New Member (1986 Monte Carlo SS) Father/ Son Project

[Texas82GP]

Welcome to the site by the way, from Houston. Once you get going on the build, consider starting a build thread. Lots of us would enjoy following your progress. I know I will. It looks like you have a great project. How are the body and frame? Are they clean or do you have the dreaded rust to contend with. Being born and raised in Houston it is shocking to me the kind of rust some of our friends on here have to contend with.

 

[Mackin_1992]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I was born and raised in Northern WI, so I am all too familiar with rust and what it can do vehicles....

The body and frame are in very good shape, there is no rust to contend with on the body really except for in the driver side rear wheel well where the sheet metal is tack welded together being swollen from corrosion between the sheet metal. Aside from the that everything is in great shape including the doors. There is some very light surface rusting on the front frame rails where the engine used to sit because the previous owner removed the engine a year before I purchased the car and it did not have a hood on it so the weather got to where it usually wouldn't. I am pretty excited to go through it and intend to pull the body from the frame, sandblast the frame, paint it and then go through it from the bottom up. I hope to start the restoration this winter as I know all to well it is a slow process that usually get placed on hold multiple times during the build for financial reasons.

My friends at work all tell me to not waste my money on a G Body because they are garbage cars, but I love them....

 

[565bbchevy]

I will say that most issues people have with carbs are basically lack of knowledge and proper tuning tools my last carb was a Quickfuel 1150 and my current carb is a Holley Gen 3 1250 Dominator both of these carbs have worked flawlessly for street driving, I have been stuck in traffic before sitting there idling like everyone else in their daily driver's but just a little bit louder.
As far as BBC's running hot, aluminum radiators and electric fans will do the job and hot starts can be resolved by using a remote starter solenoid.
And when you open the hood nothing fills up an engine bay like a BBC.

 

[Mackin_1992]

Very Nice!

That is beautiful engine, congrats. I agree with you that people's problems with carbs can generally boil down to a lack of knowledge. I do not possess knowledge about carbs, but my dad does and I am hoping I can learn from him. My dad's Monte Carlo did not have electric fans which was probably the issue in regards to overheating. He had originally built it to be a strip car, but it never made it there and he ended up using it as a street machine which I'm sure was the root of a lot of his issues he had.

Being that you own and operate a BBC as a street machine what kind of recommendations would make as far as TQ and HP that would make car have good street manners, while also not being a complete pooch?

 

[565bbchevy]

Being that you own and operate a BBC as a street machine what kind of recommendations would make as far as TQ and HP that would make car have good street manners, while also not being a complete pooch?

I doubt any decent BBC is going to be a complete pooch the main thing is having a good flowing set of heads and properly sized roller cam and if possible build something with more cubic inches that will also make it more streetable.
I consider mine to have good street manners considering I have 565 cubic inches but it might be on the edge for some people but it idles fine, doesn't overheat and doesn't stumble or load up and has more power than I can ever realistically use on the street but the fun factor is off the charts.

 

[Mackin_1992]

I doubt any decent BBC is going to be a complete pooch the main thing is having a good flowing set of heads and properly sized roller cam and if possible build something with more cubic inches that will also make it more streetable.
I consider mine to have good street manners considering I have 565 cubic inches but it might be on the edge for some people but it idles fine, doesn't overheat and doesn't stumble or load up and has more power than I can ever realistically use on the street but the fun factor is off the charts.

I am definitely looking into the route of purchasing a 454 and then stroking and boring to a 496. The cost difference to stroke it vs replace it with the original rotating assemble is very close and for that reason I figure I might as well pick up some extra "cubes". Beyond that I definitely would like a "Lopey/Lumpy" idle without passing into the realm of it coughing/ stalling at idle. I have a set of Hooker Super Comp Full Length Headers with 3" Collectors and true 3" dual exhaust, so getting the spent gases out of the engine won't be a problem. That being said I am still trying to figure out what a reasonable set of heads should be used without breaking the bank. Any recommendations on some good flowing heads that are under $1500/ set? Ideally I would like to stay even under $1500 for the set of heads.......

 

[565bbchevy]

$1500 is not much of a budget for good flowing heads since I prefer aluminum but you might be able to find a set of used Dart's or AFR's or possibly another name brand but try to keep it around high 200's or low 300's for the CC's I feel oval ports will probably work best for this size engine in a heavy car.

 

[Mackin_1992]

$1500 is not much of a budget for good flowing heads since I prefer aluminum but you might be able to find a set of used Dart's or AFR's or possibly another name brand but try to keep it around high 200's or low 300's for the CC's I feel oval ports will probably work best for this size engine in a heavy car.

Yeah I agree it is definitely a tight budget to work with. Are there any good stock heads that flow pretty good on a BBC, maybe that is something I should consider?

 

[Injectedcutty]

Dang, just now seeing this. I'm also on the BBC side of things. Yeah LS engines are the new SBC go-to, but like you said there I nothing like the torque of a BBC.

My brother in law who I'm close to (he is the main help for me on my cutlass build) who has a 68 Camaro pro street car with a 468 in it. That car is a blast to drive, sounds mean as hell, and definitely turns heads. His is very sentimental as his dad was almost finished with the build and unfortunately the car fell on him sending him upstairs(RIP). We have done a lot to it since he inherited it in 2009.

My 2 cents....go BBC, you won't regret it. Get a good carb like 565bbchevy said, tune it, aluminum radiator and electric fans and it will be a blast to drive!

 

[565bbchevy]

Yeah I agree it is definitely a tight budget to work with. Are there any good stock heads that flow pretty good on a BBC, maybe that is something I should consider?

The 049 and 781 oval ports are the best flowing stock heads with upgraded valves but still don't compare to what the aftermarket has to offer and will be the limiting factor on a 496 that wants to make power.
Maybe work on your frame off restoration and slowing put some money away for the engine.