In 1971, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Vega as a two door hatchback, notchback, wagon and a delivery truck. v During the early years of Vega production, engine problems weakened consumers’ faith in the car and led to poor sales,
In 1971, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Vega as a two door hatchback, notchback, wagon and a delivery truck.
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During the early years of Vega production, engine problems weakened consumers’ faith in the car and led to poor sales, finally forcing a phase-out in 1977. During the ‘80s, many a rust bucket Vega could be seen blowing large volumes of black smoke as they frog-marched their way to the junkyard. This is the story of one Vega that beat the yard man’s torch and a Kaua‘i homemaker who was lucky to race it.
Junie Lawrence, a mother of two and manager of her husband Manny’s repair business, is somehow able to find the time to drop the hammer all the way down the Mana race track.
Mrs. Lawrence began driving when she was 16 but never caught the redline fever until Mother’s Day 1997. For seven years, Junie Lawrence watched from the sidelines as husband Manny raced his 1970 Chevrolet Vega at Mana Race track. After Manny added a Ford Thunderbird to his racing stable, he decided to share the Chevy muscle machine with his one and only.
At first, Junie was a bit hesitant about entering the racing scene, but after her husband calmly took her on a short test run, she threw caution to the wind and received that exhilarating bite of racing adrenaline.
The first thing out of her mouth after completing her first quarter mile was, “When can I go back out?” Manny peered down into the Vega’s plexiglass window at his wide-eyed new racing partner and said, “Calm down Honey, you gotta wait ‘til the engine cools down, then you can go back out.”
The Lawrences’ ’70 Vega was originally purchased on the Big Island by Ralph Villabrille, who brought it to Kaua‘i and began restoring it for dragging at a 9.90 index. Before completing the restoration, Villabrille sold it to Gordon Kaluahine, who then passed it on in 1983 to his brother Fredstan.
In 1996, Manny Lawrence became the last owner to take title of the Vega. When his wife Junie took over the official position of commanding the Vega, she decided to name it “Tweety.”
Tweety has a 406 block engine with 5.38 gears, Tunnel Ram intake manifold, a Powerglide transmission, Dana rear end, a roller cam and AFR aluminum heads. The Vega did a 9.90 in the quarter mile at 131 miles per hour and the present pit crew consisting of Bobby Texiera, Barry Arruda, Joe Contrades and Derek Silva, keep it tightly maintained along with the stable of Lawrence’s other race cars.
After five years of racing Tweety the Vega, Junie Lawrence was given a whole new racing machine to rip and roar down the Mana strip. Gary Long, the master mechanic at Manny’s Repair completed work on his 1951 Henry J. Kaiser appropriately named Purple Haze because of its knock out color and flaming paint job. Long asked Junie if she wanted to master-blast her way down the Mana track in the newly constructed Haze. In 2007, Junie Lawrence received a smoking’ E.T. of 9.66 racing the muscle-bound Henry J. When she began her new racing adventure in the Purple Haze, she proudly passed the Vega on to her 18-year-old son Randy, who immediately changed its name from “Tweety” to “The Brat.”
Junie Lawrence recalls, “I drove that Henry J. for more than a year and it was a real rush, because it was a much faster car.” As fate would have it, in 2002, the gods of the race track dropped a malicious monkey wrench in front of that hell-bent-for-leather H-J.
On that fateful day there was a cleanup on the race track just before it was Junie’s turn to race. She recalled, “There was a bad spot on the track and once my tires hit it, the car suddenly began drifting toward the rail. I was going so fast that when I turned the wheel to avoid the rail, the front tire just corked under and the Purple Haze rolled over six times.”
Asked what she was thinking as the Purple Haze began its train wreck rolling routine she said, “I knew I was strapped in so I just had to go with the flow and hang on.”
Within moments the pit crew showed up and turned off the engine. Junie’s doctor just happened to be in the Lawrences’ pit that day and persuaded her to get an immediate check up. She walked away from the accident with only a bad case of bruised ribs that made it hard for her to laugh for about a month or so, but Junie’s first words to husband Manny as she walked away from the twisted Haze were, “What am I going to drive now?”
True enough, Junie could have taken up racing the rescued Vega again, but “The Brat” just seemed to be more at home with son Randy, so it came to Manny to find Junie a decent replacement car. Along came a 1966 Chevrolet El Camino and these days Junie keeps busy racing it until another Kaiser is built.
Not to worry Junie, because Manny and Gary are working steadily to complete an all new 1951 Henry J. that, in the confident words of Mr. Long, “will look better, and run even faster than the last Purple Haze, so, watch out Mana, she’s comin’ ba-a-a-a-aaack!”
Anyone wishing to share their classic auto may find out more information by contacting Richard Aki at 482-0688 or Harvey Maeda at 651-2813 or via e-mail at harveyskoi@juno.com
Watch video
footage online
of this Junie’s classic 1970 Chevy Vega in action as part of The Garden Island’s recurring series on Kaua‘i’s Classic Car Club and check back each week for a new classic.
•Leo DuBois, reporter and videographer, can be reached via news editor Nathan Eagle at 245-3681 (ext. 227) or via e-mail at ldubois@kauaipubco.com.
