[Bill Holm]

Lots more old dealer pics, here:
http://www.pontiacsonline.com/Pontia...p%20Photos.htm


Don Gay Pontiac Dickinson Texas 1966


Royal Pontiac Royal Oak Michigan 1966


Union Park Pontiac Wilmington Delaware 1960-1961

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

This was a local rug store. When someone had an unusual way to take a rug home, or they were simply going to strap the rug to their roof because they didn't have a truck or van, the owner would snap a photo. This photo was from the owners son.

Mike:
That's one of the coolest old photos I've seen! Very unusual but practical use of that awesome wing!

Originally Posted by Bill Holm

Lots more old dealer pics, here:
http://www.pontiacsonline.com/Pontia...p%20Photos.htm


Don Gay Pontiac Dickinson Texas 1966


Love those old dealership photos. My Blue GXP in sig photo came from Gay Pontiac. My 71 455 H.O. also came out of Texas - from Superior Pontiac in San Antonio. Anyone have any old photos of that dealership?

BJ

[Steve Barcak]

Does anyone remember the "Raiders Coach"? It was the show car for the band Paul Revere & The Raiders. They also did a video and song to promote the GTO Judge in 1969. It was powered by twin GTO engines.

[MikeNoun]

Well, we all know George Barris had....ummmm....questionable taste....

Here's one his custom Olds Toronados.....

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by goatless

Did the Vegas have fluids in them when they were hauled this way? It looks like the guy is driving it up onto the ramp. If they did, how did the oil, coolant, gas, etc. not leak all over the place?

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

I think they were shipped totally dry. Contrary to other people's opinions, I actually thought Vegas were pretty cool looking, just not engineered to last.

Originally Posted by pontiacmonstr

did they really haul vegas like that on the trains? what about the fluids leaking? wow, unbelievable!

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

[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.

[Deadhead]

Here are a couple I found recently on another vintage photo thread:

[goatless]

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

Boy, that seems like an awful lot of effort, along with the specially designed rail cars (and presumably loading docks too!), just to squeeze a few more Vegas onto the train!