This RARE V8 Economy Car DESTROYED Everyone - The Motion Vega
In this Rare Cars documentary, we are going over the story of the crazy INSANE V8-powered Motion Super Vegas. Motion was a shop that back in the 60s/70s built some of the raddest dealer-built street machines around - and their Vega was the king of them all.
Available with a 350 small block and up to a 454 big block in them - these Vega cars that got the Motion performance treatment were seriously fast. Nothing else even came close and the sad part is most people do not even know they exist.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:03 The Background
4:45 Powerplant
5:30 Crazy Engine Options
9:05 Sales & Impact
*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments!
For business inquiries or other inquiries, reach out to: rarecarsmedia@fearlessotter.com
Sources:
-www.motortrend.com/features/1...
-www.motortrend.com/features/1...
-www.yenko.net/forum/showthrea...
NOTICE: Clips used from other videos are fair use and fall under U.S. copyright law because this work is transformative in nature, and has no negative effect on the market for the original work. It is against the law to fraudulently claim a copyright on a video you do not own under the DMCA or to abuse KZhead’s copyright claim tool. Copyright concerns and takedown requests can be submitted to: rarecarsmedia@gmail.com
Back in 1980, my buddy put a 327/325 hp engine in a 1975 Vega wagon. rear end out of a V8 Monza and a Muncie 4 spd tranny. I believe it had 373 gears. No hood scoop or big tires. Looked totally stock. My dad at the time had a 1969 GTO with a 400 ram air IV 4spd car and this little Vega would be neck and neck with my dad's car at the drags and sometimes came out on top. Really pissed off the old man and my bud who built this car was 17 at the time.
1978, I was trolling Van Nuys Blvd for a street race. A V8 Vega wagon came by and I yelled RACE? He pulled in and it was a kid from Simi Valley. I pointed to my '65 Malibu SS which looked like an abandoned car and asked, "Wanna race that?". He agreed to a heads up race so we went to Woodley and Saticoy. As we lined up, the flagger waved us off and said there were cars pulling out of a side street. As those cars drove underneath a street light, it was LAPD. I slowly drove away when the LAPD pulled up and said, "Pull it over!". I thought, "Oh great! I'm gonna get a ticket for slicks". They inspected my car and gave me a ticket for stopping too close to a fire hydrant. After the ticket, I found the guy in the Vega Wagon and said, "I need this race to pay off this ticket". We went to Woodley and Nordhoff and got the race off. It wasn't even close.
😢😢is
There was a guy in the 90s who came to Desoto Speedway(Bradenton Motorsports Park/Freedom Factory nowadays) who had a 72 Vega with Chevy big block with an 8.71 on top... It would ride the wheelie bars past the 330 and go mid-8s...!
@@rickuyeda4818 what is van nuys blvd like now? livin on the far side of the continent i always wanted to go see the cruise nights. watchin a recent yt video, alot of la is bad off.
@@rickuyeda4818 HaHa, I was there! I miss those days cruising on Wednesday nights and the street races on San Fernando road at the end of Balboa. That Vega wagon was silver I'll bet.
I still own a 1974 Vega GT with a 68 L79 327 (now 331 cu in) and a T5 5-speed
pictures or you made it up.
That T5 is living on borrowed time!
This classic engine swap was the predecessor to the V8 S10! The kinds of combinations that should never be, but sure are cool! My bucket list project is an LS in a first generation S10. I think I’ve missed the boat on reasonable availability of the Vega.😢
@SophiaAphrodite i cant post them here
@martinthompson2425 we have done a few but now they swapping LS engines these days
I have owned my 1971 Baldwin Motion Camaro for the past 42 years. Absolutely a beast, I have 2 nephews chewing a bit to get it.
Yea but I’m todays world and cars that little toy is nothing more then just that a toy it’s not fast
@@shacklifecustoms8430Except his car doesn't have a big brother cut off switch
Disregarding the troll comments sir, you have the one Camaro that gives me wood. And I’m not a keyboard commenter, I actually race my 1968 firebird that I resto-modded, have owned since 95, and have been tracking in Portland since last year. It’s a visceral experience that you don’t get with your antilock brakes, traction control, stability control computerized cars running the chicanes one handed while eating a cheese sandwich. Fuck that, I want to feel my experience. First gen GM I gotta go firebird all the way… even the yenko Camaro doesn’t float my boat. But I saw a green 71 Baldwin motion in a magazine that had me drooling. I don’t know why someone would wanna compare the technology of 40 years ago (that defined the genre of muscle cars) with current tech, to try and say old skool cool sux…. I say, it’s an acquired taste, if you don’t like them, acquire some taste.
@@shacklifecustoms8430troll
@@bigl6322Absolutely... Even traffic is better in a Classic Car/Truck.. I will always love Pontiac... Grew up with them.. 62 Tempest, 71 Formula Firebird... When I told my uncle Chris (RIP) that I liked Darts and Valiants... I was 11/12 .. You like those!!??.. Really??!! You grew up with all of this!... and you would pick a Dart.. hahaha... Daily Driver 68 Dodge Dart with Slant6 to V8 swap.. Driver level Restored.. not a show Car... True everyday and everywhere... GM F Bodies.. Pontiac is Always better looking.. GM early to Mid 60s... Pontiac is beyond... Cheers from Orange County California 🇺🇸
Back in 75 I had a Pinto with a 289 v8 and my best friend had a Vega with a 350! He beat my ass every time we ran! My 289 ran really good but just couldn’t compete with the Chevy 350! That was just a whole lot more motor! But we had tons of fun! Times are different today!
U mean like, no fun?
My brother, back in the early 80s, put a VERY BUILT 460 in a 78' mustang II. THING WAS CRAZY!!! He put a complete tubed frame under it to keep it from twisting itself into a tornado! I only rode in it once...but let's just say that I'm Completely Surprised that he is still alive today!
