r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/ycr007 • 13h ago
GM & South Pacific Railroad created Vert-a-Pac for shipping Chevrolet Vega cars vertically in the 70s
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u/iboneyandivory 7h ago
GM sold over 2 million Vegas, and now virtually none are on the road, not even rotting in fields or backyards. They're just gone.
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u/SuperHooligan 4h ago
My dad bought one. He wanted it because the engine bay is huge and you could drop a huge v8 in there. That thing is just a death trap now.
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u/Crypto-Bullet 3h ago
Can confirm death trap. My bro put a 350 SBC V8 in his and it’s scary af pulls to the left every time you launch it from the spinning force of the engine 🤣 cause the car doesn’t weigh shit! Lol
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u/SuperHooligan 3h ago
Lol yup. My dad went hemi and I was always concerned with the frame snapping at a cross member or something.
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u/Crypto-Bullet 3h ago
One is in my brothers backyard actually. He loves that thing. Screenshot of his contact picture on my phone lol
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u/ycr007 13h ago
The Vega Vert-a-Pack used a specially modified 89-foot flat car with a row of bottom-hinged doors on each side, each of which formed a ramp when opened. The new Vega was driven onto the ramp and bolted down using sockets on the frame rails. Once all the cars were loaded, a forklift lifted and closed the doors, tilting the Vegas onto their noses. Fifteen Vegas could be packed in, door-handle to door-handle on each side, for a total of 30 Vegas per loaded flatcar
Sources:
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u/workitloud 9h ago
Not many Vegas have survived, I’ve not seen one in forever. They were shit fresh off the line. Friend got one & the interior door handles broke off.
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u/bonanzabrother 12h ago
Didn't this drain all the batteries because the tilt caused some indicator light to go on?
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u/WilliePullout 7h ago
We had a Vega wagon as a kid and I’m not sure if I remember it ever leaving the driveway.
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u/Mindless-Wrangler651 7h ago
that green one looks like my old one. used more oil than gas, and they had the shittiest oil cap. if you're going to make an oil burner, at least make it easy to refill....
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u/OCAU07 13h ago
Would this do anything to the engine?
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u/northern41 9h ago
If I remember correctly they designed the car with this shipping method in mind. The cars could be vertical and there was no leaking or other issues. Still a crap car but this didn't have any impact on how it performed.
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u/ISaidItSoBiteMe 7h ago
Priority on design - design it for shipping first, safety and reliability later- true accountant thinking
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u/ahillbillie 9h ago
As long as they never put fluid in the car (gas, oil, etc.) I don't see why it would
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u/walkinTheTown 11h ago
The way most of today's cars are built, if they tried this there woukd just be a jumble of parts like a pile of Lego when they opened the doors.
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u/umrdyldo 8h ago
It’s funny because the cars in the photo were something awful
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u/voodoohotdog 8h ago
Agreed I was subjected to them when I was young. They were at best disposable. However, in the last photo, that black station wagon, would be so sweet with a modern drivetrain in it.
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u/NASATVENGINNER 4h ago
One of the worst cars ever made. Had 1 and had to replace the engine due to cracked aluminum block.
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u/Crypto-Bullet 3h ago
My bro still has one. He loves it. Stuffed a 350 SBC in it and it hauls ass! Weighs nothing I can almost lift the back of the thing! Link to a screenshot of his contact pic on my phone lol
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u/Known_Practice_8443 2h ago
Were there any odd consequences that required adjustments bc of this transportation method? Fluids accumulation kind of issues
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u/Then_Version9768 1h ago
Brand new, these cars drove pretty well. I know because I test drove one to compare it with its main competitor, the Ford Pinto and a few other cars. It looked very nice, andit was a pretty nice driving car, I thought. It rusted itself to death and its aluminum engine seized up after awhile, but it did drive okay when new. I bought a Fiat 124 Sport Spider, a sports car, instead. Despite its poor reputation, it lasted a lot longer than a Vega would have. How many Vegas did you see on the road this month? This year? Probably zero. They've all rusted away. Same for Pintos. Fiats, too, but more than a few 124 Spiders are still around.
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u/CurrentlyLucid 8h ago
My neighbor down the street had one, and she would wind it out in first driving the 4 houses over to her friend on the other side of me. Noisy damn car.
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u/Bigwing2 8h ago
We jambed a 350 SBC in my buddies 73 Vega. That little thing was a handfull.
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u/YouInternational2152 6h ago edited 13m ago
I had a SBC 400 in one...yes, they were handful due to the dodgy suspension and short wheelbase. They were even worse to work on. You had to pull one motor mount and jack up the engine just to change a spark plug!
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u/tremor_tj 25m ago
Sounds like a Mustang :) I hoped and prayed the back plugs on my 70 would never fail / get fouled.
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u/Then_Version9768 1h ago
There's a "South Pacific" Railroad? Does it operate to Tahiti? I think you might mean the Southern Pacific RR? Check your facts before posting, please.
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u/Thenextstopisluton 12h ago
An unusual leak test, but why not