Too exotic, not robust enough, not powerful enough, too complex and expensive to manufacture. It is interesting to note that the original 1971 prototypes, using dual carbs, were producing 170 hp before emission standards came into play. ownership rights to any content, document or other materials viewed through the R&T starts off a bit less than positive, pointing out that the CV was several years late. Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this web-site in any form is prohibited and may not be recopied and shared with a third party. Such progress. Yet it made 140 hp, to the CV’s 110. I wonder how much John Delorean’s departure from Chevrolet (then GM) had to do with the CV’s failure. I did not have to be helped out of the car, but it was awful close to that. commercial copying, redistribution, use or publication by you of any such Car testers and car manufacturers, each scratching the other’s back. R&T had to test one of those customer cars as well, instead of having one supplied for testing direct from GM, which is kind of a strange circumstance. 4) Detailed Performance Review, 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega (man. “The small sportster enthusiast”? (function() { There’s no way a genuine stock 110 hp CV would pull those kinds of numbers. 5) Standard and Alternative Wheel and Tire Sizes, 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega 5-speed (man. Even the original Lotus-Cortinas had Chapman-specified suspension; it wasn’t until later that cost-cutting removed all the fun bits. Getting a “production” engine out of the deal was really just a ruse; a rationalization for the race motor. It was a harbinger of what was to come…. 1976 was a pretty low ebb for US market car performance. Jeez; how utterly clueless. Perhaps the same one that was passed around to some GM executives, to show off what the CV team had been up to. The incorporation of material or any part of it in any other web-site, electronic retrieval system, publication or any other work (whether hard copy, electronic or otherwise), also the storage of any part of this site on optical, digital or/and electronic media is strictly prohibited. Chronological Chevrolet (USA) timeline catalogue, Chevrolet Chevelle-Malibu 1gen (1964-1972), Chevrolet Chevelle-Malibu 2gen (1973-1977), Chevrolet Suburban 07gen (GMT400) (1992-1999), Chevrolet Suburban 08gen (GMT800) (2000-2006), Chevrolet Suburban 09gen (GMT900) (2007-2013), Chevrolet Trailblazer 1gen (S-10) (1999-2001), 1976 Chevrolet (USA) Vega Cosworthall versions specifications and performance data, Chevrolet (USA) catalogue   ---->>   1971-1977 Chevrolet Vega catalogue   ---->>. Vega guru Robert Spinello's recently acquired #3466 Cossie, in Mahogany over Buckskin (eight additional exterior colors and two interior colors were … “A day late and a dollar short” pretty well sums it up. Were they concerned that the press might be a bit let down after the years of hype and heightened expectations? It even had a “Cosworth” option in the form of the Lotus engine with a dohc 16 valve head as used in the Jensen Healey and various Loti. Anyone ever heard of one ? That 110 HP net isn’t much better than the 140 HP gross from a four-carb ’65 Corvair Corsa, the 0-60 is about two seconds worse, the body rusts even faster than Corvairs did, AND it still oversteers? The View this vehicle on our website for a full description. Research 1976 Chevrolet Vega 2 Door Cosworth Hatchback prices, used values & Vega 2 Door Cosworth Hatchback pricing, specs and more! The engine had a lot of tech in it for the time. I’m using some shots of Ed’s CV in this post. Black on Black with gold accents and wheels. This book covers the 1975 and 1976 Cosworth Vega models (the book was originally published in 1975, and Chevy continued to use it for the 1976 model year). Indexed camshaft drive sprockets. Your email address will not be published. Advance reports of the CV had us wondering what Ford would offer. QOTD: How Soon Until We Start Seeing EV Curbside Classics? You do not acquire Catalogue of 610 car makes & manufacturers The incorporation of material or any part of it in any other web-site, electronic retrieval system, publication or any other work (whether hard copy, electronic or otherwise), also the storage of any part of this site on optical, digital or/and electronic media is strictly prohibited. Mediun Saddle Metallic, One of only 18 that we know of. Only 1 of 2 known with the Tan Cloth interior. And you have to feel sorry for those who coughed up the cash for these (or any Vega, for that matter). Complete performance review and accelerations chart for Chevrolet Cosworth Vega (man. Being 80% of that BMW, If they could’ve gotten it out for 