Good morning! On today’s Shitbox Showdown, we’re taking a look at two cars from Detroit’s darkest days that have somehow survived. But before we do that, let’s finish up with yesterday’s all-wheel-drive oddities:
Looks like it’s the Previa. Good choice, I think; those things seem to run forever, and everyone who has them loves them. All-wheel-drive is just the icing on the cake. Shame it’s not one of the supercharged ones, though.
Today’s choices are decidedly not known for running forever, and nobody loves them. American cars from the mid-70s through about 1983 or so are basically useless: they were badly made, and their smog-strangled engines ran like crap and made essentially no power. Why would anyone want one? Well, they are a rare sight, which makes them conversation starters, and at least one of these is actually really cool-looking. Inspired by that complete unicorn of a Buick Century that Jason posted yesterday morning, I specifically chose two standard transmissions. Neither of these was exactly uncommon with a stickshift, but as rare as they are these days, it’s still cool to see “ordinary” cars with three pedals on the floor.
1975 Chevrolet Vega hatchback – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Mulino, OR
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Damn right it does
Yep. A Vega. General Motors’s biggest mistake of the 1970s, an import-fighter that gained notoriety for rust, overheating, and shoddy construction. As it turns out, rushing an all-new car into production and letting the accounting department make engineering decisions was a bad idea. Cost-cutting measures on rustproofing made the front fenders trap water and rust out, and the sophisticated aluminum engine topped by a cheaper cast-iron cylinder head was a recipe for blown head gaskets. Chevy built two million Vegas, and this is one of probably, what, seventeen left?
The worst part is that the Vega is actually a really good-looking little car. It’s got sharp lines and good proportions, and made a good counterpart to its big brother the Camaro. And somehow, the aftermarket turbine wheels and fiberglass J.C. Whitney rear spoiler on this one make it even better.
The orange-red paint and black-and-white interior scream Seventies, and in a good way, in my opinion. The vinyl upholstery is trashed, but that can be remedied, and somehow this Vega mostly dodged the rust bullet. What rust there was has been patched. And it’s a hatchback, which is even better; Vegas were also available as a two-door sedan or wagon, but the hatchback is the one to have.
Under the hood, this car still has a 2.3 liter “Dura-Built” (what a name) engine, though apparently it’s not the original. This one has been breathed on a little with an Offenhauser intake and a big Holley carb, and sends power to the rear axle through a five-speed manual. The car’s original 2.3, connected to a two-speed Powerglide automatic, are included in the sale. The seller says this car runs and drives fine, and just needs some fine-tuning yet.
1977 Ford Mustang II – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Sacramento, CA
Odometer reading: 169,000 miles
Runs/drives? Hell yes
While Chevy was busy re-engineering the Vega on their customers’ dime, Ford put their Mustang on a much-needed diet, and in the process created a sales success and a pariah at the same time. It’s common knowledge that everybody hated the Mustang II. It’s the butt of a million jokes, its very existence is all but denied by Mustang fans, and its introduction in 1974 is commonly cited these days as kicking off the malaise era in the first place. So why did everybody buy one?
This particular Mustang II is powered by the base 2.3 liter four, an engine that outlived this car by decades, and went on to power zillions of Ranger pickups. With only 88 horses on tap, it doesn’t exactly measure up to the performance benchmark of the Mustangs of yore, or today, for that matter. At least this one is backed by a four-speed stick; this engine with an automatic can’t punch its way through a wet paper towel. This car runs well, and has current registration, so it has that going for it.
It’s pretty scruffy inside, and has surface rust where its paint used to be outside, but it seems solid. A few shiny parts here and there show that someone has been fixing it up, but it also has badly cracked and dry-rotted tires. “Drive it home today,” the ad says, but not on those, unless you’re headed straight to Discount Tire.
Sadly, it’s the ugliest possible Mustang II: not only is it a notchback, but it has that ridiculous landau roof. Personal luxury coupes were all the rage in the late ’70s, and apparently someone at Ford thought a pint-sized one was a good idea. There are good-looking Mustang IIs, but this isn’t one of them. But it’s an endangered species, so maybe you can’t be too picky. And at least it’s a stick.
Okay, yes; these cars are awful. No one in their right mind would buy them, then or now. And yet… either one of these would be an instant conversation-starter at any car gathering. And stuffing their respective corporate small V8s into either one is a time-honored hot rodding tradition. “Good” muscle cars and classics are getting expensive, so why not look at some cheaper options? But which one?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
When discussing the Vega, I’m surprised that you didn’t mention that the aluminum block didn’t have iron liners, which led to rapid bore wear.