The 289 hipo racked up a lot of titles for Carroll Shelby. After Ford's 427 destroyed Ferrari in 1966 finishing 1,2,3, at Leman's rule changes stripped the Ford GT40 of the famous 427. So they came back the next year with the 289 and still won the 24 hours of LeMans. A friend of mine in high school had a built 289 in his 1964 Falcon. He beat big block engines, especially 396 Chevelle's. He'd walk away from them.
You should have dropped a 351 Cleveland in your Pinto. No 350 could handle a 351 Cleveland. I've owned both.
Put a 409 chev in a Vega in 83 still have it. It ran 10.02 at Gainesville regularly.😊
@@stevieg2755 I live Duval county
Now.....that's an original approach for sure!!!
I put a 427 in my 66 Chevelle in 1983 and I still have it too! It runs great and even outran a policeman. I also beat a V-8 Vega who was beating everyone.
Hmmmm must be a floridian
Did you run that thing down A1A in Cocoa Beach? I remember running a guy in like 87 in a Vega that was wicked fast I was on a 83 GS1100E
There was a guy down the street who had one when I was a kid. He use to rip down the road... wheels 3 feet in the freaking air. It had wheelie bars. Craziest thing I've ever seen.
Yes I've seen one do the same thing, they are wheelie Kings!
No it didnt
You didn't happen to live in Northridge California at that time did you ? There was a guy in the neighbor hood that lived on the corner of Chimeneas and Tribune streets that used to put V8's in Vegas. I remember a similar car he had. They were wild and loud.
@@joeblow1115 Norwalk Conn - RT 7, This guy, I think did the same thing. SO Loud, I turn around there goes the Vega (wheels up).My jaw was down. My bud "yea he does that every once in a while". LOL
From the 70's I probably drove and sold so many Motorhead cars because they were so cheap back then..The only two cars I decided to keep in the garage are the 1963 split window Corvettes-427-4-Speed..Plus a Custom Street Dune buggy with drag pipes-And my daily driver..Got to love Old School Cars-50's-60's-70's-👍🇺🇸👍
The Vega would rust out before it reached the end of the quarter mile.
😂
"I rust my life...a quarter panel at a time."
Yea you're right, I've not seen one in years!
Had one...... Wish I still had it..... Went into the army left it with my family in L.A. went to Germany for 8 years ( Don't ask ) told them to sell it and I would get the money when I go back...... 1983 went back and was handed $22,000..... For a car I paid almost $8,000 for....... It only had about 2,700 miles on it...... Took the money bought some land up in Gig Harbor WA..... Never thought about till this video..... But it was a good deal in the end as do you know what 5 acres of waterfront land was worth in 2000.....? LOL a lot more then that car could ever be worth today.... went from young and dumb to very well off....... thanks to my Baldwin Vega..... and my family said it was a waste of my money......LOL
Well i real Motion Vega would be worth $100-200K But real estate thats another story on the west coast
Motion never failed to amaze and you're doing a good job at showing what was available back in the day when everyone wanted to be "King of the Connecting Hiway".
I have sitting in my garage right now a 73 Vega with an Aluminum 215 V8 in it , the thing is a beast !
Always thought that was a great engine to put in a light car. Kudos to you, my friend!
Had a 63 Cutlas with 215, 4 bbl, 4 speed and dual exhaust. Pissed a lot of guys off with that car.
The very best Vega engine swap of all. Allowed the car to still handle great.
When I was in my teens a guy that went to my church had a 215/5 speed Vega. Queen Anne Hill in Seattle in the ‘70’s. Clean swap and looked stock. I remember that car well.
Always thought that or a 3.8 V6 5 speed would make fun little cars out of the Vega, but you ain't gonna find a good one now to do the swap.
And I thought they were only rumors. I love my red 72 GT Vega with a 385ci sbc with 2x4 tunnel ram. It was built by Terry Walters Racing and made 480 hp on the engine dyno at Terry Walters Racing Engines. Th350 trans with 12 rear end housing 373s. I've owned this car for 20 yrs and it a blast to drive
My very first car was a '71 Chevy Vega. White with black interior. I bought it from a family in Napa for $500. There was a semi-famous guy in town named Roy Onesti. He had a pro-street modded Vega in hugger orange. That car was insane and was the influence (or at least I wished it was) for my car. I drove it with the 4 banger for about 6 months before I decided it was time for an upgrade. I was 18 and worked at the Grand Auto in Napa, so I got a discount on parts. I didn't have a huge amount of money so I had to go with a V6 at the time. I bought a Buick V6 from a guy for $75 complete with transmission. Roy did the swap for me and I drove that car like that for about a year before eating the transmission. I pulled the engine and transmission out of a wrecked Iroc Z and ended up stabbing that in there. I finally had some hurspurs and took it to what was called Sears Point at the time and commenced to driving that car right into the wall. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I still had that car for a new project in the garage with my kid. Vegas are getting harder and harder to find these days.
I knew a guy who put a 400 in a a Vega. The original Vega engine used to warp and leaked oil like a sieve from the head gaskets.
A 400 in a Vega had to MOVE
@@rarecars3336 He said is would burn rubber as long as he held the pedal down.
@@philmanson2991 hahaha that's awesome...i picture him coming home on just rims lol
@@rarecars3336 the 400 SBC would eat. And SBCs fit amazingly well in the Vega barn.
Went to school with a guy that built a vega wagon in the early eighties. He put a built 400 small block in it, he had to weld the doors shut after a couple of years because it bent the body and they wouldn't stay shut. The torque was scary as heck.
Back in high school, my girl friend had a Vega. I would get in trouble telling her that Vega was short for vagrant meaning not working. Her father drove it a few days, hated the lack of power, and dumped a corvette 327 in it.
