V8 vega....

[JT]

When I was younger I had a friend that built a 327 tri-power for his Vega. His was a hatchback, not a wagon. That sucker flew when he opened up all three carbs...then it blew up. It made quite a bang too. Blew the hood right off and engulfed the entire front end in flames. We think something failed with the linkage which had to be fabricated from scratch. It was a neat car, but not at all worth the investment in my opinion. It's all up to you dude. Can you afford and do you want a very expensive new toy? The frame on my buddies could not be reinforced enough to handle the torque. It was pretty messed up by the time it blew. By most standards, the car was totaled before it was actually totaled.

[4x4]

I have basicly the same setup in my little 4x4 , only a 383 stroker , 11.5 pistons , two fours on top of a pro ram tunnel ram plus a 3500 stall converter with a 350 turbo ...
I blew that little 71/2 ring gear to rat shit and then put in a ford 9'' ...
I wish I could upload pics and stuff but I never could since the new forum came along ...

OK Cheif , show em the goods , he is the man you want to talk to !

[Chief]

Parts for this conversion are everywhere, and relatively cheap. A hell of a lot cheaper than anything you can do to a Road Runner....man, they've gotten expensive. An original in prime condition, with a matching-number 426 Hemi, can easily bring over 100 grand.
I can remember when I mounted a glass hood, set the engine back about 6 inches and installed a pair of Brodix aluminum heads. All that weight off the front had an interesting side effect...3 foot wheelstands. YEEEEE-HAAAAAA....what a trip....
We'll be expecting some pictures of your Vega on steroids any day now.... :p

[HotRodTodd]

As Chief stated lots of fun to build and drive. One of the guys at our local track runs one in super pro. It was a Warren Johnson built pro-stocker originally, needless to say it was built right. I do have to disagree with Chief in this one instance, the vega wagon i had was a Cosworth Vega and the motor in it was sweet and hauled ass for about 150,000 miles. My brother killed it after that by not doing maintenace, oil water good fuel etc. It was much more fun with the 327 in it anyway LOL. We ran a 72 chevy Luv rear end in it with N-50 tires for about 3 years before it scattered the ring gear. Street and strip usage that is.

[lefty]

I built one - 72 Wagon - 307 V8, two barrel bone stock. I used a 350 turbo out of a pickup, and able to find a driveshaft off the wrecking yard shelf that fit without cutting. I left the stock rear end in place. I modified stock exhaust manifolds to fit, built the oil pan, used Monza V8 engine mounts, front springs and radiator. I even went so far as to modify the A/C evaporator and it's under hood housing so as to have the factory air fully functional. It would only do 95 mph tops, but that was because the rear end was geared for the 4 speed that was originally in it. But it would sure get there FAST! It was my daily driver for four years. I did try a stock 66 327 cast iron 4 bbl intake and one of my 409's 4bbls for a while. Other than wiping out my fancy oil pan on my first drive (I built a skid plate after replacing the pan with a Monza oil pan), it was a very dependable car and a blast to drive. Sold it to my brother-in-law and one of his kids parked it on the street and someone rear-ended it. It was two feet shorter than before!

:cool:

[Chief]

You robbed an AFB off of your 409, Lefty? Shame, shame...I remember when I was in high school and one of the football players gave me a ride home in his brand new 62 SS...with the 409/425hp engine. I was in fantasyland for a week.
HRT, I forgot about the Cosworth - that was a fine little engine....but you couldn't have gotten 150,000 miles out of four of the standard Vega motors.
Here's a picture I found of my Super Gas Vega wagon. Ran 9.50 @ 145 MPH in the quarter.

[lefty]

You robbed an AFB off of your 409, Lefty? Shame, shame...

Well, it came off BEFORE the car was sold my b-in-law for sure! It's back on the dual four intake, sitting with five other 409 dual four setups on the shelf. Most are those correct dated coded ones the restorers pay the big bucks for. I'll save a set for my car and Ebay the rest. I even have kits for the carbs. Along with a complete 409hp/409cid engine on the stand.

