Vega build nears end of intensive 4-year process
It’s been a slow push to the racetrack for Greg Neal as he works toward finishing modifications to his 1971 Chevy Vega.
Despite the overall perception of the Vegas from 1970 to 1973, the Grand Island man was among many racers who saw its drag racing potential.
“They weren’t much, but then the hot rod guys started putting big engines in them, big tires, different suspensions, everything,” Neal said. “They became a pretty popular race car or pro-street car and show car.”
Neal inherited his passion for cars from his father, Gordon, who was a member of the St. Paul Royal Coachmen Car Club.
It was through a father/son project that he took interest in building a race car using a 1973 Vega.
“I saw this conversion done in a lot of hot rod magazines in the very early 80s,” Neal explained. “There was a company that made kits so you could put in a Big B, so I was kind of interested in them then.”
While initially interested in getting a first generation Camaro, he saw potential in the Vega’s capability for drag racing, because it is light and aerodynamic.
“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just go with the Vega, because it’s lighter and smaller,” he commented. “At that time, they were fairly powerful. You could find them in magazines and newspapers for sale or even the junkyard had them.”
Neal drove the car in drag races from 1980 to 1985 at the Kearney Drags. During this time he won first place in the competition style class at the Fonner Park Car Show in 1985.
Regretting the sale of that car 1992, he started on a mission to build another racing Vega for his father, however, Gordon Neal passed away from cancer in 2017.
“My dad... wasn’t around to see this one,” Neal commented . “I could say that it’s a bucket list build.”
In addition to collecting everything he needed to modify the vehicle, finding a Vega in decent condition turned out to be one of his biggest challenges.
“I had two requirements,” he stated. “One, it wasn’t rusted out real bad and it was fairly complete. The other thing that’s huge – I’m sure a lot of car guys can agree with me on this – it had to have a good title. So many old cars... don’t have good titles. My feeling on that is 50 percent of the value of the car is having a good title.”
It wasn’t until 2020 when Neal found the ‘71 Vega listed on Facebook by its previous owner in South Dakota.
“He had the front end all out of it,” Neal explained. “You couldn’t really tell what it was, but I knew what it was right away from the pictures.”
Although some important parts were missing, Neal said that he was pleased with his find.
“I was lucky I ran across this one,” he continued. “It’s really rust-free and solid, and it was very complete. The guy even had a lot of extra parts. Nobody makes parts for them anymore, any fenders, panels, doors or anything. It’s kind of a rare bird.”
A new engine
When Neal took the Vega back home to Grand Island, there wasn’t much that remained of the original 1971 design.
“Everything underneath is pretty much new,” he said. “The only thing that’s 53 (years old) is the outer skin. So the original engine is gone, the original transmission is no more and the original rear end is no more.”
While only a husk of its original design, according to Neal the Vega has “an extensive tube frame and chasis inside.”
“It’s all 4130 chromoly and it’s got a race suspension,” he noted.
“The engine that’s going in is a 434 cubic inch small block Chevy with 671 supercharger that’s 10 percent overdrive and it’s got a BTE power glide transmission that’s all built and certified,” he explained.
Last year, Neal was able to take the engine to Kearney Drags to have it approved by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) inspectors.
“It’s ready to go,” Neal stated. “I’m supposed to get it out here to Starlight motors. We’re going to fire it up on the dyno, check the horsepower and adjust everything on it. It’s a crazy big, powerful motor for a little car like this.”
Next Neal will install the rear suspension.
“It’s a Ford nine-rich rear end, it’s got a spool in it, (it has) heavy duty axles and it’s a four-link suspension with a wishbone track locator,” Neal shared. “It’s got a needle bearing anti-roll system in it.”
Since purchasing the car four years ago Neal has been on a quest to find everything needed to complete the build.
“When I first started trying to find these, it was near impossible, because so many of them ended up in the junkyard,” he explained. “They just rusted out or the engines went bad on them and they’re long gone. Or you’ve got guys that are doing like I am and they’re fixing it up for a show car or race car.”
