The Cosworth Vega is an Amazing Car, But Came TooLate to Save Chevy From Their Terrible Decisions



00:00 Start
00:07 Intro, weather, auction
01:41 Start of car review, overview
20:58 Under the hood
26:34 Opening the hatch, FI in a box
28:35 Exterior styling
31:18 Interior
35:48 Going for a drive

Car at Premier Auction website:
https://www.premierauctiongroup.com/vehicles/7100/1975-chevrolet-cosworth-vega

Online bidding with Proxibid:
https://www.proxibid.com/1975-Chevrolet-Cosworth-Vega/lotInformation/72261029

Full review and test drive of a 1975 Chevrolet Cosworth Twin-Cam Vega. Car reviewed and owned by Bill of Curious Cars.

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35 thoughts on “The Cosworth Vega is an Amazing Car, But Came TooLate to Save Chevy From Their Terrible Decisions”

  1. I had a red Vega Station Wagon with the vinyl wood trip…..what a chick magnet :-} I used to have to fill up the oil and check the gas weekly. It was actually a very reliable car for me
    except for the massive oil consumption.

    Reply
  2. I loved mine. Went from original aluminum engine to steel sleeves. When finally blew engine I put in the 350 with nova tranny and cut corvette rear tubbed the rear with 50’s Mickey Thompson on craigers and 31/2 inch trick wheels in front. Did 10.2 in quarter mile in 1986.

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  3. Yes the car overall is very durable except the engine, I had a 1971 station wagon that I called the "forche" as I installed a Ford V6 2.8 engine on early 1980s after that I never had any problems specially on the imperial valley that at that time there was no smog check only when you register a car by the first time

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  4. I had a 71 panel truck Vega I bought when I got back to the world from west pac and I put 85000 on it in less than 5 years and I drove it from Milwaukee to Miami and from Camp Lejeune to Texas and back the last two years that I was in the USMC I loved it

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  5. My first car was a new '74 Vega. Despite its reputation as one of the worst cars ever made, mine was great. It was actually pretty fun (but maybe when you're 16 any car is fun!) But what I mean is the handling was not bad compared to other cars of the day, which granted, isn't saying much. But it was dead nuts reliable…..and I beat the hell out of it. Never used oil…..& unbelievably never rusted out, even here in the mid Atlantic where it did get cold enough for a lot of salt on the roads in the winter. So….I lusted after a Cosworth. But jeez….I think at the time they cost more than a 'vette. Seems like I remember Car and Driver loving it which made it seems all that much cooler. Not to mention the black paint w/ those gold wheels that looked like something off an exotic. Plus (again for the time) that interior looked positively posh.

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  6. I still have my 1974 Vega GT. It's a great car, especially with the full tubular chassis, PG, a 383 NA motor, and shorted Ford 9-inch. Runs sub 5's in the 8th. I paid a mere $300 for it back in 1997.

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  7. How would it do up against my 1967 Ford Lotus Cortina? I think those "Computers" back then were analog and not digital. Back then, sticking (cramming) a small block V-8 into small cars was popular. My friend put a Chevy 283 in his Vega. Oh, Boy!

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  8. Always a Chevy guy, I remember these very well. I owned a '78 Z28 at the time & first saw one in a dealership in 1978. It was new & on the showroom floor. I was a car & Driver subscriber & was very aware of them. I still think these were some of the best looking cars Chevy ever made. What are you expecting for sales price?

    Reply
  9. My friend in high school was a genuine automotive enthusiast. He read every Road and Track, Motor Trend cover to cover.
    One weekend during college we went to the Chevy dealership and saw this dusty Cosworth Vega Richard new exactly what we were looking at. The salesman had no idea what it was. He let us take it for a test drive (on our own), 29 miles at the start 139 when we got back, I think we even put gas in it.
    It was a blast, so much fun, my friend Richard was in seventh heaven. When we returned we asked the salesman for the price,
    he about fell over $14,000 1976 dollars. No more unsupervised test drives.

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  10. This was my dream car in the mid 80s,. I went through a pair of 1974 Opel Mantas and the Coswortth Vega 5 speed would have fit my Manta. As it was a high school classmate gave me a Vega 4 speed transmission left over from an older brother, it was Opel made.

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  11. Imho, as someone who also grew up with these, my friends and I used to consider the Vega, a Pinto, Pacer and Gremlin in disguise. Low build quality of the day. Chevrolet was hardly alone. Yikes!

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  12. Vega. A classic example of corporate mismangement at all levels. Poor engine design, bad assembly pant with militant labor turning our poorly assembled junk. And the Cosworth. Sounded like a nice idea at the time. But built before they understood how to handle emissions with out just killing the power. Loser. You paid a ridiculous price for something with no real power.

    Nice looking, too bad there was no car to back up the looks.

    Reply

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