[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

The actual, definitive answer on the Vega rail shipping:

The cars were full of fluids and driveable; Specially designed components were used to keep the fluids from draining out:

* Unique carburetors, with special chambers so the fuel would not run out
* Special windshield washer bottles
* Special radiator/overflow bottles, etc
* Unique transmissions
* Special battery caps to prevent acid leakage

among other things -

K

Keith, I didn't know that!

It's a shame that Chevrolet went to all that trouble to create special components just for shipping Vegas, perhaps they should have put some more thought into the engineering of the car instead of how to ship it?

Still nice looking little cars. My brother had a 73 GT Hatchback, 4-speed, orange with a white stripe, those cool little blacked out 4-spoke mags, and white letter tires. By the early 1980's, we hardly saw any Vegas left on the road in the snowbelt states. The Monza took over the reins.

My brothers 73 Vega ended its life in 1978. He sold it to a guy that was digging a pit in his backyard. He put the Vega in the pit, opened the hatch and windows, and filled in dirt around it. It was a doghouse for his German Shepherd.

Amazing how quickly those cars deteriorated. Imagine going that today with a 4-year old car today! Cars now will last well over 150K miles. Back in the 70's, they were usually all done by 100K, and the Vegas were off the road by the time they hit 40,000, thanks to the lack of steel sleeves in those aluminum blocks. Broken door handles (inside and out), poor materials both inside and out, cheap metal, they were one of the reasons Americans began to look at imports.

But...I still love them! I thought they looked great, especially with a V8 under the hood.