Consumer Guide : Cheap cars of '77 are ...

[paulo57509]

Customer brought in their '74 Pinto 2.3L automatic wagon into dad's shop for a tune-up. After I was finished, I took it for a test drive.

After the 1-2 shift, the engine would bog and actually got worse the more gas I fed it. I spent the next three hours troubleshooting it before my dad came over wondering what was taking so long. After I got the symptoms out of the way, he stopped me and said, "That's the way that car runs for some reason. Did it since it was new."

First in the line of terrible smog engines.

OTOH, a friend drove a '71 Pinto Runabout that had the Kent 1.6L That car ran pretty good but you needed to do a lot of clutch work.

Another bad one was the AMC Eagle 4x4. After replacing a leaking clutch slave cylinder, it took me a while to locate the clutch master cylinder reservoir. Turns out it was just an open (to the atmosphere) Tygon-type tube attached to the cylinder with a line, arrow and the word "FULL" heat stamped on the tube OD.

 

[Leo99]

My first car was a green '77 Buick. 305 cu inches and about 165 hp. It was slow with hesitation. Green vinyl bench seats.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I've always envisioned owning a big block Vega. For some reason I love the body style.

You would want an aluminum SBC in there. I built a V8 vega in the late 70's from my father commuter 1974 GT that had a worn engine. hi comp 327 from a rail dragster de-tuned for the street and a TH350. Not the best choice.
Thinking back I should have done a rebuild of the 4 with the turbo kit that was available at the time. But machinists didnt want to touch it.
But in the smog days we were drawn to power. V8 allure and promises - the Car did 100 mph in 10 seconds from a dead stop.

Even though I reinforced the front unit frame, the factory mild steel stamping used couldn't handle the power.

Better to start with a Nova or Ventura or Apollo - though they were frumpy looking rides

Not my car. prettier than a camaro - even with the too big cowl riser:

 

[eljefino]

Yeah the Vega looked like a 8/10 scale Camaro which wasn't bad, until they rusted out and sooted up the rear bumper from ill-running.

Only funny looking thing is the roundish windshield of the old held-in-with-gasket style matched with the squarish A-pillar.

 

[eljefino]

And another of your author's ascendant proudly demonstrating Vegas bearing both pre- and post- crash bumpers along with his "metallic pea" Peter Griffin Ford wagon. I seem to recall Vegas being the last new cars with factory bias ply tires. The red, circa 1976, seems to be wearing them. The blue, a 71 vintage, is showing rust at the 5-year mark around the windshield frame. The blue one broke down on my mom while she was pregnant with me, a problem solved by her calling my pops from a toll booth on the Mass Pike. Blue went up for sale shortly thereafter, with the overlap being the probable subject of this photograph.

 

[Leo99]

Yes they were junk. I worked as a Tech at a Chevy dealership 1977 thru 1981. The car haulers would deliver brand new cars from the factory with the engine knocking, trans slipping, and brake calipers loose just to name a few things I can recall. The fantastic front wheel drive Citation was released mid-year 1979 (as a 1980) and had 11 recalls before Chevrolet allowed it on the showroom for sales. I was blessed with being the only Tech at our dealership that had been to GM school for that car. I had 3 truckloads to correct. I about starved working on commission and Chevrolet warranty didn’t pay SH#& back then. The recalls that I was “impressed “ with were the reinforcements that had to be added to ensure structural integrity. A freaking piece of stamped sheet metal bolted through the floorboards and secured with the factory supplied self tapping lag bolts. Also the spare tire/wheel would not fit so an “adapter” was provided that was secured with factory provided rivets! I wouldn’t want that level of engineering for a bicycle!

I worked with an older guy that had a Citation. He'd leave it unlocked with the keys in it on the mean streets hoping someone would steal it so he could collect the insurance on it. No such luck. Lol. Even car thiefs have standards.

 

[Chris142]

The AMC was available with the 258. Pretty good engine for it's time.

 

[super20dan]

the amc cars were much better than the crap from the big 3 in sub compacts

 

[ARCOgraphite]

the amc cars were much better than the crap from the big 3 in sub compacts

Yes the compacts were the way to go. AMC Hornet or Gremlin X. and Duster, Scamp, Nova, Ventura.

