Holy crap; I need someone to pick up their phone and save me from oblivion, for I have only just healed myself from my most destructive tendency; car hoarding. Dial the phone number in this Craigslist ad and purchase this beautiful yellow 1976 Chevy Vega before I do, as the vehicle is too beautiful for me to resist. Please, hurry.
I do not have time for this Chevy Vega; I’m swamped with car projects and work, and lord knows getting this thing through California’s strict SMOG testing would require me to expend my full supply of Red ‘N Tacky on some palms. I value my Red ‘N Tacky; I’ve got ball joints and tie rod ends to lubricate.
But someone who is not me needs to head to Phoenix and make this happen, because my god does this thing look great:
I love how slender and long it looks. The yellow with the darker wood — it’s just fantastic! Even the wheels work, here.
And the rear end is amazing; the little wood trim on the trunk lid, the upright taillights, the huge window — this thing looks like a beautiful fishbowl.
Then there’s the interior. Take a gander at these seats!:
And look at that huge black shift boot for the five-speed manual transmission. And the brown carpets, dash, and door trim. It’s just so damn perfect.
This car even has its original paperwork!:
Here’s the vehicle’s description from its Craigslist posting:
ORIGINAL ARIZONA CAR 1 OWNER ALWAYS GARAGED HAS 4 CYLINDER ENGINE AND 5 SPEED MANAUL TRANSMISSION. HAS NO RUST AT ALL THIS CAR WAS PURCHASED FROM A DEALERSHIP IN CO. IN 1976 I STILL HAVE THE PAPERWORK AS WELL INTERIOR PICTURES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES FRONT SEATS NEED TO BE REDONE ALSO NEW CARPET BUT EVERYTHING WORKS, THIS IS A ONE OF A KIND FIND CAR WAS PARKED IN 1987 BUT ALWAYS TAKEN CARE OF, CAR RUNS AND DRIVES EVEN DROVE IT TO BARRETT JACKSON THE LAST TWO DAYS, IF YOU ARE A COLLECTOR THIS IS A MUST HAVE FOR A CHEVY GUY FOR SURE
Parked in 1987? Everything works and all it needs is carpeting and some work on the seats? This thing is awesome!
Before I conclude this article in which I’m trying to tell someone to buy this lovely manual yellow shooting brake before I do, I feel it is my moral responsibility to steer you towards Motor Trend’s article titled “Not Even Vega-ly Good: The Woeful Tale of the Chevy Vega.” Specifically, you may want to read this about GM’s answer to the VW Beetle:
Right about this time, the severity of the Vega’s problems was becoming apparent. Chevrolet recalled half a million Vegas in 1972. Rear axle shafts could separate from the housing, causing the wheels to literally fall off. Faulty brackets on the single-barrel carb jammed the throttle open. The optional two-barrel engine could backfire violently enough to split the muffler, blowing hot exhaust on the fuel tank and causing it to expand, rupture, and ignite.
An undiscovered defect in the new rust-proofing system left the underside of the front fenders unprotected. GM had rejected plastic fender liners to save money, and Vegas suffered from rapid corrosion—primarily of the fenders, but rocker panels, lower doors and front suspension parts could also be affected. One dealer told Automotive News that he was touching up rust spots on brand-new Vegas.
The Vega’s best-remembered problem, however, was its infamous melting engine. The engine didn’t actually melt, but if it got too hot the cylinders would distort, wearing the coating on the walls and forcing coolant past the head gaskets. The former problem increased oil consumption (exacerbated by faulty valve stem seals) and the latter increased the frequency of the overheating issue. If a Vega owner didn’t keep the coolant topped off, the Vega could, and often would, destroy its own engine.
But fear not! Because our beautiful yellow example here was built after many of the problems had been ironed out. Here, read what Motor Trend says about the later Vegas:
Chevrolet managed to iron out the bulk of the Vega’s problems between 1973 and 1974, and even came up with a decent performance version, the 1975-76 Cosworth Vega. Despite all the damage done to its reputation, the Vega sold reasonably well—2 million examples over seven model years. By the end of its run in 1977, the Vega was a simple and reliable, if somewhat dated, economy car.
