1975 Vega GT

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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:35 pm

avewhtboy wrote:I am looking at installing power steering on my car but I have the front plate motor mounts and alternator where yours it.

I am interested in what you used for the pump bracket to mount it on the passenger side. I think that's what I need to do or
have to replace the motor mounts.

Looks like a lot of work but will be worth it when done.

Are you happy with your brakes? I notice you have manual rather than power brakes.

Nice car!

I got a piece of steel plasma cut from a cardboard template I made, it bolts to the two bolt holes down by the fuel pump and navigates up to clear everything. Its a tight fit but not too hard to mock-up. My heads don't have bolt holes, but I think if yours do you might be able to take a regular driver side power steering pump bracket and flip it. Here is a picture of my bracket, when I take it off next I'll grab a new picture with it finished.
P1060235.JPG

My brakes are okay, someone new to the car might say they are poor but they are just thrown off by the heavy pedal. I have yet to really get on them/I think my tires might be the limiting factor since I locked up my fronts once, since I adjusted my proportioning valve I haven't had any complaints. My thinking is that if the master cylinder is sized right it shouldn't matter if its assisted. My friends fiero stops wicked fast and thats manual brakes, just has a lot of pedal feel.
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1975 Vega GT sbc, Microsquirt w/Edelbrock MPFI, M21 4-speed and Ford 9"
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1975 Chevrolet Vega GT


Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Fri May 20, 2016 10:47 pm

Power steering is done! No road test yet but everything is bled and working well. Weird feeling after years of manual steering.
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby spencerforhire » Sat May 21, 2016 8:09 am

Very neat and tidy power steering installation. Looks odd to me with everything on the "wrong" sides; I'm used to V8 Vegas done with the OEM Monza accessory drive configuration.
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72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
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Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:40 am

spencerforhire wrote:Very neat and tidy power steering installation. Looks odd to me with everything on the "wrong" sides; I'm used to V8 Vegas done with the OEM Monza accessory drive configuration.


Thanks, when i first swapped the v8 in I never really liked the look of the alternator sitting in the middle of the intake so I opted to try and use corvette parts. Worked out well since the OEM 4 cyl alternator wiring was exactly the right length and position.
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby avewhtboy » Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:46 am

Thanks for the information about the bracket. My engine has a Moroso electric water pump which makes it a little more tricky to get a belt around the pulley.
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:26 pm

Small update, been driving the car a bunch and fixing a few little things. Really getting into tuning the dual carb system, got new power valves and jets to go in since my last change. One change at a time / having time is difficult but I enjoy the challenge of tuning. Using just a wideband and a vacuum gauge its easy enough to figure out whats going on, sometimes you get funny looks running a hose out the hood, through the passenger window into the car but its doable. Power steering is awesome to have, only problem is I need smaller tires in the front, they rub before I get to full lock AND I still have steering stops on the control arms.

Its also nice to drive the car to work once in a while, helps me get some testing in since its the stop and go of morning/evening traffic. My main goal is to have the car cruising reliably and clean so I'm not running rich the whole way to monzaque but still be able to put my foot down for fun, one of the last times I was out I popped a shifter linkage pin off, thats was an easy fix once I got it home.
:burn:
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Thu Nov 17, 2016 1:38 am

Its been a while since the last update, still watching the forum but too busy to contribute much. Now that the car is put away for the winter I figured it was time for an update.

Monzaque was a great trip, the furthest the car has been since its been built at 4 hours each direction. Thanks for setting up such a cool meet I was really glad to put faces to the online handles I see here, got to see some really nice h-body's.

