Thread: 75 vega project, bone stock.

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I finally got my Vega project! It came with no motor and trans , hood ,or heater unit, besides that its all there. It has some areas of surface rust on the body but the floor is all solid with the exception of the spare tire area and passenger foot well. The spare tire area has surface rust but not swiss cheese, a couple more years sitting and it would of been. I started to pull all the entirior last night and the floor is solid no major rust in the high stress areas. I pulled all the stock insulation out and found nothing has been CUT or repaired ,it seems to have never seen a major wreck or some idiot with a torch Ok now that the easy part is over ,getting the car, now for the next step.

Now my problem and question is , what set up could I run? I am planning to run 600 horses on nitrous in the 8th mile. Just building a full tube chassis looks like a great plan and leaves plenty of room for upgrades in power and other areas. But I would also like to get it on the track asap and play with it safely.What do you guys think?

I am looking to build some thing like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5BwW6VwIbo .

I have been reading the rules for ORSCA outlaw 10.5 classes and it looks like this will be a quicker route to take to put it on the track. Any one have any experience with stock or backhalf vegas?

They were the rage many years ago, I built a few of them back in the late 70's, early 80's... Everybody and their brother used to build headers and mounts for them, the rear was usually either ladder bars or a 4 link with a 12 point cage hooking everything together.... Hooker might still list some headers for them, I think I'd go with a front and mid engine plates for hanging the engine.

i'm with dave on this one. i have had 3 vegas two of them were wagons. you need to put real brakes on it and make dam sure you ty the whole car togather with cage. i had a small block 414cid power glide and a 9" in one of the wagons. it was ladder bar rear and a front end kit from one of the chassis shops can't remember which one. car ran 8.9 on motor with a 33x10.5w tire.

ive had 2 V8 vegas in my days both backhalved. they make kits for the whole deal. crossmembers, backhalf sections, or full tube, if you go backhalf you will need to purchase a special oil pan for cross member clearance. and also fenderwell headers, hooker makes a nice fitting kit, the stuff is high priced but then again what isnt these days. also it needs a manual steering box for what you want. to build one from that state is a long haul, but i always loved those little vegas.

I have been reading up on classes and confused on where would be a good place to start. Theres is another site that offer a Don Hardy v8 conversion kit for 500 dollars. It comes with headers and all hardware to mount ,trans cross member ,and some other stuff ,but no engine mounts. They also sell a kit the beef up you front brakes by using ball joint spacers (65 dollars ) that will let you use s-10 spindles, rotors ,etc , they claim certain years of master cylinders bolt on also. 600 horses seems to be affordable for me and I am expecting a 8-10-12 point cage. I would rather put in a 12 point for max strength and safety and go from there but dont want it to be overkill. Most classes though that I have been looking for call rear stock suspension only, the top class that allows for any rear suspenion is pretty much dominated by 50 thousand dollar power plants . So I dont know what to do about the rear??? This is not a 100 thousand dollar racing project just some thing to get the family out on the track on some weekends. Any advice is appreciated.

theres a guy here who ran 11's on a vega rearend, used all auburn guts and aftermarket axles. im told s-10 axles work also

Did he run 11's with the stock suspension or just the vega rear end and upgraded susp. Looking under the car its a stock 4 link but looks like it would have a hard time handling 300 hp. I guess I could just add stronger arms(adjustable) and a spool. Might be able to handle 400 horses, maybe

I am still trying to decide which way to go with the car. I dont want to screw it up and just start cutting and adding. I want to get it on the track and start having fun but also leave room to grow and learn. At this time I have a 350, power glide, 250 shot nitrous system, racing shifter, and vdo gauges. This stuff was left from another project I had a few years ago. I am still undecided on cubic inch open really to any small block that will work best in a light car and on the 8th mile. If you guys have a opinions on class or the set up of the car i would like to hear your ideas.

nobody here respects 302's but they do wind up nicley youd have to gear the hell out of it for the 1/8th though. like 5:30's or something

Wadda ya mean NOBODY? You need to rethink the reads of past posts. If they didn't run worth a crap, the factory wouldn't have messed with them. Let alone a boat load of racers who still run them.

Originally Posted by gassersrule_196

nobody here respects 302's but they do wind up nicley youd have to gear the hell out of it for the 1/8th though. like 5:30's or something

I think them 302's are great!!!! Are you going to run a Windsor or a Boss 302, Scooter?????

none i guess they are considered garbage by one and all, hell with it all

No I was thinking of using a small cubic inch engine thinking that maybe the shorter strokes will help it wind up quickly for the 1/8 mile. I just havent had a chance to research it thoroughly. 283,327 might work in a light car on the 1/8 mile. Like I have said though I havent had a chance to really look into it, but by comments I have read here all ready it seems everyone thinks they are a waste, dont know??

Hey... you just need to shoe-horn a big block in there ... sure it costs you a few pounds but you can wind a 427 to 8000 easy (or a 572 or even ~650+ can be made to turn the revs not as easy $$$)....

327 or even 350 probably more practical for high revs but you'll get the tq with the big motors...

Sounds like a fun project... I know a few guys at our track that run the Vegas. They're great cars... I'll keep an eye out next weekend to see how they have the rears set up but I don't think we have any running faster than mid 10's in the 1/4 (most are running 11s-13s)

I run a 76 Monza . 406 with a glide and a 9". Best ET so far is 10.35 I can send some pics if you are interested.