Highboy
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That's one way to haul cars.
Chevy Vega shipping
- Thread starter Highboy
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That's one way to haul cars.
Fer a second there I thought you meant they are making the Chevy Vega again. I screamed. GM's revenge against mankind.
Of all the cars to re-open the factories for, I could think of others to bring back.
Anyway, stacking them like that meant you couldn't have oil/coolant/etc. in them (??), but that one guy looks like he just drove up the ramp, so maybe there was.
Of all the cars to re-open the factories for, I could think of others to bring back.
Anyway, stacking them like that meant you couldn't have oil/coolant/etc. in them (??), but that one guy looks like he just drove up the ramp, so maybe there was.
Had a Vega once upon a time. If it had ben built with a cast liner in the cylinders, it would have been a great car. Mine was a GT model, with the lower geared rear, 2 bbl carb, and 4 speed. Lots of fun to drive, and cornered like a go cart.
Although Lordstown Assembly had a purpose-built exit off of the Ohio Turnpike built to make shipment easier, the Vega was designed for vertical shipment, nose down. General Motors and Southern Pacific designed "Vert-A-Pac" rail cars to hold 30 Vegas each, compared with conventional tri-level autoracks which held 18. The Vega was fitted with four removable cast-steel sockets on the underside and had plastic spacers—removed at unloading—to protect engine and transmission mounts. The rail car ramp/doors were opened and closed via forklift.[42]
Vibration and low-speed crash tests ensured the cars would not shift or suffer damage in transit. The Vega was delivered topped with fluids, ready to drive to dealerships, so the engine was baffled to prevent oil entering the number one cylinder; the battery filler caps high on the rear edge of the casing prevented acid spills; a tube drained fuel from carburetor to vapor canister; and the windshield washer bottle stood at 45 degrees.[43]
Vibration and low-speed crash tests ensured the cars would not shift or suffer damage in transit. The Vega was delivered topped with fluids, ready to drive to dealerships, so the engine was baffled to prevent oil entering the number one cylinder; the battery filler caps high on the rear edge of the casing prevented acid spills; a tube drained fuel from carburetor to vapor canister; and the windshield washer bottle stood at 45 degrees.[43]
The cars were shipped ready to go.
Imagine how many warranty claims would have come from dealer car jockeys driving a car onto the lot with no oil.
IIRC, this method of shipment was the reason that all Vegas were built with sealed batteries.
This has also been posted before, several times.
For the record, I had a '73 wagon.
Great car in some ways and the engine was fine as long as you kept oil in it. Kind of the Saturn of its day.
Fuel economy was good for the time and on a smooth road a Vega handled like a go-kart.
On a rough road, it rode and handled like a farm wagon.
Fun memories from my early twenties.
Imagine how many warranty claims would have come from dealer car jockeys driving a car onto the lot with no oil.
IIRC, this method of shipment was the reason that all Vegas were built with sealed batteries.
This has also been posted before, several times.
For the record, I had a '73 wagon.
Great car in some ways and the engine was fine as long as you kept oil in it. Kind of the Saturn of its day.
Fuel economy was good for the time and on a smooth road a Vega handled like a go-kart.
On a rough road, it rode and handled like a farm wagon.
Fun memories from my early twenties.
If it was such a great idea, why is this not done anymore? Case closed.
I bought a 74 Vega when I was about 20, had lots of miles on it. It did burn quite a bit of oil but other than that, it was a very fun car. 4 on the floor. Even took it out west to Glacier Park. Friends Dad said we wouldn't get 50 miles, the way it was smoking. Other then adding a quart each tankful, ran flawless. I would buy one again in a heartbeat (and I am no GM fanboy).
Originally Posted By: Lapham3
We had a '72 GT and it was fine until the rust got bad after 10 winters. A car kinda like our Fiero=not a good car for those who neglect care and maintenance.
A friend of mine bought one and it lasted 40K miles then smoked like a mosquito fogger. He had a machine shop put in steel liners in the block, then kept it a few more years and it began to fall apart.
BTW, that picture has been posted many many times here...
We had a '72 GT and it was fine until the rust got bad after 10 winters. A car kinda like our Fiero=not a good car for those who neglect care and maintenance.
