75 vega build.

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75 vega build.

Postby luler » Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:44 pm

Alright guess its about time I started this since I drug the car around to the driveway.

Going to start tearing it down this weekend starting with the rotten carpet inside.
The motor mounts and frame plates are in the mail so I will pull the stock 140 out and start cleaning up the engine bay and get the measurements done to check for frame spread.

I will try and take a bunch of pics of the process as much for myself as anyone else that might be interested.

So far my to do list is :
Check for frame spread and reinstall k brace.
Remove rotten carpet and clean up any rust I find underneath.
Remove stock motor and clean up engine bay.
Probably flat black the engine bay and any place I had to clean up surface rust.

On a side note when I checked the glove box I found the limited warranty for the engine dated 11/7/75
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby cosworth0135 » Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:01 am

we love some pitures,( i should really purchase a digital cam so I could contribute)Timmy
i currently drive a geo metro,insert silly joke here,, but i'll pass you while your getting gas
If you don't have time/money to do it right the first time,how will you have time/money to do it again. Timmy
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby cjbiagi » Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:33 am

Sounds like a great project and will look forward to seeing pics. You may want to consider a semi-gloss black paint for the engine bay. Flat paint always seems harder to clean and maintain. A nice satin finish looks good.
Clyde.........75 Monza 2+2
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:00 pm

Found the k brace bolts in a tray under the seat. They were pretty rusted so I took them into the wire wheel and cleaned them then gave them a light coating of wd40

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Last edited by luler on Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Mon Feb 06, 2012 9:50 am

Well was cold and windy so didn't get much done.

All 4 tires ofcourse don't hold air so when I pulled it around front they promptly came off the rims. It was at this time that I found out my wheel dollies are missing. So it issitting at the edge of the drive until I replace them or come up with another way to move it into place.

But I did give it a bath for the first time in over a decade. I went ahead and cleaned up the interior some as well. Was pretty shocked at how much it improved.
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Last edited by luler on Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby MonzterMtrSprt » Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:27 pm

looks cool man. post some exterior pics too ;)
Check out my 79 Monza Build thread
viewtopic.php?t=36350
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:10 am

Okay so after not doing anything with it for a few months now.....I have wound up with a complete donor 2000 Astro van that blew a head gasket and my grandpa just bought something else.....So I think its about time to start working on getting the motor freshened up and figuring out what else I will need to get this thing on the road. My current train of thought is I want to swap over as much stuff from the van as possible if I can convert it to 5 lug and use the spindles/ brakes from the van and the rear end . It would be nice but I don't expect much of this to just bolt in

Still trying to decide if when I take apart the motor if I should put it back together fuel injected and thin out the harness ect or get rid of all that stuff and go with a carb.

Oh and here are a few pics of the outside.

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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby overkillrc » Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:02 pm

man, if you can do all the wiring and keep it fuel injected that IMO would be the way to go.
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby cosworth0135 » Fri Jul 20, 2012 3:33 pm

This can control that fuel injected motor http://www.dynamicefi.com/ and here is a thread on how to use them http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/diy-p ... g-ebl.html I would suggest using a stripped down basic s10 for the wiring, but you already have all the wires with the astro that set also does v8 fuel injected swaps(pretty sure thats why it was developed I found it toying with a TBI v8 swap into a s10 Timmy
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If you don't have time/money to do it right the first time,how will you have time/money to do it again. Timmy
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:25 pm

I have pulled apart and rewired a harness or 2 but mostly to cut weight or to do a wire tuck. Haven't done a swap and chop but I have a lot of evenings with nothing better to do than sit down on my floor and pull apart wires lol. When I get ready to pull the motor out I will mark all the necessary engine / trans plugs with a paint dot or if I am really bored that night maybe number all the plugs and their locations and keep a data sheet on it might be useful for someone else down the line.
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Thu Apr 11, 2013 9:33 am

Well it has sat all winter but I am feeling renewed interest in working on it again. Definitely keeping the fuel injection. I like the idea of looking for an s10 harness but not sure it wouldn't be largely the same since the base models came with 4 bangers as I recall. By the time you get up to v6 and AC I might have some wires going back to control the rear ac ect but that's pretty easy to sort out and eliminate.

Hoping to get the drive train pulled from the donor van this weekend so I can get it pulled apart and replace all the seals and anything else that looks like I should while its out and easy to do.
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Fri May 09, 2014 4:15 pm

Moving put the car on hold for a year but I have the car, time, and myself all in the same place again so progress can start. Pulled the valve cover for giggles sure looked good for a car that's been sitting in a field for 15 or so years. More than could be said for the wiring which seemed tastey for a rodent at some point.
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby Monza Harry » Fri May 09, 2014 6:29 pm

Luler Is your Astro van (donor vehicle) AWD I know the two we had for the wife (AWD) were 5 on 5 Bolt pattern, not the car 5 on 4.75 pattern which is supposed to be on the 2WD van. We have never owned a 2 wheel drive so I don't know. If the 4.3 is a Vortec I would absolutely try and swap the 6 with the CPI (Central Port Injection) if possible, the TBI non-Vortec wasn't nearly as fast as our two CPI V6's in the stable of Crap we drive Now. If this is still the plan time changes everything. Hope you found this helpful, Harry
I'm not a hoarder I'm a preservationist 78 Monza Spyder (~Soon(ish +/- I guess) To Be 2+2 with Spoilers)
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby luler » Sat May 10, 2014 5:04 pm

My donor van is a rwd 97 astro so should be the small lug version. Found a company that sells mounts for the 4.3 into a vega looks like exhaust and some wiring may be all the fabrication I have to do for the initial swap.
I plan on leaving the automatic in it since the 4.3 will bolt up. Get it in and running will give me much stronger motivation to do the rest of the work.
Anyone know off hand if the 15s from the van will tuck under the fenders or if I need to start hunting a set of smaller rims?
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Re: 75 vega build.

Postby HAULIN' IT » Sun May 11, 2014 9:23 am

RWD Astro vans had 5x5" bolt circle also...not just the AWD's. Later one's all went to 6 bolt. Lorne
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