1975 Vega GT

[chevyart]

i think don hardy was sort of a pioneer in making the vega v-8 conversion parts. does any know the guys know the history of his involvement in the hot rod industry. art

[BadBowtie]

Summer has treated me and my h-body well, Monzaque was a great success, I no longer fear the +800km round trip which has something to say about the cars reliability now (*knock on wood*). It might be a harsh, hot and loud ride but it alway feels worth it at the end of the trip.

Monzaque2017

2017-08-05 16.49.10.jpg (151.02 KiB) Viewed 273 times

This summer I worked a lot with my father learning how to wet-sand, compound, polish and wax. Brought out a lot of the shine in my old worn down/resprayed paint. The car actually shines in the daylight and is smooth to the touch.

Summer2017

2017-07-23 20.42.44.jpg (99.52 KiB) Viewed 273 times

Driveline wise the new clutch is incredible, both from a point of feel and bite. The car drives differently but definitely in a good way. The stop hops seem to be working, although I still occasionally get a little bit of shake but nothing that I would consider wheel hop. Attached here : https://youtu.be/OXDOAXmc2Tw is a quick video of the car fighting for traction from a dead stop and from a roll courtesy of some backcountry roads. When you think about the gearing, 2.20/1.64/1.28/1.00 and a 3.50 rear, the car seems to be making a lot of low - midrange torque and does pull strong right up to 6300-6500rpm without hesitation.

Because I cant leave well enough alone I'm in the process of building my own MPFI setup off an old Edelbrock Pro-Flo kit and what will be a Microsquirt. A lot of research and work will be going into the conversion as I am doing everything myself from harness to base maps. I cant keep myself from designing, building and improving this project. It will be sad to pull off the dual carbs when I get there, but having them run as well as they do I cant help but feel its the next step in what is a long term project.

Past little bit I havent driven the car much but it still comes out for groceries and cruising. Hopefully everyone elses summer has been going well.
Here is a picture of me trying to be incognito getting groceries.

VegaGroceries

VegaIGA.jpg (61.22 KiB) Viewed 273 times

[NVEGAR8D]

It doesn't stand out at all!
nick75vega

[zeke]

Great to meet you and see the bad bowtied Vega!

[Monza Harry]

This summer I worked a lot with my father learning how to wet-sand, compound, polish and wax. Brought out a lot of the shine in my old worn down/resprayed paint. The car actually shines in the daylight and is smooth to the touch.
Because I cant leave well enough alone I'm in the process of building my own MPFI setup off an old Edelbrock Pro-Flo kit and what will be a Microsquirt. A lot of research and work will be going into the conversion as I am doing everything myself from harness to base maps. I cant keep myself from designing, building and improving this project. It will be sad to pull off the dual carbs when I get there, but having them run as well as they do I cant help but feel its the next step in what is a long term project.

Past little bit I havent driven the car much but it still comes out for groceries and cruising. Hopefully everyone elses summer has been going well.
Here is a picture of me trying to be incognito getting groceries.

VegaIGA.jpg

Great, that you and "Dad" can spend some quality time with each other and learn from each other and improve your "Baby"

As for well enough alone I am the same way only I don't finish before my "Rethink's" [that is my official reason for non-completion! ] I hope you share in detail your progress, I too have thought hard about "MegaSquirt" [the version of their recommendation] for EFI and I really still want it!

Well as for "incognito" you are just short of the subtlety of a 40' inflatable, almost invisible. I LOVE it!
Great to have finally met up at the "MonzaQue" this year as Zeke said, and your car looked really good, and now you've made it better, Man your makin' me look bad. Harry

[BadBowtie]

Its always great to put faces to the cars we see on here at MonzaQue, one day it will be VegaQue when we take over! Great seeing you guys.

As for the EFI project, it will be extensively detailed and shared here. Its something I've always wanted to play with and learn, but going DIY instead of a kit will make for a lot of work/effort rather than straight cash. Nothing wrong with the off the shelf units as I have considered them myself, even as some people have suggested running dual throttle bodies with the crossram. Most of the kits out there will probably work better than what I put together for the first little bit, but it just isnt how I want to set mine up in the long run for adjustability.

Also I am very glad you guys agree on my inconspicuousness, I work hard to blend in.

[BadBowtie]

Seeing as the year is coming to an end I figured I should post up to show I'm still hanging around. New job, new place, less garage space has meant I've not been too busy with the car. A quick 2018 review:

Changed intake gaskets again due to a sealing issue, I should have gotten the face of the intake manifold surfaced because I still don't think its sealing 100% which means I've got some oil sucking in. While that was all apart I noticed some issues with my distributor advance mechanism due to the smaller weight springs I had put on previously, this explains why my idle moved around so much as the mechanism would bind and lock up past zero and get all twisted up. Easy fix just spacing out the springs with some tiny washers. I remember there were a few small other things in the distributor that needed adjustment and it all made a difference.

outside.jpg (206 KiB) Viewed 66 times

Went to Monzaque again this year, thanks again for having us. Cant complain getting to see old and new faces, starting to feel like a go-to vacation spot since I know my way there and all the stops I make. It was tough with the new job and getting the car out late but as usual I drove the car around the week before to work a few times and called it good enough. I'm not always easy on the car so I usually know if its going to work out or not.

monzaque2018.jpg (139.39 KiB) Viewed 66 times

Picked up some parts over the course of the year, I now have 90% of what I need for my fuel injection swap. Pulled the trigger on an Areomotive 450lph and Microsquirt V2 for the big items, shopped throughout the year and managed to save money, USD to CAD is a real killer as some of you guys know. I also installed a cutoff switch as things start to progress I'd like to have some safety equipment.

Also went to a car show / drag event with some friends, I only went down the track once because of the bad track conditions and no shutdown area, they use an old airport runway (year round) but use less than 1/8 mile shutdown area with no timing stripe markers. Completely unacceptable as you're running WOT towards a wall of concrete dividers with no real reference for distance or turnoff. Long story short-ish, spun the tires off the line, broke sideways into second and got out of it just after the 1/8th, then I saw my friend coming up beside me so I stabbed it to keep him behind me and ran 14.2 @ 88, for reference I was 82 in the 1/8th when I backed out of it and still only had a 2.3 60-foot. Needless to say I'm done messing around on the track without proper tires, I wasn't even going to run that day but I figured I'd go easy on it. Beings sideways in 2nd (60-80mph) on a narrow track was not fun and I just parked it for the rest of the day. Between my friends it was funny enough my car was the only one without problems that day and I had the oldest car there by close to 15 years.

meet.jpg (136.17 KiB) Viewed 66 times

Later in the fall I finally picked up a set of Hoosier QTP 26x9.5 DOT Slicks and mounted them on a spare set of wheels I had been holding onto. The fitment isn't exactly what I wanted but the wheels are cheap and light. I'm looking forward to seeing what the car does with some actual grip next year. Definitely want to lower the rear of the car regardless.

mounted.jpg (131.39 KiB) Viewed 66 times

slicks.jpg (71.13 KiB) Viewed 66 times