Since I never had one, I was going by what I had been told. I stand
corrected on the cylinder wall coating material or composition. I had also
been told that they had used the chrome rings for the extended life which
Chevy was trying to accomplish. The failure, however, remains correct as it
was well written at the time as the cause of the problem....Overheating,
warpage of the lock, and shaving off of the cylinder wall by the rings. The
solution was to have it bored and regular sleves dropped in. It happened to
a friends 73 Vega GT. After it died, he went with Kenny Bell's Buick 215
Kit, and made one very hot Vega!
Rich
(I appreciate the corrected information from everyone....Without saying in a
flame that I'm full of sh*t..... I was simply in error.!! Thanks again !)
8-)
>Ron, you are right. The Vega did not have Chromed cylinder bores, nor did
>it use chrome rings. The block was cast from a high silicon aluminum
>alloy. The surfaces of the bores were then leached to remove a part of the
>aluminum, leaving an even higher silicon content. This left a very hard
>surface which was then finished. The pistons used iron rings which are
>softer than chrome rings to comply with the silicon rich surface. The
>engine failed, but not actually because of the material or scheme. I don't
>know if Chevy actually put steel liners in some or not, but I know some
>Cosworth-Vega owners who had it done to increase life in their engines
>which probably saw harder service than most Vegas.
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