Nice
I would have dumped a much larger engine in it and added a supercharger😮
That is correct. A good friend dropped a built 327 over bored .030 in his 1973 Vega. Two problems keeping it in a straight line and the steering sucked. Very fast, but not for the faint of heart. Not much fun to ride in with fiberglass seats and stiff suspension.
But no matter what you did to it, it was still _just a vega._
Just a story from my high school days is about my neighbor & one of my early Mentors named Robbie Monochack. Robbie graduated when I was in like 8th grade and not too long after another one of neighbors crashed their Chevy Vega Robbie and I saw an issue of car craft Magazine. He was already working at a dealership a year after graduation and that is where he got the magazine that detailed how to build a V8 Vega. The car in the magazine was the same exact colors so he bought the wrecked Vega and soon after he ordered the fiberglass front end & the kit to install the 350 motor. However he soon had the problems of learning how to weld as well as the expense of buying one of them old Buzz box welders. It was damn near 35 years later & some 85 miles from Allentown where here locally where I live now buried deep in the back of a beer distributors storage area I actually knew and was talking for a few years to the guy that now owns Robbie's old car. Inside the trunk lid was our names scribbled with a sharpie marker there abouts 1978 or 1979... Our names were still there as the cars builders. Mind ya I was probably 13 or 14 years and at times I was more of a nuisance to Robbie than anything else yet he let me write my name in the car.. My dad & Robbie's dad also wrote their names on the trunk lid and unknown to Billy the cars owner that knew my name never thought I was the same person. He even thought I might have been full of it until I told him exactly where my name was written at and out fathers names. Billy has now become a pretty good friend now for some years. We do intend to revisit Robbies old homestead and show him the exact story of the car even where the car sat wrecked and was sold to Robbie.
In the early 80s, I ran a 1969 340 W2 head Dart Swinger at Indpls Rainway (no typo) Park, high 11 sec car on street tyres. A failed oil pump windowed the block. It was replaced with a 1977 Vega with a Chev 302 roller motor with a tunnel ram & a pair of Holley 600CFM DP. Tube front chassis, subframes out to the back & 4 link. It was too heavy but still turned low 11s. Absolutely savage streetfighter.
Vegas, Pintos, and Gremlins. Those kind of engine swaps were fun to do. It would be nice to go back in time, the 70's and Woodward Ave, summer nights in Detroit. Great video, thanks for the memories!
An Airforce buddy back in the late 1970s put a warmed over 427 V8 in it, and heavy duty trans and rearend. But he didn't reinforce the chassis. When really romping on it, he twisted the chassis, ruining the car. 😮
Twisted Vegas were a regular occurrence with V8s involved. LoL!!!
I helped a friend put a built 427 in a Vega with a Motion kit and a 12 bolt rear for the Vega from Motion. We got done and hopped in. We were in a parking lot and smoked the tires all over the parking lot. We both got out and the doors wouldn't close! I have seen windows pop out or break, but with this one, it was the doors that wouldn't close.
@@BrandonLeeBrownI saw one pop the front glass out. The fix was to install a preload bar from the front left to the right rear but no one ever did it.
I had one of the milder Motion Vegas (White 71 with the trademark black wrap around stripe coming to a point at the front). It was a corvette 350 with a TH350 full manual valve body, reverse pattern with a HARD shift kit. After beating on it for a few years, the car was twisted and the rear suspension was tearing loose from the unibody. I ended up band aiding it with Ladder bars, and even they started to push the floor pan up where they were secured. The problem was the shift kit. It was so violent, the car under WOT would slide 2 ft sideways on the 1-2 shift and half a foot on the 2-3 shift. It had a terrible rear drive ratio (highway gears) so it was a dog off the line, but I did manage to take it to 130 once, the windshield wipers ran up and tried to autopark, but they couldn't until I dropped below 100. Crazy car.
Now I want a Vega❤
When I was a kid my neighbor installed a Chevy 350 to a Chevy chevette. It fits so tight that he had to remove the inner liners and in order to change the spark plugs he had to drill holes in the front fenders. It was fast but it also had so much torque that if he would get on it too hard the doors would not open because the body would twist. It was fantastic to look at and watch
Was the car nicknamed swiss cheese? 🤔
Had a 72 vega w a 350 punched out 60 over w a BnM shift kit, 2500 stall, man i wish i still had that car!
Sounds like that car really moved!
I had two Vegas back in the day. A yellow 72 Vega that was stock and an Orange 71 GT with a 300 HP 327 under hood, a 10 bolt rear with 4:11s and a T350 with a 2200 RPM torque converter. It was fast enough to have fun with. 😉
300 horses in something that small was definitely something more than "too have fun with".
@@jaysrandomnesschannel Never said it was slow, but it was a lot of fun. 😉
One of the kings of my local streets in the mid 1970's in SoCal was a highly modified L88 swapped Chevy LUV mini truck. The guy was super cool even when he was out of the groove in a street race, not much seemed to bother him - he was an amazing driver. When I asked him why he wasn't running a 468, he just said the the rpm of the 427 would win him more races than the torque of a 468.
@@GNMi79 Sure, everyone knows that. Branded as a Chevy, there was no real Isuzu dealer network in the U.S. when the Chevy LUV (Light Utility Vehicle) was introduced. When Isuzu finally had a dealer network they flopped in everything except for their versatile Medium Duty Low Cab Forward commercial trucks (which came with a Chevy 350 V8 or an Isuzu diesel)
An 'L88' version of 468" would have even more torque and HP...
@@buzzwaldron6195 Yes captain obvious LOL. I'm not here to debate street racing history, this dude won a lot of races - often against larger cubic inch competitors. Even back then there were stroker big blocks on the street. Spinning isn't winning, more cubes do you no good if you blow the tires off the line. He felt, and I wouldn't disagree on traction challenged street surfaces, that running deeper gears and having a higher winding engine gave him more strategies. Back to V8 Vegas: I don't know if I ever saw a Motion Super Vega on the street - but there were plenty of V8 Vegas, mostly small blocks. I think the reason he chose the LUV truck was mostly money (and to be different), that it could be built cheaper and it already had a full frame vs. a unibody Vega. In more recent decades that was the same reason for so many S-10 V8's.
