Good morning! On today’s Shitbox Showdown, we’re taking a look at two cars from Detroit’s darkest days that have somehow survived. But before we do that, let’s finish up with yesterday’s all-wheel-drive oddities:
Looks like it’s the Previa. Good choice, I think; those things seem to run forever, and everyone who has them loves them. All-wheel-drive is just the icing on the cake. Shame it’s not one of the supercharged ones, though.
Today’s choices are decidedly not known for running forever, and nobody loves them. American cars from the mid-70s through about 1983 or so are basically useless: they were badly made, and their smog-strangled engines ran like crap and made essentially no power. Why would anyone want one? Well, they are a rare sight, which makes them conversation starters, and at least one of these is actually really cool-looking. Inspired by that complete unicorn of a Buick Century that Jason posted yesterday morning, I specifically chose two standard transmissions. Neither of these was exactly uncommon with a stickshift, but as rare as they are these days, it’s still cool to see “ordinary” cars with three pedals on the floor.
1975 Chevrolet Vega hatchback – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Mulino, OR
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Damn right it does
Yep. A Vega. General Motors’s biggest mistake of the 1970s, an import-fighter that gained notoriety for rust, overheating, and shoddy construction. As it turns out, rushing an all-new car into production and letting the accounting department make engineering decisions was a bad idea. Cost-cutting measures on rustproofing made the front fenders trap water and rust out, and the sophisticated aluminum engine topped by a cheaper cast-iron cylinder head was a recipe for blown head gaskets. Chevy built two million Vegas, and this is one of probably, what, seventeen left?
The worst part is that the Vega is actually a really good-looking little car. It’s got sharp lines and good proportions, and made a good counterpart to its big brother the Camaro. And somehow, the aftermarket turbine wheels and fiberglass J.C. Whitney rear spoiler on this one make it even better.
The orange-red paint and black-and-white interior scream Seventies, and in a good way, in my opinion. The vinyl upholstery is trashed, but that can be remedied, and somehow this Vega mostly dodged the rust bullet. What rust there was has been patched. And it’s a hatchback, which is even better; Vegas were also available as a two-door sedan or wagon, but the hatchback is the one to have.
Under the hood, this car still has a 2.3 liter “Dura-Built” (what a name) engine, though apparently it’s not the original. This one has been breathed on a little with an Offenhauser intake and a big Holley carb, and sends power to the rear axle through a five-speed manual. The car’s original 2.3, connected to a two-speed Powerglide automatic, are included in the sale. The seller says this car runs and drives fine, and just needs some fine-tuning yet.
1977 Ford Mustang II – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Sacramento, CA
Odometer reading: 169,000 miles
Runs/drives? Hell yes
While Chevy was busy re-engineering the Vega on their customers’ dime, Ford put their Mustang on a much-needed diet, and in the process created a sales success and a pariah at the same time. It’s common knowledge that everybody hated the Mustang II. It’s the butt of a million jokes, its very existence is all but denied by Mustang fans, and its introduction in 1974 is commonly cited these days as kicking off the malaise era in the first place. So why did everybody buy one?
This particular Mustang II is powered by the base 2.3 liter four, an engine that outlived this car by decades, and went on to power zillions of Ranger pickups. With only 88 horses on tap, it doesn’t exactly measure up to the performance benchmark of the Mustangs of yore, or today, for that matter. At least this one is backed by a four-speed stick; this engine with an automatic can’t punch its way through a wet paper towel. This car runs well, and has current registration, so it has that going for it.
It’s pretty scruffy inside, and has surface rust where its paint used to be outside, but it seems solid. A few shiny parts here and there show that someone has been fixing it up, but it also has badly cracked and dry-rotted tires. “Drive it home today,” the ad says, but not on those, unless you’re headed straight to Discount Tire.
Sadly, it’s the ugliest possible Mustang II: not only is it a notchback, but it has that ridiculous landau roof. Personal luxury coupes were all the rage in the late ’70s, and apparently someone at Ford thought a pint-sized one was a good idea. There are good-looking Mustang IIs, but this isn’t one of them. But it’s an endangered species, so maybe you can’t be too picky. And at least it’s a stick.
