peterpans 72 vega

[peterpan]

update on my vega story

the vega that got me started on the vega kick is now sitting in MY driveway (see another 72 vega for pan)

i now own all the 71 to 73 vegas in my town that i know of all three of them 1 72 hatchback 1 72 hatchback gt and a 73 hatchback gt parts car maybe future drag car

except a 73 hatchback that is trashed with another car sitting on top of it and a 71 wagon that is trashed that are in the local junkyard and they bolth have contributed parts to my cars

[Caveman]

Whats going on with your project?

[peterpan]

sad to say but its been moth balled along with my other vega

i own somewhere around 25 cars and trucks many cool ones but the only thing i have to drive is a crappy 79 caprice classic and i hate it more than i can show

from a string of bad luck all of my daily drivers are broke

i blew the clutch out of my big blazer testing out my new lockers but it was fun mud flying motor wound way to far beyond the red line and the mud was deep and very thick but i got threw it and limped it home (needs new clutch)

the brakes are shot on my 63 pickup along with a tranny leak spraying on the headers (it will get a 5 lug conversion and disc brakes along with new wheels)

my camaro has a masive oil leak that i can't seem to find it won't leak sitting still only while i'm driving it (pulling the motor and selling it to a buddy)

and my 500 horse 454 in my other blazer chewed up the distibuter gear little chunks of it in the motor(drop pan clean out peices and get bronze distributer gear)

power steering pump out on my tow truck (easy fix new pump)

and changing the motor on the ol ladies 91 full size jimmy

its time to do a bit of basic maintinance to them
so i put the vegas on moth balls for now until i can get a few of my daily drivers back up and going over the fall/winter my money and time will be tied up with them

and when summer hits again i will be up to my hind end in getting my new house going and i can't forget my new shop along with it

i will probablly get back on my vegas hot and heavy when i get into my new shop


my projects are stalled but not dead

[peterpan]

well i sold my camaro and now have some cash to spend on my cars again

most of it is being spent on my ol ladies 90 fullsize jimmy but i talked her into letting me get a lower valance from daves vega village for my vega

not much progress but its somthing

[peterpan]

its not new progress but i added it anyway


my tranny shifter box

its fully welded into the floor now

[peterpan]

once again its not new progress i just figured i would try to get this thread cought up

i took the lower core support radiator mount from a 76 monza coupe and put it in my vega and used the 600 horse griffin radiator for a monza but the upper radiator hose was moved to the vega possition on the side


its welded in and painted now

[peterpan]

here's a picture of the 73 gt dash that i got for it allso

[DEMON Precision]

I patterned mine after Ray's. It worked out great. I took a different approach and sealed up the new frame rails by forming the pinch weld from the rockers to the new frame rail and welding the length. Then I cut a couple pieces of sheet to fit the floor under the front seats and welded that in. It was a lot of extra work but it really turned out. Being from MN I'm hyper paranoid about rust so I'm taking extra steps the whole way to avoid any posibility of it starting somewhere.

I also wanted to try the chassis foam stiffening trick and wanted a number of closed spaces to do that in... I'm also planning on flushing out the back foot wells with the new frame rails so I'll have more room for exhaust...

Here's a link to my Ray inspired frame rails:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2357894/6

I still need to add some later pix where everything is cleaned up. It looks pretty dirty in the build pix. In the end it was fun and I learned how to weld. Thanks Ray.

DUDE !!!

your car is the same colour as my 75 , and i love the subframe connectors with the control arm mounts

[peterpan]

my car or nicks

i beleive the color on my car is called mediteranian blue i'm considering repainting it that color but i really like the light blue thats on the toyota tundra i think it would look awsome on my vega


it took me awhile to come up with the idea for the sub frame connectors i looked at what people had done before and i didn't like the connectors that stop by the tranny mount and i wanted to tie it in to the rear control arm mount so thats the best idea i came up with and i think it worked out pretty good but it took out the seat belt mount and a bolt hole for the seat bracket and i still need to figure out a way around them problems

[spyder_xlch]

I don't like the idea of stopping at the tranny cross member either. I'd actually prefer to go alittle more forward with it than you did Ray, but it would take some thinking to get it right. I'd like to tie it into the frame rails ahead of the firewall somehow. I guess the frame rails do come down to where your frame connectors end up though.

[peterpan]

my sub frame connectors meet the front frame rails on the front and the kinda over lap

i thought about cutting the frame rail open and running a tube up into them then welding it all together but in the end i thought it would be way to much work and the way i did it seemed to stiffen up the car real good

i actually had the motor and tranny mocked up in it with only one jack stand under the front on one side and the car didn't twist

and i messed around with my floor jack in different places to see how the car would twist it was pretty stiff for the way i plan to use this car i sure it will be more than i need

[spyder_xlch]

After looking at one of my cars again, your right, your connectors do tie in to the frame rails. The frame rails do kinda come down in front of the fire wall and blend into the floor where your connectors stop.

[peterpan]

this picture shows it real well

i welded the end of the tube to the body then i capped the tube so its welded more than it looks

[spyder_xlch]

Yeah, I see it better in that pic. I was thinking of running a tube up where your ground clamp is in that pic, up the firewall and tying in to the rail inside the inner fender. The way you did it is alot easier and looks to be just as strong. If you twist anything with that set-up you got more motor and traction then you need.

[peterpan]

i'm glad i did so much to strenthen it up i am considering putting the 396 out of my 71 camaro i just sold as a roller in it

as soon as i get the chance i'm going to pull it out of storage and test fit a 454 block i have in it to see how it fits