[slimwhitman]

To those at JL: Do you have the ability to also do a Pontiac Astre casting based off the Vega? Will you be considering it? What a great way to add a whole new car on the same exact casting. Related to that....do you plan to do early and late Vegas? Early ones are a bit more pure, but the later style is needed to do a correct Cosworth. I am sooo pumped about this casting!!!

 

[slimwhitman]

1975 Pontiac Vega

Here is a 1975 Astre

 

[zed300]

I'd like to see an Astre too. Growing up, one of my neighbors had one....bright orange and covered in rust, but I always liked it.

 

[CorvetteAl]

Growing up my dad had one for a short while. It was a reddish/orange wagon. Oh yeah! Man, that was a memory that had all but just about disappeared. Thanks for bringing it back.

 

[Swifty]

There was a yellow 17,000 mile Astre for sale around here last year. I haven't seen it in awhile, so I assume it sold. Amazingly, I saw no rust on the car at all.

 

[carnut2256]

Pontiac Astre???? There were maybe two dozen people in the world who were even aware they existed back then, you guys must be the last of the survivors here!!! How many remember the Pontiac version of the Monza?

 

[ParkRNDL]

Pontiac Astre???? There were maybe two dozen people in the world who were even aware they existed back then, you guys must be the last of the survivors here!!! How many remember the Pontiac version of the Monza?

Pontiac had the Sunbird, Buick had the Skyhawk, Oldsmobile had the Starfire. They were pretty much the same car under the body. Compare a Monza wagon with a Vega wagon sometime... the only difference is the lights and trim. I always wanted to get a Vega or Monza derivative and put a Chevy 350 in it. It can be done with all factory parts, since Chevy made a V-8 Monza for a little while. I believe the Vega requires a little banging or cutting on the firewall or transmisssion tunnel or something, but the motor mounts and all are available to do it as a bolt-in. I think for a while the Monza was supposed to be the next Camaro, the way the Mustang (II) went over to the Pinto platform for a while, but it never happened...

--rick

 

[slimwhitman]

Here's a pic of the Astre

My dad bought a '75 and we had it until he went japanese and bought an '84 Civic DX hatch. The Astre was a GT model with "radial tuned suspension". A nice burgundy hatchback. It had rust holes the size of basketballs, even though dad did everything possible to slow the rust. When it went away the paint was still super shiny (between the rust areas).

 

[Swifty]

How many remember the Pontiac version of the Monza?

I saw a Sunbird crushed at a monster truck rally back in '91. I don't recall seeing one since.