This thing has it all: Big and littles, 70’s-tastic pin striping, a vintage Chevy front plate, and if you look on the roof, a fiberglass hood with a period correct schnozz. What’s not to like?

From this angle, a few things become apparent. First off, you get a better look at that hood. Second, it’s a Vega hatchback, which is arguably the best looking of the Vega variants.

The seller mentions that this car is “the straightest, cleanest 1973 Vega you will find”. Judging simply by the fact that the rockers exist, I’m inclined to believe him. Most of these cars have returned to the earth many years ago, but this one looks super clean and rust free. If you are going to make big power in a car like this, you want it to look like this one.

Now these are old-school. I may be wrong, but these appear to be mid-70’s Cragars, and those BF Goodrich Radial T/A “50” tires are among the earliest of the Radial T/A’s manufactured. Back then, this was one hell of a wheel and tire package, and while the tires may need to be replaced by a fresh set of modern Radial T/A’s, those wheels are sweet.

While the odometer shows a scant 28 miles, the seller claims that the Vega has traveled about 5000-8000 miles in it’s life. While that would usually be cause for concern in a classic muscle car or sports car, this is a V8-swapped Vega, and most buyers would likely care less. Also dig that sticker on that vintage Moroso tach! 

A wider view of the cockpit shows more 70’s speed shop goodies, like the previously mentioned tach, a number of auxiliary gauges, a switch panel in place of the radio, and a Hurst shifter poking out of the floor to stir the gears in the Muncie M22.

Finally, we have the most important reason why we are talking about this 70’s econobox: the 350ci Small Block Chevrolet that resides under that fiberglass schnozz. The seller claims it to be a 1970-vintage LT1, which is good for 370 horsepower. If my memory is correct, these were available in the Corvette and Camaro, and had solid lifters and other trick parts, making them one of the scrappiest engines of its day. Back when this Vega was built, this would have been one of the best choices for a power plant available, and judging by the looks of the car, it’s safe to assume that it’s been warmed up a bit. Dig the aluminum high rise intake, the giant air cleaner, and the vintage Accel coil mounted on the firewall. The seller does say that it runs and drives, but it could use some tuning, as it’s been sitting for a long time.