After giving the world the GTO, but prior to his dalliance in pharmaceuticals, John Z. Delorean took an interest in the then gestating GM small car engine that would eventually power the Vega. Always looking at ways to capitalize on existing resources, Delorean had the notion that the high-silicon aluminum four would be a good basis for a racing engine. Lacking the experience with small, rev-happy engines internally, he reached out to Keith Duckworth of England's Cosworth Engineering for help. Duckworth headed to Detroit to evaluate the two litre four and declared it sound as a pound. Development began at once.

Seemingly cursed from its inception, the Vega faced quality issues, production strikes and lackluster sales. GM felt that what the car needed was a halo model to bring aspirational owners into the fold, and accelerated development of just such a car- powered by the Cosworth engine. Despite this desire to bring the car to market as soon as possible, Cosworth was having continuing challenges with the motor- suffering catastrophic failures of the block below the piston skirt, which would require a major redesign. Instead, GM ordered that the compression ratio be lowered from a stratospheric 12.5/1 to a kitten-fart worthy 8.5/1. As would be expected, the horsepower also dropped from a high octane-fueled 180 to a paper bag-challenging 110. Still, that was a number that could be touted in advertisements over the 90 ponies the standard Vega managed to strangle while grinding itself to pieces. 60 miles per hour came about in a leisurely 12.5 seconds making the car competitive with many diesels and student-driven cars that were then on the road.

Available in only the hatchback bodystyle, the Cosworth Vega was introduced in 1975 to car-buying public who had already written off the Vega as a purchase option. That year, you could get the car in any color you wanted, as long as it was black with gold trim. In 1976, a white and gold option was also made available, with the thinking that color was the reason for the cars collecting dust on dealer lots, but sadly it didn't help, and the model was discontinued after only two years, and 3,508 having been built.

Today's candidate has the traditional John Player Special color scheme, and hails from that last year of production- 1976. At a $3,000 asking price, it's less than you'd spend on a good bender in Vegas, and at least the car might get you home after said bender. The seller doesn't say much about the condition, other than that it's a project, not a show car, and that daily driving has ensured a strong motor, which, when considering the Vega, is not typically the case.

So what do you think of this piece of GM history, is that three grand asking price nice enough to make this the brightest star in your driveway? Or is that a disintegrating aluminum bowl full of crack that the seller is smoking?

You decide!

City of Angels Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

The Chevy Vega (and Canadian badge-engineered sibling, the Pontiac Astre) wasn't exactly what you'd call a great car, what with the iron-head/unlined-aluminum-block engine and miserable build quality, but it sold in vast numbers during its 1971-77 production run. You'll never see one today, unless it's a small-block-powered monster at the dragstrip, and a tape-stripe-stravaganza Vega GT? Forget it! But hold on there, Malaise Era historians- it turns out that a '77 Vega GT has been sitting for 32 years, window stickers and plastic wrap still intact, and it's for sale. 70- that's seven-zero- miles on the odometer, and it's pretty much perfect. Why, it's even got an 8-track player for your favorite Foghat tapes, and that option alone cost $304 ($1,064 in 2009 dollars)! Sure, the Vega sucked, but that just makes a time capsule like this all the more interesting… but interesting enough to be worth shelling out $13,500? That stings, but this thing must be the nicest Vega in the world. What do you say?
[eBay Motors, thanks to Jimal for the tip!]

Some of these may be familiar to you, thanks to our Top Car Commercials Of The 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s series a while back, but we've got plenty of lost classics as well. We had to be careful not to give you too much of a Camaro Overdose (the Camaro seems to be the most heavily advertised product ever hawked by The General), but we don't want anyone missing out on the heartbeat! Enjoy.

1980 Monte Carlo Turbo	1985 Corvette	1985 Camaro	1985 Celebrity Eurosport
1967 Camaro	1984 Sprint	1969 Impala	1955 Chevrolet Cars
1970 Nova	1970 Chevelle SS 396	1984 Camaro	1984 Cavalier
1982 Chevette	1977 Camaro Z/28	1985 Camaro IROC Z	1970 Caprice
1986 Camaro	1971 Vega Kammback	1969 Chevelle SS 396	1955 Chevrolet Engines

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This is the star of the show; the top seed. A seemingly indestructible 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that runs from the law in a glorious 40-minute chase scene.
The local country radio reporter's ride, a Ford that might as well have "dorky" painted all over it.


