In November of 2002 he wrote: “I will have some analysis on CV #3275's engine when it gets torn down
to install a street ported cylinder head (right now it has a stock head with stainless valves). Presently the
engine has about 8,000 miles since the rebuild. Now if Y'all out there on the Left Coast could find CV
#2864 (was my Firethorn CV), it has an aluminum bore engine with between 15,000 and 20,000 miles
since I rebuilt it back in 94. Tim

rods. $4,750.
Owned and driven by Houston Tim, aka twincams@aol.com, as he wrote in 2001, “I have just finished
installing a combo A/C, Heater with Defroster unit in CV #3275.”
CV 3275 ‐White, Buckskin, cloth interior. 5‐Speed, A/C, 10.0:1, Reground Cams and Weber's. Yeah,
yeah, I know, what about the EFI? Well I am tired of "F'ing" with it and want to drive the beast; besides
the car will be exempt from Emissions Inspection on 1/01/2002. Of course I may decide to sell the
engine and replace it with a stock rebuild (boring but practical) or a 10.5:1, 2.1L (.070 overbore) with
stock cams. Tim

#3275 has the die cut stripes with the black background. I have a Classic Plate for CV 3275. Tim
I know the 74 up Vega fuel tank and sending unit will work on a Cosworth since that is the setup I am
currently using on CV #3275. Tim

You have a couple of options for drawing vacuum from the Weber Setup: 1. Drill and tap the manifolds
(either to or bottom) with a 1/8" NPT and install 1/8" NPT x 3/16" (or 1/8") brass hose fitting. I have
found anything larger 1/8" hose can cause a problems with the good ole dieseling problem. Connect the
hoses to a central line and / or tank to attach your vacuum lines to. 2. Install a plate (this is what I did on
CV #3275) and install vacuum nipples in it. The problem with this set up is the plate is only1/2" thick and
I could not use the 1/8" NPT fittings. The plate is sandwiched between the Carbs and the Manifolds. I
use this setup to provide vacuum to my Heater A/C, Pulse Air, Vapor Canister and vacuum advance
(once I get it installed). Tim

Mark, I don't have the stock specs handy but in the instructions in one of the sets of Sealed Power File to
Fit rings the recommended gaps are as follows: Top Ring Street application .016" to .018; 2nd Ring
Street application .010" to .012". I think that Gapless rings are worth the extra expense (Dick Meyers
former CV Midget Racer swears they are worth 10 extra HP on a race engine). I have a set in the 10.0:1
engine in CV#3275 and there is very little blowby and a very strong exhaust force (the exhaust can be
strongly felt 5 feet away from the car) for a 2.25" system. Tim

Duke, sorry to say but 220 @ .050" lift is not that aggressive. It is very close to the stock cam duration @
.050" which Crower Cams indicated to be about 230 ‐ can't find my notes, but here are some cam specs
on stock cam regrinds I have had Crower do:
264 gross duration, .371 lift, 236 duration @ .050"
282 gross duration, .374 lift, 242 duration @ .050"
286 gross duration, .392 lift, 240 duration @ .050"
I am currently running a set of the 282 duration regrinds on CV #3275 on EFI. There is a slight lope at idle
but no other problems. I think the engine I built for David Dempsey has the same regrinds. Here are
some Crane Grinds that I have cards on:
290 gross duration, .390 lift, 246 duration @ .050"
300 gross duration, .410 lift, 256 duration @ .050" (Crane’s Short Track Grind)
Final note, no the cams are not BD3's. BD3 cams have a .340" lift with a 290 duration. I am sure of the
lift but not the duration. The BD3 was based on a cam used on a turbocharged Cosworth engine. Tim
Presently I have a set of 242/370 reground cams in CV #3275 with 10.0:1 pistons, gapless rings, 2 1/4"
Exhaust with Cat and it's pumping out some power on EFI. Now if I could find the time to get it on a
dyno. Tim

I had a problem with CV #3275 vapor locking both with EFI and Webers this past fall and early winter
with outside temperature in the 70's and 80's. The cause was when I had the exhaust replaced with a
2.5" system the exhaust pipe was raised up a little higher and moved a little closer to the high pressure
fuel pump inlet line (hp pump was replaced with an adaptor for use with Webers). My solution to the
problem was to wrap the exhaust pipe with header wrap and put fuel line insulation over the inlet line
(both available from JC Whitney). Since this repair I have driven CV 3275 to Austin Texas for our Region
Dyno day, over 300 total miles for the trip and also have driven it on my monthly rounds visiting some of
my clients 200+ miles in one day WITH NO VAPOR LOCK PROBLEMS. Tim

I have a set of bushed stock Cosworth Rods in #3275 which, when driven, gets some high RPM shifts.
When we had it on the Dyno in Austin it was spun up to 7000 RPM (or was it 7500, Doug has the info).
Jim is correct; the stock rod is not bad if properly modified. Tim

Offered for sale in the spring 1995 Region 12 newsletter by Tim Morgan: “White, buckskin vinyl, 5‐
speed, 4.10, new paint, new carpet, new weather strip and window felts, refurbished interior, refinished
wheels with T/A radials, new master cylinder, new front brake lines and rebuilt front end with new tire
rods. $4,750.

