BUILD THREAD 86 MCSS - Rejuvenation Project

[ed1948]

I bought my 4 owner, non winter driven, 90k mile, very well preserved Monte August 28th, 2016 after looking at 1/2 dozen G Bodies. I joined this forum around the time I started my search. My Wife OK'd the purchase mainly because it was in good condition and needed nothing(My Wife understood this to mean $0.00 would need to be spent on top of the purchase cost.) Well, the car is good, actually extremely fine, but you know us car nuts always feel something can or need to be improved on our rides. This will need to be low budget.
As the project evolves I will post updates.
A little background: For the last 12 years my hobby project/show car

has been this 5 owner, high mileage 1995 VW GTI Vr6.

I've always had a hankering to get a V8 again. My old school friend has a 1972 442 and my GTI did not fit in with the muscle car scene. People remarked, "Is that your Son's car?" My other friend's Son bought this beauty pictured below and it kick started my search for an affordable US vintage muscle car

 

[axisg]

hmmm. I have always had a soft spot for a 2nd gen Scirocco or VR6 Corrado. You old ride is lacking the standard S.Ont "speed holes" AKA rust ! That must have taken quite the effort

 

[clean8485]

Thanks for starting this thread Ed. Keep the updates coming.

 

[Opie Knievel]

Glad to see you started your rebuild thread. I'm looking forward to seeing you take your SS from good to great.

As far as Volkswagens go, I don't have the patience to ever build one. They are my least favorite cars to work on. I've only ever messed with the newer ones though. Yours looks pretty sharp.

 

[ed1948]

Here are pics of G bodies I checked out during my search.
Initially I wanted a plain, cheap Cutlass to convert to 442 style handling and appearance qualities.

A few cars suffered dings and bruises while being stored. Other cars were never stored properly. One had been parked 20 years. A few were not pic worthy. Some had been used as golfing targets.(many golf ball sized dents on the hood and body - an easy fix according to the sellers). The $300 paint jobs...!!

The last car I saw.......It had honest wear and tear and the best body/chassis of them all. Single handedly raising the resale value of G bodies everywhere! I paid more than I planned...but......you get what you pay for.

 

[ed1948]

Before:

and...during....

Whole bunch more 'during pics' coming up..it gets messier partially due to the amount of rustproofing sprayed everywhere!

 

[ed1948]

The owner of this nicely modified show car corrected me when I asked him details of his "Cutlass". This was the actual car that sealed the deal to search for Montes.

 

[clean8485]

Hi Ed. That's my friend's car. Wait until you see it next spring!

 

[ed1948]

Got some goodies from Rockauto and TDot.

 

[ed1948]

I've asked on the MCSS forums as well.
How can one lift one side of the body to separate the frame for bushing renewal?
-the rocker panel are not wide enough to safely place a 2x4 lengthways
-limited room between frame and rocker panel.
-can the bottom of the body be used to lift 4" while the opposite side has been loosened slightly
-there appear to be some reinforcements at some sections and lap joints near the edges - good to lift?