1972 vega

[wecoden]

Will monza rear brakes bolt on a 1972 vega rear end ? I want to up grade the rear brakes. Is the the monza rear end housing the same as the early vega? If so I would just change the whole rear end. Thanks

[hammerdown7]

The '72 rearend is a 6 1/2 and uses two upper and two lower arms. The Monza is a 7 1/2 rearend and uses two lower arms, a torque arm and a panhard bar. The Monza rearend will bolt in but you would need a front torque arm mount by the transmission and a re-inforced panhard bar mount inside the left wheel well. This conversion has been done by at least one of our members. Craig, are you out there?

Dick

[vega craig]

craig here, i put a monza rearend in 2 vegas both were 1973,, one was a 1975 rearend ,the other 1976,the 76 is a easy swap,the panhard bracket mounts right were they had the muffler bracket its really easy, the 75 was not,and i would not do it again ,the panhard bar goes in front of the rearend it mounts right were the upper bracket is for the regular vega had to cut it out then weld in the 75 pan hard bracket,it was a real pain ,,,,so if your going to do it get a 76 or newer and your going to have to get the bracket off the 76 car or make one ,,no big deal plus its easy to get centered. made my vega alot stiffer ,,oh plus brakes on the 75 are smaller. craig

[hammerdown7]

Craig, coming this way next week?
Dick

[wecoden]

I can not find rear brake drums for my 1972 vega. So I wanted to use 1976 or 1977 monza rear brakes,will they bolt on my 1972 vega? If not then the rear end change would be my next move. Thanks DK

[hammerdown7]

I believe the rear drums are the same on Vega's and Monza's through '75. Clyde probably can confirm from his parts books. Rock Auto shows drums for '75 Monza's.

Dick

[wally409]

Had some time to kill so I browsed throuth other threads and came across this one which really got me interested. I parted out a 1976 V8 Monza a while ago and saved the following parts which I've attached photos of. I have a 72 Vega and was prepared to grind off the control arm supports and have them welded to the Monza diff. Now I don't think I have to. I have the long rod on the diff (which attaches to the driver's side of the car), the bracket that goes from the front of the differential to the back of the transmission. Please have a look at the photos and tell me if I have everything I need to swap the rear end into my 72 without having to do any modifications. BVTW, will the bottom two brackets on my Vega attach to the Monza rearend? Thanks so much! Wally

[NVEGAR8D]

Hi,
The lower control arms will bolt up to the vega . you will have to create a mount for the panhard bar though. i'm not too sure about the length of the third arm from diff to trans , but someone can add to that.i'm in the same placewith my 75 since the change did'nt come in till the monza.
nick75vega

[wally409]

Thanks for the info. The tranny/diff connector I think will bolt right in between the two once I'm ready to install the engine-transmission. Does anyone have a photo on where they connected the panbar to the underside of the Vega? Thanks. Wally

[Roccosvega]

Hi,
The lower control arms will bolt up to the vega . you will have to create a mount for the panhard bar though. i'm not too sure about the length of the third arm from diff to trans , but someone can add to that.i'm in the same placewith my 75 since the change did'nt come in till the monza.
nick75vega

My first car was a 74 GT Vega,it was a 4 speed with a posi rear end and it had a torque arm all from the factory. Im sure 74 was the first year for the torque arm rear end.

[hammerdown7]

Hi,
The lower control arms will bolt up to the vega . you will have to create a mount for the panhard bar though. i'm not too sure about the length of the third arm from diff to trans , but someone can add to that.i'm in the same placewith my 75 since the change did'nt come in till the monza.
nick75vega

My first car was a 74 GT Vega,it was a 4 speed with a posi rear end and it had a torque arm all from the factory. Im sure 74 was the first year for the torque arm rear end.

Rocco, not really the case. Torque arm showed up earliest on the '75 Cosworth, was standard on all Monza/Sunbird/Starfire/Skyhawk's and was standard on '76 & '77 Vega/Astre. The '75 design mounted the drivers side of the panhard rod, which was curved, in front of the axle. The '76 and later, which was straight, mounted behind the axle. The drivers side end must be mounted very securely to the body to keep the axle centered.

There have been a couple of owners that have mounted the torque arm type on early models.

Dick

[Roccosvega]

Rocco, not really the case. Torque arm showed up earliest on the '75 Cosworth, was standard on all Monza/Sunbird/Starfire/Skyhawk's and was standard on '76 & '77 Vega/Astre. The '75 design mounted the drivers side of the panhard rod, which was curved, in front of the axle. The '76 and later, which was straight, mounted behind the axle. The drivers side end must be mounted very securely to the body to keep the axle centered.

There have been a couple of owners that have mounted the torque arm type on early models.

Dick[/quote]

Truth is stranger than fiction,this car was mint unmolested and my first car.I was all over that car it being my first car, it might have been assembled late in 74 but i owned it, drove it and remember it very very well and it was a torque arm 74GT Vega.