Someone not named David Tracy needs to buy this. Otherwise I’ll have to.
Update: My colleague Jason Torchinsky wanted me to point out that the 2.3-liter inline-four-equipped, rear-wheel drive small cars from Chevy were actually transported to dealerships vertically via custom-designed rail cars. Check it out:
All Images: Craigslist
Seeing this gave me flashbacks to my gas pump attendant teenage years. All Vegas had permanent gas stains below the filler. If a customer asked for you to fill the thing, it would always spit gas out before the nozzle kicked off – no matter how slow you filled it (in many cases, you’d have to fill it really slow because it kept kicking the nozzle off otherwise). Looking at it, I guess it stands to reason – that filler is probably 6″ above the tank and is almost perpendicular to the ground. Also looks like this person lost their matching wood paneled gas cap somewhere along the way. For the record, I acknowledge that I retained far too much gas pumping knowledge.
Remember – Buy first, think later.
While interesting and good shape for a Vega, been sitting for awhile and a premium price.
Sell the i3, buy this and the panel truck mail jeep 🙂
The idea of someone using garage space to protect an off-the-road Vega since *checks article* I was born seems genuinely ludicrous. But I’m glad someone did as taking a look at this craptactular time capsule was a lot of fun.
At what level membership do we get the “David buys a Vega and dailys it in L.A. for a year” perk?
I believe that would be the $6000 membership option.
I’ve owned this car’s twin. I paid $250 for it in 2003. It was a terrible car.
Calm down, David.
First, you do not buy beautiful cars.
Second, even though it is very nice looking, it’s still a Vega.
David’s wreck fixation is also Mopar only, and he would be wise to keep it that way, because old Chevys are… Problematic.
Have to say that I’m a fan of Red ‘N’ Tacky. I used it a few months ago to pack a set of steering head bearings, employing the glob-o-grease-in-the-palm technique.
I don’t have any strong feelings on the Vega, except to say that the hump between the rear seats is worthy of King Richard III.
My first car was a 1974 Vega Kammback. It was blue with brown racing spots and in floor ventilation ports. It went through oil almost as fast as gas.
I have this dream of collecting a model of every car I’ve ever owned.
I picked up a ‘74 Javelin (which was the 2nd car I ever owned) last year. And while this Vega is a ‘76 instead of a ‘74, this is the first Vega similar to mine that I’ve seen for sale.
I really want this car…
If I had a line on a Cosworth Twin Cam engine, I might be tempted…
If this was a Cosworth, I’d consider it. Otherwise – hard pass. Look up “dog” in the dictionary and under the automotive variation of the definition you’ll find a picture of a Vega. I have vivid memories of helping my Dad and a friend of his weld together one Vega from the front and rear halves of two wrecked Vegas back in the late 1970’s. The result was predictably a piece of garbage, but it really wasn’t any worse than any other Vega on the road.
The small Vega and Pinto wagons were definitely the best of the lot. Especially the early versions before the 5 mph wonder bumpers. Vega wore the mini Camaro look quite well. Although the fake wood grain winner was the Pinto. Ye ol’ Country Squirt….
“Rear axle shafts could separate from the housing, causing the wheels to literally fall off.”
Damn glad that doesn’t happen on modern cars!
[reads 6 stories down]
Well I’ll be damned!
These cars were also tremendously popular with couples looking for a secret place for a tryst, and especially with those stepping out on their spouses. Apparently, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
The issue my wife had with hers (her first car!) was a common one with early Vegas. They used an aluminum block and eventually wound up burning a ton of oil.
There were no liners in the block, either, so they wound up with oil consumption problems pretty regularly.
“Fill the oil, check the gas” was the common Vega joke.
That car has been for sale for ages, with the price steadily dropping. You have no idea how many times it almost wound up on Shitbox Showdown. I was waiting for a worthy Pinto wagon to come along to pair it with, but one never materialized.
Oh please, please, please find a Pinto Cruising Wagon!!!
Pinto all day every day. Flame suit on!
About twelve years ago at a local cruise night, I fell for that worthy Pinto wagon. Orange, wood grain, plaid interior, manual, only 20,000 miles, and yes, for sale. This thing was flawless, aside from that whole fiery death flaw all Pintos have. Alas, I already two projects, no more room, and a new car I needed to pay for.
