74 Vega Project Underway

[AdMaisen]

Dream project started, it's a long journey down the road and i'm sure it will fuck me over somehow
I have a 74 Vega that i bought here in Egypt and lemme get some stuff straight first
1. We are not allowed to buy used cars from it's owner and import it in Egypt, we have to deal with used ones we have within the country, i got this Vega after 2 years of "on and off" searching
2. Shipping the small parts whenever you find that you need it one by one is going to be a pain in the ass and a hell loss of $$$, i know i will face problems and will have to import some stuff to get them fixed, but that's another story than building piece by piece by my self

To cut the long story short, i will rebuild this car as a "Semi Show" car, like i will keep details with what i can go for, but changing a floor panel with aftermarket piece of crap will not be done, i want to convert this 74 to a 71 front end look, will attach what i have and what i desire
also thinking about an SBC 383 Stroker Engine, I think a Hood Scoop is a must in that situation (but dunno how many inches it will be), not sure with the transmission yet (Thinking about TKO 5 Speed) dunno if i will find a flywheel, clutch desk, etc. to fit.
I'm sure i will install an AC and an Alternator at least up front, dunno if i can fit a Supercharger aswell, is that possible ?...i know the H-Body is not as big when it comes to engine bay
Water Pump...i was thinking about going with Davies Craig Electric Water Pumps
Power steering is another story, i was thinking about this Saturn Vue Ion Chevrolet Equinox – Electric power steering controller box – EPAS

You suggest i get a 350 used short block, measure, blueprint and build then get the heads separately or buy a complete new engine ?
I aim for 500+ Horse Power, and i have been self searching and learning everything all by myself cause i wanna do as much work as i can on it with my hands to feel the pride of building something

Sorry for the wall of text, i'm kinda all alone lost in this project and i have been thinking about it for weeks now
This build is for a daily use car, not gonna drag with it and push it to it's limits a lot, like 6-10 hits a month or so.to beat the crap out of the showy M3 and Evolution that run around in here hehe

i will need your suggestions, put in your consideration that this might go for a long run, i save around 2000 Egyptian pounds monthly for the car build, and on the other hand Dollar worth around 8.5 EGP, so buying a 1K is 4 months saving, i will try to push myself to get it done as i need this car for my future business, opening a Performance and Customization Garage, so it will be kinda my advertising...


Stage I : Clean the car and start removing all the stuff in it, the previous owner had a 2003 Toyota 4 Cyl 2.0 CC engineand suspension which is simply crap, i'm getting the car ready for the body shop to start ripping the paint off and fixing all the rusty areas

[AdMaisen]

my Car, will add more pics later




Wishing i can make it look like this one, i want to kinda "Copy" this body work and do the same in my car, it's a long ride for sure but the journey is the best part of it

[Monza Harry]

Ad welcome aboard! You have what seems like a doable plan, I question your need for 500HP though these cars were never meant for that much power and traction will be your biggest disappointment. You will need to do substantial strengthening to handle that power. But that can be done, and you will need a strategy for traction, expensive tires for sure, and tubs or flares or? The first thing I suggest is read this board and I mean a lot of the older posts, as your answers are there already, and we will gladly fill in what isn't what you need or don't understand. I have no idea about the cost of a crate engine vs. rebuild costs in Egypt. In Canada and the US there are crate engines in all sorts of power and shape choices and are usually by far the cheapest. If I was starting [over for me, or fresh like you] today I would probably chase down a wrecked Corvette with there 400 to 500HP engine with all the supporting hardware I could get, this will allow emissions compliance., reasonable fuel consumption, and the most affordable/available parts. Ultimately you will have to deal with what you can find and pay for. Good luck and have fun with it. Hope to hear from you often Harry P.S. wail the S T out of those M3's and Evo's http://www.turnkeyenginesupply.com/ls6- ... te-engine/ http://www.crateenginedepot.com/ and Summit and Jegs as well

[AdMaisen]

Thanks Harry for the kind reply, I have been through some of the forum sections here, read all (BadBowtie) restoration thread, will check for other threads surely, thanks for the advice
The thing about the need for this much H.P., as a matter of fact, i dunno why i need it that much, maybe showy some how lawl, i thought as i will be doing something from scratch... why not make it as big and good as it can be
Regarding the American cars in general, there is almost no market for it in here Jeep is only widely used American car, beside Chevrolet of course, but the Chevy cars in here are Japanese (Isuzu), Korean(Daewoo) or Chinese GM owned factories that their products sold under Chevy brand, i will have to import each and every piece to get it done, general mechanical imperial parts (bolts, nuts etc..) can be found, tools as well, but not specific car parts
so if i might rebuild an engine, i will most likely import everything, maybe i can fabricate a bracket or so, and interior , suspension can be figured out, but we are talking about importing all car parts from there to here, or build a car in the US, cut it in half and send it to Egypt, then after that take it off and remount each and every part of it..
i always dreamed about having a Mustang Fastback since i was 14 or so ( since i have seen the Shelby Mustang in "Gone in 60 Seconds" to be precise) , now 30 and able to get the closest i can find to the body shape, no Corvettes or Camaros in here so nothing i can do about it.

I have checked the links and there are valuable items there, i have an average 6000$ budget for the Engine and transmission, with a limit up to 7000$, as i can rebuild a block and headers by my own, and honing block to specs is not a problem here, i thought of grabbing a STD (if i can) short block, aluminium cylinder heads, grab the pistons, rings, rods, bearings...etc separately and do it, will save me around 1K or so, but as all i aim for is the amazing sound of a classic muscle engine and as building a 350 can be done as a 383 stroker easily, what are the other choices/preferences you might suggest ?

[b_pappy]

Wow, great project, and I love the clean looking rendering you posted. Best of luck with your build.
Bruce

[AdMaisen]

Wow, great project, and I love the clean looking rendering you posted. Best of luck with your build.
Bruce

Thanks Bruce, will be posting updates, still ripping the car apart and checking the undercarriage, it will be mostly all replaced, still searching for what to handle the weight of the V8

[BadBowtie]

Pretty interesting project! I thought it was hard getting parts in Canada but you've got most of us beat for that.

[Vegavulture]

Looking forward to your progress and more pictures.

[AdMaisen]

Pretty interesting project! I thought it was hard getting parts in Canada but you've got most of us beat for that.

You can imagine the kind of hassle i'll be going through, but i will kinda have the only hot rod restored muscle car in Egypt, it worth!!

[AdMaisen]

Looking forward to your progress and more pictures.

Whenever there is a worthy update i will keep you guys posted