87 Monte SS snowball build

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gar732

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Mar 3, 2017
22
11
3
Hello all, I though I'd start a thread to keep track of my progress and help keep me motivated. It will be a slow build since my work schedule is terrible and there are plenty of other responsibilities to get in the way but the idea is to continually do something to the car even if it's only an hour at a time. I have to say I've been impressed with this forum, having been on other forums of various subject matter I often find people complain about questions people ask more than help. Glad to have found a friendly and helpful community here. Anyway on to the car:

A little background first. This car belonged to my father-in-law, I found it for him in NY almost 10yrs ago. It had 46,000 miles on it at the time and was in very good shape, clean and all original. He drove a Monte Carlo the entire time I knew him and this was his daily driver. It was in great shape but up close you could see signs of it's age and there was some damage on the quarter where an old lady backed into him. He felt bad for her so it didn't get repaired. We'd talked about putting it up for a while and taking care of the body work and giving her a fresh paint job but never got around to it.

Sadly almost 4yrs ago he passed away. He developed cancer and it ran through him like a freight train. He came to a point that he know he wasn't going to make it and told me he want me to have to car so that I can fix it up like we talked about doing. I drove the car to his funeral and it's sat until just recently. It was a year before I got the car and at the time we were getting ready to move then came another child so it sat for much longer than I would have liked. There is still plenty on my plate but I just couldn't let the car sit any longer. Here is a pic of it current state.

IMG_1912.JPG
 
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gar732

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Mar 3, 2017
22
11
3
Originally the thought was to do some suspension and brake work and get her on the road, then work on the body little by little and give her some fresh paint. Eventually I'd like to replace the engine with something with a little more impressive then the stock 305. Well, after digging into the car a little better I found that that approach won't be possible. Like I mentioned before this was my father-in-laws daily driver and in the northeast that mean quite a bit of rust. Here is a little of what I will be dealing with
IMG_1917.JPG


As you might've guessed this project has snowballed quite rapidly and will now be a frame off restomod, hence the title. Every time I look into something its just another step added to the list. I'm only going to do this once so the plan is to do it right the first time.
 
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ed1948

Royal Smart Person
Aug 6, 2016
1,286
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Quinte West, Ontario
Thanks for posting. I'll be sure to follow your progress. I'm working on my 86 SS.
 

gar732

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Mar 3, 2017
22
11
3
I want the car to handle well but I will let likely never make it to a track. It is tempting to overbuild this thing, especially after reading through the builds on here, but I have to be realistic. This will be a budget build when it comes to parts and upgrades and I really won't need all the bells and whistles. The idea is just to build a car that handles well and is fun to drive. I worked at a body shop for over decade and I've restore a few cars so the body will not be left wanting for anything.

I've picked up some parts to get things rolling and so far I have blazer spindles, new blazer calipers pads and rotors, I picked up some southside machine upper control arms, and a parts car that will donate its frame and some panels. Now that the snow has finally melted I will be getting the body off the new frame and I'll start stripping it down for refinishing. That's pretty much where I'm at now with it. Like I said before I want to do this right the fist time so if anyone has any suggestions as I go please let me know.
 
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L67ss

Royal Smart Person
Dec 8, 2016
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Don't feel bad on the build taking you awhile if it takes you a bit. I started building my cutlass in 2004 and it is a WAYS off. Sorry for your loss. Its not often you hear of in-laws getting along so well. The fact that with his issues he still thought to give you the car shows how much he thought of you. If you get discouraged just remember that he apparently had faith that you could do it :)
 
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gar732

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Mar 3, 2017
22
11
3
Don't feel bad on the build taking you awhile if it takes you a bit. I started building my cutlass in 2004 and it is a WAYS off. Sorry for your loss. Its not often you hear of in-laws getting along so well. The fact that with his issues he still thought to give you the car shows how much he thought of you. If you get discouraged just remember that he apparently had faith that you could do it :)

Thanks, we bumped heads a few times but at the end of the day we could always kick back and have a beer. We always knew we'd have each other's back for anything. He really was a good guy. One up side is that I still have plenty to do with the new frame so I can still drive the car a bit, even if it's not a head turner right now. Though I need to sort out the brakes, it doesn't like to stop right now.
 

gar732

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Mar 3, 2017
22
11
3
Spongy, I'm hoping it's just air in the lines. The last snow storm we had had prevented me from moving things around so I can get it in to the garage and check it out. I have no clue the last time the brakes were worked on but it stoped better than it does now when I drove it for the funeral. The brake light is also on and the ebrake pedal is frozen up. There are all types of gremlins since it sat so long.
 

L67ss

Royal Smart Person
Dec 8, 2016
1,350
420
63
Have you checked the fluid level? Also weakened rubber lines can cause it
 
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