Say what you will about the Vega’s (deserved) bad rep but in wagon form, it is a handsome looking machine. My dad almost bought one of these new (but with an auto) in 1975 but I managed to get him to look at the AMC Sportabout and he had to agree that for a 14 year old kid and 12 year old brother, the back seat was much more accomdating. It’s too bad the interior was so horrible in them…
I always saw the Vega wagon as pleasantly bland. My neighbor won plenty of drag races in his. He always kept a good shell in back, because drag racing tore up that wimpy unibody.
You are sort of an ‘inverse’ car aficionado.
Whatever they lust for at Pebble Beach, you prefer the opposite.
The worse the reputation, the more it appeals to you.
An obsessive bottom feeder.
Very few automotive blogs feature a Vega of all things as a headliner for clickbait.
You are one of a kind in automobile blogdom.
Having said that, it seems to be working well for you.
Don’t change a thing.
Sorry poor car not paying more than new. I think we can all agree that as much as we all love DT he really sucks at evaluating car values.
Yes, Vega later model years were marginally more reliable and less rust-prone than the early years, but the Vega is still a dog. Go for a Monza if you’re set on an H body. The interior and front clip look better, and the shooting brake is still a looker. The Monza 2+2 was quite handsome, IMHO, and the range of optional engines started at a somewhat reliable 2.4-liter 4 to a small block V8!
I doubt there’s a pristine Monza out there today, but there will be one day because GM cranked out 3/4 million Monzas.
Since you’ve found this for me, you’re now responsible for finding me a wrecked Solstice/Sky, which would make the absolutely perfect powertrain donor.
Small-block V8s fit, and that can be done with some period correctness. Also no computer to trick into compliance.
Wasn’t the vertical shipping the proximate cause of overheating? That orientation meant they couldn’t include a radiator overflow, so, when it did push out coolant, it just peed on the ground vs sucking it back as it cooled.
No, the undersized radiator and lack of coolant overflow were cost-cutting measures – keeping costs down was a massive problem during development. GM wanted to match the price of the VW Super Beetle, by the time the Vega hit the market, it was 10% more expensive (and that was after a couple of major rounds of cost-cutting that also cheaped out the interior quite badly). And, being an aluminum engine block with an iron head, the Vega was much more susceptible to catastrophic damage from even mild overheating, which didn’t help.
They did get expansion tanks and bigger radiators for 1976 though, after the overheating problem became well-known over several years of experience.
Both the radiator overflow and window washer tanks were oriented so that they functioned in either the normal position or with the nose down on the train. Any other position would result in a spill.
As Gwen said, this is the most craziest shit ever.
Is it just me or do the Vega and Pinto look better in wagon form?
It’s not just you.
The Vega had many maladies, but style certainly wasn’t one of them. And this facelifted model is arguably more ungainly than the original, but it is still a looker, at least. Bill Mitchell’s staff were doing their job as best as they could, the bean counters just didn’t meet them halfway
I think I’m buying a Jeep JUST BECAUSE OF YOU, so I’ll pass on this one.
It’s entirely your fault that I am looking at a Jeep right now. Your fault! What have you done to me? I don’t need another vehicle either, but here i am approaching the Alter of Jeep ready to supplicate. 🙂
Oh, do tell.
David, you’re supposed to say “it wasn’t me, it was the cat on the keyboard.” And then point at me so I can “inconveniently” be busy with work.
We were going to get a Bronco, but you have kind of turned me into a Jeep fanboy. Now looking at a 4XE. Do you or anyone have thoughts on Rubicon vs Sahara? I’ll readily admit we probably won’t go off-roading. In our case, the tax credit has enough appeal to tip the scales.
The Sahara is, to me, the worst value of all the main trim levels. It’s really just a bit of styling, a few interior niceties, and a heavy price tag.
At least with the Rubi-doobie, you get lottts of real, valuable hardware.
Thank you so much for the advice. I will take it. I was leaning Rubi too, but I cannot deny the use case for this particular vehicle. I’m pretty much getting it for my wife who couldn’t care less about off-roading, but is absolutely willing to pose as a person who does. 😀 Although, between you and Mercedes, I kinda want to take it up myself. I also want a second tow vehicle, which Wranglers can do, if not with much aplomb.
