New with Monte Carlo SS

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wstefan20

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Sep 13, 2018
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Well, didn't expect to be an owner of a g-body anytime soon, but low-balled someone on craigslist for the heck of it and ended up getting a 1984 Monte Carlo SS!

I actually started off in the late w-body camp with a 2002 grand prix that I will sadly be parting ways with partly to finance this rebuild. I've dabbled with rebuilding both engines and transmissions, and have done some work with wiring, so I'm hoping this will not be above my skill set.

Granted, the car is rough. Apparently, it was left out in the elements after being parked for a long while with a blown 305 (no shocker here). The prior owner found her missing a fender, hood, front clip, and quite a few other items. Among them are the ac/heater panel, a lot of accessories in the engine bay, rear deck spoiler, etc.

Good news is that the "cancer" isn't bad. There's a few door panels that have a hole in them and have been painted to slow the rust, but there's not much bubbling anywhere, and the frame is in great shape for being in Missouri. The only part that's concerning is the forward passenger floor pan and maybe a spot or two in the trunk. Remember that missing hood and ac panel? Well, looks like rain made it's home here for some time, so while it hasn't eaten all the way through except for some in the forward portion, it's still nice and rusty.

The prior owner also bought and attempted an L31 swap, but gave up somewhere in the process. The concerning part is that the power steering pump hits the rack which is concerning.

Still has a TH350 unfortunately, which seems ok, but has a damaged transfer case (just missing a bit by the rear seal), so the driveshaft is out.

Looks like someone either did a really really bad paint job, or just used spraypaint, as the white paint is clumped and cracking in places. I'm concerned what I'll find underneath... I plan on stripping using Aircraft stripper, and going from there. Haven't done much body work, so I'm a bit in over my head as far as this goes, but hopefully I'll learn!

I'm convinced though that the real reason the owner gave up had nothing to do with the prior issues, but with the electrical. Someone has taken a toll on the wiring harness and most of the harness from the ecm onward has been removed or cut in places. Lucky for me, I am currently studying to be an electrical engineer and have done a few wiring harnesses for friends, so hopefully I'll sort that out.

Best news is that I have a friend with an 88 Monte SS so if I don't know what I'm missing, I can get a good idea from him.

Anyways, enough rambling, I'm stoked to be here, and hope to learn a bunch about g bodies and hopefully get this thing back on the road!

20180912_171330.jpg
 
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Longroof79

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
G-Body of the Month
Oct 14, 2008
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Gainesville, Fl
Welcome aboard!
Thanks for taking the time to post an introduction.
Looks like a cool project ahead. I'm sure the site will be very helpful in getting answers to your upcoming questions. Good luck!
 
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bob64

G-Body Guru
Mar 30, 2017
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Niagara Falls, Canada
Welcome to one of the best sites you'll find for G-bodies. You'll find everything from basic to exotic here.

Start yourself a build thread it will increase the help an in finding parts.

White paint has to be one of the easiest paints to de-nib, cut an buff until you do a repaint, just a suggestion!
 
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wstefan20

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Sep 13, 2018
35
38
18
Thanks for all the welcoming and support guys! I went ahead and moved this and updates some stuff onto THIS BUILD THREAD to keep things streamlined. Hopefully it'll be interesting! :mrgreen:
 

mclellan83

Comic Book Super Hero
Jun 27, 2017
4,205
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Pgh, PA
Welcome, looking forward to your process
 
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