Offered for sale in the spring 1994 Region 12 newsletter as “White, buckskin vinyl, am/fm, swing‐outs, 5‐
speed, 4.10, engine was freshened‐up (valve job, new rings, gaskets) by bill Hutton about 10k miles ago.
$1995 OBO. Tim Morgan”

Now Owned by a Dean Donovan in the Louisville KY area. Black, tan vinyl interior. Car has a 140 Vega 4 cylinder in it. Original engine was bad. Reported to be in fair condition.

This car is owned by B. J. Labate of Louisville, KY as of January, 2005. He purchased it around 1985 or
1986. The VIN is 1V77O6U222294. It doesn’t run, and hasn’t for several years. Last summer he
dropped the gas tank and found about 2 gallons of water in it. He cleaned it out and reinstalled it, and
put another fuel pump on, but could not get it to run. The car has Webers, with the aluminum air
cleaner assembly. The battery tray is gone. It has about 65k and is a 5‐speed. He says that it is black
with gold stripes and has a saddle vinyl interior. However, it has been repainted, so this may not be the
original exterior color. It has some hail damage, the paint is “spotty”, and it has some quarter panel rust
and some bottom of the door rust. The spare tire well is clean and dry, and the wheels were stripped
and repainted by him in ’93 or ’94 and the paint is still holding up reasonably well. The radio is an
aftermarket Craig, AM/FM Stereo Cassette. The dash bezel is faded and tarnished. There are no rips in
the seats. The owner’s telephone number is 502 931‐4534, and his e‐mail is bojolobo@juno.com .

Appeared for sale on eBay in October of 2006. The car is located in Poultney, VT. The ad reads: 1976
Cosworth Vega, 5 speed Cosworth engine, limited slip rear, shaded glass, and car is complete, was
running but needs a fuel pump and O2 sensor. Car was originally orange but has a non professional black
paint. Tan interior. Speedo reads 38,585. 4 cylinder fuel injected motor. 3280 dash plaque. Very solid car
for parts or restoration. Vega is a 5 in old cars price guide. Seller is selling as is. Buyer is required to
arrange and pay for delivery of vehicle. Sales are final. Any questions please ask before bidding.
Dunlapseller is another username for Jeaneann Dunlap. I am selling items for other people who do not
have eBay accounts. You can view my other feedback which is at 100% through the user
thanksforthememoriesscrapbooking.” The VIN is 1V77O6U222260.
Bought by a fellow named Paul, whose eddress is wayne_enterprises@sbcglobal.net

Owned by Jim Davignon, caleb@together.net. He just purchased a1976 Cosworth #3280 with a 5‐speed
in early 2002. It was a high school auto project & “they screwed it up big time”. It only has 38,000 miles
on the odometer and is fairly clean for Vermont. He plans to restore this rig and use it as a daily driver
during the summer. Any info on parts would be appreciated thanks. Jim

Current Owner
Tim Nickoli
Norwalk, OH
419-557-0093
nickolitim@yahoo.com

Sold at Kissimee, Florida 2019 Mecum Auction for $25,300, including buyers fees. New owner not known.

Purchased from Bob Weber to Paul D'Allesandro in Fort Lauderdale area. Paul has a decent collection of cars.

Bob Weber completed extensive Restoration. Car was not repainted. Listed car on Bring a trailer.

Troy McMorris traded #3283 to Bob Weber in Virginia for #2315. Bob Weber New Owner.

Sold to Troy McMorris of Michigan in late 2010 or early 2011. According to Troy, he is having problems
with the white interior. "The trim piece that is coming apart is along the windshield, driver's side. I'll
assume that other trim pieces will have the same issues with degradation." Then in June of 2012 he
wrote, "Is it possible for the in‐tank pump to fail slowly then completely fail and then not allow fuel to
the in‐line high pressure pump? Is there a way to test the in‐tank pump without dropping the tank? CV
#3283 needs help and so do I.

Sold to John Dubovsky for his collection. Membership expired Oct 1, 2006, setting date to that.