Okay, yes; these cars are awful. No one in their right mind would buy them, then or now. And yet… either one of these would be an instant conversation-starter at any car gathering. And stuffing their respective corporate small V8s into either one is a time-honored hot rodding tradition. “Good” muscle cars and classics are getting expensive, so why not look at some cheaper options? But which one?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Sentimental Vega vote, buddy in h.s. had two, both ran well, and I do like the wheel choices 🙂
Turbine wheels are a whole vibe. They look good on almost anything.
The Vega is the original Shitbox. All crap before it knelt down and prayed homage…
Poetic words I suppose, but not fully applicable. The Vega was innovative and ahead of its time, with poorly executed quality once GMAC sped the assembly line up to 100 cars per hour, and then labor troubles kicked in. By ’76 the engine was solid and reliable with the highest warranty of of any American car of the time, and the body was nearly rust proof. It was also the best handling American-made car right behind the Corvette.
Since the Mustang is half the price of the Vega, it should be an easy decision.
I have no use for the Vega. It ain’t even pretty. But I’ve owned a couple of Mustang IIs, and I liked them. I’m not pleased that this one was the 2.3 liter four, though. That means I have to swap the engine, transmission, and rear end too. But Mark is dead wrong that this is the “ugliest possible” Mustang II. The fastback is much uglier; it even LOOKS like a Pinto from the rear. For $2K this one’s pretty good. Give it the drivetrain from a later Fox body and it’d be a hoot.
So the Ford has that Mustang II front suspension I hear so much about. What’s the deal with Mustang II front suspension anyway?
Alright, any time a Mustang II comes up, I’m always going to chime in. My father bought a time-capsule 1977 Mustang II just like the one in this Showdown with the Ghia package, from a rich farmer in Western Ohio. The only difference being the color (yellow), tranny (automatic), engine (V8) and no luggage rack.
I inherited the car after my father passed and I absolutely loved bringing it to car shows, because it inevitably got a lot of attention for its condition. Lots of comments about not seeing them, let alone in the condition it was in. The other amusing anecdote is that of the dozen or so people who said they had this car, virtually all were women.
Sadly I had to sell the car as I live in NYC and my brother-in-law was getting sick of it sitting in his driveway upstate. It had around 16,000 original miles, and I think I sold it for $4800. Less than I wanted, but I knew the fellow would take good care of it and that was good enough for me.
I know it will always be a regret having gotten rid of it – if I owned a home with a garage it would have been awesome to keep it for weekend cruises, as well as being something that I, with limited mechanical abilities, could probably maintain perfectly well by myself. I’ll miss those plaid seats, the wood-grain dashboard, and the thumbs up from passerbys.
The Vega is the objectively correct answer here, but I voted for the Mustang II because… I have no idea. My heart just told me I had to.
On the one hand, there are no good choices to be made here.
On the other hand, each choice is exquisitely awesome, and you’d be a hero in either car. You would be the only one anywhere. The last time I saw a vega on the street, metro Detroit area, was summer maybe 6 years ago. I cannot tell you the last time that I saw a Mustang II. There is a guy who has a yellow pinto he shows at Pasteiners. Can’t tell you the last time I saw a gremlin; for those who grew up in the 1970’s, in the Metro Detroit area, the Oakland County Child Killer supposedly drove a gremlin, and we were all taught to be on the lookout for these cars. So I think around here, everyone ditched them as soon as they could…
The Vega for the easy win, it looks better and there are kits to put the drive train of your choice in one.
I would have loved to move up to either in the 70’s as I had a 72 VW bug. Just give me the heater and defroster! Bug was Ok. but heat? Ahhh….
I opted for the Vega this time for the baby Camaro vibe and because this one won’t grenade its,engine. The Mustang II is,worthy, especially if you consider it a Pinto coupe. Which makes me wonder, will a Mustang II front clip fit a Pinto wagon?
They just did an episode of Dateline (Point Blank) where Todd Chance (the person who was killed) had a Mustang II GT as his first car that he was insanely proud of and used to get letters stuck underneath his windshield asking for a ride.