A drop-top Ford with questionable structural rigidity that gets hit in the side so hard it splits neatly in half. Ridiculous, but funny.
The Belvedere rent-a-cop with a German Shepard. Attempts to chase down a tow-truck stealing a Challenger, and fails.


A burgundy Roller stolen in broad daylight from the airport drop-off curb; chauffeur left the key in it.
A Fleetwood serving as personal transportation for the ring-leader of the operation. An arranged assortment of sunglasses on the dash, and enough room for the whole crew to cruise around.


Stole a Challenger right off a dealership lot, then outran security even with the Challenger still attached. The star of the second best chase in the movie.
A poor little Type 3 that got flipped on its roof by Eleanor, starting a huge pileup. Cute car, humiliating role.


The Dodge carries the flag for all the cop cars in the movie. They're cool rides burdened by somewhat inept drivers.
One of the "girls" on the hit list, though it only appears on film for a moment. Not a hearse, but a custom station wagon.


License plate reads "OOO GAL." The Dodge was a stolen car wearing VIN tags from a wrecked donor; An identity thief before it was popular. Sadly, it had to go to the crusher once people started getting wise.
A new Plymouth out on a test drive gets smashed by a cop in pursuit of Eleanor.


Lyle Waggoner's Intermeccanica Italia swiped from spaced-out stoner cleaning it.
A stolen Corvette in a sizzling color. Not on film very long, but it leaves an impression.


The undercover cop that started the epic chase with Eleanor. It Went toe-to-toe with the Mustang, but couldn't quite keep up.
A nice bright green Dodge that suffered the fate of being crushed by a garbage truck rolling onto it.


An old sedan DeVille ridin' low. Occupants seemed to enjoy smokin' the herb so much that they drove the Caddy to self-destruction.
A Rolls limo big enough to carry a fully-assembled bicycle in the back seat with room to spare. Just wait for the chauffeur to leave the car unattended, insert the bike you rode up on, and drive away. Petty theft made high-class.


Don't get distracted by the girl, this DeTomaso is what you really want. She's just askin' for it, leaving the keys in the car like that.
This Jensen Interceptor is practically good enough for JFG, and it's apparently good enough to make the South American client's, list as well.


Fantastically obscure Manta Mirage stolen during a test drive. Salesman gets out to switch seats, thief slides behind the wheel and takes off.
The Maserati is another car on the list only appearing for a moment, but it's pure style.


A Cadillac filled with drugs, one of the few things to survive in the remake movie from 2000. How do you get rid of all that white powder? Burn it. Who cares if it's worth a million bucks on the street; these are responsible criminals.
The hopped-up Plymouth was on the screen for only a quick flash, but we're sure it's even quicker down the strip.


Parnelli Jones' Baja Bronco is the icon of off-road racing. But that didn't stop anyone from stealing it in the movie.
The Lamborghini is elegantly beautiful, but forgettable in this context.


Epic cool car and JFG resident, but it's too bad we can't see it's wacky suspension in action.
Who needs a high-tech anti-theft system? Just keep a tiger in your Cadillac.


Another limo left unattended and vulnerable. All the coolness factor of death with none of the emotional struggle.
Hard to say what exactly has been done to this Chevy Vega, but it sure ain't stock. Another one we'd like to see actually driving.


It looks plain on the outside because it's supposed to. There were two identical Fords used for scouting out all the cars on the to-be-stolen list before the day of the big hit. Equipped with walkie-talkies too!
Nothing says "Malaise Era" more than a Stutz. And this one was stolen right in front of a confused old lady. Classy.


[Screenshots are property of the movie's copyright holders; not Jalopnik]

Vipper of Vipp was initially impressed with navigator Christian Edstrom's shriek when the deer collided with the WRX STI's left-front quarter. But then came the sharing.

