CHEVY VEGA DEATH VALLEY ENGINE DURABILITY RUN
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Year Published: 1976
Description: The Chevy Vega should have been a success for GM, with over 2 million units sold during it production run. However, the car gained considerable attention for its engine overheating woes and body corrosion problems. The 1976 model solved some of these issues and represented a final push by GM to save the design , but despite this the Vega name was abandoned in 1977 after a mere six years on the market. This film was presented by Chevrolet to promote the 1976 Vega Hatchback Coupe car, in a last-ditch effort to save the mark. Engineers designed this improved Vega model to endure constant driving in high temperatures and push back against the claim that the car's quality was poor. Three of these cars collectively drove 180,000 miles through Death Valley, only pausing for gas refills and maintenance starting August 1st until September 30th in 1975, to demonstrate the durability of the model. The public relations effort failed to reverse opinion about the car, and GM terminated the mark in 1977. “Vega Death Valley Engine Durability Run” title banner (00:06). Bird’s-eye view of the Death Valley national park in California (00:12). Three Chevrolet 1976 Vega Hatchback Coupe cars powered by an inline four-cylinder engine driving over 60,000 miles in total through the valley 24-hours a day for the blazing summer heat to demonstrate the car’s engine durability and heat resistance (00:27). A map of the route going from Las Vegas, through the Amargosa Desert, to the town of Beatty, to the ghost town of Rhyolite, then turning in the Stovepipe Wells, and continuing to the town of Furnace Creek, and then returning to the Death Valley Junction (the Amargosa Desert), then to Shoshone and Pahrump, and finally back to Las Vegas (01:10). The three cars driving off-road for special laps (01:46). A large Chevrolet crew inspects the cars, the drivers are exchanged, and the gas tanks are filled at a truck stop near Las Vegas on route 15 three times every day (01:55). The cars exit the truck stop and continue driving laps on the Death Valley route (02:56). The narrator explains the “Coolant Recovery system” (03:28), followed by the “New Radiator Pressure Cap” (03:37), and the “Stainless Steel Head Gasket” (03:42), the “Redesigned Thermostat” (03:47), the “Water Pump Shield” (03:49), the “Cylinder Cooling Slots (03:53), the “Special Sealers” (03:59), and the “Early Warning System” (04:07). The cars continue the lap through the desert (04:16). The cars arrive at the truck stop at nightfall (04:46). The Chevrolet crew preforms the safety procedures and maintenance and fill the gas tanks, as the drivers alternate (04:59). They cars exit the truck stop the continue driving laps on the route (05:24). They drive through the ghost town of Rhyolite (05:45). The finish line on the final lap on the day of the run’s official completion (06:06). Crew members collects all results certified by the United States Auto Club (06:09). Recaps of the Death Valley Run (06:29). Static and cut footage from a different film titled “Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother” (07:04). Different boats sailing (07:07). The Chevrolet Vega was manufactured and marketed from 1970 to 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, wagon, and sedan delivery body styles, all models were powered by an inline four-cylinder engine with a lightweight, aluminum alloy cylinder block. Variants included the Cosworth Vega, a short-lived limited-production performance model. The Vega received praise and awards at its introduction, including 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Subsequently, the car became widely known for a range of problems including its reliability, safety, propensity to rust, and engine durability. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Key moments View all Coolant Recovery System 3:29 New Radiator Pressure Cap 3:38 Stainless Steel Head Gasket 3:42 Redesigned Thermostat 3:48 Cylinder Cooling Slots 3:54 Special Sealers 3:59 Early Warning System 4:07 Transcript Follow along using the transcript. Show transcript PeriscopeFilm 759K subscribers Videos About Support Us on Patreon
