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Re: New Vega for bugdewde

PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 7:23 pm
by bugdewde
Very bad news.........

Found the battery sitting kinda weird the other day. Sort of angled down on one side. I pulled the battery to reveal this......



battery tray.JPG


Completely gone! I think the battery leaked. It has been dragging a bit when starting... I assumed it was due to the colder weather.
The frame rail is good, as is the surrounding structural stuff... looks like just the bottom sheetmetal is gone.
I've sprayed the area with chain lube, in hopes of keeping the air from contacting it and making it worse.


Looks like there is finally gonna be some body shop time for the '73. Might as well do a complete paint job and find a windshield to replace the cracked one in there now.
DAMN!

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:10 pm
by bill1978v8
wow, that looks bad. Good luck with the repairs

Bill

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 10:52 pm
by Yenkoboy
Dwight If you need some metal from your old 72 let me know I will send it to you. Mark

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:51 pm
by bugdewde
The Vega's battery area is a complete loss. The car has been sitting ever since I removed the leaking battery to reveal the damage.


Image


Here's the hole that was rubbed in the side of the battery. MAKE SURE YOUR BATTERY HOLD-DOWN IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY!!!!! :bang: :bang: :cuss: :censored:

Image
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Well, the Vega has been sitting way too long. I've been sort of pursuing the air-cooled VW interest thing lately and have realized that I should be concentrating on the Vega.
I've started searching for a shop do some sheet metal fabrication and maybe even a paint job.

Now..... just gotta figure out what color I want ?

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:54 pm
by bugdewde
Yenkoboy wrote:Dwight If you need some metal from your old 72 let me know I will send it to you. Mark



Yeah buddy...... I'd love some. I've started looking for a shop to do some work for me. Maybe even do some painting while they have it. Gotta find a good windshield while I'm at it.

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 11:11 pm
by hammerdown7
Dwight,
There's a 78 mile Cosworth in New Jersey whose battery area looks just like yours. It's been sitting in a barn since '77. Outside still looks good but under the hood is the shocker.
Dick

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 11:29 pm
by LL8 Vega GT
I had to fix mine as well, most vegas are like that, they got a bad start with how they shipped them from the factory (vertical) and they leaked out on the brand new cars. I used a piece of sheet metal and started cutting and forming........

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 2:29 am
by cos2482
The Vega's battery area is a complete loss.

most vegas are like that, they got a bad start with how they shipped them from the factory (vertical) and they leaked out on the brand new cars.


Hopefully not another wives tale propagating towards “Vega” history. The only Vegas shipped vertically by rail, went west of Lordstown, Ohio. The majority of us (East) had our Vegas delivered horizontally by highway transport carriers.

33 to 40 years of battery leaching and leaking sulfuric acid, and previous and current owner neglect (Im also guilty) will play a heavy toll on any similarly aged vehicle, any make.

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 8:31 am
by Yenkoboy
We will get it for you Dwight, I will cut it out soon. Mark

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:20 pm
by 283vega
Dwight , I think you should sell your vega to me and concetrate on the vw stuff, your getting sleepy very sleepy
OH and did I mention sell it cheap ,Sleepy very very sleepy now OK :th:

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2018 5:50 pm
by bugdewde
OK.... it's been about 9 years since I posted an update.
Just swapped in a steering box and got it back on the road.
I'm going to concentrate on the '72 Kammback for now and this hatchback will have to go to someone that can love it more than I can at the moment.

Just posted it for sale on craigslist .... quite reluctantly. But only to get it out there into someone's loving hands. It has been a GREAT daily driver for me for many years. But with 11 cars, 2 motorcycles and a vintage boat.... and the Miata rallycross racing schedule.... I don't much time for it anymore.
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/d/ ... 14506.html

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 2:52 pm
by classic_cruiser
283vega wrote:Dwight , I think you should sell your vega to me and concetrate on the vw stuff, your getting sleepy very sleepy
OH and did I mention sell it cheap ,Sleepy very very sleepy now OK :th:


Wow. That's the slowest hypnosis I've ever seen... :lol:

That daily driver looks real nice, and a lot better than many I've heard called "restorable"!

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:36 am
by bugdewde
Broke out the wash bucket.... been a looooong time. Fired right up.
https://youtu.be/eH3cbAUDmc0

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:47 am
by bugdewde
classic_cruiser wrote:
283vega wrote:Dwight , I think you should sell your vega to me and concetrate on the vw stuff, your getting sleepy very sleepy
OH and did I mention sell it cheap ,Sleepy very very sleepy now OK :th:


Wow. That's the slowest hypnosis I've ever seen... :lol:




Yeah, it's obvious i really didn't want to sell it. 9 years. Lol.

Re: Bugdewde's '73 Vega

PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:48 am
by bugdewde
20200922_082227.jpg


The next chapter.

Sold to a cool guy in Virginia.
He's planning on a 5-lug swap with a Don Hardy rear and S-10 hardware upfront. Brake upgrade.
He says he wants to roll with the kickass 2300 for a while ..... but I'm sure it's gonna get a V8 at some point.

I threw in my last hatchback windshield and a good windshield washer bottle.

Video of the last test drive soon.
The 2300 still runs strong. Just realized, the carb has NEVER been apart in my ownership since '06. Fired right up! Idled and ran 12 miles to the 100% gas station and back like a boss.
That 2300 really is a torque monster!!!! Man, did I miss driving this car....