That was the best Cry Of Surprise And Horror I've ever heard.

Brought back memories of the time I pasted a couple of yearling deer with my Vega at 60 mph on a dark gravel road. I may also have yelled "AUUGHH!" just like that.

A Vega. A gravel road. Two young beasts of the forest. Put them all together and, we're assuming, there was dinner on the table and game enough in the fridge for a long, hard winter.

Most of us of a certain age- let's say, at least 35- have driven or ridden in a few V8 Vegas in our time, and damn are they crazy! You stomp the gas and terrifying, amazing things happen... mostly involving hitting trees, overheating, and/or popping the windows out due to chassis twist. Sometimes, though, you go really, really fast and your brain fills with beautiful V8 noise and you feel like a genius for building this amazing car. Sometimes. Anyway, you can take a crack at feeling like a genius (or at least get some cool scars to impress your friends) by snapping up this 1974 Chevrolet Vega GT for only 400 bucks. Well, sure, it doesn't have a title and the seller tells us bupkis about the condition, but it's already set up for a V8! Maybe that leaves a lot more questions unanswered (such as the definition of "set up," which could mean anything from "original engine not there" to "V8 engine mounts and exhaust system already in place"), but at least it's no sweat to find a suitable cheap small-block to drop into the engine compartment. And check out that hood scoop! Oh yeah- you'll want a rollcage, if only to keep the thing from tying itself in a knot when you gas it.

Back in the day, the V8 Vegas got all the press, but plenty of blue oval types did the same treatment to the Pinto and Bobcat (no doubt under the influence of Primo Beer, Foghat, and Acapulco Gold). In fact, just as Chevrolet made the close-cousin Monza with a V8, thus providing abundant junkyard swap hardware, Ford made V8 Mustang IIs. And the V8 Pinto is batshit fast; I've been in a 351W-powered Bobcat and it really wanted to kill me and everyone else it could reach. There's no possible way to get enough rubber in back to get any kind of traction, and if you install a locker differential- which, of course, you oughta- you'll be getting sideways when you do edge-case actions such as "turning" or "accelerating." So if you're willing to spend a mere hundred bucks more than you would for the Vega, you could get this 1976 Ford Pinto that's already got a V8 installed! It's a Ford small-block of some sort, probably a 302 but who knows? All we know is that it needs a gigantic blower sticking up beyond roof level! The seller doesn't believe in clogging up a car ad with unnecessary verbiage, so here's what we get: "its a project car i started its need finishing. it will start and can be driven." Hey, it can be driven! Sold!

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We like turbocharging, of course, and everyone knows we like Corvairs. Since it goes without saying that the Funk Factor of the VW Type 2 is quite high, combining a turbocharged Corvair engine with a '71 VW Bus... well, how can you resist? And hey, the seller only wants 950 clams for it! OK, killjoys, skip to the part in the description that says it hasn't run since George Herbert Walker Bush was president, and don't forget to wring your hands over the spark plug that got blown out of the cylinder head. The rest of us will overlook those quibbles, as well as the rust-through around the windshield and go straight to the good stuff: '65 Corvair Corsa turbocharged engine, with limited-slip diff, and a whole bunch of spare parts.

Some of you may be hesitant to get a Type 2, what with the whole patchouli-scented hippie stigma and all. And that's fine, because you'd probably be happier screaming down the road in your high-revving Cosworth Vega anyway! For the earth-shatteringly low, low price of... well, the seller doesn't say, you could get a '72 Cosworth Vega plus a '76 Vega GT! The seller isn't so strong in the written-language department, so we're a little puzzled by the intended meaning of "have kit for 76 from summit." But no matter- not when you could have a two-for-one Vega deal for a no-doubt-cheap trade. Sure, the Vega made ZAZ build quality look rock-solid, and we can't even tell if these cars even have engines, but that's why we call it Project Car Hell, right? Just keep saying the magic word "Cosworth" to yourself and you'll be fine. Thanks to Brandon for the tip!

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