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'71 Vega project!!!!


cruz

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Cruz,

This looks like it's going to be another one of your great jobs. Man you've come a long way from that trip to Long island a handful of years ago. (You remember...the trip where you almost getting run over by Ariel :lol: ) :rolleyes:

I liked the 1st set of wheels. I think I'd paint them up in a gunmetal grey color. I also love the yellow and black scheme pictured above, but what about instead of the single black graphic, go with the traditional SS stripes. If you go with the Hugger Orange, try White stripes. I alway thought that looked cool on the 69 Camaros.

As for the power plant, it looks like your going with the GN v-6, but if it's not too late, if you are going for the Pro-touring look, why not a NASCAR small block chevy out of one of the mulitiude of those offerings? I believe that he amt versions were 1/25, so the motor wont look huge.

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Cruz,

This looks like it's going to be another one of your great jobs. Man you've come a long way from that trip to Long island a handful of years ago. (You remember...the trip where you almost getting run over by Ariel :blink: ) :lol:

I liked the 1st set of wheels. I think I'd paint them up in a gunmetal grey color. I also love the yellow and black scheme pictured above, but what about instead of the single black graphic, go with the traditional SS stripes. If you go with the Hugger Orange, try White stripes. I alway thought that looked cool on the 69 Camaros.

As for the power plant, it looks like your going with the GN v-6, but if it's not too late, if you are going for the Pro-touring look, why not a NASCAR small block chevy out of one of the mulitiude of those offerings? I believe that he amt versions were 1/25, so the motor wont look huge.

Thanks Tommy! I like your ideas also, the Chevy stripes are always a nice touch. I want to keep the last pair of rims and tires, I have always loved the look of the Weld Stars and with that metal rim they look even better. I still want the old school type of muscle look, you know, the "I take the car to work everyday but race it on the weekends" type of thing. I am still in between painting it yellow or orange, I have some Chevy stripes from a 69 Camaro I had laying around there but will have to cut them down and somehow work around adding them to this build. I am also seeing some nice Grand National decals on the GN kit's decal sheet that I may be adding to the Vega, sort of a "powered by Buick" or "GN" type of theme!

By the way, after almost loosing my leg in that incident with Ariel years ago at the Liar's show, theres no reason to get better at this hobby than with that kind of inspiration!! :)

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All hail the LC2!!!

gnxengine.jpg

Nice picture, thanks, I can always use some reference!! Anybody else got more??? I will be eternally grateful for any help provided, specially if you guys know someone w/ the real car and can snap some pics!!!!! :PB)
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Cruz, I think the V6 Turbo would be perfect for such a light car. One thing you need to change with the kit engine is the Turbo itself, the kit one is horrendous. I used one from an Iteleri Mercedes V8 truck for my `87 GNX.

What i started with

PA254211.jpg

I did toy with a twin Turbo set up

PA254212.jpg

but went with a single.

PB154527.jpg

PB154531.jpg

PB304642.jpg

Here is a twin Turbo pic i found.

Lou_Cs_Twin_Turbo_TITLE.jpg

Imagine that in your Vega.

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Not meaning to change directions but how about an old style racing injected V6 along the the first set of wheels that look like the old Minilites? Would make an awesome GT-esque style street racer.

As for color, how about a dark silver main body, matching wheel centers and black GT stripes, along with monochromed bumpers, blacked out trim, a blacked out grill and tail. Put a modest airdam painted black and maybe a small rear deck lip to give it that street racer look.

Any way you build and any color you choose, I am sure it will be a terrific looking car. Keep up the good work!

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Not meaning to change directions but how about an old style racing injected V6 along the the first set of wheels that look like the old Minilites? Would make an awesome GT-esque style street racer.

As for color, how about a dark silver main body, matching wheel centers and black GT stripes, along with monochromed bumpers, blacked out trim, a blacked out grill and tail. Put a modest airdam painted black and maybe a small rear deck lip to give it that street racer look.

Any way you build and any color you choose, I am sure it will be a terrific looking car. Keep up the good work!

