About Jay’s H-Shack
My history with the H-Body cars goes back to 1974, when I was 6 years old. Our Dad started buying Vegas because of the oil crisis of the 70s. Dad owned no less than 5 Vegas and one Monza Towne Coupe through 1981 or so. My 3 older brothers all had a Vega for their first car. I always thought I would also get a Vega for my first car, but by the time I was16 the Vegas were not in our family anymore and I ended up with a 1975 Monte Carlo. The one that I really wanted was the 1976 Blue GT with white interior and manual 4 speed. As I recall, that was the last Vega that Dad owned. The picture is Dad standing next to it, headed out on a motorcycle ride.
Through the years I never forgot about the Vega. The first one I remember seeing for sale that I wanted to buy was in Ames, Iowa. This would have been somewhere around 1995. I don’t remember what color or year that it was, but I do remember that it was in outstanding condition and it had a cloth interior that I really liked (was a standard hatchback). At that time I did not have any extra money for a second car AND also no garage to keep it inside.
Life moved on… My oldest brother started doing a full restoration on a 1976 Cabriolet Vega somewhere around 2005. My love of these little cars was rekindled through his restoration and the many conversations that we had. In 2013 a very nice (actually immaculate, 13,00 original miles) 1976 standard Vega came up for sale on eBay. Long story short, I ended up buying this car and brought it to Iowa from Michigan. I still have this car today. Many know this car as “HULK”.
Many Vegas and Monzas went through my hands from 2013-2018. During this time I accumualated many parts and also dabbled in buying and selling used parts. In the summer of 2018 I got the awesome oppotunity to buy a Cosworth Vega (non running car, but solid body and frame). I never thought I would own a Cosworth Vega, but it happened.
The Cosworth Vega BUG/Obsession is real!! Without going into details, no less than 4 Cosworths have gone through my hands since 2018. 3 have stayed with me.
Around 2021 I started working with a local friend to get the H-Body Sill plates reproduced. It was during this time that I knew that I needed to setup a business, if I was going to sell them. It was also around this time that I started rebuilding sending units for H-Body enthusiasts. In the last two years I also started 3D printing a few plastic parts that were needed.
Jay’s H-Shack was established on January 1st, 2023. 2023 was a great year and now I am working on some more projects as we head into 2024 and beyond. I cannot thank my customers enough for supporting me and what I do!!