From:
twelve_second_vega_REMOVE_972487_THIS_@yahoo.com
Because this is my first personally owned Vega
and my first Chevrolet, most of my H-Body memories
involve someone else's car that I worked on.
I
remember helping a buddy put a V8 in a bright orange
'Millionth Vega' back in high school. There was an old guy
down the street who gave us a 283 with pop-ups and a
solid lifter cam that was just sitting in his
garage.
We started raiding our friend's garages and by
the end of the night, we had a tunnel ram, 750 Holley
and a boatload of good used stuff.
We
installed the engine with a Hooker/Trans-Dapt style kit and
put a TH350 behind it with a 'GM-6'
Converter.
We didn't do anything to upgrade the brakes or
suspension. We just wanted it to be fast. I think we had
about $200.00 total invested in that car when it was
done. The car was very, very quick and it wasn't long
before the rear end let go.
I came down with
Hepatitis and missed a lot of school. when I was starting
to get better, he brought the car by my house. I
remember him telling me how his Dad welded the Vega
Brackets onto another rearend and bolted it in.
The look of the welds made me almost afraid to ride
in the car, but I agreed to go with him to Famosa
Raceway in Bakersfield, CA.
I remember how
surprised I was to see the car dip into the twelve's with a
screaming 12.97 on cheater-slicks and open exhaust. The car
was oh so rough looking, but it was sure fast on a
limited budget.
More recently, I recall finally
sealing the deal on my one-owner 1972 Hatchback after 3
years of pestering the seller. I bought the car on
February 24, 2000 and drove it 18 miles home from Woodlake
to Visalia, California.
Along the way, the
glovebox popped open and a swarm of angry yellow jackets
filled the inside of the car. You would be surprised how
well those stock Vega Manual Brakes stop when you are
being stung repeatedly.
Once I got them out of
the car and managed to get home, my wife asked to go
for a ride. We went right down the main drag on a
Saturday evening and parked at In-N-Out Burger.
Of
course, the locals teased me because I was a Ford guy,
but a lot of the older guys were talking about the
Vega and looking it over as much as they did the
really nice cars out there. Seems like everyone had a V8
Vega at one time and it was neat to hear all the
stories about them.
I also remember how hard the
TH350 would shift under wide open throttle. That little
140 would get a mean scratch on the 1-2 shift. I did
this as we were leaving and a cheer went up from the
local crowd.
My wife just looked over at me a
rolled her eyes.
It was kinda cool. Hopefully much
better when it finally hits the road with the
V8.
Tags are paid up. Next week should (hopefully) be
a test drive day...Robert
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