Have you sleeved the cylinder bores yet, or are you going to? The Vega/Monza engine was the main reason that the car had such a short production span. It may possibly have been the worst engine design that GM ever came up with, and even when hot rodded, didn't produce much power or live very long. The bare aluminum cylinder walls would wear out in fairly short order, but if cast iron cylinder sleeves were installed (a fairly expensive proposition), the engine then would last a reasonably long time. At one time, I think Hooker made headers for the Vega, and there was even a how-to article in Hot Rod Magazine IIRC some time in the mid 1970's about installing headers on a Vega. You could call or e-mail Primedia (the current publisher) and see if they can send you a reprint of the article or any other articles on hopping up the Vega. Also, the resident expert on Vega engines in Inliners is Sonny Rossi, who has been running a Cosworth Vega motor in a roadster at Bonneville for a long time. He probably knows more about Vega engines and where to find parts for them than anyone else I can think of, so you might check with him.