Those engines would fail one of two ways. If the head gasket didn’t blow early in the engine’s life, the compression would get so low that the head gasket was safe and it would last the (short) life of the engine.
This car has a premix coolant jug in the back seat, so I guess the cylinder bores are OK….
When I was in junior high school, I worked at a full-service gas station as a pump jockey. Lady comes in, says her oil light is on, can I check the oil? I pull the dipstick, no oil. I add a quart, still no oil showing. Add another, at least it’s on the dipstick. Add a third, and it squeaked over the add line. This was on a two year old car…
the differential expansion of the head and block was definitely a lot of the issues with the little 4 cylinder. by 76 many of the design flaws were corrected and even with the dissimilar metals they were much better. I kind of applaud this guy for sticking to a Vega 4, hopefully he found a 76 or 77 Dura-Built 140. I highly doubt the way to large of carb is much better for performance over say a 1973 progessive two barrel, but it does kind of indicate the motor was trying to be cared for if not abused occasionally. Definitely too bad they never got the L10 Aluminum cross flow heads on the market. I t would have really been trick to see Chevrolet leading the OHC small car charge without having to pay an arm and a leg for a cosworth.
They also had valve stem seals made of an elastomer that quickly (30,000 miles) became brittle from exposure to motor oil and heat and then cracked. Instead of rubber they looked like bakelite. Because of the design of the lifters and OHC layout, oil poured down into the cylinders when the seals went bad. So engines that didn’t die of a blown head gasket often failed from lack of oil.
I like the way the Vega looked, and it does not have the “that’s not a real…..” baggage. It is in better shape, and I think would be easier to modify into something cool.
I get why everybody is voting Vega, it’s got a lot going for it, obviously cared for and in good shape.
But exactly the things everyone is complaining about the Musting II is what’s drawing me to it. I’m digging that notchback with the landau roof and even the luggage rack.
Mustang II because of that patina. Clear it, drop an LS into it since it’s already hated, beef up the suspension and let it rip.
6K for both? Where is that option?
Mustang II – SVO that Lima 4 into decent HP figures, refresh the suspension, install some racing seats and tear up the tarmac at an Open Track day!
Give me the Vega, and I’m keeping the spoiler! And maybe adding one to the front!
Meh, the Vega is not that rare, there were a large number of them converted to V8 back in the day. the SBC fits and even in malaise era tune makes these little guys rip if the suspension is beefed enough to avoid tearing the rear axle out. They are mini Camaros with plenty of potential. the Pintostang is never going to be desirable, the engine bays technically fit a 302, but I have never seen one I really like, except maybe the Starman Cobra and I am still not sure about that one. The prices on these though is kind of crazy though. neither should be over 1500 out the door. I would not pay more than 1000 for the Pintostang.
The Vega could’ve been great. Can you believe they actually shipped them on rail cars in a vertical position? No wonder they sucked.
Nikasil Cylinder bore, differing thermal expansion not properly accounted for by engineers, saving a few cents by eliminating front wheel well liners, and 100 Vegas an hour requiring revised paint chemistries to apply it at such a rate is mostly what caused the demise. Had they started with the cross flow OHC aluminum head from the start or even just iron cylinder liners, the little engine would have been fine. adding wheel well liners would have greatly improved rust longevity as well. It was definitely not the shipping method that caused the problems
No it’s not, but the level of penny-pinching on this car is evident by how they tried to cram a few more cars per train.
Hate both, went with the cheaper option if it was I need one these were the only two options I was presented.
I chose the Mustang for a purely sentimental reason.
In the summer of Star Wars and the death of Elvis, I was a seasonal employee with Haartz Auto Fabric. The money was good for the time, but the 12 hour shifts could be numbing. I worked on an extruder line (No. 4, I think). The extruder was the size of a small house. At one end, massive rolls of fabric backing material were fed into the machine. Overhead was a hopper where powdered vinyl was poured to flow down into the superheated extruder where it liquified as was spread evenly on the fabric as it rolled through the machine. A pattern roller immediately embossed the now vinyl-coated fabric with a decorative design (Elk Grain, Crosshatch, Levant, and Tuxedo are the patterns I recall).
My job was to manually feed the leading edge of the fabric through the extruder and over series of tension rollers that kept it taut and flat then on to a take-up reel. After that, I would sit and watch as miles of vinyl roof fabric destined for all makes of Detroit iron rolled past while I watched for defects, ready to stop the line if I spotted any. I also periodically took samples from the reels to measure the weight and thickness of the finished product to ensure it met standards.
