Actually the vega motor wasn't that bad, as long as you didn't overheat them. I bought a new 72 that I dogged the hell out of but never ran it hot. I put 120k hard miles on it.
The 3.0 chrysler motor gets my vote. I replaced more heads on those POS. I think the Nissan diesel trucks of the 80's were a joke too. They didn't have enough power to pull a fat girl off a stool,if you greased the seat!