Vehicle Description
Rare color combination. Desirable 5-speed manual transmission.
Upgraded with twin Weber carburetors, custom cams, and more.
Factory alloy wheels. Beautiful interior and excellent paint.
Nimble, fun, and underrated, the Cosworth Vega is worth a second
look!There are plenty of places to read about the Cosworth Vega on
the internet, and I'd encourage you to learn more about this cool
piece of GM performance from the '70s. When American cars were
getting bigger and heavier, the Vega bucked the trend. Tapping
Cosworth in England to add a little excitement to their lightweight
compact was not quite the home-run that GM hoped it would be, but
the end result is a pretty cool car that is one of the best
Anglo-American hybrids of the era. Of course, emissions regulations
had their way with the formerly potent 2.0 liter DOHC engine, but
with a few choice modifications, that can all be erased. And that's
where this awesome Medium Orange Cosworth Vega comes in-nicely
refinished and outfitted with the hardware upgrades recommended by
Cosworth themselves, making it into a delightfully tossable
rear-wheel-drive compact that's a ton of fun to drive. The paint
job is well done and nails the '70s look perfect, and while the
Cosworth upgrades were all under the skin, they added a few
COSWORTH TWIN CAM decals on the flanks to set it apart. And yes,
the black centers of the Os is correct-that's how they came from
the factory. Panel fit is quite good and despite what you've heard
about the Vega's propensity to rust, this one clearly lived
someplace warm and dry because the original sheetmetal is in
excellent condition with no signs of patchwork or other mischief
under the skin. We can't remember seeing a nicer one.The tan vinyl
interior is an uncommon choice and it works pretty well with the
Medium Orange bodywork-the standard black interior tends to make it
look like a Halloween pumpkin. The bucket seats are comfortable and
supportive enough for the spirited driving for which this car was
designed, and the instrument panel's engine-turned surface looks
suitably racy. You get a full array of gauges, including a
tachometer with a sky-high 6500 RPM redline, and the aftermarket
3-spoke steering wheel is the right choice. There's a special
plaque on the center of the dash indicating that this is Cosworth
Vega number 3338 (out of 3508 total and only 1446 1976 models). The
radio has been upgraded to a modern digital AM/FM unit that sounds
decent, but you'll probably prefer listening to the bark of the
large-bore exhaust out back. The 5-speed has decent throws,
although the dogleg first gear will take some acclimation. Other
control efforts are light and the Cosworth Vega is even a bit
practical with a large hatchback cargo bay and fold-down rear seat.
Plenty of sound-deadening materials have been added during the
refresh so it's a bit more comfortable and a full-sized spare is
stashed under the carpets in back.Chevy's aluminum block 2.0-liter
inline-4 was growing in popularity with racers, so it was a natural
choice to call in the experts at Cosworth to build something a
little more potent. A custom DOHC cylinder head improved airflow
and with mechanical fuel injection, Cosworth prototypes were
putting out as much as 270 horsepower. Of course, by the time it
reached US showrooms, the fuel injection was switched to a Bosch
setup for emissions reasons and power was way down. Today,
enthusiasts understand Cosworth's vision and the standard recipe is
to install some slightly hotter camshafts and a pair of Weber
side-draft carburetors, which really wake up the engine. Set the
manual choke and this one fires right up and idles nicely, and once
it's warm it's a joy to run it through the gears. That big exhaust
header is actually factory equipment, although it has been ceramic
coated so it'll look great forever. There's also a big aluminum
radiator up front and electronic guts in the distributor. Manual
steering and brakes plug you into the mechanicals pretty directly
and the lightweight Vega enjoys changing direction more than you'd
expect. 4.10 gears on a Posi limited slip keep the rev-happy engine
in its powerband and the live axle on leaf springs adds a
distinctly American feel to the handling-it doesn't mind a little
tail-out cornering now and then. There's a big bore stainless
exhaust system that sounds heroic, and you can see just how clean
and solid the floors really are-that's factory paint on the bottom
of the car. Factory alloy wheels look fantastic and carry
reasonably-priced 185/70/13 blackwall radials that have plenty of
grip.Documentation includes the original owner's manual.Maybe
you're already a Cosworth fan or perhaps you're looking for an
alternative to the usual sports cars of the period. Either way,
this Vega deserves a closer look, as we've seldom seen a better
one. It's super solid, has the right upgrades, and delivers the
kind of driving experience designed to put a grin on your face.
With a passionate owner base and club support, it's also a very
easy car to own and maintain. Call today!Harwood Motors always
recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any
vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.