BTW, just in case I’m such a poor writer that it wasn’t 100% obvious that I was joking around in my initial post, I was. While you have absolutely had enough of a positive effect on my perception of the brand in general that they should seriously give you a commission on any purchase I might make, you are not otherwise to blame in any way for my financial follies. I mention this because I still feel like I might have unintentionally pissed Jason off why I tried to joke around with him about not replying to my emails and couldn’t stomach it if I did the same with you. The Jason thing pains me to this day. 🙁
I will mostly second David on Rubi over Sahara, with some caveats. Because David isn’t old yet. And I am. (Which my knees will attest to.) And I’m the ‘you can have a Jeep and not offroad’ guy.
Between the Rubicon and Sahara, the Rubicon is a better value, and will hold it’s resale slightly better. Between Rubicon and all other trims, when not planning to offroad? Neither.
The Sahara and Rubicon are both very much built around the concept of summer and desert driving, and offroad as a priority. If it’s going to be your daily driver year round, the hard top is non-optional. Trust me on this one. In which case, your better choice is… the High Altitude.
Can it offroad? Well, uh, if you’re brave, since it has 20″ wheels. But it comes with the hardtop standard (soft top is an option,) it comes with nicer seats and leather, it comes in Hydro Blue Pearl-Coat at no charge because this is objectively the best color, it has on-road tires which are MUCH quieter, and it’s the best value option for the hard top. See, it comes with the “Freedom Top(R)” (god that hurts to say) hardtop, which will cost you a cool $2,895 to add to your Rubicon. Adding the dual-top group to the High Altitude costs $1,395, versus a jaw-dropping $3,745 on the Rubicon.
And the price difference between a Rubicon and High Altitude? Just $2,050. Just ticking the Hydro Blue, Body Color Hard Top, and basic black leather boxes on a Rubicon pushes it north of $65,000.
High Altitude? You get all that without ticking a single box.
The reason I didn’t mention it before was because we too want a blue one and the only HA within 300 miles has a markup which I will never pay.
It won’t be a required DD, but we were thinking about getting the retractable soft-top. Does this horrify you?
You can score an HA without the markup easily enough by shopping around. There isn’t high demand because it isn’t a “real Jeep.”
Even as an intermittent DD, trust me. The base Wrangler seats are ass. And you still come out cheaper with the HA when adding the dual-top. Which is what makes it the ultimate value for you.
By the time you tick the boxes you really want in the Rubicon, it’s going to be $65k+ and can crest $72k without accessories. We’ll do a like for like to illustrate.
2023 Wrangler Rubicon 4xe, $61,080 (excluding destination.)
2023 Wrangler High Altitude 4xe, $63,115 (excluding destination.)
Rubicon: Hydro Blue, +$495. Dual-Top Group, +$3,745. Black leather seats, +$1,995, Hardtop Headliner (accessory,) +$525, Black Perforated Leather, +$1,750, Advanced Safety Group, +$1,195, Basic Safety Group, (must select with ASG), +1,395, Cold Weather Group, +$1,395.
Total: $69,380 excluding delivery. Yep. $70k.
High Altitude: Hydro Blue, $495 (that changed apparently.) Dual-Top Group, +$1,350 (-2395), black Nappa leather seats, $0, Hardtop Headliner (accessory), +$525, Advanced Safety Group, +$1,195, Basic Safety Group, +0 (included), Cold Weather Group, +$1,395.
Total: $64,000 excluding delivery.
The High Altitude costs $6,000 less and gives you way more than the Rubicon in terms of day to day features. Including tires you can be heard speaking over. And for the occasional off-roading, a quick set of bolt-on wheels and tires will have you holding your own at Moab.
You make an excellent consultant on this. Serious thank you. 🙂
Usually I’m the one people come to for vehicle purchase help, but I am so glad I asked here. Truly helpful info.
I will try again looking for an HA, but for whatever reason, it’s a bit of a unicorn in the Chicago area. We need the tow prep too, so that makes it even a bit harder.