Re: iron duke
The TERM Iron Duke did NOT originate in any of the above cars. It was introduced as the Iron Duke in the 1977 Pontiac Astre which was the same car as the Chevy Vega and its variations. In an effort to distance itself from the problematic 140 aluminum engine, Pontiac developed the Iron Duke for the 1977 model year. That happened to be the last year for the Vega but the Iron Duke engine was carried on in other vehicles (the Chevy Monza for example) on the same platform until 1980. From the 1971 through 1977 model years the Vega ran a 140 cubic inch (2.3L) aluminum block/iron single overhead cam engine fitted with either a single or two barrel carb. A Cosworth dual overhead cam engine with four valves per cylinder was an option in some years. I owned a 1972 Vega Kammback wagon that I bought brand new for $2200. Big engine (use the term loosely), four speed with 3:36 gears. Put 100,000 miles on the car, then dropped a 283 with a Power Glide in it an put on another 10,000. I sold the car to a buddy for $1300 and he sold it to another buddy when his daughter dropped it into a water filled hole, punched a hole in the oil pan and drove home with no oil after the car was extracted from the hole. . As bad a reputation as that car had, it was without a doubt provided the lowest cost of ownership of any car I ever owned. Just a little history lesson for those who weren't around in the 70's (or before).