Your idea sounds terrific my friend along with the others posted but I am more old school, a GN motor is quite the modern engine for my usual old school taste but thanks for the heads up!!! :lol:
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I want to be able to use as much of the original chassis as possible. The Grand National transmission was way too bulky which meant that I had to cut a lot of the original middle part of the chassis off for me to be able to integrate it. My biggest concern is making sure to have enough available space between the radiator and the front of the engine, this area will be housing most of the turbo and hose connections and accesories.. I managed to get a bit more space and will show this after I shoot a few more pictures later.

71ChevyVega9001-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9005-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9014-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9007-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9009-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9022-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

A lot of the chrome parts on this engine had to be "Easy-Offed", these cars had a lot of non-shiny parts on the Turbo area and I intend to simulate them with various shades of Testor's Metalizer paints.

_14_z1987_grand_nationalengine-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

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71ChevyVega9024-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

Don't be fooled by this little engine, it has lots of parts to it which will make this a challenging build. I will have to do a lot of cutting and adding to ultimately try to make this thing work so please, wish me luck.... ;)

Looks like plumber's dream! :D Gonna be a real looker thou.

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I want to be able to use as much of the original chassis as possible. The Grand National transmission was way too bulky which meant that I had to cut a lot of the original middle part of the chassis off for me to be able to integrate it. My biggest concern is making sure to have enough available space between the radiator and the front of the engine, this area will be housing most of the turbo and hose connections and accesories.. I managed to get a bit more space and will show this after I shoot a few more pictures later.

71ChevyVega9001-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9005-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9014-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9007-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9009-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

71ChevyVega9022-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

A lot of the chrome parts on this engine had to be "Easy-Offed", these cars had a lot of non-shiny parts on the Turbo area and I intend to simulate them with various shades of Testor's Metalizer paints.

_14_z1987_grand_nationalengine-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

hi marcos, are you gonna paint the intercooler black like the pics, or aluminum? wich i think it looks better

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hi marcos, are you gonna paint the intercooler black like the pics, or aluminum? wich i think it looks better
I will decide on that later, have to see how much of the intercooler I have to cut down, right now is a little too large to just fit it in there so I will have to reshape it..... ;)
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Nice mods and mockup of the engine and tranny!! They look like they now fit really well!!

Easy-Off??? ;) That's some pretty nasty stuff for removing what we like to call "chrome". I use household ammonia. In a pinch I'll use Windex, because it has ammonia in it, but it's a lot more expensive and doesn't last as long before you have to dump it out.

Later,

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  • 3 weeks later...

Time for a little more updates on this thing. I have been working with the intercooler and doing lots of modifications. Didn't have many choices and had to downsize it significantly since the front of the Vega is a lot smaller and shorter from top to bottom than the Grand National's.

vegaproject001-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

vegaproject005-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

vegaproject006-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

vegaproject014-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

vegaproject027-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

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vegaproject10002-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

Also had to work around the upper part of the engine and also make some modifications to these parts. No way I was able to use them without cutting them down. B) Is all part of the build and I am having some fun with this, the challenge gets crazier by the minute!!! :lol:

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Hello there friend! Man I havent seen a vega in a more than 15 yrs.. This is turning out nice and the engine mods are jus great!!! Will be checking this thread from here on out!! Keep on wit the keepin on!!

paz

ajulia

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Wow Cruz, this one looks like a tough one, I am getting a headache just looking at the stuff your'e doing to this thing. If I could build like that and have my way I would keep the outside Vega look intact and surprise them with the Buick engine. Do they make any photo-etch detail sets for the Grand National? You could put the GN badges all around the car and paint it all black, this way you can go all GN.

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Wow Cruz, this one looks like a tough one, I am getting a headache just looking at the stuff your'e doing to this thing. If I could build like that and have my way I would keep the outside Vega look intact and surprise them with the Buick engine. Do they make any photo-etch detail sets for the Grand National? You could put the GN badges all around the car and paint it all black, this way you can go all GN.
Thanks Jay and the rest of the guys!! A few days back I was talking with my boy Mike Dube and he suggested exactly that but after checking around I had no luck, no one makes the P/E detail set for the GN. :D That leaves me with one choice, keep it Chevy on the outside and Buick at heart. In reality it was what I originally intended to do even though I would have considered Mike's advice as well as yours. The GN decal sheet has various options if I were to consider this but I have never been too crazy about adding decals as badges, you just can't beat P/E for this.... :lol::lol:
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