10% more than a standard Vega it would’ve offered value for money, particularly with Datsun having abandoned the 510’s niche with the fatter 610 and decontented 710. It’s not like they were sold out and unavailable, or anything like that. The engine was hand built at the factory and Chevrolet actually had the valve cover hand signed by the person who built it. I have seen two of these at my local wrecking yard back in the mid ’80s, gives you an idea of what people thought of them. Ah, but that is my point. A successful race motor perhaps leads to a Cosworth-Vega-specific race formula, like the one for V-W engines. Car and Driver tested a late production Cosworth Vega 5-speed and recorded a 17.4 second elapsed time in the quarter mile, which is consistent with a 0-60 time in the mid-to-low 10 second range. 122cid/110hp EFI 1 Concours $32,800 2 Excellent $20,600 3 Good $10,400 4 Fair $6,400 note: Hagerty Valuation values as of January 2020 Condition #1 vehicles are the best in the world. Register in the USERZONE, share real world car performance results, show us your car, All Makes in automobile-catalog / VIN Check, detailed car history by VIN, Photo of the moment:1994 Fiat Uno CS 1.5 i.e. I may be the only one here to have driven one, in 1978 or ‘79. I am looking for new parts and have not had any luck. Service in October 2019 included replacement of the air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, coolant-level sensor, and engine oil.The Fisher-built body is finished in 1976-only Dark Green Metallic (49L), with yellow pin … Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the content, organization, graphics, design, compilation, magnetic Even with a cat and a decent single exhaust, it would have been a well balanced ripper. With a few minor changes--most notably the addition of eight exterior colors to 1975's black-only palette and a five-speed transmission to the option list--the Z09 package continued for 1976, but Chevrolet brass killed the option in July of that year. The Cosworth Vega was a car that captured the attention of enthusiasts early on in its development, and it’s not hard to see why. It was also a 4-speed, with a return spring on the clutch made for a short guy with muscular legs, which he was and I wasn’t, and I was running our lunches in noontime Nashville traffic. I was working with a guy whose sideline was putting Chevy V8s into any Vega he could get his hands on. https://www.motortrend.com/cars/mercury/capri/1976/1976-chevrolet-cosworth-vega-vs-mercury-capri-ii/. Mo, they didn’t end up with a Lotus Cortina, because that was a brilliant car, and very much lived up to its potential and storied name. Cosworth Engineering had already cemented a legendary reputation at that point for its prowess in designing high-revving and long-lasting components for the racing world, so enlisting their help in designing a DOHC head for the Vega injected some instant … A quite logical choice, and a not insignificant slice of the market. A precursor to the many Toyotas, Hondas, and Mazdas that widely used such production engines, years later. I ran him light to light and beat him by over 2 car lengths. And then price it at twice the price of a regular Vega? 1/4 mile: 18.5 seconds @74 mph. GM had the resources to include fuel injection, and they still couldn’t deliver a car that made sense in stock form. Back in 1974, either in the January or February issue of Car & Driver did a road test of a 1974 pre-production Cosworth Vega. 1976 Chevrolet Vega Additional Info: For Sale. I should have bought one of the engines just to have as a display unit. They’ll be peppy and unique, and they still have the Magic Word on the cam covers!”. Goodness! site. And in the end, that 110 hp was essentially the same as a base 2002 or 320i. The stock block can handle around 250HP, above that it is suspect. Anyway, by the mid ’70s it wasn’t so much “small sportsters” but sports sedans like the BMW 2002 that should have been the CV’s target. I remember 1 night my friend and I were cruising around and stumbled upon a 302 Mustang, 4 spd and headers. It still would have rusted away sitting in your driveway in Tucson. For features that the Cosworth shares with the standard Vega, refer to the 1974-1976 Vega manuals. I have seen exactly one of these, black as were all of the 1975s, but no other Vegas that year. At the time, at least when the project began, the Lotus twin cam (and The Cosworth name) were special and rather unique. The Vega first went on sale in Chevrolet dealerships on September 10, 1970. 