1984 Monte Carlo ordered with the Z65 SS package. It is white with a blue stripe package. The interior is blue and white with bench seating and SS logos on the headrests. I am the 2nd owner of the car. It was purchased new by a resident of Wixom, MI. I purchased the car in the fall of 1987 from a Chevy dealer in my hometown with 28,000 miles. I had to park the car for 11 months from 11/87 to 10/88 when the insurance company found out how many points I had, and made my insurance unaffordable. The car was then driven daily for the next 3 years until I was sandwiched in an accident in the fall of 1991. There was minor front end damage and crushed rear bumper deck lid and right rear quarter panel.
I decided to repaint the car in 1991 and over the next 5 years it went from fixing the damage and repainting the car to an 80 percent restoration. I completely disassembled the car, removed the interior and all the glass. Entire front end was disassembled from the firewall forward. The car was just a shell on the frame with only the rear end left in. Before I went off the deep end with the complete disassembly, I had a small frame pull on the right rear frame, fit and replaced the right rear quarter panel.
In the fall of 1992 I purchased a new Chevy S-10 as my daily driver. Now, not needing to use the Monte as a daily driver is when I decided to restore the car. Parts were still completely available at that time from the Chevy dealer. I purchased new front and rear bumper covers, deck lid spoiler, license plate pocket, right rear brake light housing, front and rear impact absorbers, both front fenders only because they were so cheap (I still have the original fenders), R-L door skins because the bottom lips were beginning to rust, new cat whiskers, door seals, window seals, and a complete new SS body stripe kit from my Chevy dealer. I found a rust free deck lid from a junk yard, but I still have the damaged original deck lid with the cars code sticker on it. With the front end completely disassembled I sandblasted and repainted everything from the firewall forward even the headlight buckets, springs and adjuster screws. I installed all new suspension bushing kit, idler arm, inner and outer tie rod ends, sway bar bushing, rotors, calipers, pads and wheel bearings. After all the body and paint work was done I had a new windshield installed.
I removed the original 305 and replaced it with what should have been there in the 1st place: a Chevy performance ZZ4 350 with a Holley 650 and Hedman Shorty Headers. I also had the trans rebuilt.
The car has only been driven through 5 winters. Since being parked in 1991 this car has not been wet ever, never driven in the rain or on wet roads. I have only damp towel washed it and it has never been hose washed.
I have been cruising on the nice summer nights jammin the loud music with my son ever since he was old enough to see over the dash. What could be better!?
Well for him it would be the chance to drive the car when he gets his license, which I had no problem with. It was fun letting him drive us around. This car is no hellcat or anything like that, but when your 16 and have only driven little 4 cylinders, tapping the gas pedal and feeling that ZZ4 350 bark the rear tires when it hits 2nd gear, is pretty damn cool.
Well, when he turned 18, for his birthday I threw him the keys and said have fun. What the worst that can happen? So over the next couple of months that’s what he did. Go pick up a friend and go cruisin, my rule was the car didn’t like to be out in the dark! All was well until “IT” happened! Without getting into all the gory details “IT” was the trans letting loose and allowing the engine to freewheel at peak HP. All told, the trans was scrap and 2 lifters in the motor collapsed.
Silver lining is I got to redo some things that were getting tired since the last time I did it. The motor was taken apart and cleaned. I honed the cylinders, all new bearings and rings, with a new Comp Cams Mutha Thumpr Cam, magnum pushrods along with a set of new lifters. Cleaned and scrubbed the heads inside and out, new oil pump and high volume water pump installed. I topped it off with a Holley 670 street avenger carb. I had the headers sandblasted and re-ceramic coated. Put in a duel exhaust trans cross member and 2.5” exhaust flowing through Flowmasters 40 series mufflers. Trans rebuilt and beefed back up. I removed the rear end, sandblasted, painted and rebuilt with a Detroit Eaton Trutac and Mosher 28 spline axle shaft. Put the rear end back up with UMI performance control arm kit with new springs and shocks. New rear brake cylinders, pads and drums with new brake lines front to back. New front calipers, pads, rotors, and wheel bearings. This is all now sitting on a new set of Cooper Cobras just waiting to go for a spin.
