# Remember the Chevy Vega?



## Pappy (Feb 26, 2016)

I had no idea. Should have stopped at the junkyard to unload.

*Until  the early 1960s, automobiles that moved by rail were  carried in boxcars. These were 50 feet long with  double-wide doors. Inside  was room for four full-sized sedans on a two-tier rack -- two raised up off the floor on a steel rack and two  others tucked in underneath them.  This  protected the cars during transport but wasn’t very efficient, as the weight of  four vehicles was far less than the maximum weight a  boxcar that size could carry.  When 85-foot and  89-foot flatcars came into service, it was possible to  pack a total of fifteen automobiles in one car on tri-level auto racks. But it still didn’t approach the maximum allowable weight for each flatcar**.* 








*When Chevrolet started designing Vega during the late 1960s, one of the main objectives was to keep the cost of the car down around $2,000 in circa-1970 dollars. At the time, the freight charge for moving a loaded railroad car from the Lordstown, OH assembly plant to the Pacific coast -- the longest distance cars produced at Lordstown would need to travel -- was around $4,800. Since the Vega was a subcompact, it was possible to squeeze  three more cars on a railroad car for a total of  eighteen, instead of the usual fifteen. But that still worked out to around $300 per car -- a substantial surcharge for a $2000 car.If  only Chevrolet could get more Vegas on a railroad car, the cost per unit of hauling them would go down**.* 






*The  engineers at GM and Southern Pacific Railroad came up with a  clever solution. Instead of loading the cars horizontally, the Vegas were to be placed vertically on a specially designed auto-rack called the Vert- A -Pac. Within the same volume of an 89-foot flatcar, the Vert- A -Pac system could hold as many as 30 automobiles instead of 18**. **

**Chevrolet's goal was to deliver Vegas topped with fluids and ready to drive to the dealership. In order to be able to travel nose down without leaking fluids all over the railroad, Vega engineers had to design a special engine oil baffle to prevent oil from entering the No. 1 cylinder.  Batteries had filler caps located high up on the rear edge of the case to prevent acid spilling, the carburetor float bowl had a special tube that drained gasoline into the vapor canister during shipment, and the windshield washer bottle stood at a 45 degree angle. Plastic spacers were wedged in beside the powertrain to prevent damage to engine and transmission mounts.The wedges were removed when cars were unloaded**.* 







*The Vega was hugely popular when it was introduced in 1970, however it quickly earned a reputation for unreliability, rust and terrible engine durability. When the Vega was discontinued**in**1977, the Vert- A -Pac cars had to be retired as they were too specialized to be used with anything else. The Vert- A -Pac racks were scrapped, and the underlying flatcars went on to other uses**.*


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## Pappy (Feb 26, 2016)

Sorry, pictures didn't paste. Need to find out why. Pappy


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## Pappy (Feb 26, 2016)




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## Falcon (Feb 26, 2016)

Never knew that Pappy.  Thanks for the post.


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## Falcon (Feb 26, 2016)

Pappy, Remember  the Chevy "Nova" ?  The Hispanics laughed @ it because, in Spanish,  No va   means  "No go".

The name almost spelled doom to the car but they didn't change it.  I wasn't a bad little car BTW>


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## Karen99 (Feb 26, 2016)

I had a brand new Vega in 1974 and loved it.  I never had any trouble with it either.  Guess I beat the odds.  Thanks for the info.


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## NancyNGA (Feb 26, 2016)

What an interesting picture, Pappy.  I never dreamed they loaded cars on trains like that.  Thanks!


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## FazeFour (Feb 26, 2016)

Very interesting. I wonder if at least some of the engine problems were due to improper preparations before "packing"? My Dad's friend had one, and complained about having to replace the motor mounts ...twice.


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## jujube (Feb 26, 2016)

One of my favorite cars I ever owned was my Ford Pinto...you know, the "bomb on wheels".  Other than the fact that I would have been a crispy critter had I been hit from behind, that car was great!  Never gave me a moment's problems and for some reason, drove well on ice and snow (since I lived in Detroit at the time, that was a big help).  I loved that car.


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## oldman (Feb 26, 2016)

Maybe you should have thought about building your own:


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## Pappy (Feb 26, 2016)

jujube said:


> One of my favorite cars I ever owned was my Ford Pinto...you know, the "bomb on wheels".  Other than the fact that I would have been a crispy critter had I been hit from behind, that car was great!  Never gave me a moment's problems and for some reason, drove well on ice and snow (since I lived in Detroit at the time, that was a big help).  I loved that car.



I had a blue Pinto with 4 on the floor and extra wide tires. I loved driving that car. Then came the Ford Maverick. Forest green with white stripes. Looked great but was a weak running car.


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## Lynk (Feb 26, 2016)

I was too nervous to learn to drive but my husband insisted I learn because we lived in the country and if kids got hurt I could get them to the doctor.  I tried to learn on our car but had a hard time seeing out the back window.  It was a Plymouth satellite.  One day he came home and surprised me with a Chevy Vega. That is the car I learned to drive on.  His dad loved it.  He drove it more than I did.  He called it a kiddy car.


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## fureverywhere (Feb 26, 2016)

I had a friend who had one way used. A duct tape special, he'd start it and it coughed black smoke...but it ran somehow.


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## Pappy (Feb 26, 2016)

Reminds me of when I was a teen and money was short. Many times a good roll of bailing wire could fix a lot of problems on a car. Hold up a muffler and tail pipe.


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## tnthomas (Feb 27, 2016)

Thanks Pappy!   Another most interesting read!   



jujube said:


> One of my favorite cars I ever owned was my Ford Pinto...you know, the "bomb on wheels".  Other than the fact that I would have been a crispy critter had I been hit from behind, that car was great!  Never gave me a moment's problems and for some reason, drove well on ice and snow (since I lived in Detroit at the time, that was a big help).  I loved that car.



I had a couple Pintos, a '73 hatchback  and a '77 wagon; great little cars.    There was an automotive garage in town that built up Pintos for racing- they pumped up the horse power to unbelievable numbers!


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