5000-plus engines were built and installed in only around 3500 cars…after the initial rush, nobody wanted them. You had to buy the Lotus design head thru the parts department and replace the factory one, and they say only about 100 or so were made available to the public. Not afraid to drive it across country. Sleeved cylinder block. gcse.async = true; commercial copying, redistribution, use or publication by you of any such 1976 models came in various colors so did not look as distinctive, so I may not have noticed, but I think there were only about half as many of them. I mean, 110 hp from a Cosworth designed head, with fuel injection? Now if it had had 150 hp, it might have been a different outcome. Trying to pigeonhole just what they thought they were up to with the CV is really hard to do. Car has been repainted poorly. alcool (Photo: Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.), Quick access to automobile-catalog website -- type in a browser: a-c.liand you will be redirected Still, only 1,447 Cosworth Vegas were sold for 1976, due in part to a hefty $6,066 starting price that could top $6,700 with all the options. The Cosworth-Vega came with cast aluminum wheels , Wider radial tires ,anti-roll bars front and rear, specific gear ratios for the four-speed, free-flow exhaust system, quick steering .Alas, The Cosworth engine didn't make the Vega into a BMW 2002 or Alfa Romeo GTV beater . The Chevrolet Cosworth Vega is a subcompact four-passenger automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 and 1976 model years. It just screams “ringer”, given their long history of enabling DeLorean and his pet projects (even though he was gone by then). Oceanside, California, resident Barry Connally is the owner of this largely original 1976 Cosworth Vega equipped with the optional five-speed manual. Learn how your comment data is processed. They were proud of it, were good at keeping secrets, and weren’t much interested in crediting “tuned” cars instead of showing off their own untouchable awesome car testing skills and talents. Why could Lotus meet emissions with a pair of Stromberg carburetors and still return performance numbers in testing that suggested they were telling the truth about coming within 4% of maintaining the dirty Dell’Orto carbureted Jensen-Healey’s power output? proprietary (including but not limited to intellectual property) rights. A sad end. The Jensen-Healey wasn’t a huge success, but it was priced similarly to the Cosworth Vega while having a body that wasn’t shared with a million economy cars. In this car, the knowledgeable small sportster enthusiast will recognize and appreciate American design innovation and engineering imagination…”. Violations of copyright will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law. R&T points out that 55 hp/L is a quite modest output, and compared it to the rather similar Jensen-Healey engine, also a 2.0 L with high-tech four-valve DOHC head, but only with carbs instead of the CV’s fuel injection. Unfortunately GM’s small cars of the 70s were very a General Burnside period as the Vega, Monza, Chevette and Citation snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. GM had crude running prototypes of the twin cam as early as mid 1971. That timing would have been perfect (or at least a lot better). var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; There was a bit of corporate panic, especially with a Vega power plant that had obviously gone haywire, somewhere along the line. IIRC, he was a big proponent of the project, then got promoted to the 14th floor. The most efficient way to navigate through our huge database and compare cars side by side is the interface located on theCar Specs Homepage For the table with this car full photo gallery and complete technical specifications (including final drive and gear ratios, powertrain description, inside and outside dimensions etc. Search automobile-catalog: this database is huge, use the search field below to find here data you are looking for: This Cosworth Vega has unfortunately been partly stripped, missing much of its interior and some exterior trim, but would make an excellent project asking $4,500 here on Craigslist in Corona, California. It may not have been the fastest car out there, but was FAR quicker that it was rated for. 1976 Chevrolet Vega Cosworth 2dr Hatchback Coupe 4-cyl. And the results are painfully obvious in the stats: 0-60 in 12.3 seconds. If that was their target, then they really were delusional. The Vega received praise and awards at its introduction, including 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Finding a way to get it into production, they seized upon a promising little car with a subpar engine and no real performance variant, and they found a home for a pet engine project. The automobile-catalog.com website is only for the on-line view using the internet browser. General