As for the drive, the car was not happy! It ran perfectly cool and smooth but the diff was whining (ford 9"), I'm cooking power steering fluid with my primary header tube being wayyyy too close to the steel line, the transmission was acting up by the time I got home, the hydraulic throwout bearing sometimes squeals (very odd) and finally the car seems to have developed a thirst for oil consuming a little over 1/4 each way. I'm thinking either a bad intake seal, valve seals or I have a ring or two not sealing well. I've checked the plugs and I know which cylinders are burning oil, ran a compression test and everything seemed good. When I started investigating I found out my valvecover breather filters were actually blocking all airflow so I was cruising at 3000rpm for 4 hours at a time with little to no crankcase ventilation which could make for a lot of pressure on the rings. To try and fix this and make it better I decided to pull the filter material, block one and put in a pcv and made a cheap DIY catch can which works great, unfortunately the valvecovers I'm using put the pcv right on top of a rocker arm which is splashing oil at it. I need to change the valve cover or make a baffle/cover for the pcv and then test again next year.

Either way a total of 8 hours of driving solo at highway speeds in a small, hot, loud, whining car in one day was tiring but worth it in every possible way. Since I joined the forum and heard about it I wanted to make it out to Monzaque.
IMG_0340.JPG

All the carb tuning I did this summer has really paid off, the car idles, cruises and pulls great. I might play with some more changes next year as I am still learning, I want to find a way to get a vacuum operated distributor or ignition system, I know I'm leaving a lot on the table cruising and idling with a mechanical advance distributor. Its just difficult with the intake design for distributor clearance, maybe I'll get a programmable distributor box (msd 6al-2) and then really fine tune things. I only buy parts if I can get a deal on then, the USD to CAD exchange rate is deadly at nearly 35 cents to the dollar.

But now that the car is running so well I've developed wheel hop which was expected and thanks to a few people at monzaque and the forum I was somewhat prepared. Took me a while to design them but I finally made the brackets based on the forum files, commonly available steel sizes and the only tools I have is a vertical bandsaw, drillpress and welder. When I went to bolt them up I found out my housing brackets are welded at a 20deg angle instead of flat. It makes sense because my UCA's are as short as I can make them but I never really second guessed it, I should have checked it in advance, would have saved me a lot of time. Thankfully my job has me using CAD software so I used my free time to re-design a fix to compensate for my bracket angle which then lets me put the UCA's halfway between fully extended and fully closed so I can have pinion adjustment again. The version I have now is temporary pending they work come spring/summer when I get a chance to go out.

2016-10-10 16.02.06.jpg


2016-10-22 17.52.26.jpg


stophopCAD.jpg

You can see the development from RIGHT to LEFT.
StopHop from the forum approximated in 3D / The original version I made / The Modified version, note the angle of the foot to represent the housing bracket / Final fixed version I will make If the current version works

All in all it was a great summer, I have a lot less time to work on the car because of work and other commitments but I managed to piece together a little video for those who stuck around through this long winded post. Little hot start/idle and a 1-2-3 pull, ignore the shift light as I had it set low to try and keep me from shifting above 6000rpm but clearly that didnt work the car likes to be shifted around 6200-6300. You can even see/hear a bit of wheelhop at WOT, this is right around where it started and by the end of summer I couldn't even floor it in 1st gear. https://youtu.be/kLlZT1Ktpfw
2016-07-27 17.02.20.jpg
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby chevyart » Thu Nov 17, 2016 2:43 pm

hey bowtie its about time you checked back in with all of your car admirers. seems like you are really hitting every aspect of car improvement with your nice ride.glad to hear you have the carbs tuned as you want them. its always hard to get multiple carbs to work together properly. did you ever thing of using a small spacer to get the carbs a little higher. it probably helps in getting the gas mixed with the air, like a high rise does. when you go up with the carbs it usually calls for a slightly larger jet size also. have you gotten to the dragstrip yet? keep up the good work on your beautiful h-body. PS i just posted about the gap between front of hood and front header panel. maybe you could chime in. art
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Thu Nov 17, 2016 6:54 pm

chevyart wrote:hey bowtie its about time you checked back in with all of your car admirers. seems like you are really hitting every aspect of car improvement with your nice ride.glad to hear you have the carbs tuned as you want them. its always hard to get multiple carbs to work together properly. did you ever thing of using a small spacer to get the carbs a little higher. it probably helps in getting the gas mixed with the air, like a high rise does. when you go up with the carbs it usually calls for a slightly larger jet size also. have you gotten to the dragstrip yet? keep up the good work on your beautiful h-body. PS i just posted about the gap between front of hood and front header panel. maybe you could chime in. art