A friend of mine bought one and it lasted 40K miles then smoked like a mosquito fogger. He had a machine shop put in steel liners in the block, then kept it a few more years and it began to fall apart.
BTW, that picture has been posted many many times here...
The first American car I ever drove was a Pontiac Astra, as a rental from Sears.
It was my first visit to the US from the UK and the Idea of driving a Pontiac appealed to me (Jim Rockford drove a Pontiac)
To put things in perspective, back in the UK I had spent a lot of time driving company pool cars, these were mostly bog standard Morris (in North America Austin) Marina's, often considered by Top Gear and others to be the worst British car made!
That said, I was appalled by the Astra!
Gutless, spongy ride, really bad ergonomics and a stupid V protruding on the front bumper, on the end of a silly long hood.
(I well remember nudging a car in front parking the stupid thing)
After 3 days of driving it, I asked to exchange it for somthing else. They gave me a Plymouth Cricket (Mitsubishi) All in all I considered it a much better car.
It was my first visit to the US from the UK and the Idea of driving a Pontiac appealed to me (Jim Rockford drove a Pontiac)
To put things in perspective, back in the UK I had spent a lot of time driving company pool cars, these were mostly bog standard Morris (in North America Austin) Marina's, often considered by Top Gear and others to be the worst British car made!
That said, I was appalled by the Astra!
Gutless, spongy ride, really bad ergonomics and a stupid V protruding on the front bumper, on the end of a silly long hood.
(I well remember nudging a car in front parking the stupid thing)
After 3 days of driving it, I asked to exchange it for somthing else. They gave me a Plymouth Cricket (Mitsubishi) All in all I considered it a much better car.
A little shop here in LA was kept very busy sleeving those engines. They had a turn-key operation. Roll the car in and drive the car out. They were purchased by an aircraft engine rebuilding company and have disappeared into big corporate life.
If you read John DeLorean's book he begged GM not to build that car ....It was not designed by Chevrolet even it was designed by the central stores .....Chevrolet was ashamed to put their name on it ...total POS
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
If you read John DeLorean's book he begged GM not to build that car ....It was not designed by Chevrolet even it was designed by the central stores .....Chevrolet was ashamed to put their name on it ...total POS
"central stores"? Do you mean GM Central's corporate engineers, who designed the Vega?
At least they got Cosworth involved in something fun:
If you read John DeLorean's book he begged GM not to build that car ....It was not designed by Chevrolet even it was designed by the central stores .....Chevrolet was ashamed to put their name on it ...total POS
"central stores"? Do you mean GM Central's corporate engineers, who designed the Vega?
At least they got Cosworth involved in something fun:
I loved my '73 GT but did not have it long enough to suffer any problems. Photo still shows the temporary paper licence plate issued in CA.
Neighbor across the street had a Vega, from the day they got it new the thing would stall 3-4 times before it went 100 feet. Despite this, my mother was totally jonesing to get one when we only had one car in the family and she had to walk to work year round in Chicago. Then we rented a Vega on a trip to Florida...she never mentioned it again after actually driving one. She finally got a new Mercury Comet with no power steering, what fun she had turning that thing...another mid '70s POS from one of the Big Three.
It's fun to read threads about the Vega. Very much like reading Fram oil filter threads
I bought a '72 GT in about 1976. 26,000 miles. Not a high-tech car, but compared to the air-cooled VW stuff I'd been driving for years I can testify the Vega's engine power, heating, a/c, and some crosswind resistance were all wonderful compared to VWs.
