MONTE CARLO My 1st post

[doood]

That is a good car. Solid. Way pretty too. Plasti-dipped wheels look good.

 

[mclellan83]

Welcome, good looking ride. Just put a 383 in myself

 

[ShonCobain]

Welcome to the GBodyForum!
Your Monte looks to be in good shape. It's nice to see you getting on the little issues right away. That's what makes an "OK" car a nice car. There's plenty of cheap and easy things you can do to bring your ride to the next level. The 383 is always a good strong power plant if your looking to keep things "old school" looking. Just remember, you'll want to be sure your 200/4R will support the torque the 383 puts out. (ask me how I know) I went with a TH400 with mine as I still have freeway gears, but will switch to a 4 speed automatic once the rear end is replace with a bit more of a street gear.
You have joined a very good forum with a lot of knowledgeable guys (and gals) here to help with all of your questions. From mild to wild, we have it all.
Good luck with your build.

Thanks for the feedback. The main decision behind the 383, I have access to one at an amazing deal. Leaning with the 5.3, my GXP was super reliable when it came to engine performance. Brakes and suspension is my first focus. 😎

 

[ShonCobain]

Welcome, good looking ride. Just put a 383 in myself

What kind of trans & rear end

 

[mclellan83]

What kind of trans & rear end

Honestly not sure on the rear but it has posi which the 84's I don't believe had so was upgraded at some point, TH350 trans

 

[doood]

What kind of trans & rear end

These components below (and a few cans of spray paint) will upgrade the existing rear to the extent possible... Obviously the aluminum cover isn't necessary. That is what I would do with a 350hp SBC.

I had the local transmission shop rebuild my 7.5" rear in 2021. Rebuilding a rear isn't simple, but many here have done it.

The way the 7.5" rears fail is hooking with gummy tires on a hard launch - axel snaps and the wheel/axel walks out of the housing.

It would be interesting to see how long the stock THM250 or THM350 lasts behind the 383; I think that depends on you. I kick myself for giving away a 20,000 mile THM250 back in 2021.

 

[SS_Malibu]

My TH350 lasted 200 miles after I put in my 383. It had a mild build on it maybe a couple thousand miles previous. It ran great until the 383 went in. I’m guessing it didn’t like seeing nearly 500 ft. lbs. of torque every time I took the car out. So far the TH400 is working great.

 

[ShonCobain]

These components below (and a few cans of spray paint) will upgrade the existing rear to the extent possible... Obviously the aluminum cover isn't necessary. That is what I would do with a 350hp SBC.

I had the local transmission shop rebuild my 7.5" rear in 2021. Rebuilding a rear isn't simple, but many here have done it.

The way the 7.5" rears fail is hooking with gummy tires on a hard launch - axel snaps and the wheel/axel walks out of the housing.

It would be interesting to see how long the stock THM250 or THM350 lasts behind the 383; I think that depends on you. I kick myself for giving away a 20,000 mile THM250 back in 2021.


View attachment 236036

I definitely wouldn’t run the stock 200R4, I’ve seen guys do upgraded input shafts. I’m not going to split hairs, because I don’t want to do it twice. 😎

 

[doood]

I definitely wouldn’t run the stock 200R4, I’ve seen guys do upgraded input shafts. I’m not going to split hairs, because I don’t want to do it twice. 😎

You have the 200R 4-speed in an '84 base monte carlo? Did the car come with that? Hmm. Mine had TH250 3-speed. You might have a pretty reasonable rear gear ratio, simplifying the upgrades to the rear.

 

[ShonCobain]

You have the 200R 4-speed in an '84 base monte carlo? Did the car come with that? Hmm. Mine had TH250 3-speed. You might have a pretty reasonable rear gear ratio, simplifying the upgrades to the rear.

I didn’t check the original docs, but that’s what’s in it now at least. I’m going to dig deeper. If I go 5.3, theirs no point in wasting time & money. You never really know what some ppl have done until it’s your problem to fix. lol