Jump to content

My '70 SS454 build


overdrive

Recommended Posts

I got more history on this 1970 Monte yesterday. Some of you have read part of this before. I apologize for the redundant parts. I did a title search back to the original owner, not long after I bought it in Kansas in 2008. I hadn't yet found the build sheet at that time. It showed the car had 4 previous owners in Kansas and that it was in Kansas City, MO before that. I did a MO search and got more than I hoped. It had one owner in MO, and he bought it new in June of '72. But what I found more unusual was that it also showed the car was originally shipped from the Van Nuys plant in LA to the Leeds plant in KC, instead of to a dealer. I wondered why it was sent there and remained there for 5 months before being bought by Pappas Chevrolet in June of '70. I've since found out that Montes weren't assembled at the Leeds plant until the '71 model year.

 

After I found the build sheet, it showed the same and more. The car was sent to Leeds from Van Nuys, no dealership name was printed on it, and it has POOL P.O. LE-17578 in block 107. I've never seen that on a build sheet before. A guy that goes by Dale M on the Chevelletech forums said he had never seen that before, and requested a copy. That made me more curious, because he's been collecting and studying build sheets for many years. Yesterday, our fellow member LS5 (Darren), sent me a PM that explained a lot. He contacted a friend he had worked with at GM by email. Here is basically what he sent me:

 

Hey Darren how you doing Pal.

 

Is this not the same car we spoke about a while ago? The build sheet you sent me shows this is the pool car we spoke of. This won't show Dealer info. Box 113 shows Dealer as 29 and the zone is zero, this all spells out as follows and you were close.

 

Pool/Executive cars were given to Executives and Management Team members of choice of Plants who travelled to Dealerships and Zone and Plant meetings, plus personal use. This Monte Carlo was a Pool car and is the same one we spoke of before. It shows that the Leeds Plant dealer code 29 and zone 0 ordered this car from Van Nuys and was a pool vehicle. I was one of those "executives" who drove one. We got to choose the model and color. In addition to gas and car washes and oil changes were free, we were expected to keep the cars in pristine condition and everyone I knew did. Employees got first chance to buy them, when they came out of service and were in high demand.

 

This is a neat car. To know an Executive or Management Team member drove this back in 1970 and is still around today is great.

 

Take care Darren and keep in touch.

 

 

George Zapora

Vintage Vehicle Services

 

GM Heritage Centre

1189 Colonel Sam Drive

Oshawa, ON

L1H 8W8ode

__________________________

 

Thank you again, Darren. You continue to be a very helpful, fellow Monte Carlo fan.

 

Dan

post-339-0-79722800-1519157205_thumb.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 a friend of mine has a 1970 mc ss all original triple black car with a sticker on the drivers side 1/4 glass wich states it was a executive car. that is one of the reasons he bought it. when i get together with him i will take a picture of this and post it. not till spring.   great story. thanks joseph.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you, Rock. I want to show it sometime at the Back to the Fifties show at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. It would be great to meet you there.

 

That would be great, Joseph. If our car had a similar sticker, someone removed it.

 

More progress. I've finished reinstalling the package tray cover, the insulation under it, the speakers, defogger, sail panels, rear side panels, arm rests, seat belts and the rear seat. The only thing left to do inside is the stereo, and it's ordered. Finished modifying and painting the steel inner fenders yesterday and installed them today, along with the battery tray, and the load leveling compressor. Aired up the compressor and put a little air in the rear shocks. The punch list is getting shorter.

 

Dan

post-339-0-87754300-1520133329_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-16202700-1520133358_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-35389100-1520133387_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Larry. It's the original big block shroud. None of them covered the entire radiator, as far as I have seen.

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you! It's been a fun project.

 

I've been working 62 hrs a week at my power plant job lately, but I still can't stay away from the garage. I did final sanding and buffing on the hood this evening, and I hope to install it soon. I need to restore the stainless steel trim that goes at the base of the windshield and the rear of the hood. A few other minor things and the AC system will be last.

 

Dan

post-339-0-14507300-1521335298_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-31615800-1521335332_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, Joe. My wife and my son helped me put the hood on last night. I spent some time this evening adjusting the hood and the hinges. It's close, but I still need to fine tune it.

 

Dan

post-339-0-16373800-1521768603_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-46868000-1521769732_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-61574500-1521769822_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Vintage Auto radio was shipped today and I should have it Saturday.

 

I hadn't planned to replace the rear end, but a friend offered a rebuilt '67 Chevelle 12 bolt posi with new 3.55:1 gears, bearings, and axles for sale. I thought the price was right, so I grabbed it 2 days ago. It's been cleaned and painted already, but it was a couple years ago. I'll repaint it sometime in the next few months and try it out. The original 2.56:1 posi is under the car now. I don't think I'm going to be doing much highway driving anytime soon, so the 3.55s will make for a very fun street car. The performance improvement over the 2.56s should put a smile on my face.

 

 

Dan

post-339-0-43444500-1522279918_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-70112400-1522462409_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OT at work ended for awhile yesterday. I got to work on the '70 today. Restored the translucent paint on the float for the washer fluid monitor and got the system reinstalled and working. Started restoring the lower windshield trim. It had a few light dings in it. Should be able to finish it this weekend. Finally put one of the rocker trim pieces on. Since the reproduction metal clips for the trim are too thick and dent the trim, I used plastic clips from Auveco. They were too thick also, so I sanded them about 20 thousandths thinner with 40 grit. That worked great. No dents.

 

Dan

post-339-0-67622900-1522463649_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-12442700-1522463693_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-27151800-1522463801_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-15029500-1522463982_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-63844000-1522464171_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-21260200-1522464342_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-85226100-1522464476_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I have to get the hood hinge rivets replaced, so I drilled all of the rivets out of them and blasted them. I sent them to Virginia to be rebuilt. From there, they'll go to California for the gray phosphate coating.

 

I've installed the stainless steel trim at the bottom of windshield, the wiper arms, the other rocker panel trim, and installed the stereo from Antique Audio Radio. I've been battling air leaks in my automatic load leveling system, and I'm real close to winning.

 

Drove the car a couple miles to warm up the motor and check for coolant leaks. None found.

 

Dan

post-339-0-60685900-1523821169_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-11228400-1523821960_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-91312100-1523822087_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-41750500-1523823209_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-94213500-1523823707_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-04211300-1523825749_thumb.jpg

post-339-0-04698300-1523825786_thumb.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dan, the progress looks great. I had the rear fender moulding come off while I was replacing the inner fenders. I don't think the former owner used the correct moulding clips. The middle clip was missing and I don't think the others are correct. They are pushin, are they correct? Is there a good source for a complete set of retainers?

post-6465-0-33171800-1523836269_thumb.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're talking about the trim at the rear of the front fender, the original clips had studs with nuts, but push in clips would work. I've seen full sets on ebay, but you can buy singles there, too.

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Dan, it seems like everything I touch on the car is wrong. I replaced the skirts and half of the bolts were wrong or missing. I will order a set and see what I find under the rest of the mouldings. Thanks again

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...