Day 2 Vega

[Hemicolt]

What do you guys think about the interior in this car?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevrolet...a1ca44df8#v4-42

[Postsedan]

I actually kind of like it, I just would not have done the sun visor`s.

Needs a split bumper too.

Dan

[Hemicolt]

Yeah. I think the door panels are a little much also. But maybe they would look better with less padding behind them.
I'm thinking of maybe doing my interior in diamond tuck, but don't know if that many "diamonds" would look right.

[x Baldwin Motion]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hemicolt</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What do you guys think about the interior in this car?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevrolet...a1ca44df8#v4-42 </div></div>


perfect. every custom interior was unique. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/headbang.gif[/img]

[Postsedan]

Dan

[olredalert]

----The carpet is OK!!!......Bill S

[Hemicolt]

There is an urban legend floating around about a train derailment that had one of those cars full of Vegas. Story goes at the spot of the derailment, they dug a hole and buried all the damaged cars.

[owners2]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Postsedan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Dan </div></div> They really transported the cars nose down &amp; stacked like that..

[Mr70]

Yep.........RPO VK5...aka the &quot;Vert-a-pact&quot; option.
Here are more pictures,designed by GM &amp; Southern Pacific R/R.
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010...early-70s.html

In short,it added parts to the cars so they could be shipped,by rail,packed vertically to save space.
The vert-a-pac rail cars required that the cars be able to be driven on and driven off with no mechanical work needed.This drive-on/drive-off requirement was difficult to meet because all liquids had to be aboard,so the VK5 RPO was created.

Modifications included:
- a baffle in the oil pan to prevent flooding the forward cylinders with oil.
- off-center filler caps on the battery.
- a plug in the fuel tank vent line.
- an overflow hose from the float bowl to the charcoal canister.
- tilting the windshield washer bottle 45 degrees.
- plastic spacers between the splash pans and the engine to reinforce the motor mounts.

The Vega was designed to be shipped vertically, nose down. Special rail cars known as Vert-A-Pac cars held 30 Vegas versus 18 in normal tri-level autoracks. Each Vega was fitted with four removable, cast-steel sockets inserted into the undercarriage.

Chevrolet conducted vibration and low-speed crash tests to make sure nose-down Vegas wouldn't shift or be damaged in railcar collisions. Chevrolet's goal was to deliver Vegas topped with fluids and ready to drive to the dealership.To do this Vega engineers had to design a special engine oil baffle to prevent oil from entering the No. 1 cylinder, batteries had filler caps located high up on the rear edge of the case to prevent acid spilling, the carburetor float bowl had a special tube that drained gasoline into the vapor canister during shipment, and the windshield washer bottle stood at a 45 degree angle. Plastic spacers were wedged in beside the powertrain to prevent damage to engine and transmission mounts.
The wedges were removed when cars were unloaded.

[mockingbird812]

Great historical info. Impressive efficiency on GMs part. Nearly a 70% improvement in number of Vegas moved on a single car!

It would be interesting to see if cost of RPO VK5 was off set by reduced transportation costs of moving Vegas to dealers. The customer would have the option to store his Vega in his garage in an upright position to make room for other cars/stuff!!!! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/laugh.gif[/img]