:cool:

[Chief]

I'm getting excited over Lefty's collection...5 409 dual quad setups? Don't you wish they were 1969 Z28 dual quad/ram manifold setups? Seems like they're bringing about 4000 each...
I had one of those Monzas too...it had a 262 with an automatic. Wouldn't scatter shit with a hayrake. Little bitty valves and real restrictive headers. That was back in the days when catalytic converters first hit the market....and robbed you of about 50 horsepower.
A Boss 429 or a Hemi Dart "laying around"?
Better lay off the Jack Daniels... :p

[Chief]

Well, K...here's where we agree to disagree. I worked for a Lincoln Mercury store when Panteras were selling new for around 7 grand. That was about 6 grand too much. They are bar none one of the biggest pieces of junk to ever clutter our highways. I'd rather have a Geo Metro with a burnt valve.

You'd trade a HemiCuda for a 1970.5 Z? Are you on dope?
With the money that 'Cuda would bring, you could buy 3 of those Camaros, and a 5 carat diamond ring for that good looking wife of yours... :D

And a case of Yukon Jack for good measure.

Here, see if you like this one. My personal 1969 Camaro SS 396. Body-off restoration. 396 went away long ago, it's been replaced with a factory 502, with a few mods. About 600 horsepower/600 lbs/ft. torque. A damn good Saturday Night Special :p

[Chief]

HAHAHA....hell, K, I'm one dumb, but not too dumb....the 396 was gone long before I bought the car. I would never have replaced it if it had been included.
You just don't know how junky those Panteras were....and it had nothing to do with the 351 Cleveland. That was the only good part about the whole car. They had a sexy body...but you can wrap a hand grenade in a pretty box, and that's just exactly what Ford did.

[HotRodTodd]

Chief is dead on about the Pantera's. They overheated constantly. They were uni-body with very little uni in the body. That wonderful transaxle was a handgrenade. Rust magnets if they were actually used as a car should be, and not as trailer queens. The owner of the local strip here has one that he has been trying to restore for about 8 years now. It has been a money pit and continues to be one every time it sees the outside of the garage. Fun and scary car at the same time, LOL.

[Chief]

You're too damn big for a sports car. You need a dooley diesel. :p

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33643&item=2464712123

[Chief]

Watch who you're calling old. :p
The older Dodge Cummins diesels were damn sure loud, I'll have to say...2003-up are MUCH quieter. They don't have quite as much zip from the factory as the Chevy and Ford versions....but they are by far the toughest of the bunch and can be hopped up out the wazoo.
Dodge Hemi's are nice, until you have to feed 'em. Same with the new F150 Ford 5.4. The Chevies get a lot better mileage. That new Ford is a stunner in the looks department, though...I look for the SuperDuty versions to have a similar change, maybe for 2005.
Gotta agree on the styling...you put the Chevy alongside the new Ford F150....it's a little like lining up Rosie O'Donnell and Kathy Ireland :D

[berner]

I've got one of those noisy older (96) Dodge 12 valve Cummins. I've added about 90 HP for $600. Could've been more for the same money but I'm at the tranny's limit. It will roast the both tires thru 1st gear and fill up punked-out Hondas with black diesel smoke. Loud?? That's what stereos are for.

[Chief]

All you cats have got nothin' on this old man... :D
I've had LOTS of Cummins diesels...
I owned and operated a high-end car stereo center for 7 years...
I ran a 1969 Chevelle with a supercharged big block on the street for years (injection is nice, but I'd rather be blown ;) )....
And I'm older than all you pups to begin with.
Don't jack with me. :p

[berner]

40 in a couple years?? Shit, I wish I was 40 and could do it all over again. Chief, I had a 68 SS396 Chevelle. Great car. Zero to jail in 12 secs. Did the bigblock again in a '59 Apache shortbox. Way too much power for the steering and brakes. Still see the truck around. Still pissed at myself for selling it.

[Chief]

Yeah, that old Apache needed some modern disc brakes and maybe a rack and pinion steering from something newer. There's one here in town with a late model LT1 350 and 6 speed from a late model Z28, with lots of chassis upgrades. NICE machine.

That old Chevelle I had was fast...although at 4000 pounds it wasn't a total ball of fire - just loud, nasty and smoky. One of those little turbocharged "Fast and Furious" rice rockets could probably leave it in the dust.

Sure loved listening to that blower whine, though....ahhhhh....

[berner]

I had a Volare front clip ready to go in that truck. Never got around to putting it in. The guy that bought it never even drove it. He just handed over my asking price in cash. Not one of my more stellar moments. :rolleyes: If I could reach, I'd kick my own ass.

[Chief]

Here, Berner....some memories for ya :p

[berner]

Chief, those fleetsides are nice but hard to find. I've only seen one other. Mine was a stepside, bright yellow with black interior. I'll try to find a pic.