Do you remember bill gumby Jenkins in a v8 Vega in pro stock back in the day
@@Thomas63r2 the tilt-nose trucks you speak of are chevy/isuzu SFI's in california.
Back in the day, I knew Joel Rosen well. He had this great idea for a Speed Shop + New Car Dealer. It was cool.
I would gone with the 370 Hp Lt1 with the solid cam. I put one in my 68 Camaro back in the day and it had plenty of popp. I can only imagine what it would have done in skateboard like the Vega!
Totally agree with u on that LT1 choice.
I'm guessing the alum. big block was lighter than the LT1, produced more HP and torque.
I like a longer, wider wheelbase as the highway goes more than a quarter mile. I had an aquantiance back in the 70's who put a built 350 dual quad in his Vega. I took a ride with him and told him he was going to wreck. Thankfully, when he rolled it at over 100mph, I was not riding and he was only banged up. PS I still have a stock 11 second vehicle which has seen 180mph with ease; that handles and stops...
I have seen Vegas with small block engines give big block cars absolute fits.
Yup!!! Just ask Grumpy Jenkins!! Hahahaha 😆
Have to admit although I love a big block in a Vega the small block would get rpms that would destroy a big block in a quarter mile
I grew up on Long Island, saw a lot of Motion cars on the street. Some were just slightly modified, and some were animals. My father had a Vega GT, I learned to drive on it, it really was not bad if you maintained it and did not overheat the motor. We never had any engine trouble with it.
Long Island here as well. Eastern Suffolk. I learned how to drive in my father's (manual) '75 Pontiac Astre in the parking lot of Smith Point Beach back in the early 90's. Great memories !!
What an absolute treasure of a channel. Love from Australia, my man. You should have a look at a few of our muscle cars of the 70's and 80's
I woulda got a wagon with a turbo LT1
Vega looks a bit like an LX hatchback
Love me a good old V8 ute
At a car show many years ago I saw the neatest Ford Falcon Ranchero pickup with a Boss 302 4 speed , right hand drive & all supposedly from Australia. Was that for real ?
I’ve seen some Aussie muscle… respect to the down under for sure!
Had a neighbor in Georgia with a 1 of 1 triple COPO Baldwin Motion Camaro.
Well that is crazy - that is an insane car to have especially at 1 of 1
@@rarecars3336 Only COPO produced with the deluxe luxury interior as well as the big block and HD suspension.
Georgia, where at? I live just outside ATL where they filmed Dukes of Hazzard
Your neighbor ordered a copo from Baldwin Chevrolet. There's no such thing as a Motion Copo. He probably had Motion work on it AFTER he bought it. Because "copo" stands for "Central Office Production Order", which meant you ordered it directly from the GM central office and GM never worked directly with Motion. His "copo" was probably delivered to the Baldwin Chevrolet dealership, then sent to Motion speedworks, after the fact.
@@BradleyBellwether-oy2qi All I know is what it said on the stand in front of the car. I know it was the only one with the luxury interior. It had the BM paint scheme and was authenticated.
The Motion new york crew liked all GM musclecars. They had their hands on every brand. I remember plain as day when dad and i oogled over their small, white covered, stapled in the middle motion performance books for pontiac and our personal favorite, oldsmobile. Dad was a 442 fan and between us we have had many. I still have my first car, its a 1970 442. We followed the tech tips in the motion books and i had a 12.70s 442 in 1987 just out of high school. We bought a clapped out 1969 98 full size rust bucket which just happened to have a swapped out 1970 E headed 455 olds which is what my car originally came with. I did a stock piston re-ring cleaning everything best i could, blueprinted the stock oil pump per the motion book with stacked cover plates and sanded down the body to reduce end clearance on the gears using emery cloth taped to a piece of glass. Threw in a comp cam 292 grind which was sign of the times and first time out my 3800 pound 70 442 went 13.30s on radials. Within a month on sticky tires it was going 12.70s easily, eventually going 11.90s with that stock piston motor. I still have that short block too, well i have the e heads too and they were not ported. Since then ive aquired much much more. Current engine for the car is a normally aspirated 462 olds which made 620hp/620tq on the engine dyno. Here is the bad part. 2 days ago i got served papers and im about to lose my home and everything ive ever owned due to a previous real estate sale which i got ripped off and yet got sued. Now they are taking the house im in, which i grew up in, moved back when dad died in 2016. Its so messed up and took everything i have in me to type this message. Im on disability and cannot see how it's legal to even do this but looks like its gonna happen. Dont think i can survive losing everything at 54 with health problems so this might be last time i type this kind of comment. Pray for me if you made it this far. Thank y'all for reading.
Stamper 442, I’m so sorry to hear how things are going for you. As a disabled Millwright, got impailed by a 4’ Johnson bar falling 60’ from shoulder to groin. There went all the toys & fun money🥴I wish I knew where you are, I’d try to at least help get the Beast put back together. Takes two to do the work of one these days, I’m half as strong & twice as slow. Between me & my Dad, we had em’ all back in the day & I’d love to build one more Earthshaker before the last race is over. Didn’t take me long to get back to Church after my accident, so I will put in a good word Upstairs for you. Wishing you the best, Good Luck My Friend🤙LAWYERS… Don’t You Just Love Em’?😛😎🙏🤙🖖
Move out then move right back in and claim squatters rights.
Prayin
I remember being a kid and driving by Motion on Sunrise Highway regularly. It wasn't a big shop, but some of the cars that had on the lot and on the lifts were amazing. In the late 80's the cars changed though. The Motion builds were more show and less go.
my first time at the drag strip there was this blue vega just dominating every single race lol
I remember a lot of sweet rides back in the day. My project car now in my retirement years is a 69 Torino fastback, have had it about 33 years now. Many paint jobs, same 351W till now, have a 514 ready with a C6 to go into it after I strip it down and repaint it again, hopefully for the last hurrah of my life.
