It’s amazing how time can heal wounds and edit memories about certain vehicles. Take the Chevrolet Vega. When launched in 1970, the Vega was hailed as the small car that would save Detroit from the small Japanese imports and the Volkswagen Beetle, a mini-Camaro that could be cranked out of the Lordstown, Ohio plant at record pace. GM went all-out on the Vega…they even created a new type of rail car to ship them vertically so that they could move them faster. And all of that went for naught…between rust issues, quality control problems and an engine that liked to self-destruct, Vegas are often thought of now as the car that started shoveling dirt on top of the idea of American automotive superiority…or, at least, left a very bad taste in the mouths of consumers.

But then there’s the cousin, the Chevrolet Monza, a car that shares the same H-platform, but holds a racing pedigree thanks to IMSA. What would’ve ordinarily been another small, economically-minded coupe that GM prayed would do better wound up becoming a champion in IMSA racing. Sporting fender flares that are right up there with anything Rocket Bunny slaps on late-model machines and a small-block under the hood hell-bent on ripping the racing world a new one, the Monza is often remembered more fondly. Why?

Enter Byron Burnham, the driver and owner of this 1976 Cosworth Vega. Yep, that’s correct, this one got cut up to make a monster! And what a monster it is. Let’s start with the obvious, the body kit. It’s all hand-fabricated metal. It’s not fiberglass, it’s certainly not taped or riveted on. It’s metal, 100%, covered in 2017 Corvette Arctic White and Watkins Glen Gray, bisected with the red stripe. Combine that with the massive rolling stock and the Minilate-style wheels and this Vega grabs your attention by the throat and does not let go. It looks like it’s ready to go take on the world at LeMans or 24 Hours of Daytona…and this is before the GM LS3 that was built by Don Hardy Race Cars fires off, breathing through it’s Hilborn stacks. 

The engine is a brute and in a car the size of a Vega, more than plenty. With Burnham in control of the output via a TKO500 trans, getting the Cossie up and moving is no issue. Making it dance, however, is another altogether. The Vega wasn’t known for it’s rigidity, but that’s been cured via a full chassis that sports an Art Morrison three-link rear with a Watts link for good measure. Stopping the show are Wilwood brakes and the grip that the Falken tires provide.

Inside the Vega is an even nicer deal than looking at it from outside. Stock cues like the dash and door panels remain, but the rest of the interior is trimmed out in leather and the gauges are a Dakota Digital unit. A fire suppression system is also installed, just in case any kind of Vega curse tries to end the fun. Better safe than sorry, of course…and that goes for the beautifully integrated roll cage setup.

The Monza is remembered as a road course screamer, the Vega as the start of the Malaise nightmare. And some of that is honestly earned. But Burnham’s Vega proves that just because the stock version sucked, doesn’t mean that you can’t do some reverse engineering to make something special. Wide-body or not, the setup would be a riot to whip around. But the looks set the car off…as I watched the machine whip around the autocross course at NCM Motorsports Park for the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge, it made me wish that I could’ve seen the IMSA monsters in person.