El Camino Vega? 1975 Pontiac Astre Pickup
The Astre was Pontiac’s version of the Chevrolet Vega subcompact. It arrived a few years after the Vega – just as gasoline prices were on the rise – and it was available in all of the same body styles. Including the Kammback wagon or panel delivery which provided the donor for the custom pickup seen here. This work was done years ago by a noted auto customizer named Joe Bailon but has been sitting for eons, leaving Mother Nature to have her way with it. Our thanks to Robert Gressard for this unusual tip!
In 1975 and 1976, the Astre used the same troublesome aluminum block inline-4 that was also in the Vega. Perhaps the overheating issues of the Vega had been worked out by then. In 1977, the Astre began employing the rock-solid Pontiac “Iron Duke” engine in its place. Sales of the Astre paled by comparison to the Vega at less than 150,000 copies in 1975-77 as opposed to 2.1 million from 1971 to 1977.
We don’t know how many of these Astre conversions were made by Bailon. According to the seller, he was famous for building cars for several noted celebrities, including Sammy Davis, Jr., and Zsa Zsa Gabor. He also received credit for creating the color Candy Apple Red. This wagon was something of a pint-size El Camino, having begun life as a station wagon (or panel) that Bailon customized many moons ago.
Sadly, this little oddity has fallen on hard times as a result of being left outdoors for who knows how long. There is rust in all sorts of places and the upholstery is cracked (and the driver’s bucket seat looks to be done up in a different material than the passenger’s). There’s a good chance the sunroof and rear glass leak, which would have added to the car’s troubles. The engine is still there, but you’ll have to try coaxing it back to life or go with a small-block V8 instead. Located in Fair Oaks, California, this former customized classic is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $5,000 OBO.
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now2 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now2 days$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now2 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now4 days$10,500
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now6 days$460
Comments
I think I’d rather have the wagon (or panel ). It doesn’t look bad, but very unsafe. Not that Vegas are safe to begin with.
Agreed, I’d rather have the panel van.
I bet you Aussies get quite a chuckle out of us Yanks, foolish Americans, we had Utes all along and here someone ruined a perfectly nice, um, Vega, Astre, what’s the difference,,:) I always wanted to do this with a Chrysler minivan. Never happened, but images show, someone did it.
Seller lowered the price to $2,000
I Really Dig the big back glass. The grill reminds me of the 2nd generation Trans Am. The drivers seat and door cards look Camaro.
Instead of a small block, the turbo 4 and 6 spd from a Solstice. And lastly the bumpers from a 71 to 73 Vega.
Pretty good execution and then left behind. Whoever visualized this used the Astra for the better front end and sedan rear taillamps. The interior is pure Vega GT or Astra equivalent only missing a better steering wheel. As long as you don’t put anything heavy in the back you don’t have to worry about it coming in with you when you’re not paying attention.
still too may Zero’s in the price.
Only if it’s signed by Zsa Zsa.
Speaking as a retired industrial designer, while it appears to have been nicely done (at least originally), Vega’s styling really doesn’t lend itself to this type of hack. At minimum, there needs to be a thicker B-post to create some visual ‘weight’ behind the doors, but that would then cut down the bed to laughable dimensions, not that it’s that big to start with.
This falls (for me, anyway) into the ‘novelty car’ category. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Now if someone had a rusted out 1976 Cosworth Vega, with a good engine to donate, this would make an interesting Resto Rod.
For this one, I’d go with a 3800 V-6 and a 700R4 tranny. This setup is dead pan reliable and cheap to run.
Not everything needs a fire breathing LS mill to move it down the road. In
fact, when used in a car like this, it could be downright dangerous. I helped a friend put a 350 into a Vega
Since and almost lived to regret it. That car was so sensitive that it would go sideways with you if you so
much as sneezed on the go pedal. The torque steer was horrendous and
you really had to fight to keep it a straight line. And I haven’t even mentioned the things it does to the
frame and the rest of the driveline. Axles snap, drive shafts fly out, and frames wind up being bent beyond repair. And stopping, that could be
dicey too if you don’t beef up the brakes BEFORE you take Vagenstein
for a spin. All I’m saying is that if you
Wanna build it that way, do your due
diligence first and you just might stay
out of the hospital. When finished, it
would make a great dash vehicle to
make deliveries with. A young man I
knew had one of these and made a killing delivering everything from pizzas to brooms. And as for Joe Bsilon, I saw one of his early customs
over 50 years ago in the Time Tunnel
section of Rod & Custom Magazine in
late 1970. The author stated that the
car started life as a ’41 Chevy coupe
that had been chopped with the rear quarter windows filled in, nosed, decked, and shaved. The highlight of
the car was the amazing body and
fender work that was done to the car
that included pontoon style front fenders that nearly blended into the
entire length of the doors. Frenching
both the front and rear lights with a
floating bar shaped grille up front and
wrap around bumpers front and rear.
The car was also lowered and was said to have a ’49 Olds 303 cube V-8
with three deuces mated to a 3-speed
tranny. The car was found in a backyard in Los Angeles in 1970. They had two pics of the car in the article– one showing the car in its heyday, and the other in as found condition. The finder bought the car
and restored it in time to show up with Jack Stewart’s radical ’41 Ford coupe at the Memphis nats in ’72.
It looks to me that it started life as a coupe or hatchback. The taillights are totally different on a wagon. If it was a wagon, he would have devised a tailgate with the opening left from the station wagon tailgate
I find it hard to believe that Joe “invented” Candy Apple Red. Hasn’t that nomenclature been around since the early 1950s in the custom car world? I think this ashtray is well-executed but, as others have stated, all that work done and then to leave it out in the elements is simply horrible. Wonder if it has extremely low miles. Not that it matters much with that engine under the hood.