So some of you have shown an interest in my Vega build so I finally got around to posting up some pics. I didn't actually think to take a lot of pics along the way but here's what I have so far.
This is what I started out with. You should have seen the look I got from the wife when I pulled up with this on the trailer, lol. I got the "what have you done now" look from her and all 3 kids were laughing like crazy, lol. Can't say I blame them but I saw what she could become ;)
Here's a few shots of the engine when it was cleaned and getting painted. My smart ass brother dropped the block off for me freshly painted in Ford Blue :o so new paint was needed ;D
I wanted something different from the typical Chevy orange and I saw a pic once of a block painted silver with some anodized blue sprinkled here and there and thought it looked sharp, so that's what I was going for
Here's a shot of the initial engine build. It has the wrong water pump and pulley's a carb that was just lying around and an oil pan that won't fit a Vega
Got some Sanderson Headers for a Vega but couldn't afford to get them coated. Would have loved to have got that done to try and help control the heat somewhat but it cost almost as much as the headers them selves to have that done so naturally I just painted them myself. Turned out pretty good and so far have had a minimum of peeling on them.
So here we are with the motor and tranny back in the car. It actually went in pretty easy. I figured we would be fighting to drop it in but there really wasn't any drama at all. I thought Vega's were cramped with V8's in them, and they are, but I've seen other cars around now smaller than mine with V8's in them that are a lot more cramped!
Apparently I got lucky with the header install as well. They basically dropped right in, no problem. On the drivers side you have to pull the steering column out and then slide it back in between the pipes but that was straight forward. Can't remember how long it took but it wasn't much. I've since talked to other Vega owners who have used these headers and some have had a lot of trouble putting them in. Guess I got lucky ;)
This is what I started out with. You should have seen the look I got from the wife when I pulled up with this on the trailer, lol. I got the "what have you done now" look from her and all 3 kids were laughing like crazy, lol. Can't say I blame them but I saw what she could become ;)
Here's a few shots of the engine when it was cleaned and getting painted. My smart ass brother dropped the block off for me freshly painted in Ford Blue :o so new paint was needed ;D
I wanted something different from the typical Chevy orange and I saw a pic once of a block painted silver with some anodized blue sprinkled here and there and thought it looked sharp, so that's what I was going for
Here's a shot of the initial engine build. It has the wrong water pump and pulley's a carb that was just lying around and an oil pan that won't fit a Vega
Got some Sanderson Headers for a Vega but couldn't afford to get them coated. Would have loved to have got that done to try and help control the heat somewhat but it cost almost as much as the headers them selves to have that done so naturally I just painted them myself. Turned out pretty good and so far have had a minimum of peeling on them.
So here we are with the motor and tranny back in the car. It actually went in pretty easy. I figured we would be fighting to drop it in but there really wasn't any drama at all. I thought Vega's were cramped with V8's in them, and they are, but I've seen other cars around now smaller than mine with V8's in them that are a lot more cramped!
Apparently I got lucky with the header install as well. They basically dropped right in, no problem. On the drivers side you have to pull the steering column out and then slide it back in between the pipes but that was straight forward. Can't remember how long it took but it wasn't much. I've since talked to other Vega owners who have used these headers and some have had a lot of trouble putting them in. Guess I got lucky ;)
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