<VV> Vega and Corvair

[David O'Neal]

My 73 Vega GT was a piece of junk - but it looked good. I bought it new and
took good care of it but it rusted around the windows (unexpected because I
live in S.Car. and it lived under a carport), scrapped the oil pan, fuel
econ < 20, the engine was rebuilt and sleeved at 75k by the next owner who
was a friend and still wanted the car because it was in good condition, not
a lot of leg room due to the huge tunnel (though I did like the hatchback),
etc.  I didn't know about Vairs then - I could have bought a whole yard full
of them - at that time you could get one for $50.  And I now know the Vair
handles 4X better than the Vega.

We just needed to know how to work on the Corvairs but there was no network
for the information back then.  Meanwhile the Vega, well it didn't matter
what you knew or did to it - it was determined to fall apart, rust and burn
(not leak) oil.  Of course Chevy replaced the Vega with the Shove-ette and
the Monza, a re-bodied Vega platform with a V6 (& V8 later) and even less
legroom....I now consider this a classic "downward spiral" by Chevy.

David O'Neal

 


-----Original Message-----
From: Vairtec Corporation [mailto:Vairtec at optonline.net] 
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 11:28 AM
Cc: Virtual Vairs
Subject: Re: <VV> Vega and Corvair


My father gave me his 1966 Monza coupe and bought a new 1972 Vega Kammback.

While our family owned many Corvairs through the years, this was our 
only Vega.

It was nicely styled and it handled light-years better than the 
competing and ultimately more successful Pinto.

I was always amused by the fact that the Kammback body had ventilation 
louvers in the tops of the rear quarters, reminiscent of a Corvair wagon.

Generally, it was an acceptable car, in that it gave us only a small 
amount of trouble.

It threw something out of its alternator once, punching a hole in the 
side of the alternator, but it ran sufficiently to get home and to the 
dealer.

It was stolen out of the driveway one night, and found by the police 
sitting in a puddle of oil, abandoned in an intersection.  The thieves 
had crossed a railroad grade crossing at a high rate of speed, and since 
a Vega would belly-flop itself if its suspension was sufficiently 
compressed, the landing had torn out the oil drain plug.  Vegas had a 
low-oil ignition cut-off, and when the car shut down the thieves bailed 
out.  A new oil pan was the only repair required.

A fellow in a full-size Pontiac sedan crossed an intersection in front 
of my father one summer evening, and the Vega center-punched the 
Poncho.  The Vega was badly crumpled but not totaled, and was repaired.

By the time Dad traded it for something else, around '75 or so, the 
engine sounded like it never had any oil in it -- always a "scraping" 
sound when running.  We never looked back, and we bought more Corvairs.  
In fact, the last car Dad drove was a Corvair.

--Bob Marlow