One cold South Dakota day (is there any other kind?) the better half hit a small, rock-hard snow drift while driving at highway speed. Yes, small drifts can be surprisingly hard. The car bounced high enough that the resulting landing compressed the engine mounts enough to drag the oil pan on the pavement and tear it open. Naturally, the engine seized a few miles later (the switch that should have shut off the electric fuel pump upon the loss of oil pressure obviously didn't work). We towed the car home; when I dropped the pan I discovered the heat and pressures that resulted from the oil loss caused the bearing shells to melt and flow out along the journals. As a college student with no money, I threw in a set of new bearings and called it good. Things were fine for the next several thousand miles until one day I forgot about the repairs and made a trip driving way too fast. As could be expected, some knocking noises followed shortly thereafter. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I dropped in a new crankshaft and bearings. The lifters and followers looked like sandpaper, but I left them in. Cylinder walls, pistons and rings appeared fine. A few more thousand miles and we sold the car to a friend (gave him all the gory details; he bought it anyway). He drove the car without incident for three or four more years before the rust finally led the way to the salvage yard. The engine didn't burn, leak, or otherwise oil before or after either repair occasion. FWIW, the oil-burning typically came about due to overheating from lack of coolant. Fairly early on, GM retroactively installed overflow systems and an additional temperature sensor to help avoid coolant-caused overheating issues. The linerless aluminum block was not otherwise that bad an idea; heck, it held up even in the absence of oil! For those who bad-mouth the linerless engine, it might be worth pointing out that millions of aluminum engines that don't use cylinder liners have been sold over the past several decades with very reasonable results.
None of this commentary negates the conventional wisdom that the Vega had real design issues and suffered from the typical GM 'cheapness'. I might note that later models were greatly improved in many ways. I'd be quite happy to drive a new '75 GT painted bright red with a black interior.
I bought a '72 GT in about 1976. 26,000 miles. Not a high-tech car, but compared to the air-cooled VW stuff I'd been driving for years I can testify the Vega's engine power, heating, a/c, and some crosswind resistance were all wonderful compared to VWs.
One cold South Dakota day (is there any other kind?) the better half hit a small, rock-hard snow drift while driving at highway speed. Yes, small drifts can be surprisingly hard. The car bounced high enough that the resulting landing compressed the engine mounts enough to drag the oil pan on the pavement and tear it open. Naturally, the engine seized a few miles later (the switch that should have shut off the electric fuel pump upon the loss of oil pressure obviously didn't work). We towed the car home; when I dropped the pan I discovered the heat and pressures that resulted from the oil loss caused the bearing shells to melt and flow out along the journals. As a college student with no money, I threw in a set of new bearings and called it good. Things were fine for the next several thousand miles until one day I forgot about the repairs and made a trip driving way too fast. As could be expected, some knocking noises followed shortly thereafter. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I dropped in a new crankshaft and bearings. The lifters and followers looked like sandpaper, but I left them in. Cylinder walls, pistons and rings appeared fine. A few more thousand miles and we sold the car to a friend (gave him all the gory details; he bought it anyway). He drove the car without incident for three or four more years before the rust finally led the way to the salvage yard. The engine didn't burn, leak, or otherwise oil before or after either repair occasion. FWIW, the oil-burning typically came about due to overheating from lack of coolant. Fairly early on, GM retroactively installed overflow systems and an additional temperature sensor to help avoid coolant-caused overheating issues. The linerless aluminum block was not otherwise that bad an idea; heck, it held up even in the absence of oil! For those who bad-mouth the linerless engine, it might be worth pointing out that millions of aluminum engines that don't use cylinder liners have been sold over the past several decades with very reasonable results.
None of this commentary negates the conventional wisdom that the Vega had real design issues and suffered from the typical GM 'cheapness'. I might note that later models were greatly improved in many ways. I'd be quite happy to drive a new '75 GT painted bright red with a black interior.
Originally Posted By: cappilot
.... The linerless aluminum block was not otherwise that bad an idea; heck, it held up even in the absence of oil! For those who bad-mouth the linerless engine, it might be worth pointing out that millions of aluminum engines that don't use cylinder liners have been sold over the past several decades with very reasonable results.
You're right, BMW Al-Si liner-less AluSil cylinder bores are durable (N52, B58, etc.).
.... The linerless aluminum block was not otherwise that bad an idea; heck, it held up even in the absence of oil! For those who bad-mouth the linerless engine, it might be worth pointing out that millions of aluminum engines that don't use cylinder liners have been sold over the past several decades with very reasonable results.
You're right, BMW Al-Si liner-less AluSil cylinder bores are durable (N52, B58, etc.).
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
They shouldn't have even bothered to ship them...
Ever own one?
They shouldn't have even bothered to ship them...
Ever own one?
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