Hey Art, I was thinking about spacers to try it out but already with the inner hood trimmed out I'm just touching one of the air cleaner lids. Still debating whether I make/install a hood scoop to accommodate bigger filters, maybe even a sealed air box... maybe a set of 2x4 Nitrous plates would work well instead of spacers :lol:
I didn't make it to the strip this year, after I fix the wheelhop and get some decent tires I'll be making my way there. Every time I start thinking about going out something else breaks or becomes apparent, at least it gives me something to work towards.

As for the header panel to hood gap I don't have my factory hood on or have the panel fitment right, I made my own hinges/welded them and I'm between 1/16" and 1/8.
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby zeke » Fri Nov 18, 2016 9:08 am

Nice job on the p/s conversion and the fuel distribution turned out nice too. :th:
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:09 pm

This winter has been slow progress but good. Pulled out the transmission to rebuild the hyd. throwout bearing and decided to upgrade the clutch and bellhousing. Put in a lightly used centerforce dual friction pressure plate and new disk. Added a Quicktime bellhousing which was a tight fit between the headers and trans tunnel but it all worked out. Fixed a pinched brake line in the back of the car and changed a couple of jets in the carbs. The next step for me is to add a couple of driveshaft loops and work on wheel/tire fitment.

Looking forward to getting the car out, I'm going to try and drive it more often so I can break in the clutch and start leaning on it to test the stop hops, I'm thinking I'll try to use it for my commute to work when I can.
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1975 Chevrolet Vega GT

Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby chevyart » Wed Mar 15, 2017 3:57 pm

HEY BOWTIE. CARS LOoking GOOD. SEE SOMETHING ON HEAders i dont understand or I am loosing my eyesight. looks like one header tube on each side comes down in the rear of engine and runs towards the front of car to hook into the collectors. am i seeing things? Art
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Wed Mar 15, 2017 6:15 pm

chevyart wrote:HEY BOWTIE. CARS LOoking GOOD. SEE SOMETHING ON HEAders i dont understand or I am loosing my eyesight. looks like one header tube on each side comes down in the rear of engine and runs towards the front of car to hook into the collectors. am i seeing things? Art


You are right on Art, Don Hardy headers have that loop on each side. Looks weird but it works.

Image
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby chevyart » Wed Mar 15, 2017 8:08 pm

ill bet don haardy put some thought into the performance aspect of that style. looks like all the tubes are all pretty much the same length... are there any problems hooking up the engine pipes and rest of the exhaust due to the angle the collector aims(looks like a 45 degree angle) as opposed to a straight back direction of my hooker 2129s(aprox. straight back). keep up the good work on that nice vega arft
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Re: 1975 Vega GT

Postby BadBowtie » Wed Mar 15, 2017 8:27 pm

chevyart wrote:ill bet don haardy put some thought into the performance aspect of that style. looks like all the tubes are all pretty much the same length... are there any problems hooking up the engine pipes and rest of the exhaust due to the angle the collector aims(looks like a 45 degree angle) as opposed to a straight back direction of my hooker 2129s(aprox. straight back). keep up the good work on that nice vega arft


It could be, the first tube on each side is a bit longer but they could be pretty close in length. The header direction is a bit of an issue , ground clearance isnt the best either. Running a full exhaust I have to bend them back in towards the middle and then down the center ,clears the transmission crossmember nicely though. The header angle would be perfect if I ran sidepipes or uncorked.
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