You are better off with a 63 panhead Harley Davidson. kzhead.info/sun/rcmDoKVtpnyHlps/bejne.htmlsi=bBanPJGF3gPd6S_E
My friend had a 68' Sport Satellite with a Road Runner 383 and a 4spd, the 8 3/4 rear had 3.55's with a SureGrip limited slip. The car was pretty quick We were driving up Rt. 23 in Wayne, NJ back in the mid 70's doing about 60 or so when he says there was a Vega gaining on us. He laughed and said something about "showing this little Vega something" and he nailed the throttle. Well the "little Vega" went by us like we were standing still. The Motion paint scheme with the radiator hanging down by the front valance was all I needed to see. I explained real quick he just got smoked by a Motion Performance Vega.
Had a 72 vega hb. Started with resleeved motor, dual 48 sidedraft webers, headers,5 speed opel trans and opel rearend Blew it up. Stuff 454,671 blower,hilbourne injectors,50 shot Noz,3/4ton truck rearend narrowed w/ 5.88 gears and 4 speed Linco trans. Ran mid to low nines. Sold after 6months Damn I miss thar thing
Dropped a warmed over 350 in a 72 Vega back in 1977. Kept the stock wheel covers and snow tires for awhile...the ultimate sleeper. Finally shredded the original Vega rear end, then added a narrowed 12 bolt, probably a 373. Finally an associate of mine got his own Vega and put a 427 in it. I was back to second place. 😞 Wish i still had that car.
An article about the Baldwin Motion 454 Motion Super Vega in Car Craft magazine titled “King Kong Lives On Long Island” would prove unintentionally disastrous for the company, it caught the eye of people at the EPA and eventually brought the hammer down on the whole enterprise. After much legal wrangling a $500 fine was paid and Joel Rosen promised not to build anymore wild customs for American roads. He got around the restrictions by building cars for export or race track use only, but this severely limited his customer base and eventually the company had to stop operating. No two Baldwin Motion cars were ever identical due to the way they were built to customer specification
Such a sweet car. Fairlane Thunderbolts weren’t bad with a few mods and some slicks either. 🔥
Over about a 5 year period between my buddy and I we had 4 different v8 vegas. 2 hatch backs, a notch back and a wagon. Onlt one had a decent rear axle in it. One of the hatchbacks had a narrowed to fit 12 bolt posi in it. It was fast but my buddy sold it after we noticed that the sheet metal pieces that were spot welded to the underside of the floor that the rear upper links holding the axle in were attached to had cracks around them and were tearing out of the floor. Axle was bullet proof but the car was a spot welded together tin can.
That was a good story, I was there and back in the day Baldwin Motion was up there with Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge for putting together some outrageously badass COPO style packages but I agree with you Motion pushed the Ragged Edge. They had a lot of fine machinists, tool and die makers, sheet metal workers and old school Smoky Yunick caliber mechanics in that part of the country and what those guys could do with metal was just amazing. BTW....later in the 70s a popular hack for the same Church different Pew follow-on of the Vega-- the Monza was to get ahold of a used 1977 Monza that came with a 305 V8 well you know where that was going because unless you lived in California which we did not... most of the states were yawning at the smog rules and you could stuff anything you wanted under the hood so having a car with a V8 configured from the factory was a perfect way to go plus it was very inconspicuous with Insurance Underwriters because after you got a hold of it you can do anything you want with that small block Chevy. The biggest limiter back then came down to three things The first has already mentioned was insurance then came the issue of the pump gas which was absolutely terrible and even your best high test or premium would rattle a high compression engine so you'd have to be careful there and of course the third area was John Law for the street racers/ enthusiasts.. Most people forget the federal mandate that knocked the speed limit down to 55 on all roads and freeways to save fuel nationwide as a result of the Arab Oil Embargo earlier that decade and with the advent of radar the po-po po-lice were just absolute Nazis if you were out with anything high-performance and breaking the law in any way. We never got a mulligan-- If a black and white lit 'em up and came after you it was either a ticket with points or they were calling the hook and taking your car or both. No such thing as warning ticket forgiveness in those days.
The first car I remember my parents having was a 1978 Pontiac Sunbird Safari wagon, which was the Pontiac version of the Vega wagon, and I *_really_* wish I had that thing today! It was light metallic blue with the honeycomb wheels. For a wagon that thing was sweet!
I can't believe the room around that small block in the Vega, holy crap, try that with a ford or chrysler. And I would go with a 302 Z/28 engine. That would scream.....
Think hemi dart or a 429 mustang...
my BBC fits with no extra room
I think dz 302 had the most radical cam Chevy ever designed
Be advised,...$4,000 was a heck of a lot of money in 1970. I think you could get a 340 Dodge Dart for $3,000. And a Ford Maverick for a little over $2,000. I've seen two 350 Vegas. They were/are basically unbeatable. Very easy to get sideways. A factory "pocket rocket" that I always admired was the 396/375 Nova.
The first car I bought when I was 16 in 1982 was a 1971 Vega wagon. I loved that car! It wasn't powerful but it was a lot of fun to drive and customize. Baldwin Motion cars have been some of my most favorite super-fast hot rods. Great video about this sweet little car!
Built a 71 Vega with Don Hardy V8 kit n hooker headers. 350 LT block backed with a Turbo 400. Funnest Fastest Cheapest build ever. When i finally sold it. The Vega would only need 3 Jack Stands to hold up the car. A little warped in frontend department. Did I mention it was almost unbeatable.
Had the same Don Hardy, Mr. Nasty kit.