Offered for sale and traded for a restored motorcycle in October of 2004. New owner is Bruce Weller of
Florida. Bruce was disappointed in the condition of the car when he received it, but is in the process of
restoring it. From his e‐mails:

Basically from what I understood, the Dr.‐‐original owner‐‐bought two of them back in 76, one firethorn
and the blue one. Stored both till the early 90's and was very bitter that his $13,000 investment did not
pay off. Bob McGaughy told me that he probably wouldn’t talk to me because he tried and the guy
would not talk to him‐‐pissed. Anyway, in ‘92 the blue Cosworth was sold to Thiesman with around 1700
miles on it. Thiesman had it 7 years and sold it to Bob with 1970 miles on it. When Thiesman got it, it
had set a while and the injectors and all had to be sent out and cleaned and the tank dropped etc. Then
he let it sit the last 3 years without starting it, and when Bob got it, he had to do the same thing. Bob
sold it to Tony Moore and Tony had it 3 years, but he started and drove it 3 times. Bob told me he
drained all the fluids and put anti corrosive antifreeze in it and a new belt and dropped the tank and
cleaned it‐‐new fuel pump, etc. Tony hasn’t removed the 3 year old gas from the car, so that will be my
first project‐‐to drain and probably drop the tank. I want to see what’s inside. Then all cleaning the
engine bay. I’ll have to see what it looks like when I get it.
Ok. Well, the guy made it down with his car ok. Actually he called me late Tuesday evening and wanted
to keep coming, but he was 50 miles from Tampa and I told him he still 3 1/2 hours away. So he
couldn’t have gotten to me till 2:00 AM, so I told him to wait until morning. I woke up at 7:00 AM and
they were sitting in my front yard in chairs drinking coffee. The car was already unloaded. Oh boy.
(Texas redneck mean anything to you? lol) I looked the car over and was sad to say somewhat
disappointed. 1st of all, the car was filthy like he pulled it straight out of a field somewhere. Grass
hanging all off the underneath, dirty cobwebs inside the engine bay. It was a filthy mess. The wheels
are rotted (aluminum rot). What a damn shame, cause the car is a beautiful blue. When I drove it, more
disappointment. Boggy power, hit the gas and it bogs down. It drove like an old regular Vega or worse.
He said I got to get that old gas out of the tank, been in there since 99. Well, I started to clean up the
car, and it cleaned up real nice. Here are my observations: Engine bay is really nice, everything shiny
after it was cleaned. Only need to repaint a couple minor pieces and the valve cover. Looks NOS and the
blue is still nice in the engine bay‐‐not all faded away. All chrome pulse tubes and others—beautiful, no
rust at all in the engine bay, all looks new. The wheels are “rotted”, and I’ll have to get them refinished.
Anything’s better than the way they look presently.. The tires are nice but cracking and dry rotting‐‐
cracking on every tire and they not NOS looking ones but just as rare as they are the old style Goodyear
GT raised outline that went out in the 80's. The trunk bay is absolutely perfect, spare never out,
immaculate. The body—perfect, not a ding, 2 scratches I found, some stone chips on the rear quarters
about 8 on each side. The paint on the sides is as new—a beautiful baby blue. The graphics look like
they were placed on yesterday, no cracking, nothing. Unfortunately the roof has a slight fading to it,
very slight but noticeable. Same for the trunk lid. And tiny cracking very tiny cracking. The insides are
perfect, just dirty. The white is as snow white as possible and perfect. Still has the inspection stickers
on the door jambs. Carpet is good except for the rear hatch area which needs to be re‐dyed. Got all
great documentation on the car even the original temp tag that was on it, tons of papers, magazines and
manuals. Hood pad is missing. Paint still looks great, except for some very slight fading and cracking.
The cracking is so small, that you can’t see it unless you put your nose in the paint. Well I tried starting
again today. Still nothing. I washed the engine bay really good, so maybe I got something wet because
after that it wouldn’t start. This weekend I’ll drain the tank and put some race gas in it. I had someone
look at the car last night and they said that the oxidation can be buffed out. The blue is uniform across
the roof and hood, there is no fading or spots or anything so it can be buffed out to look like the rest of
the car. I have receipts from 1998 where the injectors where sent to be cleaned, as well as replacement
of the lines and fuel pumps. About $1000 or more. Well one more disappointment. The dash bezel had
that usual gold rot on it. When I placed a cleaner and tried to wipe it....it wiped the gold right off it like a
powder, so I’m going to need a new dash bezel. I didn’t need to use the starting fluid. I drained the old
gas from 98 out of it and placed new gas in there, installed new plugs, but it was not starting. Didn’t
think it was a fuel delivery problem because it supposedly has new pumps as I have a receipt for $1000
dated 99 that was for injector cleaned and fuel tank sent out and cleaned and new pumps installed.
Anyway, the previous owner told me way back when I first started talking to him that sometimes it
seems like it wants to start on 2 cylinders and he said when that happens he goes out and removes the
coil, cranks it over couple times, places the coil wire back on and voila, it starts fine. I started thinking
about this tonight and after several tries to start her, I removed the coil wire, did the procedure, placed
it back on and bam, it started right up. The car still has bog down when I hit the gas. It idles fine but a
little rough, and the high and low idle sensor works fine as it idles high then after few minutes, slowed
down, but when you tromp on the gas it bogs out. I need a filter though. Stuck my hand inside and it’s
empty. Bruce

