Can anyone tell me?

[gotmonte]

Can anyone tell me a place to find out how to put on weatherstripping and interior trim parts for my 85 monte SS?

I would like to do the work myself but I dont know how and what parts to buy.

I seen a website, Mikesmontes.com and they have a ton of interior trim parts but I dont know what is what and how to tell if I need it and if I do, how to actually install it.

All the weatherstripping was taken off the monte before I bought it so I KNOW it needs that, but I dont know what the hell I am doing and would rather learn than pay someone to do it.

Thank you for the suggestions ahead of time.

~Steve~

 

[fodoimp]

putting in weatherstripping is really no big deal you just have to be patient and make sure every thing goes in straight and isnt pinched after you install it.

First off tell us more about your car
I know its an 85 monte ss but is it t-top

let me know and Ill get you all the part numbers you need and where to order them.

there are a few different companies
metro supersoft
soffseal
steele rubber

You can even call any of them and they can really help you out.

 

[gotmonte]

Thank you for your quick response and help.

It is a hardtop 305ci 1985 Monte Carlo SS. Automatic (but I dont think they came standard anyways). I am unsure what size rear it has now. Someone said it might be a 8.5? I dont know. I am a camaro guy for years. I had a 77, 87, 01, 69 camaro. Done them all up. But as for G bodies. I always liked them but never messed with them. After my 87 Iroc blew a motor, I gave up on cars. I came across an 85 standard Monte Carlo with the 355ci built and a th350 with the 4.56's for a steal and it rekindled my love for cars. I jumped on it but then after some jerk cut me off BADLY I crashed it. Now that I bought this SS I am trying to learn about them.

I have always paid a shop to work on my cars since I am not really a mechanically gifted person and I am scared to try and fix something, break it and have to pay Double for the job. But with this car, I am gonna learn. I dont care how badly I mess up, I want to do this myself. My wife even wants to lend a hand! She is the manual reader and I am more of the "Where do I smash this hammer, Babe?" type of person. LOL.

The car doesnt have weather stripping. It is missing Door vents. The dash pad has three crack in it. The doors rattle when I close them (I guess from the lack of weather stripping. On the B Pillar ( I am guessing its called the B Pillar. Its the part the door closes on where the seatbelts come out from ) is missing some interior molding part. Unsure what it is called. The windshield trim is faded and cracking paint. The console where the ashtray door flips up is broken off the actual console. It still lays there, but it isnt connected cause it cracked off. The console itself other than that is in very good shape. The headliner is in great shape but has faded to a light colored orange. The back speakers are missing the covers. Really, thats it. I mean mechanically it needs work and I have everything for it. But interior wise.. it needs some attending and I would like to install all the parts myself. I hate to pay someone top dollar for a part that just needs some screws. Ya know what I mean?

The car was purchased from Burlington, Iowa. I had it shipped to Suffolk County, New York. The paint scheme I am thinking of is Pearl White (unsure which shade of pearl yet) and a single candy red colored stripe up the middle of the car. I dont like the monte's with two stripes. Its too much. I do like the monte's without a stripe but I want this car to stand out from the rest. If I do candy red, it will tie in the red interior. I dont want to paint the entire car red. Monte's dont look right in red to ME atleast. If I dont do candy red stripe, then I MAY do a graphite metallic grey stripe up the middle. I will then paint the SS wheels graphite grey only inside of the spokes. Leaving the outside of the spokes the stock colored grey. I think that might make the wheels stand out some. Do some BFG KDW II tires in the biggest size I can fit out back. I am unsure which size tires fit these wheels. What are the wheels anyways? 15x8.5? If so, maybe some 255/50/15's out back and 245/50/15s up front? I would love to run 285 or 295 but I dont feel like mini-tubing the rear. I dont mind beating the fender well's in and rolling the lips but to actually cut the car up to fit it, I dont think i want to go that route.

As for suspension. I will do Eibach Pro-Kit springs and QA1 12 way adjustables all around. Do a 1" front swaybar and some lower control arms and a panhard rod spherical end which is adjustable as well.

As for bushings. I am unsure if I want to go the route of polyurathane or not.

The crossmember will have to be customized due to the 700R4 going in.

As for exhaust. I have the Hustler Long Tubes 1 7/8 now and will probably mate it up with a 3 inch true dual with magnaflow bullets dumped before the axle. Unless the shop can get the 3 inch up over the axle in which than I would go fully out the back.

