1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega Hatchback 2-Door 2.0L 5-Speed with A/C

1976 Chevrolet Vega Cosworth Hatchback 2-Door Additional Info:

For your consideration is a 1976 Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, dash #2900, with an Orange exterior and Black interior. It has a 5-speed manual transmission & 4.10:1 rear axle, a center console in the interior and Air Conditioning that was installed before the first owner would take delivery of the vehicle. This is an extremely solid original Texas car with approximately 38,000 miles on the odometer that runs and handles very well. It still retains the original factory installed twin cam engine with original block, head and cam carrier as evidenced by the factory stamped Tonawanda number on the 3 main components of the engine and the partial VIN number stamped on the block.
I have owned #2900 since April of 2007 when I purchased it on eBay from a gentleman who lived in Rome, GA. I believe he was the second owner of this vehicle, but I do not know how long he owned it. The original owner was a doctor who lived in Stephenville, TX, and he purchased the car on March 31, 1977 from Dwain Brunner Chevrolet, also in Stephenville, TX. The vehicle had 114 miles on the odometer when purchased. I have much of the original paperwork from the ownership of the doctor, including owners manual, warranty and maintenance literature from GM along with the air conditioning system, and receipts for parts purchased and work performed on the vehicle. Along with the A/C system install, the original owner had the vehicle undercoated, but it looks like it was not rustproofed as there are no plugs from holes being drilled and no evidence of rustproofing having been sprayed inside the doors etc.
When the vehicle was delivered to me, it did not run real well, and unknown to me at the time was the fact that the fuel gauge did not correctly indicate the amount of fuel in the tank. In my attempt to figure out what the issue was with the performance, I ran it out of gas while driving it which resulted in it running even worse. I had other cars at the time that I was also working the bugs out of, so this one got pushed to the back of the list. I would periodically spend some time on it, but it was a stubborn one, and it was not until about 2 years ago that #2900 became my main focus. I methodically began going through the car, determined to get it running as I knew it should. The gas tank was dropped and refurbished, the sending unit rebuilt and steel fuel lines were inspected to make sure all was clean. New in-tank and high pressure pumps were installed along with all new fuel hoses, original fuel filter and rebuilt injectors. The CTS (coolant temp sensor) was rebuilt, all other components of the EFI system were verified as working correctly, and all connectors of the EFI harness were inspected and cleaned. A new water pump, thermostat, re-cored radiator, timing belt, spark plugs and wires, heater hoses, vacuum hoses etc were installed, and all hardware and components that I removed were refurbished or replaced to original factory appearance. Where appropriate, original (date correct) Wittek tower style refurbished hose clamps were installed to retain the original factory look. The car now runs excellent. The A/C system was professionally serviced and set up to use R-134a refrigerant and it blows a good volume of nice cold air.
Along with the engine work done, there was some rusting of the battery tray and metal underneath it, so the tray was removed and replaced with one that I believe is for a Camaro, and the area under the tray was cleaned, treated, repaired and all repainted. The spare tire well had some very minor surface rust, so that was also cleaned, treated, repainted and re-spattered.
The interior has been addressed as well, with a new dash bezel installed, new light bulbs in the dash and the dome light replaced, new carpet in the hatch area and on the back of the rear seat (was sun bleached), the drivers seat had a split in the bolster that was repaired, the sill plates were cleaned and polished, the comfort clips on the seat belts were replaced, and the interior was thoroughly cleaned and made to look as new. On 2-6-1991 the original owner had the radio replaced with a GM digital tune model along with 2 new speakers in the dash, back in the hatch area and a speaker was installed in the right foot well vent opening. Along with all this an electric antenna was installed in the right front fender, that will go up correctly, but will not retract properly. I was able to get it to go down, but to do further work on it will require removing the fender. Seeing that it seems to receive radio signals fairly well as is, I did not venture into what is wrong with the antenna. I also need to mention that the clock was replaced by an oil pressure gauge that did not function at all. I worked on it and determined that the ground wire for it in the dash was broken, repaired it and all was well until a couple of weeks ago when the needle started to swing back and forth erratically, indicating that the sending unit is probably going bad.
The paint is original except for the right fender, door and quarter panel. those have been repainted as the paint on them had blisters in it. Also, I replaced the front valance panel that was cracked in several places with a fiberglass one rather than the plastic original style so that the chance of it cracking again is minimized. The rest of the panels with original paint have been lightly wheeled and waxed to bring back the factory shine, but being that this has 41 year old lacquer paint on original panels, there are some blemishes in the horizontal panels that could probably be worked on more, and there are a few minor dings here and there on the car. These are not very visible in the photos, but to me it only adds to the authenticity of this being an "honest" 41 year old well cared for used vehicle. The face of the wheels have been redone and have been wrapped with new Federal 185/70R13 tires and installed with new lug nuts and the original center caps. The spare wheel has been redone and retains the original Goodyear BR70-13 tire. The spare tire well has all the original jack, lug wrench and retainers as came from the factory. The anodized aluminum bumpers have some scratches, but nothing major, and I was able to buff them out to look very good. They still have their original black rubber bump strips and front bumper guards.
I have owned several Cosworth Vegas over the years, and this is certainly a fine example of a solid, well cared for, excellent running and driving one. Is it perfect? No, but it doesn't try to be perfect, just an "honest" 41 year old Cosworth Vega that will show well at any car gathering. It isn't a trailer or garage queen that makes it difficult to drive without worry, but rather a vehicle you can take out and enjoy the high revving engine and the excellent road hugging nature of this rare limited production vehicle in the comfort of air conditioning!
NOTE: Scroll down to see all 89 photos of Cosworth Vega #2900
Vehicle is sold as is where is with no expressed or implied warranty.
The above mentioned vehicle has been described to the best of my ability; however as with all pre-owned vehicles the condition is subjective. It is to be assumed that all used vehicles will have some degree of wear. I invite you, or you’re representative, to inspect the car in person.
It is the responsibility of the buyer to arrange and pay for shipping of the vehicle if necessary, and I will help facilitate the loading of it.
A $1,000.00 non-refundable deposit via Paypal, or cash in person is required for the purchase of the vehicle, due within 24 hours of making a commitment to buy, and will go towards the purchase price. The balance will be due 7 days after the commitment to buy unless other arrangements are discussed and agreed to in advance.
Forms of payment are cash, bank wire transfer or certified check. The vehicle will not be released the same day of payment unless it is cash. All other forms will require verification of funds having cleared before title and vehicle are released.
As the vehicle is for sale locally, I reserve the right to end the auction without notice if the vehicle is no longer available for sale.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask, I will answer as quickly as possible.
Thank you for looking!