He was killed in an almond grove and the killer took his 5.0 litre Mustang and left it in a neighborhood with the keys in it and the revolver under the drivers floor mat. The 5.0 was as pristine as the Mustang II in the clips in the show.
I went with the Mustang because I learned to drive in one and still remember the feel and sound of those doors..
Vega, but that price is not it.
I can’t imagine, in 1974 when used ’65 – ’70 Mustangs were cheap and plentiful, walking into a dealership and buying a Mustang II.
Oh, and I like that Vega! I’d drive it!
Don’t forget, there was a huge gas/petrol/fuel crunch in the US in the early 1970s: prices were high and there were shortages where stations would simply run out and not be able to get any more for days or weeks. People were sometimes limited to buying fuel only on odd or even days, as indicated by the last digit of the license plate – e.g. someone with the plate ABC-123 would be eligible for a fill-up only on odd days.
To someone who had experienced that mess, a 4-cylinder car – even a 4-cylinder crapcan – could look appealing.
Several other factors were at play. Cars were generally pieces of shit compared to today. More so than people who grew up after 1985 can imagine.
People didn’t realize they should check the fluids almost daily even though the cars of the day generally burned or leaked fluid regularly. Burning a quart every 1,500 miles was common, even though adding more between oil changes was not.
Advances in materials, metallurgy and manufacturing processes are hard to overstate because we’ve come so far.
Rust was ever present, and within 5 years, a new car would look shitty. Rotted fenders and rocker panels were the norm for anything that old. Fender liners weren’t all that common. And you had to inspect used cars under the carpet, because holes in the floor pans were practically expected. The Vega was especially bad because it would commonly show rust before the ONE YEAR warranty expired.
A brand new car warranty was only 12 months or 12,000 miles all the way up into the 1980s. AMC briefly tried a 2 year warranty and it almost broke them.
Most cars were considered too old for major repairs by around 60-80,000 miles. You certainly expected to replace all the plugs, wires, points, distributor cap, thermostat, shocks, brakes and the mild steel exhaust system from the headers back by 80,000 miles, and several of these items multiple times.
Finding a car with 100,000 miles in any condition was a rare event. To roll over the 5 digit odometer was an accomplishment worth celebrating.
A domestic car was almost always used up and wore out within 10 years. If the rust hadn’t eaten them by then, they certainly weren’t reliable enough to use to get to work every day unless you had a very lenient boss.
Even the Japanese makes were used up within 10 years, but for those, it was almost always the rust alone that caught up with them.
So in the 1970s, the earliest Mustangs were used up and wore out, or generally rarely for sale, sitting in someone’s garage as a treasured object. Or when a good one did come up, the asking price was out of line with expectations for an ancient model daily driver, so why bother getting an old one instead of a new one with a warranty?
The bloated Whalestangs that looked nothing like the original weren’t high quality cars during the best of times, and even less so during a fuel crisis.
I see why people bought 1974 Mustangs. The alternatives at the time were so much less appealing.
This is a tough one. It’s fun flogging any underpowered vehicle with a manual transmission, and I’ve had many. Vega, Plymouth Champ, Escort wagon, Vanagon…
In 1985 I was the recipient of the family hand-me-down 71 Vega with 3 speed manual when my brother went off to college. Metallic dark green paint almost like BRG (we called it The Toad) and tan interior with surprisingly comfortable perforated seats. Never experienced any of its legendary mechanical problems. though it was horribly rusted (this was upstate NY) by the time I got it. Was deemed unsafe shortly after when the battery fell through the engine compartment and was only hanging on by the cables.
Have to pick the Mustang here to try something different, plus it’s half the price.
two of my brothers had vegas. drove them into the ground…the cars just weren’t very good.
the day before he moved out of state, one of them let the local pizza guy take his vega on a test drive “take a right at end of driveway…take this right…take a right at stop sign” back to driveway – exchanged cash for title.
pizza guy came back a coupla days later “the car wont turn left” – was rightfully angry when told the previous owner, my brother, had moved across the country without any contact info.
i look just like that brother…i couldn’t get any food from that pizza place for more than a decade…
I’ve never hidden my affinity for shitboxes, but I guess it’s time to come out of the cupboard and admit that I rather like the Vega*. I think they look good, and I never personally was close to anyone who experienced their flaws when new. I’ll freely admit that the ‘Stang would handle better, but I’ll take GM’s ‘good idea/poor execution’ today, thank you.