The interior I will just have shampoo'ed and cleaned. Its in pretty decent shape and the carpet suprisingly is pretty clean and un-torn. I am not a big fan of red interior but for cost sake, I will just keep it. I would love to put in TA leather seats or Z06 seats but I dont know if they fit and if they did, I would have to change out the carpet and the rear seats as well as door panels, armrest, console and dashpad. That right there is BIIIIIIG money and I dont want to go there.

Let me know what you guys think of my plans. I know it will be a long project but in the end it should turn out pretty nice.

As for the hood. I am torn between shaker hood and 3 inch fiberglass cowl. Does anyone know where to find a shaker hood that fits this car?

Thanks again in advance!

~Steve~

 

[87LS/88SS]

Nothing against places like mikesmontes and dixie monte carlo, but I would use those places as a last resort unless you want to pay a middle man fee. You can still find weather stripping at the dealership, but be prepared to pay a pretty penny. I bought weather stripping (inner and outers for both doors) for my 87LS from a dealership, and it ran me around $200. A buddy of mine bought a aftermarket set from A1 Auto Parts for about half of what I paid and he was happy with what he got.

 

[drogg1]

Don't use dixiemontecarlodepot. They ****ed me over. Bought a set of front speakers and rear speaker adapter plates. They lost my order and after two months i contacted them and they finally shipped. I only received the speakers. They had charged me the full amount for bot the speakers and adapters and then they charged me AGAIN, yes again, for the speakers. I am about to file a complaint with them if they do not immediately refund me.

However, I've never used mikesmontes so I cannot give a recommendation them other than they seem to have low prices on weatherstripping.

 

[gotmonte]

Thank you everyone for the good advice.

I DO appreciate all the help since I am a noob to the monte scene.

I cant wait to get this car up and running. It will be a LONG process but a process I feel in the end will be well worth it. Just gonna be another money pit my wife is not crazy about. LOL. A 5 month little girl at home now and the wife and I decided to have ANOTHER child, so money is gonna be tight. The babysitter ALONE cost's me 80 bucks a day!

 

[gotmonte]

Thank you everyone for the good advice.

I DO appreciate all the help since I am a noob to the monte scene.

I cant wait to get this car up and running. It will be a LONG process but a process I feel in the end will be well worth it. Just gonna be another money pit my wife is not crazy about. LOL. A 5 month little girl at home now and the wife and I decided to have ANOTHER child, so money is gonna be tight. The babysitter ALONE cost's me 80 bucks a day!

 

[Phoenix]

I think you've been helped, but I'll give you some info just in case.

I have both a t-top and a hard top SSs. I have replaced all the weatherstripping on the black '87 t-top car, but not yet replaced any of the stripping on the hardtop. Even so, I know how it needs to be done on the hardtop. The parts that go around the top where the windows seal up need to be put on with full adhesive. It is the black 3M stuff. The seals slide into tracks. You put ample amounts of the adhesive into the tracks and then put the seals in and slide them back and forth through the tracks to get a complete seal before it sets up. Don't do the whole piece all at once. Only do the front or back half first, and then do the other half. That is to keep the adhesive from setting up on you before you finish. I recommend doing the front half first and then doing the back half. I also recommend immediately afterward, rolling up your window all the way with the door closed to make sure the window seats correctly and pushes the back part of the seal in place before the adhesive fully sets.

The doors are easy. Only the ends along the top get adhesive. You can use little dabs of it along the sides and bottom if you want to, but mostly, those little white things just push into the door and hold in place.

I've only had experience with genuine GM seals. I've heard bad things about aftermarket alternatives. I cannot confirm or deny them though because I've never used them.

 

[g.body.passion]

I ordered a pair of roof rail seals for my Monte from "AM Autoparts". The material was decent but they were too long. Their customer service is entirely online, so communication can be a challenge. What I could have explained in one conversation took over a month and at least 20 emails. I, like many others, am still trying to find quality aftermarket weatherstripping.

Has anyone tried: Original Parts Group's "AMS5400"?

There is also an eBay dealer called "Retro-Resto" selling products made by "Trim Parts". They claim, "All items are manufactured using the original GM tooling under licensing direct from GM". Has anyone installed these? Thanks.

 

[cdg1984]

You realize this thread is almost a year old, right? Not to be a dick or anything, but im pretty sure he got it figured out by now, hehe.