Complete Record: The Chevy Vega should have been a success for GM, with over 2 million units sold during it production run. However, the car gained considerable attention for its engine overheating woes and body corrosion problems. The 1976 model solved some of these issues and represented a final push by GM to save the design , but despite this the Vega name was abandoned in 1977 after a mere six years on the market. This film was presented by Chevrolet to promote the 1976 Vega Hatchback Coupe car, in a last-ditch effort to save the mark. Engineers designed this improved Vega model to endure constant driving in high temperatures and push back against the claim that the car's quality was poor. Three of these cars collectively drove 180,000 miles through Death Valley, only pausing for gas refills and maintenance starting August 1st until September 30th in 1975, to demonstrate the durability of the model. The public relations effort failed to reverse opinion about the car, and GM terminated the mark in 1977. “Vega Death Valley Engine Durability Run” title banner (00:06). Bird’s-eye view of the Death Valley national park in California (00:12). Three Chevrolet 1976 Vega Hatchback Coupe cars powered by an inline four-cylinder engine driving over 60,000 miles in total through the valley 24-hours a day for the blazing summer heat to demonstrate the car’s engine durability and heat resistance (00:27). A map of the route going from Las Vegas, through the Amargosa Desert, to the town of Beatty, to the ghost town of Rhyolite, then turning in the Stovepipe Wells, and continuing to the town of Furnace Creek, and then returning to the Death Valley Junction (the Amargosa Desert), then to Shoshone and Pahrump, and finally back to Las Vegas (01:10). The three cars driving off-road for special laps (01:46). A large Chevrolet crew inspects the cars, the drivers are exchanged, and the gas tanks are filled at a truck stop near Las Vegas on route 15 three times every day (01:55). The cars exit the truck stop and continue driving laps on the Death Valley route (02:56). The narrator explains the “Coolant Recovery system” (03:28), followed by the “New Radiator Pressure Cap” (03:37), and the “Stainless Steel Head Gasket” (03:42), the “Redesigned Thermostat” (03:47), the “Water Pump Shield” (03:49), the “Cylinder Cooling Slots (03:53), the “Special Sealers” (03:59), and the “Early Warning System” (04:07). The cars continue the lap through the desert (04:16). The cars arrive at the truck stop at nightfall (04:46). The Chevrolet crew preforms the safety procedures and maintenance and fill the gas tanks, as the drivers alternate (04:59). They cars exit the truck stop the continue driving laps on the route (05:24). They drive through the ghost town of Rhyolite (05:45). The finish line on the final lap on the day of the run’s official completion (06:06). Crew members collects all results certified by the United States Auto Club (06:09). Recaps of the Death Valley Run (06:29). Static and cut footage from a different film titled “Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother” (07:04). Different boats sailing (07:07). The Chevrolet Vega was manufactured and marketed from 1970 to 1977. Available in two-door hatchback, notchback, wagon, and sedan delivery body styles, all models were powered by an inline four-cylinder engine with a lightweight, aluminum alloy cylinder block. Variants included the Cosworth Vega, a short-lived limited-production performance model. The Vega received praise and awards at its introduction, including 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Subsequently, the car became widely known for a range of problems including its reliability, safety, propensity to rust, and engine durability. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com Key moments View all Coolant Recovery System 3:29 New Radiator Pressure Cap 3:38 Stainless Steel Head Gasket 3:42 Redesigned Thermostat 3:48 Cylinder Cooling Slots 3:54 Special Sealers 3:59 Early Warning System 4:07 Transcript Follow along using the transcript. Show transcript PeriscopeFilm 759K subscribers Videos About Support Us on Patreon
Transcription
[Music] the world doesn't flock to Death Valley in the summertime it was 134° here on July 10th 1913 the hottest temperature ever recorded on the North American continent for all the reasons that most people avoid this place in the summer a few are drawn here Chevrolet came here they came and they stayed for two whole months two hot months August and September 1975 they brought three 1976 bers and then ran those new cars day and night roughly 1,000 mil every 24 hours a total of 60,000 hot rugged miles each in just under 2 months to demonstrate one point once and for all the new 1976 Vega durabuilt engine is a tough piece of Machinery able to take hard miles and hot sun without boiling over or breaking down Chevrolet came here to demonstrate Vega's engine durability and Cooling in a demanding endurance run made up of three trips daily