield cowling areas including the kick vent areas with spray in truck bed liner, prepped the windshield channel (no rust there anyway), prepped the hatchback and hinges, welded in replacement front floor pans after adding steel plate reinforcement to that area, (back were ok), ordered the camero battery tray.
The list goes on and on, the more we get into it, the more we see has to be done. (This is my first restoration project).
The motor, is on a stand and the next thing for that is to remove the carb, intake, and headers so that I can sandblast the headers and send them out for ceramic coating as there are no new ones available unless I have someone refabricate the ones I have now.
The radiator core support will need to be re-fabricated as none of the ones at the junkyard with 12 vegas are useable. I made a trip out to that junkyard, it had been almost 16 years since I had been out there, all of the vegas are in worse shape now than they were 16 years ago. None of his hoods were any good. I did spot a Spirit of America Vega and a Nova out there, but, you would have to want them pretty badly to stike a deal on em. The poor guy that owns the junkyard is very excentric and will not use the internet to find buyers for his cars. There was a treasure trove of vintage chrome and nose clips from cars like Bonnevilles, and Galaxy500's, and GTO's, Novas, El Camino's, Ranchero's, Pacers, Grimlins, on and on...The one H-Body car he had with a good radiator core support, he wouldn't sell unless he sold the whole car...I passed.
I hope to post progress pictures and will find out more on how to do that as I get more familiar with this board.
I have read posts here for many years before signing on, and I want to thank all of the contributors of their experiences and technical knowledge for sharing.
Last edited by
74_Vega_GT on Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
>I Love the H-Body forum and am grateful for it and all its members contributions, disclaimer below is directed at search engines.
> Photographs posted by this user (74_Vega_GT) are the sole property of this poster. Any use without express written permission is prohibited.
1974 Chevy Vega GT Hatchback
1982 Chevy S-10 longbed 2.8v6 A/C
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Black
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe,Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Silver Sapphire Blue
2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster N.A., Aero-Blue
2008 Dodge Ram Longbed, Brilliant Crystal Pearl Black