* likely due to my pure-stoner summer of ‘82 & my buddy’s Monza. RIP Matt-wish you had survived to see weed legal here, man
Even with my username, I’m going Vega. Nothing against the Mustang II (though far from my favorite Ford), but Dad had a Vega like this as his work commuter when I was a kid. Purely a sentimental vote!
The Vega is a handsome little car. I’d happily drive that until the 4-banger shats the bed, and then swap in a proper engine.
How uncanny that this car and your comment should pass my eyes the same week GM announced a hot new 4-cylinder crate motor with a reworked LS head on it. There’s yer build plan. Mine, anyway.
having suffered though my final high school years in a ’74 powder blue version of the Mustang II, you couldn’t pay me to do anything but set that one on fire.
Eh, let someone tap it in the rear at a stop light, it likely will pull a Pinto on you and self immolate.
We had a powder blue Plymouth Valiant as our family car. Yeah, didn’t exactly fit the image I had of myself then
Ahh, I feel your pain, the powder blue Mustang II is a difficult car. But unless it was two-tone powder blue and white, you got off easy, kid. 😉
it was. landau white vinyl roof option.
My college roommate had a Mustang II and it is to this day the worst car I’ve ever driven, and I went to high school in the 80’s. Slow, uncomfortable, and lack of any kind of handling are but a few of the low points. Never driven a Vega, but at least it looks cool.
It’s true, most of the Vegas on the road today are only there because they have a SBC motor in them, not the 4 cylinder…….so that’s what I would do with this one too, or maybe the decent 2.7 turbo motor they currently make? Even better…one of the slick 300hp all aluminum Ecoboost 4 cyls from Ford with a 6 speed box behind it – THAT would be fun! And Funny! Imagine opening the hood at a car show with THAT in it?
I have always wanted to try using a late 3rd gen 3.8 RWD camaro engine in a Monza. I wonder if it would survive small turbo or a series 2 supercharger could be made to fit somehow. at any rate it would be pretty fun to have a sleeper with this vega.
No, THIS is what you do with it.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/12/3-6l-four-cylinder-engine-with-gm-ls-head-makes-500-lb-ft-of-torque/amp/
Mustang II – it gets way more hate than it deserves. It was the right car for the time and kept the nameplate relevant. Also, most domestic cars of that era were pretty terrible. Is this a ‘fancy’ Ghia trim?
If the Vega was a Cosworth, that would be my choice instead.
Yes, that is the Ghia trim. I had the same car, minus the luggage rack and mine was an automatic. Mine was a real time capsule, with less than 20K miles. I prefer the look of the Mustang II over the early Fox bodies for sure. I sold it for $4800, sadly, since I had nowhere to keep it and not many opportunities to drive it. My brother-in-law was getting tired of it inhabiting his driveway…
Oh man, I simply have to vote for the Mustang for a very strange reason. I own a 1988 Jaguar XJ6 (XJ40 factory code), which is basically the red-headed stepchild of the Jag family. Nonetheless, I love it and it brings me joy to own it.
The line I always use about that car is, “having this car at a Jaguar show is like being that guy at the Mustang show proudly showing off his powder blue, 4-cylinder Mustang II Ghia.” And believe me, I am that guy – if I take the XJ6 to a local Jaguar event it’s pretty well guaranteed I will be the only one with an XJ40 and I absolutely relish that quirkiness. But hey, it’s part of Jaguar history, too.
Well, the car shown above encapsulates my mind’s vision of what that Mustang II would look like (albeit in better shape) and having an extra two grand to play with doesn’t hurt. While we are extolling the virtues of the Mustang II, let’s pour one out for the number of them that have served as donors for their front suspension. Ford at least got that part right.
OrigamiSensei,
You likely won’t get COTD for that, but I rather think you should be in the running. That comment isn’t quite what i imagine the Autopian Mission Statement to be-but it damn sure lays out the zeitgeist here.