Its Just Me

For those who don't know my story, I bought a very nice 71 Monte Carlo with a 454 in it this last summer. I was told it was an SS and it had all the badging. It also had a lot of the tell tale signs of an SS, such as boxed control arms, large front sway bar, Th400, 12 bolt but was missing the load leveling system, except for the valve on the upper control arm. The car had undergone a restoration at some point and could have been cloned. It came with no documentation but I had a strong hunch it was genuine, but w/o the build sheet, who knows. So tonight I decided to spend a little more time looking for my build sheet. I had already been in and around the dash and under the drivers seat w/no luck, so I started with the rear seat. I didn't really have much optimism, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I pulled out the bottom section, did a quick scan, didn't see anything so I went to the seat back. This is where I found the build sheet for my Chevelle, so I had it in my head that this is where it would be. Again, no luck. Disappointed but not really suprised, I began putting things back together. In went the seat back. Then I grabbed the seat bottom and gave it a little better going over and there it was...tucked in very tightly in the very corner of the left hand side, up under the seat cover and between the springs... The photo shows it after I pulled it down to see it better. It was in pretty tough shape. It looked like half of it was torn off and the other half was folded over and pinned between the cushion and the spring, but the part that I could read, clearly said "454 cid 4bbl, std dual exhaust, and G70x15 W/Stripe...Oh happy day... I decided I had to try to remove the remaining portion of the build sheet to see what other secrets it may hold. So I cut the hog rings from that corner of the seat and very carefully pulled back the seat cover, the cushion and the springs and was able to remove what was left of the sheet. It was bonded to the seat springs at each end and I had no choice but to tear it during removal. I was able to remove all that was there, just in a few pieces. The upper left hand portion shows the standard 1971 Monte Carlo ID# 138571B and left of that it has the last 4 digits (1115) of my VIN. So I know it's the right sheet for my car.... Then the big score.....the ultimate confirmation....Z20 MONTE CARLO SS!!! So the Gods were smiling on me tonight...only half the build sheet, but the half with all the good stuff!!! I see build code V30 F&R BMPR GARD...does this mean that it had the actual bumper guards or is this just the code for the SS rubber bumper pad? My car currently has neither, as the bumper was replaced, but I would like to get the correct rear guards if that's what it had. The front guards are still on the car. Tomorrow I will pull the front seat backs off, as MCFan did, hoping to find a better or more complete sheet. But even if I don't, I can rest assured that my car is a genuine, one of 1919 produced, SS454. Scott

Sweet...and congrats. I found mine today too...going to post photos in the SS454 forum now. Scott

Unbolted the rear-end cover to determine if I had a bad posi unit or no posi and to determine gear ratio. I found 3.31 gears and a non posi carrier . Also found really chewed up gears in the differential . Now searching for a 3 series 12-bolt posi carrier...anyone??? Scott

RichG: Thanks for looking...1 in a million (or 1 in 1919) but worth a shot. LostnFound: Can you explain what I would be looking for? My shock mounts have a small hole in them that looks like they could be used to mount plates, but my 72 small block,12 bolt parts car has the same holes. Could be that the SS would have threads tapped in them? I'll check for threads when I can access the rearend a little better, the front is up on jack stands right now, makes it a bit tight. Scott

Rich and others The car is black on black w/black vinyl top. Vin # is 138571B111115. 12 bolt posi, 3.31 gears, buckets w/floor shift, front bumper guards, no tilt, no guage package, A/C, TH400, 454, large front sway bar, rear sway bar & boxed control arms, rear air shocks, 15x7 ralleys. It's missing, or never had, shock protectors and the load leveling compressor, but it does have the valve mounted in the rear. It has the black padded steering wheel with the burlwood insert. It appears to have all the correct big block brackets etc, but I know the 454 is not the correct/original. The radiator cover has what appears to be the original tuning sticker still attached and it and it lists the 454 as the engine. I beleive the car was restored at some not too distant past, so who knows what was added, changed, removed. The restoration was very nicely done. Whoever did the resto, either was very familiar with SS montes, or it just started out as one. I'll check today to see if I have 3/8" fuel lines. And maybe I better move the build sheet search up on my list a bit. I'll figure out how to load photos, maybe later this weekend. I know how you guys love photos and can pick stuff out that I never even see. Probably start a new thread then. Scott

Darren: As part of the restoration (prior to me), the inner fenderwells were replaced...therefore no holes or brackets. Sam: I've never heard of the SS's having different knobs, but I learn something new every day, maybe someone else will chime in & straighen us out. To answer your question, the original radio is long gone, but my light switch is the smaller rubber style (inlike the larger plastic of the '70's), but no symbol on it. And based on what I'm learing from my thread in the electrical forum, my switch may not be the original. My lighter does have the symbol though. Can someone confirm or deny this question...did the big block cars have a larger fuel line from the tank to the pump and if so, what size? I thought I read that somewhere. Scott

I know I'm new here and I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but I think I found an error in the "Technical Info/Is it a real SS" area of this site. But please correct me if I'm wrong. I only noticed this because I'm trying to determine if I have a true SS or not, so I'm looking very closely at all info I can get my hands on. In the Automatic Level Control section, there is verbage stating "The leveling valve in mounted on the body and attaches to the left rearend control arm" below it is a photo, that to me, looks like it's mounted on the right control arm. I'm I seeing this wrong? When I looked at purchasing the car I have ('71), the seller assured me it was a true SS, but didn't have a build sheet. I wasn't specifically looking for an SS, but if that were the case...great. I did a lot of research on this site and was armed with good info to help me make a reasonable field determination. I distintly remember crawling under the car, seeing a valve and thinking to myself, "it has the valve, but it's on the right arm. FGMCC says it should be on the left, did somebody just throw one on to give the impression?" Long story short (maybe not so short), I bought the car, but am curious, is my leveling valve on the correct side or not? And no, it doesn't have the compressor, the plastic air line clips, the shock protector plates, the rubber bumper pads or the original engine. But it does have the SS badging, the chrome trunk valance trim, the 1-1/8" front sway bar, the rear sway bar and boxed control arms and of course, the leveling valve. It was built in Baltimore and there is no "L" on the trim tag. Anything else I should look for? Again, I don't really care if it isn't an SS, but would sure like to know. I will begin my search for the "Holy Grail" build sheet yet this winter. Scott

Bruce: I took a quick look at my switch and my harness. My switch has 8 terminals, my harness has 6 that actually connect. Comparing to your photo (thanks a million) my switch has a terminal near the no.7 position in the photo, which doesn't have a corresponding connection on the harness (no harm, no foul), and also the harness doesn't make a connection to the lower right terminal (the one connected to the buss bar nearest the ceramic). And no, I do not have LED lights in my dash. Do you happen to have a part no for the correct switch? Scott

I have what I call an electrical gremlin in my lighting. My 71 M/C was restored by the previous owner, when and to what extent, I am uncertain, but I would say it was quite extensive. I’m sure this has been an issue for years, but isn’t really hurting anything, it just annoys me because I like things to work as they should. I’ve owned the car since August ‘12. When I turn the key on (run position), all my dash and console back lights come on. When I pull the light switch to the first notch, all my outside marker lights come on (as they should), and my dash lights remain on (as they should), but when I “turn” the light switch (as to dim my dash lights), my dash lights remain constant, but my outside marker lights dim instead. My dome light works with the door opening, but not when I turn my light switch full left. I have a good ground from battery to engine and from engine to frame, but not sure about from engine or frame to firewall. It appears to be the original harness connected to the light switch. Could this be as simple as a bad light switch? Or a wrong connection at the fuse block? Any ideas? Scott