I built my own v8 vega in 75, was an apprentice mechanic at the local chevy dealer. Bought a new lt1 350, angle plug heads, 370 hp solid lift cam, Hooker conversion kit. Muncie m21 4 spd trans. Car was a sleeper until you started it. Used Monza front springs, custom rad, corvair mufflers which I had to swap out for a pair of chev truck 6 cyl mufflers as they were flatter for more ground clearance. Stock looking from outside so really surprised all the legit muscle guys in town. Was fun except the cops would follow me around if I was out cruising. Great memories.
I'm in love with it. 2200 lbs with a 454 and still under 3000 lbs. This car was a bullet.
I know at least one of these made it to the U.K. because I saw one in Sheffield when I was around 7 or 8 years old (1977-8) I remember it because it reminded me of the Starsky and Hutch Gran Torino which I loved at the time. Can't remember seeing the "Motion" but I can remember it being called a Super Vega. I just thought it was a name someone had put on it, I didn't know that it was actually called that. Always remember it because it sounded so different to the cars we had here at the time. Thanks for bringing back a memory from my childhood.
Was always including today my most favorite car ever. The phase 3 V8 Vega. I lived about 25 miles from Baldwin.
Vegas and Pintos w/ V8's were it when I was in High School, 1 friend had an Orange V8 Vega and the other had a Blue V8 Pinto. Small block V8's were enough power for these things.
In the early 70s i lived in nj and every year we would go to the ny car show that was held at the ny coliseum and the motion display was always my favorite.
Back in the seventies, I spent a lot of time at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. A lot. I had a buddy who worked for Performance Centers, a local speed shop. We'd go most every weekend, and he'd get passes for the bigger races. I've been to all 4 days of the Summernationals from '75-'82, the Jetcar Nationals, Funny Car Nationals, and Crazy Eddie's Night of Thrills. Needless to say, there were a number of V8 Vegas running. The most notorious was Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins and his Geumpy's Toy. I also spent a lot of time cruising the circuit in Asbury Park and the occasional V8 Vega would show up. There was a hatchback with a 454, a couple of wagons and I guy I knew who's '69 Z/28 got rear ended and the 302 went in a '74 sedan. I myself had a '72 Vega GT hatchback. It unfortunately had the four banger that at around 10,000 miles needed the engine replaced. Cost me the price of a head gasket as GM replaced them for free. When the 2nd engine was on its way out, I considered a Motion swap kit as they were about an hour away. At that time I could get a decent small block for a few hundred dollars and with a buddy in a speed shop, weĺl...
In the 1980s, the NHRA Super Gas class was populated primarily by early 70s big block Vega's
I owned a very nice 1972 Vega GT with a 355 Seaport racing engine backed by a built 350 Turbo-hydramatic transmission.. It was done correctly using a Don Hardy conversion kit complete with headers and a 12 bolt rear axle.
My first car was a 1974 Chevy Vega. It was a hand-me-down from my sister. The Iron Duke engine had already done its thing and died. My dad had the engine rebuilt. Even after the rebuild, it continued to drink oil like a sailor on shore leave and, eventually, the engine breathed its last. My Dad's mechanic suggested a V8 swap. He even offered to do the work gratis if Dad bought the parts. Dad sold him the car instead. He no doubt knew i would hurt myself expeditiously if i drove that car. As i understand, the Vegas was originally designed to accept a V8 engine.
In 1987 I bought a 1976 Monza Town Coupe With a factory 350/350 combo in it from a buddy who didn't know what he had for 300 buckswhile I was stationed in Jacksonville Florida. I put about 1500 bucks worth of speed parts from Edelbrock on it and was running mid 10's on street tires through the mufflers.
I thought Monza only had small factory V8 262/305, u know diff?
A ZL1 427 ci aluminum big block would have been the way to go with being about the weight of the iron block LT1 350 ci , while benefiting with twice the horsepower. Go figure !
Very expensive and hard to get though. $3500 option in 69 I think.
my thoughts exactly!
Wouldn't fit
@@scottward7813 yes it would. Seen 427's and 454's in them before. Not easy but quite possible.
I remember an Orange V8 Vega Wagon in the early 80's on Front St in Philly...Had Jersey tags on it...Thing Really Ran Strong
Front Street. Talk about a blast from the past.
I remember that car. We showed up in my buddies 69 camaro. So did the cops eventually.
Great work on research and articles. Loving my street driven-occasional drag '72 Vega GT 6-71 Dyer's blown 468 I've had for 46 years. Thanks and will be sharing this awsome and informative video!
Back in the day, there was one that came thru my town to see a local engine guru. He did some of his magic to it and they left very pleased
Since we are not talking about factory cars... I had a friend whose father owned a race track. He built an Austin Healey with a totally built 327 double humper. The brake became the gas pedal and the clutch pedal the brake.
An Aluminum Block and Head 383 Stroker would have been perfect powerplant. Imo.
Sounds good, my friend. I had one in 89 Camaro with a 150 shot...🙂↕️
I bought a v8 305ci 79 Monza in 89 and had put a 383 in it, cannot imagine it with a all alum. Would have been more fun on the street is hard to imagine.
A LS3 would be even better!
Imagine an all aluminum 632 Big Block, with chassis reinforcements of course.
All aluminum Chevy small blocks did not exist at that time, and maybe never.
Ah, flashback! In the mid '70s, I pumped gas at the Hess station in Oceanside (next town over from Baldwin). We sold 101 octane, so we were the go-to for locals with fast cars. We had a regular who had 454 Vega. I remember talking to him about it, and it had, uh, issues: Chassis flex was bit scary, to the point where the windshield would crack during a run. Tim Bogert of Vanilla Fudge used to bring his custom painted Pantera there too.
