gjw@floyd.UUCP (Greg Wroclawski) (03/12/84)
Back in 1974 GM commissioned Cosworth to develop a four valve head for the Chevy Vega. This car was marketed in 1975 and 1976 as the Cosworth Vega. This car was produced on a limited scale assembly line at GM's Tonawanda N.Y. assembly plant. The head made it necessary to upgrade the existing Vega block which found its way into all Vega's in 1976 and on and cured most of the original engine's problems. In the Cosworth application the block was destroked to 2.0 liters from the orginal 2.3 liters. Multiport electronic fuel injection and stainless steel tube headers were added to the engine. The stock F41 suspension was upgraded as were the brakes and rear axle. The 1976 Cosworth Vega came with a 5-speed transmission. GM made 3700 of these cars before they decided that they were not worth the trouble. I guess in 1976 a small high revving engine was still not recognized. I hope in 1984 they are.
an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (03/13/84)
-- Yeah, too bad the Cosworth Vega didn't make it, otherwise we might all be driving cars that scream "FOUR VALVES" on the rear deck instead of "Turbo." I guess the original Vega stigma was too much for even Cosworth to overcome. "GM ... We do chicken right !!!" BTW, four valve motors ARE high revvers, but that doesn't mean they don't make power down low. Far from it ! One of the free breathing design's advantage is VERY STRONG midrange. In bike motors, the Honda Interceptor 750 will outslug many 850's and 900's, and the Yamaha Vision 550 (a V-twin), the other way-rad recent application, will outpull a Kawasaki GPz550 (an inline 4), the undisputed class champion so far, before the GPz comes on the cam. Au
rob@ctvax.UUCP (03/17/84)
#R:floyd:-205100:ctvax:33000004:000:732 ctvax!rob Mar 15 14:24:00 1984 I recall talking to a Chevy salesman who remembered the Cosworth Vega. Each dealership received one. The one they had would never stay running. I've always wondered if they would make a good collector's car. I've only ever seen one. I used to own a vanilla Vega, which I found very comfortable to drive but I couldn't afford the oil (:-). Btw, the British version of the Ford Escort, circa 1970 had one model called the RS1600 that had a 16 valve four banger. These type of cars were a result of the European regulations requiring that the cars used for rallying be available to the great unwashed public. Other models I recall were the Austin/Morris Mini Cooper S, the Ford Lotus Cortina and the Renault Turbo R5 amongst others.