Dave Garrard: My name is Tony Moore and I have a 1976 blue CV with 2113 original miles that I might
be interested in trading for your bike. Let me know if you still have the bike and are still looking and I
will send pictures. Tony Moore in DeLeon, TX.

November, 2003. A little more info on Tony’s car. It has a white interior; it is #3283, 4‐speed, swing
outs, posi, 8‐track. His email is @ hotmail.com. Only slight drawback on maintained low mileage car is
white letter tires. He's in Deleon, TX. Dick

Yes, this was the car that was for sale in the Ft. Worth area a couple of years ago. The e‐mail that Mark
quoted was correct. I know that is a high price for that car, but what was it that P.T. Barnum said......?
The fellow asked me what I would take for it and I gave him a price and he took it. What can I say? I
don’t feel bad about it at all. Maybe it will help raise the value of the others out there. Bob McGaughy
I say congrats to the new owner. He likely has the ONLY low mile blue/white car in existence. We all
saw the upturn in prices for collector cars, especially low mile originals, at the last few auctions. And
finally the Cosworth is included. I am glad that there has been an upturn indicated in the last few
months, and this is just the shape of things to come. I do believe that the owner is here as a member
and I welcome him. I can't wait to see his car; it sounds nice to me. We should all welcome him and not
dismay him; his purchase adds to the collectability of all Cosworths and ensures the fact that we are
gaining an enthusiast in our club. Britt

Unknown Date. Supposedly once owned by Tony Moore of DeLeon, TX.

Here's the skinny on Bob's car based on an edited e‐mail he sent me a month or two ago. "Cosworth
#3283. Blue exterior, white interior. 2075 original miles. Tank cleaned and sealed. New in‐tank pump
and all new correct fuel lines. Options: Swingout rear windows, AM‐8 track. 4‐speed with a 3.73 rear
end. Car is as new except the wheels could stand to be refinished; minor fading of the carpet in the
hatch area, and a couple of minor flaws in the paint (could be from the factory). Original tires will be
replaced before sale. I may have the exhaust modifications made before I sell it, not sure yet. I really
want to hear it through a good free flowing exhaust before it is gone. Thanks, Bob McGaughy" That's
all I know at this point. Mark

Bob ‐ $8500 is a top dollar price! Was this a "zero mile" car ‐ never registered? Did the price include any
spares or other goods in addition to the car? Thanks for letting me know. I think this may be the low
mileage (under 4000) Blue Cosworth with White interior that was floating around Fort Worth. You
might want to check the Cosworth Classifieds last year to see if it is the same car. Tim

Unknown Date. I am thinking of selling my Cosworth #3283. It is blue with white interior. Four‐speed. 2100 miles.
Needs only wheels refinished. Bob McGaughy

Cosworth #3283. Blue exterior, white interior. 2075 original miles. Tank cleaned and sealed. New in‐
tank pump and all new correct fuel lines. Options: Swingout rear windows, AM‐8 track. 4‐speed with a
3.73 rear end. Car is as new except the wheels could stand to be refinished; minor fading of the carpet
in the hatch area, and a couple of minor flaws in the paint (could be from the factory). Original tires will
be replaced before sale. I may have the exhaust modifications made before I sell it, not sure yet. I really
want to hear it through a good free flowing exhaust before it is gone. I would take best offer over
$5500. Don’t really care if I make any money if it goes to a good home. Thanks, Bob McGaughy
It is with a heavy heart that I have parted ways with #3283. While I enjoyed the car while I had it, I
found something more fitting with the rest of my collection. I think it went to a new owner that will
enjoy the car and use it to the fullest. I told him about all you guys and how nice you are and am sure he
will join the CVOA and the Yahoo/Msn groups. Thanks for all the help you all gave me and I will continue
to monitor the ongoing history of the Cosworth Vega. Take care all. Bob McGaughy. P.S. Duke, for
your guide prices, the car went for $8500.00.

Unknown date and source. Supposedly owned by Lloyd Silaci of Petaluma CA.

Years later, Chris Wheaton contacted him to find out that the car was just sitting on the side yard. Chris bought the car a