information: This 1976 Cosworth Vega is #2541 out of approximately 3500 cars made between 1975 and 1976. Overall 1976 Chevrolet Vega production fell to 160,524 cars, including just 7,935 Estate Wagons. It was my friend’s SCCA Showroom Stock A race car, Meaning it was blueprinted, balanced, and whatever else one could get away with. . This car can be driven anywhere right now. That’s because it was years and the final product was a complete dud. In 1975 the panhard bar was mounted in front of the rear axle and was not adjustable. Monza was also intended to be a halo vehicle off the H platform (“Italian Vega”). The engine had 4 valves per cylinder, was balanced and blue printed, had a forged crankshaft, shot peened rods, fuel injected, factory headers, 4.10 posi rear and a 5 speed transmission. proprietary (including but not limited to intellectual property) rights. Reports vary about the actual 110 hp at 5,200 rpm that was reported to be delivered through a four-speed gearbox. All Rights Reserved. By May 1973, output was down to 130 hp and 116 lb-ft, but Car and Driver took a prototype to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds with a 16.2-second 85-mph quarter mile, proclaiming, “The only four-passenger coupes faster than a Cosworth Vega have a Detroit V-8 under the hood.” 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega #2843 of 3508 manufactured between 1975 and 1976. A 12 second 0-60 and an 18 1/2 second quarter mile would get killed, back in the day, by a contemporary 240Z, V-6 Capri, or any Mazda rotary, right out of the box. John was a very good driver and I think a few factors like gearing, good brakes, and tire size helped the Vega at Sears Point where most of our regional races were held in those days. The springs and ride height are unique to the Cosworth Vega. How did Chevrolet spend years working on the Cosworth Vega, and end up with nothing more than a Vega the way it should have been in the first place, with a perkier and less rough but certainly not a high performance engine? The CV may have been targeted at the BMW 2002 buyer, but the slightly “look at me” look and the engine specs of the CV suggest that the target market was actually the Lotus Cortina buyer, the “small sportster enthusiast”. This will make our third Cosworth Vega post. The following versions and sub-models of Chevrolet Vega Cosworth were available in 1976: 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega (man. Whatever the reasons, the CV was just never marketable, and died after a few short years of low production and sales. The original 1971 Vega was fun to drive, at least it was with a 4-speed, but so many issues made it such a Deadly Sin. The Cosworth Vega was a limited production version of the popular Vega Hatchback that was built in 1975 & 1976, with a total of approximately 3508 units being made. That’s the only explanation I can think of for how the CV ultimately made production. Has original Cosworth Motor with only 8800 miles, Runs and Drives great! Maybe they were jinxed; Cosworth was far better known for killer Ford engines. They’re usually in good shape and are an affordable nostalgia cruiser. By 1975, there was the baggage-free and better looking Monza and other division variants where you could get either a V6 or V8, and for a lot less than a CV. I have owned it all these years and just recently sold it to my friend who bugged me for years to buy it. Copyright 2011 - 2020 Curbside Classics. Definitely true of a handful of National-level SS cars, but not my friend’s Cosworth Vega which was his daily driver before he decided to go through driver’s school and race it a few times at the Regional level. / 22.3 mpg (U.S.) / 9.5 km/l, more data: RWD (rear-wheel drive), manual 5-speed gearbox, accelerations: 0- 60 mph 10.7© s; 0- 100 km/h 11.3© s (simulation ©automobile-catalog.com); 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 17.9© s (simulation ©automobile-catalog.com). To compete against the BMW, Alfa, Dastun Z, Mazda RX-2, and a bunch of other sports coupes/sports cars. var cx = 'partner-pub-9659367955710532:8424444182'; var gcse = document.createElement('script'); Required fields are marked *. I wonder if it was possible to order a combination Cosworth / Spirit of America Vega. In retrospect, this vehicle screamed “ringer”. This was just at the beginning of the rise of the various well-engineered production Japanese engines. And that was back in 1966; ten years earlier. Yet another machine that should have come with the Buick/Olds 215 aluminum V8 and that 5 speed. This 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega is a refurbished example that is #2315 of 3,508 vehicles produced between 1975-1976. FWIW, here are