So throwing my son the keys on his 18th was a great decision, because it gave me the excuse to do all the above!!
We’ll see you out cruisin on nice summer nights
I decided to repaint the car in 1991 and over the next 5 years it went from fixing the damage and repainting the car to an 80 percent restoration. I completely disassembled the car, removed the interior and all the glass. Entire front end was disassembled from the firewall forward. The car was just a shell on the frame with only the rear end left in. Before I went off the deep end with the complete disassembly, I had a small frame pull on the right rear frame, fit and replaced the right rear quarter panel.
In the fall of 1992 I purchased a new Chevy S-10 as my daily driver. Now, not needing to use the Monte as a daily driver is when I decided to restore the car. Parts were still completely available at that time from the Chevy dealer. I purchased new front and rear bumper covers, deck lid spoiler, license plate pocket, right rear brake light housing, front and rear impact absorbers, both front fenders only because they were so cheap (I still have the original fenders), R-L door skins because the bottom lips were beginning to rust, new cat whiskers, door seals, window seals, and a complete new SS body stripe kit from my Chevy dealer. I found a rust free deck lid from a junk yard, but I still have the damaged original deck lid with the cars code sticker on it. With the front end completely disassembled I sandblasted and repainted everything from the firewall forward even the headlight buckets, springs and adjuster screws. I installed all new suspension bushing kit, idler arm, inner and outer tie rod ends, sway bar bushing, rotors, calipers, pads and wheel bearings. After all the body and paint work was done I had a new windshield installed.
I removed the original 305 and replaced it with what should have been there in the 1st place: a Chevy performance ZZ4 350 with a Holley 650 and Hedman Shorty Headers. I also had the trans rebuilt.
The car has only been driven through 5 winters. Since being parked in 1991 this car has not been wet ever, never driven in the rain or on wet roads. I have only damp towel washed it and it has never been hose washed.
I have been cruising on the nice summer nights jammin the loud music with my son ever since he was old enough to see over the dash. What could be better!?
Well for him it would be the chance to drive the car when he gets his license, which I had no problem with. It was fun letting him drive us around. This car is no hellcat or anything like that, but when your 16 and have only driven little 4 cylinders, tapping the gas pedal and feeling that ZZ4 350 bark the rear tires when it hits 2nd gear, is pretty damn cool.
Well, when he turned 18, for his birthday I threw him the keys and said have fun. What the worst that can happen? So over the next couple of months that’s what he did. Go pick up a friend and go cruisin, my rule was the car didn’t like to be out in the dark! All was well until “IT” happened! Without getting into all the gory details “IT” was the trans letting loose and allowing the engine to freewheel at peak HP. All told, the trans was scrap and 2 lifters in the motor collapsed.
Silver lining is I got to redo some things that were getting tired since the last time I did it. The motor was taken apart and cleaned. I honed the cylinders, all new bearings and rings, with a new Comp Cams Mutha Thumpr Cam, magnum pushrods along with a set of new lifters. Cleaned and scrubbed the heads inside and out, new oil pump and high volume water pump installed. I topped it off with a Holley 670 street avenger carb. I had the headers sandblasted and re-ceramic coated. Put in a duel exhaust trans cross member and 2.5” exhaust flowing through Flowmasters 40 series mufflers. Trans rebuilt and beefed back up. I removed the rear end, sandblasted, painted and rebuilt with a Detroit Eaton Trutac and Mosher 28 spline axle shaft. Put the rear end back up with UMI performance control arm kit with new springs and shocks. New rear brake cylinders, pads and drums with new brake lines front to back. New front calipers, pads, rotors, and wheel bearings. This is all now sitting on a new set of Cooper Cobras just waiting to go for a spin.
So throwing my son the keys on his 18th was a great decision, because it gave me the excuse to do all the above!!
We’ll see you out cruisin on nice summer nights
