The DisAstre project

[Hoffbug]

Got the engine and transmission pulled today.... Vega Transmissions are a trip.. Big holes on the bell-housing since they are air cooled.

[Hoffbug]

Started taking the Orange 77 apart today.. This why Vertipak sucked. Vegas were shipped in special rail cars called Vertipak.. They were driven onto ramps that had special tabs that fit into slots in the frame. and then were stacked up vertically nose down.. even with special batteries the acid slopped all over and many cars were rusted in this area right on the showroom floor.

[Hoffbug]

I'm hoping for a little better quality out of this one Shelty...If the worst happens I'll just pull a pair of out of date 5 point harnesses out of the pile.

[Shelty]

pretty cool, my dad told me he used to have one of those when he was a teenager. every time he made a left turn, the passenger door would fly open

[DanStokes]

More, MORE!!!!!!

Dan

[Hoffbug]

Rear control arms and panhard rod.

[Hoffbug]

Picked up some powdercoating today.. The valve covers weren't the greatest but the Offenhauser finned aluminum valve covers for the Olds 215 head That I ordered through Summit are back ordered till after Christmas.. Progress.

[JOES66FURY]

NEAT! this is cool, cant wait to see more.....

[SuperBuickGuy]

glad you're posting. My dad was the 215 aluminum in a vega guy. He built a couple of the, and for awhile, sold a 215/chevy bolt pattern ring to guys who wanted to use a more available transmission. The LR motor is going to him for a Sunbeam (fake) Tiger project.

[studemax]

Had one back in the 80's. The bolts that held the engine block and tranny together finally ate their way out of the aluminum and vibrated the car like crazy. Traded it off to a Ford dealer who didn't even drive the car before the deal. Boy, were they surprised when they put it in gear!

[DanStokes]

I loved mine - but that was MANY moons ago, around the 1979 timeframe. I used to have some pics but they weren't digital. Digits hadn't been invented yet.

Oh - good lookin' manifold! I ran the Offy with a 390 and it worked well.

Dan

[Hoffbug]

Aftermarket intakes are pretty limited to the Edelbrock dual plane.. A lot of guys run them with a 390 Holley... In doing some research I cam across a guy in Australia who was casting up single plane manifolds with injector bosses for the land Rover... Bill Laney of Maxwedge performance.. Its interesting calling a dude up on the other side of the planet to order parts.. Actually had to look at a time date converter online to see when the hell I was making his phone ring.. I ordered one up and wired the money to his bank and got the stuff around the planet no problem.. Now why cant get something shipped from two states over without drama? anyway here it is... Its very similar, but possible a tab smaller in port and plenum size than the vintage Huffaker and Harcourt manifolds.

The willpower has the Holley bolt pattern So I can run a carb.. I am planning on using FAST EZ-EFI which might present some other challenges on a small cube low horsepower engine... Even though I should be getting one horsepower per cubic inch out of an engine only 30 LBS heavier than the Vega boat anchor. It is only 215 cubic inches..

[Hoffbug]

One of the challenges with this swap is the funky blot pattern on the Buick Olds 215 and 67-04 Land rover engines... A few places make adapter plates to mount the more familiar/modern BOP or Chevrolet bolt pattern transmissions up.. I bought mine from Kennedy Engineered products a few years back... You have to send them a Buick 215 flexplate and they dimple and re-drill it for the modern converter bolt pattern...

[Hoffbug]

More....

The Green Astre pictured above is gone now.. I took the front grill, some interior pieces, and the rear tail panel off.. They will be transplanted onto the Orange 77 Vega.. The 75 Cosworth is a field car/ Barn find.. Ill be taking the interior, dash, sway bars, Fuel tank, and rear end out of it for this project and hopefully find a good home for the Cosworth parts... I have a 200R4 transmission and anr BTE 10" converter for an early small shaft 700R4 that I think will work..

[Hoffbug]

Yeah. He said I should start a build thread here.. I have all kinds of stuff accumulated for a bigger engine But want to do the Lil Olds first and make it a nice driver...