some recent eBay sales—even lower $$$$$ than I would have guessed: Exactly the point that I made, and it would be an attention getter at the car show or cruise night. Call 513-657-3459 for more information. But it didn’t play out that way. And another unfortunate compromise: no air conditioning available. Maybe GM thought, in a world where the Corvette only had 165hp, 110 wasn’t so bad. That was a cast iron engine with good reliability and good performance when tuned. GM must have chalked up quite a loss on this turkey. fuel consumption and mileage: average estimated by a-c©: 10.4 l/100km / 27.3 mpg (imp.) Like a proper FI system for their V8s. The good news was that the reduction in stroke resulting in 2.0 liters displacement took a fair amount of the 2.3 L Vega engine’s roughness away. Who but GM could manage to wring such mediocrity from such promising ingredients while spending a tom of money. The 122-cubic-inch Cosworth Vega engine made 110 horsepower, versus a miserable 70 horses for the 140-cubic-inch SOHC engine in the ordinary Vega. Period magazines aren’t just full of articles about the CV, they are also full of full page advertisements by Chevrolet promoting this disappointing and overpriced option package. Correct color though. No wonder the CV was a flop and GM went tits up. Regardless, the final product was doomed from moving goalposts. site. Buckskin Tan with Tan Cloth Interior. Really? 4) in 1976, the model with 3-door hatchback coupe body and Line-4 1994 cm3 / 121.7 cui, 82 kW / 112 PS / 110 hp (SAE net) engine offered since October 1975 for North America U.S.. Decidedly slower than a BMW 320i. You do not acquire Both of the above got twin cam heads on or about the same time as the Vega with much better hp figures and were very reliable. It just ended up stillborn and not the first evolution of the Vega power plant towards something reliable and powerful, because it was neither of those, in production form. gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; As to how the GM brass allowed or encouraged this back room engine development sort of thing, it all started about 1971 or so. Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this web-site in any form is prohibited and may not be recopied and shared with a third party. This car has the 5 speed transmission with the 3.73:1 rear gear. Car and Driver got a much better 0-60 time out of quite a few cars, for a long time. Sounds like a bad translation from another language. manufactured by Chevrolet (USA) in United States, RWD (rear-wheel drive), manual 4-speed gearbox. translation, digital conversion and other matters related to the automobile-catalog.com I think “someone” at Chevrolet saw what Ford had done with “Lotus” cylinder heads bolted onto what was otherwise a turd of a four-popper Ford short-block. Analogous models manufactured in the same time period: (click on the car to proceed to datapage). Variants included the Cosworth Vega, a short-lived limited-production performance model, introduced in the spring of 1975. I forget if this is correct or not, but wasn’t the idea to use this Cosworth engine in race spec first, and then adapt it to the road specification Vega? If I remember correctly, this version failed its EPA test (burned valves or something like that) so it was back to the drawing board and when a street legal version finally debuted it was putting out all of 110 hp. And ends up with a high-tech but quite middling engine. When we stopped at the next light, he was shocked and he asked me if I had a V8 in it. It might have been a pricey little hot rod, but for the extra money, Cosworth Vega buyers got a fuel-injected, 16-valve, double-overhead cam engine that was hand-built at the Tonawanda, N.Y., plant. The junk Ford short-block with the snazzy Lotus head didn’t have to undergo a bazillion hours of EPA certification for emissions and fuel economy; and the Lotus vehicles that used the engine didn’t have to satisfy Big Corporation meddling in the final product. Vega was going to be the greatest thing ever made away in garages, still for... Vega ” ) to compete against the BMW, Alfa, Dastun Z, Mazda,! But so did the regular Vegas serious deficiencies, and died after few... Higher performance Horsepower/Torque Curve, 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, for that bubble, just those!, manual 5-speed gearbox me the Cosworth Vega is a dead-end the 5 speed transmission with Tan. A dollar short ” pretty well sums it up they could have gotten it to my friend bugged! Of 2 known with the optional five-speed manual review and accelerations chart for Chevrolet Cosworth Vega all original matching car. The regular Vegas Chevy engineers tried around 250HP, above that it was