For performance, the later but carbureted X-11 was king with the HO V6 and 4 speed
Had one. great car. Later The F.I. motor was choked. But that was the early 80s.

With GM you had to pick the performance and handling options form the menu to get a nice driving car.

Then you had the imports: Jag E type, Triumph TR-6 and the Fiat 124 and the Datsun Z.

We were still high on 7-10 year old mid 60's iron that could be had used for under $1000 but needing a bit of work to get to a 74-85% good DD.

 

[1uz_4me]

My first car was a green '77 Buick. 305 cu inches and about 165 hp. It was slow with hesitation. Green vinyl bench seats.

My dad special ordered his 77 Camaro. 3spd, 305, beige. We'd call it 'tan' & he'd correct us with 'buckskin' . Put about 380k mi on it before the junkyard picking it up 5 or 6yrs ago. Cat was replaced, but it still barely passed smog. Solid car for what it was & lasted longer than anyone would've guessed. I learned to drive with that car & an 89 Buick Century. I can parallel park anything

 

[Gene K]

Double

 

[Gene K]

1971 Pinto - 302 SBF
1972 Gremlin - 401 AMC
1976 Chevette (Tube Chassis) - 468 BBC
1977 Vega - 406 SBC

All those cars had their uses once you fixed the power issue and I've owned most.

 

[endeavor to persevere]

I bought a new 1972 Gremlin with a 304 V-8 in 1972. Gave 1995.00 for it. It was a pretty good cheap car. I drove it several years and had no issues with it.

 

[chrlsful]

My favs were the 2 'slant6' wagons (volari) I had, the Lima 4/holley.weber (pinto wagon) and 250/4.1 Bronco I still run.

 

[loneryder]

Obligatory Vega shipment pic..

View attachment 91207

What kind of transporter is that??

 

[loneryder]

In the early 70's, my first new car was one of those German Opels sold by Buick dealers. Yellow with a flat black hood. It was a nice car but was so leaned out that it was dangerous to pull out in traffic. Terrible hesitation. I learned there was an sir mixture screw covered by a cap that could be pried off. I adjusted the mixture and it ran great. Living in NJ at the time, I had to get a smog test every year. When I got to the state smog station, I would get my screw driver out and lean it out so that it would pass. I always thought it was a joke because the probe they stuck in your exhaust had a meter on the wall that registered pollutants. The meter showed pollution with the probe just measuring outside air.

 

[Bud_One]

What kind of transporter is that??

Vert-a-Pac: How Chevrolet Shipped the Ill-Fated Vega

Awful as it was, the Chevrolet Vega was a car that heralded several innovations, one of which involved how it was shipped—literally turning the old methods on their nose.

www.motortrend.com

 

[kschachn]

What kind of transporter is that??

A couple more articles:

A look back in time: The GM/Southern Pacific Vert-A-Pac - Railway Age

Remember the Chevrolet Vega and its Pontiac equivalent, the Astre? These cars were shipped long-distance in a rather unusual manner.

www.railwayage.com

Image of 1970s cars loaded upright doesn't reveal full picture - Australian Associated Press

A US car company used a novel method to transport vehicles from the factory to dealerships, but it wasn't common practice.

www.aap.com.au

It may be mentioned in On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors, I know DeLorean discusses the Vega in one chapter.

 

[measureman]

I sold cars for a couple years in the mid 70's at a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer ship.
The general manager told me the real money was made in the service department fixing the horrible cars.

 

[aquariuscsm]

And another of your author's ascendant proudly demonstrating Vegas bearing both pre- and post- crash bumpers along with his "metallic pea" Peter Griffin Ford wagon. I seem to recall Vegas being the last new cars with factory bias ply tires. The red, circa 1976, seems to be wearing them. The blue, a 71 vintage, is showing rust at the 5-year mark around the windshield frame. The blue one broke down on my mom while she was pregnant with me, a problem solved by her calling my pops from a toll booth on the Mass Pike. Blue went up for sale shortly thereafter, with the overlap being the probable subject of this photograph.

View attachment 91447

Sweet picture! Is that a green Country Squire station wagon?