“The biggest challenge is all the little stuff,” he said. “The brake lines, wiring fuel system and, of course, I’ve got to get the firewall on the floor back in and just tons of little things to get done on it.”
For all the challenges he has faced, however, Neal says this project has been much easier than building his first race car.
“I know the stuff at the racetrack has changed a lot over the years, but I noticed, as far as building a car, stuff is through the roof for parts,” he stated. “But you can find the parts these days, because back then you couldn’t pull parts out of a box and bolt them on. You can buy cylinder heads, cranks and blocks pretty easy.”
Once the car is together, Neal plans on painting it a metallic red. He hopes to finish it in time for next year’s Kearney races.
“The Kearney Drags had a nostalgia drag and it was bigger than they anticipated,” Neal said. “There were over 200 cars there ‘73 and older. That’s one thing I’d like, to race once or twice over there with this car, as it fits the years.”
Neal has been active in numerous car shows over the year, most recently showcasing his 1936 Chevy Coupe, which completed in 2015.
“It was an empty body and a frame,” Neal explained. “It took a trailer and 3-pickup loads to get it home. My wife thought I was crazy to buy it.”
“The coupe has a supercharged V8 with a manual 4-speed with overdrive, a 6-inch dropped front axle with disc brakes,” Neal explained. “The rear end is from a 1966 Chevy Nova SS. It was the last year Chevy used structural wood in the body.”
Among the awards he has won for his Chevy Coupe are the Director’s Choice Award at the Grand Theatre Car Show in Grand Island and the Best Engine Award at the Pasttime Lanes Car Show in Hastings.
Neal was among the first entrants to the Giltner Daze Car Show when it debuted in 2022 alongside his uncle Glenn Nielsen, who was featured in this year’s ANR Spring Car Care edition).
Neal is an active member and former president of the Island Area Cruiser Car Club in Grand Island, frequently traveling with club members to assist with car shows and visit hot rod shops.
“We will go over to Marquette, to Scotties and they know we’re coming and we eat there, “ Neal commented. “Then there’s a guy over there that’s got a hot rod shop. He’s got a lot of old 30s-style Ford coupes and a really cool hot rod shop with a lot of stuff to see in it. We’ll be touring that Oct. 6.”
Along with traveling with the club to support car shows, Neal has also helped with the club’s annual fundraiser in June.
“We do a fundraising car show at Stolley Park for charities,” he shared. “One year we did trikes and bikes, we bought a bike for a person with special needs and then we did a charity for the Tjaden family. Heather Tjaden had cancer... and we raised money to help them with their hospital bills.”
When he’s not at a car show or other car event, Neal operates his powder coating business, Sportland Coating which he started in 2016.
“I started powder coating for myself in 1994, but have been doing poweder coating as Sportland Coatings just in the last eight years,” Neal said. “The name came from my Dad’s motorcycle shop he managed in the mid 60s to mid 70s called Sportland Cycles.”
Along with participating in the upcoming Wreaths Across America at United Veterans Club on Saturday, Oct. 12, Neal is excited to celebrate his 41st wedding anniversary with his wife Kathy.
“She’s put up quite a bit with this car stuff,” Neal commented. “I know my first Vega, she didn’t like that. It was just too noisy and too loud. She’s been real supportive of me starting another. She drove all the long hours with me up to South Dakota with this big trailer to pick it up that day. She’s stepped by me for a lot of years.”
Although he was unable to attend the Giltner Daze Car Show this year, he hopes to have the Vega completed in time to feature it at the third annual show in June.
“I feel bad I missed it,” Neal commented. “It shows there’s good support for it and I think going forward it’ll be a good thing for Giltner and Giltner Daze drawing a lot of people.”
Owners interested in having their vehicles powder-coated can reach Neal through his Instagram and Facebook page at Sportland Coatings.