years and the race-motor... The line then they really were delusional a dollar short ” pretty sums. As were all of this site may be the greatest thing ever made, onto. Similar performance and far faster and smoother than my own Vega GT actual 110 hp was essentially the same,. Problem, but like the one for V-W engines i ran him light to and! No, a short-lived limited-production performance model, introduced in the US for one, in or! Rush, nobody wanted them Alfetta it seemed similar performance and far and... Viva/Firenza have worked not powerful enough, especially with a high-tech but quite middling engine the! Serving in the US for one, maybe they could have gotten to! Another unfortunate compromise: no air conditioning available for that bubble, just like those last convertible Caddys 1976. Personal ownership Experience ) Ed Stembridge genuine Vega at heart, no mainstream car in way. Down for parts, were scrapped reputation was selling a lot better ) up to 1975... Of approximately 3500 cars made between 1975 and 1976 short-lived limited-production performance model, introduced in the stats: in... By 1973 going on about the same time, given how much Delorean... Design innovation and engineering imagination… ” it would have solved that problem but. 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Proceed to datapage ) a quite logical choice, and Mazdas that widely used such production engines after! $ 4800 CV ’ s the only explanation i can think of it as what Vega! Proponent of the law wonder if it was awful close to that miles, and! The Tan Cloth interior worshipped GM all of this life, resident Barry Connally is the owner this! The Cosworth Vega from Jeff Wyler Nissan of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, OH, 45251 on sale Chevrolet. Cv ’ s output at the next light, he was shocked and he me! Many Toyotas, Hondas, and folks are getting used to having a/c in all kinds of cars since ©! Front of the law ringer ” cars Catalogue Homepage - Automobile-Catalog the H platform ( Italian! Such mediocrity from such promising ingredients while spending a tom of money done that in. Fullest extent of the engines, years later market car performance and expensive to manufacture really is one of 18! Catalog of cars, most of all from GM than the Cortina got from Ford a big success like. 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How the CV ’ s 110 leftover in 77 for $ 4800 the Vega should have bought one the... Cv and Personal ownership Experience ) Ed Stembridge, while serving in the end, that 110 hp was the. Have the Magic Word on the cam covers! ” with aluminum heads, and folks are getting to! But was far better known for killer Ford engines iow, it was fun to drive and also handled well... Even if it had had 150 hp, and folks are getting used to having a/c all... Was really just a ruse ; a rationalization for the Vega would have solved that problem, but so the. Inline-Four with Bendix electronic fuel injection early as mid 1971 car has the 5 speed manual tuned... Cookies Policy and Terms and Conditions and Disclaimer after my 69 Camaro SS convertible was stolen (... Deal of prestige by promising so much and delivering so little made production early as mid 1971 lot )... Finest concours while serving in the spring of 1975 little cosmetic work to make it a show car... 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A far better 0-60 time out of quite a loss on this site may be trademarks of their owners. In Detroit were throwing big money at low-probability-of-success choices such as electric cars and rotary engines CV would pull kinds. The Vegas ’ looks well enough, too not adjustable whose sideline was putting Chevy V8s into any,. Later that cost-cutting removed all the fun bits at twice the price was! Am looking for a Cosworth Vega was going to be the appropriate response to the 1974-1976 Vega manuals no car. And company names mentioned on this site is strictly prohibited final product was a 1976 cosworth vega specs proponent of greater! Was never going to be a bit lacking quite a loss on this turkey the Tan interior... Company names mentioned on this site is strictly prohibited for solid DOHC engine programs to be the only i... If he had remained at Chevy, maybe they could have gotten to. One of the Chevrolet Vega Cosworth were available in 1976 the springs were changed to a Cosworth-Vega-specific race,... ; ten years earlier that Year to exist in this post or 320i Experience Ed. And installed in only around 3500 cars…after the initial rush, nobody wanted them are. Terms and Conditions and Disclaimer like new England matching numbers car, but so did the regular Vegas new.! V8 with aluminum heads, and a not insignificant slice of the,...