Okay I lied, it’s only $950, but that doesn’t go with the theme here. The other day, while looking at my normal Craigslist stuff, I realized just how much cool stuff there is within two hours of my house on Craigslist, and that you could pick up for $1000 or less! It got me thinking, and after a quick email to Brian, we came up with Grand Plan, hot rod projects you can pick up for Ten Hundred dollars or less. That’s $1000 for you challenged readers. So if you want to know what deals you can find in California, stay tuned as we’ll be bringing you Grand Plans of all kinds!
So here it is, the first Grand Plan. With an asking price of $950 this Vega Wagon rules! It’s already got a V8 kit in it, the body has little or no rust, and even a bunch of the interior is salvageable. If you wanted to really take this thing and make it into a nice hot rod, this is a great start, and here is what we’d do. Read our build idea as you scroll through all the pictures below, and tell us what you would do with it in the comments section below. And if you are interested in buying this Vega, there is a Craigslist link below.
Do some cleanup, a little bodywork, and take it down to Maaco and you’ve got a clean little package. Inside that package I would get my nasty small block on, building a cool little motor that revs to the moon, and I’d back it up with a stick. The sites called BangShift.com after all, so why not row some gears?! It comes with a Turbo 350 trans already in it, but no engine. Sell the Turbo 350 at the swap meet, and then you have extra cash to spend. Also, since it is an original stick shift car, it’s got the pedals and everything already. No swapping needed.
With a high winding small block comes the need for a lot of gear, and I’d put a 12 bolt or 9 inch in the back of this sucker with at least a 4.56 gear just so it would be a riot around town. I’d probably figure out how to make the stock torque arm or triangulated rear suspension work, even if I had to tweak on it with parts designed for an A-Body or 4th Gen Camaro. The goal would be great traction and with just enough tire to make this thing look evil. After all, a tire as small as a 26/10.50 would look big on a Vega. If you could stuff a 28/12.50 under one with nothing more than a mini tub job it would be epic.
Up front I’d do an S10 spindle swap for 5 lugs and better brakes, and then I’d work my way to the inside.
Inside I’d go for as stock a look as possible, so as to keep attention away from the roll bar and Vertigate shifter. Maybe even keep the grandma tan and paint the rollbar to match! Clean wiring, enough stereo to stay entertained and allow for hands free calling, and a nice set of gauges would make me happy. Of course the tach would have to be mounted to the column.
Under the hood would be all business for me. The small block would be understated, with parts that make everyone know it’s serious, but without much show. Black, a little chrome, and lots of dull aluminum would make me a happy camper.
The truth is, if you built this thing right you could do all of that for way less than you would think. I bet you could build this car for less than $10,000 total if you did as much of the work as possible yourself, got creative, and had good friends with helpful talents. Crap…now it makes ME want to go buy this thing! I do NOT need another project.
CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL AD ON CRAIGSLIST
What would you do with this Vega Wagon? Drag car? Street racer? Cruiser? Pro Touring? Straight axle gasser style? Altered wheel base? The possibilities are endless, but we want to hear what you would do with this clean little Vega that can be yours for less than a Grand! What’s your Grand Plan?
I like the idea of a budget challenge. Not as extreme as something like the grassroots challenge stuff and not a build-off, but more of ‘what can be done reasonably’ to save the car and have fun. Real world ideas on this one too. I’d also consider a V-6 turbo setup in this thing just for a different flavor. Still with a stick of course.
For some reason, I feel like a Honda F20C or a turbo 13B rotary engine would be spectacular in this thing. But then again, that’s just me.
I’m thinking a street / strip build with a 4.8 LS motor with a really wild cam and some port work to make it a really, really high winding screamer. Stick shift, of course!
I built a 73 Vega GT wagon way back when. 327 4 speed. For what its worth, the original trans is a 4 speed saginaw and would work behind a decent small block plus it has a steep first gear. A rear our of a V8 Monza is almost a bolt in too. Looks like a Don Hardy engine mount kit.
Buick/Rover Aluminum V8 with TA heads and a Buick 300 crank. Full sequential EFI with 4L60E. Build the suspension for grand touring with an 8.5 10-bolt and 5 lug swap. Use it as a 2 seat panel wagon with side windows and just use it for roadtrips like Power Tour where I go camping on the way.
To be different, I’d polish the engine and trans case.
Drove Vegas for many, many years and always wanted to put in a 4.3 liter V-6 with a 5 speed for daily driving. Nothing super radical just solid