around a 349 M desert and Mountain Loop they went North from Las Vegas through the sparse arid amagosa desert to the town of baty then looped off the highway to the ghost town of Rite and went on through the Death Valley National Monument itself where about 30% of the Run was concentrated they turned around in stove pipe Wells their Western most penetration of the valley went through the desert Resort town of Fus Creek and returned through Death Valley Junction to shonne and pan periodically a special lap took the cars on Scenic off-road tours through the narrow ups and downs of artists pallet drive and 20 Mule Team Canyon where borax was mined a century [Music] ago each lap began and ended here A Truck Stop just south of Le Vegas on Route 15 this was home based and the Vegas rolled in three times daily for gas inspection maintenance and a fresh set of drivers all 11 drivers used during the Run were nonprofessionals the Run was certified by the United States Auto Club and they kept a close watch on things detailed records of gas and oil consumption maintenance procedures odometer readings at the end of each lap high and low temperatures on the route these were the sort of things authenticated by this independent agency the cars were 1976 Vega hatchback coups with 1402 Barrel engines three-speed manual transmissions and air conditioning nothing fancy except perhaps for the installation of citizens ban radios for intercar communications the Vegas were built in Lordstown Ohio and then driven the 2300 miles to Las Vegas on a final Shakedown prior to the start of the run which was at 8:00 a.m. Friday August 1st 1975 it takes the average motorist about 5 years to put 60,000 M on a car here it happened in just 58 driving days that's a total of 180,000 plus miles but the events leading up to this unique accomplishment took several very determined years on the part of Chevrolet engineering they made a series of important improvements resulting in the new for 1976 Chevy Vega durabuilt engine an engine all but immune to overheating first came the coolant recovery system a large plastic bottle designed to catch overflow and send it back into the system where it belongs to help maintain proper cooling a new kind of radiator cap designed to reduce pressure throughout the cooling system a new more durable head gasket made of stainless steel was installed the thermostat was redesigned a protective shield for the water pump was added and the engineers found a new way to slot the cylinder block to Aid internal bore cool special sealers were applied to all threaded engine fittings and the radiator petcock to prevent leakage but should the unexpected happen there is even an early warning system that tells you when the coolant level is as little as a pint low that's far from the danger point and should allow plenty of time to add coolant Chevrolet believes the combination of these refinements gives the 1976 Vega a very efficient cooling system they came to Death Valley to find out if they were right the facts are that in 180,000 total miles accumulated by the three vas during the Death Valley engine durability run only approximately 24 o of coolant had to be replaced in one of the cars 24 o of coolant replenished in 180,000 Mi that's roughly equivalent to three glasses of water 58 days of practically non-stop driving can be a strain on machines and people there were a total of 174 laps around that 349 mile Loop taken in chunks of approximately 7 hours each behind the wheel and the supervision by the United States Auto Club went on the sealing and resealing of Radiators and Fuel and oil fillers all maintenance which was performed as recommended for comparable dust conditions was certified by uset [Music] there are some interesting places in Death Valley places where men stood up to everything hot and ordinary that nature could throw at them bad water desolation Canyon Hell's Gate coffin Peak this is riight Nevada a real honest to goodness ghost town in its Heyday at the turn of the century about 10,000 people lived here there were three railroads three newspapers two hospitals 10 hotels an opera house and 50 56 saloons the Run was officially completed on September 30th 1975 and all results were certified by the United States Auto Club in those 180,000 plus total miles on the 376 vas the only engine part replaced other than maintenance items like spark plugs and oil filters was one timing belt one timing belt in one car in 180,000 total miles is the 1976 Vega durabuilt engine built to take it don't just take our word for it ask that Valley
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