My very first car was a 1974 Chevy Vega GT. I bought it for $900. Several of my friends had them, and we were all working towards swapping in V8s. One friend had a Chevy 350 in his, but it did not run more than it did. Another friend had a Buick 215 aluminum block V8 professionally installed in his, and it was amazing. I never got a V8 in mine because an opportunity came along to get a Dodge Cornet with a 383 from an elderly lady whose husband had died. The car was mint, all stock and had a posi rear. Man I loved that car!
Way back when I had a '73 Vega GT {just like the one at 3:32} but it had a 350 4bbl ✌💖☮
I wonder how many Vega super wagons they sold? I bet not many but what a cool car today!
my father in law and husband used to redo the motors on vegas all the time back in the 70's at WestAmity Auto parts and machine shop, Baldwin was just down the road from Amityville, yes, that Amityville
My first car in 1985 was a 1975 white GT Vega Kammback station wagon. My dad bought the car new in 75. The thing was in mint condition, and I almost had all the parts to do the 327 V8 swap when it got totaled when some moron pulled out in front to me at around 2 am in the morning from some side street. The guy was drunk. Was totally devastated! Would love to have that car today for my collection!
Back In 79, my 1970 barracuda got beat pretty bad by a Vega light to light. I couldn't believe it I have no idea what was in it but talk about embarrassing. My girl friend at the time asked me what happened and all I could say was, that thing isn't stock.
I had a 71 Vega wagon with a 283 LT1 cam and a 2 speed powerglide. Not sure how I'd have stuffed a 454 in her. 😉 Smallblocks need no body mods which helps. She was gunmetal gray with a bit of sparkle and was a fun as hell. 70mph in first gear was a blast.
I had a friend that had a 454 Vega. The rear end of the car would fishtail all over the drag strip. He melted lead and poured it into the rear quarter panels cavity between the trunk interior and rear quarter panels.😊
I remember a few Vegas and Pintos modified with V8s in my area in the late seventies and eighties, which were absolute animals on the street.
The Vega was originally designed, sized, built to utilize GMs Wankel engine. Yep, you heard that right. The Vega was supposed to have a tiny little rotary engine that cranked out 120hp from an engine that weighed less than 200 pounds. the entire vehicle would have weighed less than 1500 pounds, and have a top speed of approx 120mph. GM could not lick the corner seals problem and were not going to pay Wankel of Germany, or Mazda of Japan to use their patents. My father's die design shop had a triangular rotor they used as a door stop to cool the shop on hot days. That rotor may have cost a million or more dollars,, and it was used as a door stop on the front door.
A friend had one with a 327 in it.. He never got around to strengthening the frame and it ending up twisting the body thus rendering the car worthless... But it was fast..
Rest in peace, Joel Rosen. Back in 1975, you and your team helped me get my 1971, 440 six-pack Charger running high twelve second quarter mile times,with street tires. Although your shop catered more to GM products, you got my big B-body Mopar to haul some serious ass. Many Chevelles and GTOs got to see my tail lights. 😂
Back in 1970, a friend of mine bought a used very low milage 1970 Yenko Deuce Nova with the LT1 350 under the hood. This car was bad fast, and we had lots of fun racing on those warm summer nights on Woodward Ave back in the day. So, the LT1 would have been a great engine in the much lighter Vega. The Yenko Deuce was an automatic and it hooked up extremely well from a standing start. I can remember the springs in the front bench seat would bottom out the car launched so hard from a standing start. The car was slightly higher in the front and Yenko had this car really set up well for the quarter mile. One thing I forgot to mention about the purchase of this Yenko Deuce Nova. My friend bought it from Roger Penske's used car lot. And Roger himself came out and let my friend drive the car around the lot to test the car out. He told my friend to put his foot into it. He did, and that was all my friend needed to purchase the car. The car was a darker jade green with the Yenko Deuce white side stripes and LT1 stripes on the hood. Yes, the LT1 engine would have been a great choice for the lightweight Vega.
I had a V8 Vega I bought used in 1991 with a wore out 327, stock Saginaw Vega 4 speed, and an 8.2 Nova rear. It had an Edelbrock SP2P manifold and a Quadrajet. It was a Don Hardy swap with their 1 3/4 inch headers. I swapped the 4 speed for a Turbo 350 with a Vega converter. It did not weigh 2200 pounds. It was over 2900 pounds. With the 4 speed, it ran a mid-18 second quarter mile ET. at Bandimere Speedway. The SP2P manifold limited the RPM to about 4500. I swapped the manifold to an Edelbrock Performer and put a Holley modular 600 cfm carb that they don't sell anymore, but Summit Racing does with their name on it and it became a 16 second car. Through 11 years, it was a 15, 14, 13, 12 and 11 second car at Bandimere with 4 engine combinations and 3 transmission and torque converter combinations. I was able to shed 350 pounds from the car to 2550-lbs. All this with the stock rear suspension and a 26x8-15-inch tire, and 8.2 inch rear with stock axles the last engine combo made 530 horse power at sea level. Best ET. was 11.15 seconds and best mph was 124. At sea level it would have been an easy mid 10 second car. So the content creator is way off on the performance of these Vegas, especially the weight, as being 2200-lbs.
I think what they are saying is the Vega was 2200 lbs before the swap, subtract the stock equipment and add more and your correct, I did the Pinto V8 conversion in 1980 which was tougher to fit, it was still good hp in a light car
I think he's quoting stock vega #
I am not completely sure but owning several vegas I don't think they were that light even with the original 4 popper
I knew a gearhead in high school who dropped a built 350 in a 1973 Vega with a Muncie 4 speed. It ate Mustangs for lunch. It would pin you in the seat on launch. Fun times in 1975.
I owned a 73 Vega GT, always wanted to convert to a 350 V-8. I had a friend, William Green, we called him Vega Bill. He converted his 71 Vega into a 350 powered monster himself. What an awesome machine
They all needed stiffening/ subframe connectors, especially stick shift cars, but at the time nobody made/sold connectors for Vegas. One holeshot in a stick shift car without stiffening, was almost a guaranteed broken windshield from all the twist.
