1973 Monte Carlo S

Hi Folks! First off, let me tell y'all about my first Monte, and how my love affair got started. Way back in early 1989 I needed a safe, reliable car to commute back and forth to college in Michigan, so I looked in a local north Chicago suburb newspaper and found a small ad for a 73 Monte, so my mom and I went to take a look. I didn't even know what a 73 Monte looked like! But this was a super nice original Monte with 104,000 miles on it and everything factory and original, down to the perfect midnight green paint and interior with swivel buckets and sport guages and suspension, and an electric sunroof!! The price was right so I drove it home. It served as my daily driver for 6 years, till the day it was stolen from my driveway in Huntsville, Alabama in July 1994. That was a major bummer, and I'm still the owner of it and still looking for it (or rather, dreaming of finding it). It was the coolest looking car I've ever owned, but more importantly, the most reliable and comfortable one as well. Here's one of the very few pics I have of it:




So after many years of missing a Monte, I bought a ragged out but unrusted and unwrecked 84 SC/CL with a fairly new 350 in it, then I immediately had to buy a new transmission. I wanted a basis for a hot rod, so the mechanicals and body were important. Anyway, it wasn't the same, since 4th gens are simply inferior to 2nd gens, in looks, handling and style. So I decided to get another 73. I found one in January, 2007 from a member of the yahoo group's A-body showcase, and I bought that member's project car. It turns out that though it was a rust-free example from Arizona (very important to me), and it had a lot of nice features (an S instead of a Landau, full vinyl roof, sport guages and suspension, 2.73:1 posi, swivel buckets, Rally wheels, and new 454), it had tons of small problems, like lots of leaks, missing parts, things not put together properly, missing body bolts, etc. So I've spent lots of time trying to correct these problems, and slowly it's coming together. Of course, it's been quite expensive tracking down missing exterior trim pieces, interior switches, mechanical pieces, new steering gearbox, pump, etc. But the car is really exciting to drive, and with a mildly built 454, it has quite a bit of power. The new 12:1 steering box I installed from Lee Engineering is awesome, and makes it easy to handle all the fish-tailing when I stomp on the gas. The interior is also mint and original, but the carpet and front seat covers are new.

Here are some pics of it, mostly from a local cruise a month ago:

Imageshack is running really slow right now, so I'll post more later.

Nice damn monte!!

I love those Anson Sprints. I started to buy those instead of what I have now. JB

Thanks for the props, guys! Here are some more pics:

JB2wheeler wrote:I love those Anson Sprints. I started to buy those instead of what I have now. JB

OK, am I blind? Where are the Ansen Sprints? I see Corvette Rally's...

What size are those wheels and tires by the way?

$4.99 for 98? its $3.60 here for 98.

HYDRO I THINK THATS A LITRE NOT A GALLON, AND YES THEM ARE THE CHROME RALLIES LIKE I HAVE, NOT ANSEN SPRINTS

Yes, they are Rallies, with chromed rims and "disc brake" caps.

The gasoline here is sold in liters, and the price equates to roughly $10/gal. They use a different system of calculating octane, too. 95=87 (regular) and 98=92 (super).

I never realized the underside of your hood is painted too. I love that! It's one of those little extras I want done when my 76 gets its FINAL paint job.

Oidar wrote:

JB2wheeler wrote:I love those Anson Sprints. I started to buy those instead of what I have now. JB

OK, am I blind? Where are the Ansen Sprints? I see Corvette Rally's...

What size are those wheels and tires by the way?

All Right, rub it in. I was in a hurry. JB

JiMi_DRiX wrote:I never realized the underside of your hood is painted too. I love that! It's one of those little extras I want done when my 76 gets its FINAL paint job.

Yes, it does look nice. Unfortunately due to poor surface preparation, I'm going to have to repaint it. In fact, I'm going to have to repaint the whole car because the previous owner didn't even use primer prior to painting. It looks pretty good in the pictures and even close up but it's not right and this car deserves to be done correctly. That project will have to wait a few years, however, since I want to restore my 84 first, then the sunroof y-code 74. This car will have to take a back seat for a while. Your yellow one is nice, however, and since it's still got the original paint everywhere, I'd much prefer to keep that instead of repainting. I love cruising that car! It's a relief to know the stock 350 doesn't have the power to burn rubber, so I'm not constantly tempted like in the big block cars.

Oidar wrote:

JB2wheeler wrote:I love those Anson Sprints. I started to buy those instead of what I have now. JB

OK, am I blind? Where are the Ansen Sprints? I see Corvette Rally's...

What size are those wheels and tires by the way?

Oh, I'm sorry Gene! I completely overlooked your questions about the size. The wheels are 7" in front and 8" in the rear, and the tires currently are 215/65 in front and 275/60 in the rear. Personally I wouldn't have made the fronts such "skinnies" (I know, they're not really skinny, but still...). They negatively affect handling. There's a lot of weight on the front, and such small tires don't handle as well. I can't throw the car around as much as I'd like. On the other hand, I really like the feel and looks of the rear. If I could, I'd put 275s on the front too. I think the widest I can go with a 7" rim is 255/60, correct?

I got a 295/60 on a 7" wheel it looks like a ballon tho. These were racing slicks and used at 15psi so that helped with the balloning.

Thanks, that's nice to know. I don't think I'll be putting tires that large on a 7" wheel, but it seems a 275/60 would fit on them pretty well, right? What's the largest to fit on an 8" wheel, I wonder?