There’s a good chance I may have played a role in producing the vinyl for this Mustang’s landau roof. But the story doesn’t end there.
Late in the summer, following a maintenance break, during the extruder restart, my right hand was caught in the machine and the ends of three fingers were nearly severed. My buddy on the line hustled me to his car and, breaking all traffic laws, rushed me to the nearest hospital a dozen miles away. After several injections of morphine and 170 stitches, my fingers were saved. The car my buddy drove? A dark, metallic green Mustang II coupe with a landau roof.
Somewhere in the UK Tony Iommi is regretting his bad choice of workmates.
Neither
Amen.
Vega all the way.
Even though in original form, that mighta been abowt a hunnerd feet.
The Vega is the one in better condition, so it gets my vote.
The German Capri should’ve been the Mustang II. They could’ve made them here.
This is how the Mustang timeline should’ve gone:
64-68 original Mustang
69-86 German Capri
87-97 Probe
99-04 Cougar
04+ S197/S550
Umm… no.
Once again “The Sexy European” surfaces in Comments.
I would agree about the capri being superior to the II, but not the 69/70, or even 71-73. And hell no to the Probe or Cougar. Plus there is no way that ford- or any manufacturer- would go from RWD to FWD, and then decide that nah, let’s go back to RWD and V8 engines.
That comment made no sense, and we are all dumber for reading it. I award you zero points, and may the great shower spaghetti monster have mercy on your soul.
“Plus there is no way that ford- or any manufacturer- would go from RWD to FWD, and then decide that nah, let’s go back to RWD and V8 engines.”
Uh, Chrysler? All RWD until 1981, then almost all FWD K-car or LX until 2005, then back to RWD with a V8.
even Ford did so themselves: the Explorer was RWD for a long time, then went to FWD, then went back to RWD for the current gen.
Mustang II all day.
Far less prone to rust, priced better, and V8 swaps are a simple matter on 75-78 cars provided you can find motor mounts.
The suspension is also far superior, the interior more comfortable, and I’ve always liked the way they looked.
The fact that I’ve already owned three of them and know them like the back of my hand and own a full set of the factory Ford service manuals may have also factored into my decision, though I did recently sell my ’75 Mustang II and all of the spare parts I’d accumulated over the years.
Definitely the Vega. A bit of work on the interior and it’s a decent-looking driver as it sits.
It has clearly received some love from it’s current owner. The Mustang looks like it has been sitting for a very long time and someone spent a couple of weekends getting it running so they could sell it.
Vega wins for me. I would keep it stock (I would remove that stupid spoiler, though). I don’t care that it is slow. I am buying it to look at, and I drive slowly anyway. Speed is overrated.
Nuh-uh.
Once again, None of the Above wins by a landslide for me. The Vega looks all right, but that’s deceiving. I had one as a rental back in ’72 or thereabouts, and spent the entire time wishing for a Real Car, one that wasn’t as rattly, shaky and generally depressing as the Vega. And I test-drove a Mustang II, a V6/manual, along with several other cars before buying a Mazda RX-3. I wasn’t impressed with the Ford Blob. At all.
I notice Mark says “there are good-looking Mustang IIs.” Clearly, I’ve missed something…. Maybe if it had the Vega’s snazzy rear-deck spoiler?
I had a buddy in HS who had a Mustang II Cobra. It looked good (in a gaudy late-1970s way) but it was slow. Car and Driver called it, “A sheep in wolf’s clothing”.
Went with the Vega – although that bottle of coolant on the floor in the back seat almost scared me off…
The Mustang with the ‘ND’ license plate kind of sealed it too.
Yep, this one has a blown head gasket.
The Vega looks shabby but mostly original and cared for. My favorite type of classic car. Nice enough to be a driver with a little fixing up, but not so pristine that you get paranoid about taking it out for fear of a rock chip or that you might get the carpets dirty.
That Vega is awesome. Keep the 2.3 until it melts down then LS it and go.
As I have gained maturity, I have learned to sit quietly with feelings that make me uncomfortable. Here goes: That Vega is not bad.
Gimme that Vega.
Look at that engine. Someone loved that car. Rear spoilers got to go.
I have to go with the Vega: the owner (or someone) seems to have actually loved that car, and with the replacement engine it should be functional for a few more years.
The Mustang II just looks tired. IIRC the front ends from these are used for street rods and replicars, so there is some utility there, but I think you’re on the right track in suggesting an engine swap.
Remove the wing, beef up the drive train and stuff with a LS. The Vega would be the sled to drive!