At $7,500, Is This 1977 Chevy Vega A Star?

Chevy’s Vega was one of many best-looking and least dependable small vehicles of the Seventies, making immediately’s Good Value or No Cube wagon a laudable survivor. Let’s have a look at if its worth survives our ballot.

Voltaire, one of many Age of Enlightenment’s most prolific contributors, wrote that “the proper is the enemy of the great.” Residing a lot of his 83-year life in 18th-century Paris, France, Voltaire was denied the chance to expertise the fashionable automotive proof of this aphorism.

The 2016 Volkswagen Golf R that we checked out yesterday is probably not precisely what one may name good, however when there are completely good vehicles like the marginally much less frenetic GTI about, the R’s better prices in shopping for and working may very nicely be known as into query. That was simply the case with our low-mileage R. The advert’s be aware of a brand new clutch with lower than 50K on the clock additionally known as into query the vendor’s declare of the automobile having at all times been adult-owned and operated. Maybe a type of adults did not know how you can drive stick? That puzzlement led most of you to name the automobile and its historical past into query, leading to its $23,999 asking worth falling in a 64% No Cube loss.

When you concentrate on the primary domestically produced small vehicles to reach in the marketplace, it is superb to think about simply how incorrect the 2 greatest names acquired it. Each Chevy’s Vega and Ford’s Pinto arrived for the 1971 mannequin yr to nice fanfare, with the Chevy even incomes Automotive of the Yr kudos from Motor Development journal. Every of those fashions, nevertheless, would later achieve infamy; the Ford for a design flaw that the corporate’s bean counters determined could be cheaper to litigate quite than repair, and the Vega merely for being usually craptacular when it comes to reliability and construct high quality. The smallest of the 4 main automakers on the time, AMC, launched its import-fighting small automobile competitor, the Gremlin, a yr earlier than the Pinto and Vega hit the scene, and it escaped its manufacturing run with out struggling any such ignominy.

By the point this 1977 Chevy Vega wagon rolled off the road, many of the mannequin’s flaws had been fastened. The die had already been forged on the Vega’s destiny by then, because the automobile’s early popularity drove down gross sales to the purpose that Chevy deserted the Vega nameplate solely the subsequent yr and to today refuses to debate it in well mannered firm.

The Vega’s destiny is all of the extra irritating because it was arguably the best-looking of all of the home small vehicles, and even perhaps some of the engaging vehicles total of the Seventies. Initially fitted with a Camaro-aping nostril that includes bucketed headlamps and a large grille transected by a blade bumper, the Vega, whether or not in notchback, hatchback, or as is that this automobile, wagon styling had massive automobile seems to be in a well-proportioned small automobile footprint. Through the years, that nostril could be modified to fulfill federal bumper requirements, however so far as these efforts went on the time, the Vega’s was some of the profitable.

This one has a number of add-ons, together with a bee-like paint scheme with black stripes over a yellow background. It additionally has a roof rack, Centerline-style wheels and, questionably, an aggressive set of spikes on the again bumper. The bodywork on the automobile is straight, however there’s a noticeable little bit of rust popping by on the entrance fenders and across the rear hatch. That spiky again bumper can also be a bit wonky. It is nonetheless first rate sufficient, nevertheless, that the vendor claims it “makes folks smile if you drive by.”

This was the final yr for the Vega, and gross sales had dropped precipitously throughout that remaining run, making this the rarest yr of all manufacturing. That is neither right here nor there regarding this automobile, as most Vegas of any yr have way back gone to the scrapper, making any mannequin nonetheless on the street an odd duck.

This duck’s inside has been up to date over time with black and yellow vinyl upholstery, a small-diameter steering wheel, and an eight-ball shift knob atop its four-speed shifter. That handbook gearbox is paired with the Vega’s commonplace 2.2-liter DOHC Aluminum block/iron head 4. By the point this automobile hit the streets, emissions requirements had robbed the engine of all however 84 of its horses, making the Vega type of a canine. This automobile appears full in each its engine bay and cabin accouterments, but it surely must be famous that it’s parsimoniously outfitted, missing even a radio within the sprint. The odometer reads 32,480 miles, however because it has solely 5 barrels, it could have rolled. Within the plus column, the automobile does have a clear title and present tags on its retro vainness plates.

You will not discover a lot love for the Vega within the common auto fanatic inhabitants, so it is questionable simply who may discover this automobile to their liking. That makes the automobile’s $7,500 asking worth a troublesome proposition. One the one hand, it’s a uncommon remaining instance of a traditionally vital vehicle that Chevy followers may discover interesting. Then again, it is a cheap-seats Vega that is most likely not all that nice a automobile to drive.

What’s your tackle this old-school wagon and that $7,500 asking? Does that appear honest given the automobile’s situation and relative rarity? Or does that worth imply this Vega’s star is dimming?

You resolve!

Good Value or No Cube:

Santa Barbara, California, Craigslistor go right here if the advert disappears.

H/T Don R. for the hookup!

Assist me out with NPOND. Contact me at robemslie@gmail.com and ship a fixed-price tip. Keep in mind to incorporate your commenter deal with.