Run skinny rear tires,problem avoided
Chevy built a V8 Vega, it was called the Monza. The problem with the V8 was that the unibody wasn't designed for the weight or torque. I saw some in the 1970's that had added metal tubing added to the unibody to gain strength for a small block V8. Then, the rear diferential was replaced. 9 seconds, 1/4 mile. No way, cause they didn't hock up out of the hole with a small block, let alone a big block.
Some guys would install subframe connectors which helped some, really this was one of the problems with most pony cars and lack of frame, full chassis is really only way to go for big hp but this was super cheap backyard fun and times were better
Those were the Monza Spider's.
If u build it to hook, it will hook, how do u explain w / stand, if no hook?
@rogerdodrill4733 in the 1970s, tire technology wasn't great, so in order for high-powered cars to hook, you would tub the rear and put the widest tires that's possible to gain traction.
Growing up on Long Island at that same time I remember Baldwin Motion well and racing from the Burger King on Hempstead Turnpike (Bethpage NY)...like it was yesterday. Those were crazy times with some very fast street cars.
Nice video! Just to add to the history, I painted all the stripes on the all Motion cars from the beginning to the end & am still painting today
A Vega, no matter how big an engine, would never hook up. I use to pick on them all the time with my '65 Malibu SS.
Oh, how I miss these cars and my youth that went with them.
When I first saw the picture of the vega on this page I thought, click bait!! I'm glad I looked. I had 3 different vega's and I remember when I first looked under the hood, I thought where is the other have of the engine? I always said "I would love to dump a 327 or 350 in this thing" I thought it would scream. If I knew that there was a kit and people were doing it, at my age, I would have been dumb enough to do it. Dam the consequence's to my DL or the cost! The only thing I can say after watching this is WOW, I knew it!!!! Thanks for your post!
this is one of the first times on you tube I was amazed,GOOD INFORMATION and so cool these dealership was 380 miles from my house.wow,I never knew about them vegas,Ive been spinning 1\2 inch and 10mm wrenhes for 25+ years.
Knowing how much of a piece of crap the Vega was overall I wouldn't be caught dead in one of them. There were (and still are) numerous small cars that were well enough built to handle that sort of engine swaps, like the Ace/Bristol turned into Cobras, the Vega definitely wasn't one of them. It could barely handle the tiny 4 bangers GM offered in them.
Stop the Vega Hate!! Facts are racist!! 4 Banger-phobe!! Engineering Nightmare Nazi!! GM Production Pride you alpha male chevy cheovanst !! I am so triggered I need my Body by Fisher fur baby and an AC Delco coloring diagram. My pronouns are IT IZ AYE ✌️UV 💩.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Spoken like a true Ford guy ! Only kidding, you’re more than likely spot on! Here in Australia, we tend to fantasise on how good our “muscle cars” were! Fantasy being the optimistic word!
454 Vegas used to be all you saw in Super Gas.
My first 2 cars were Vegas.....anyways who doesn't regret not keeping the cars we had back in the day.
Excellent feature, awesome car, Baldwin Motion rules! I like your pick of the LT-1 for all around performance. I got a 70 Nova cheap in 84. Raced with a pro built 355, pro streeted with a 427, same builder. Still have car. Power to weight ratio is it!
In stock form the Vega self destructed with the aluminum block 4 cylinder the very first thing destroyed. Shortly thereafter the rest of this poorly engineered and constructed calamity literally fell apart!!
That stupid silicon-aluminum block made for a very good supply of bones for SBC Vegas. If you could get a good, low-rust body (hard in the midwest), bung a 327 in it with subframe connectors and traction bars and you could eat most Camaros & Muskrats.
I wonder was there a similar company doing upgrades to the Ford Maverick?? I much prefer the look of the Maverick but have never heard of anyone offering such extensive upgrades….
I haven't heard of one either but that would be awesome!
Interesting question 🧐, I too would like to know if that was being executed!!!
@@christianheidt5733... the only "hot rod shop" I know of that worked over ford mavericks was Holman Moody. They did several Boss 429 and just a couple of SOHC 427 mavericks. I'd like to say nobody ever made a "street car" all the ones they made was for the track. But hey, who knows... it was the '70s. I'm sure there were plenty of people rocking the block with their mountain motor mavericks. Just gotta find the right person to admit they were driving their Holman Moody maverick on the street.
I am 57. My older brother had a Maverick. I never saw one that was souped up or looked sporty.
@@derektrieglaff9103 but you could order with a 302, that's already a good start. I always found the maverick attractive as well. Unfortunately the old cars rotted out fast. Right now I'm driving 2010's 14 yrs old, 250,000kms, still driving like new cars. I going on to hate buying anything past 2012 though, that's when all the garbage starts. New cars are absolute garbage now, & 1/2 the price of a house 😒. Well that's my rant, take it easy bro, Have an awesome weekend!!!
I loved how it looked. The dimensions were perfect.
I had 2 '72 Vegas before 1972. Totaled one, Great Drive-in car.
MY FORD BOSS MUSTANG ONLY DID 140mph
mine 170mph
427 YES,454 NO
My dad swapped dropped a 454 in his. It was all track car . He seen sky halfway down the track every pass. I loved watching him have fun. I miss my dad terribly.
I autocrossed one of these monsters in my Toyota Corolla SR5. All it had was a rear anti-sway bar, but I squeaked out a win. Same with a Lotus Cortina that was trailered in. Those were the days!
"V8 economy" car is an oxymoron.
Hey it started at an economy car!
Any car weighing this little can get decent gas mileage.
In Detroit The Motor City it was THE BLACK GHOST 426 HEMI Challenger unless you ran into JOE with his ROUSH Built Mustang II on I-696
the mustang II was pretty light if I recall so that had to move out!
That bad ass ride sold for just over a million at last years auction