Monteman1971

That hurts just to look at...ouch...... Steve

Nice work...I like them! Steve

My personal experience...I wouldn't use anything Comp Cams on my lawn mower....just saying..... I had one of their flat tapped lifters literally break into pieces on a 1500 mile, fresh (professionally built)engine. Their reply was that they were not responsible for anything but the cam and lifters...not even the hole the flying bits of lifter put through my oil pan.... My 2 cents, Steve

It looks like it's bolted to just the bumper? No cross support from the end under the car to the fram rails? What is something like that rated to pull? It does look cool though!!! Steve

ok..update....Test drove the car last night with the different springs and more important with both springs properly positioned in their perches....The car once again rides like it use to. I thought the hard ride was due to the new polyurethane bushings in the upper control arms but apparently it was all due to the spring not being positioned correctly. So now I'm hoping with the suspension issue fixed (still need to recheck the pinion angle)and I'll richen the carb a bit that I'll hopefully go faster than last year.....Now to just find time to get to the track. Steve

Thanks guys...sorry to take so long to get back to this but I was away last week. So with all this talk of ride height I checked my springs...and duh....The left side was out of it's perch...must have happened when I had the rear low to swap the upper control arms....but the rear was still high so Jim and I swapped rear springs. Seemed his car sat a bit low and mine a bit high. We both had new rear springs but for whatever reason the cars sat differently. Jim hasn't put mine in his car yet but his lowered my rear 5/8 (after I corrected my perch issue and remeasured) which may not sound like a lot but has a noticeable difference. I have to recheck my pinion angle after swapping the springs but it was set at 2 degrees lower than parallel to the transmission angle. Thanh, thanks, once we can figure out a date I'll get back to you but it may end up not being until spring. Scott, I had the front sway bar out during all of this and 20lbs of air in the right rear air bag. I have the Edelbrock RPM heads that were prepared by Mike 57....gained 4 tenths that year!!! Changing the timing from 38 to 36 had no impoact at all so I left the timing at 37 where it's been set since the engine was built...10,000 miles ago...love to drive my Monte... At this point I'm going to have to agree and think it is fuel....I had everything to swap the jet's at the track but for whatever reason didn't do it because I didn't think one jet size would have such a big impact but it maybe that now with the gear set I need even more fuel. Thanks for everyones input...you guys rule!!! Steve

It was a nice day.... 75 and clear. But as Greg noted, a bit windy.

I was told that unless your headers and heads are really flat (top quality) that metal gaskets will leak...and I found that out with cooper gaskets myself....I went with the Mr Gasket paper/cardboard...whatever you want to call the material...ones and they work great with no leaks because they crush easier and fill the imperfections. They are also the cheapest, let's say least expensive Steve

With my I-phone attached to the windshield Mike!!!!! Scott used my phone for the out of car as well. The timing was set to 38 when I checked it first so I lowered it to 36 with the same results so I put back to were I've always run it at 37.

Dan has most of it but the plugs where only used for 2 passes at Super Chevy in July. I took them out when I got home. And the distributor cap wasn't cracked but was green and full of moisture inside. The prior plugs were blackened, not horrible so I reduced one jet in all 4 corners, after the plugs got golden brown. The new plugs after 4 passes were golden brown as well. Something I did notice was that the new rear upper control arms have a lot stiffer ride and did raise the back of the car? I know that the car isn't hooking as well because I never spun the tires with the old set up but at Super Chevy I spun both times and at Atco I spun once and the second time (best pass) I felt the tire do like a skip.....but even at that, it was never a big spin just the tires squeeled a little, not enough to take 3-4 tenths off and the other 2 passes it did seem to hook fine...the video doesn't show any spin and the in car there is no spin either...but when the car spins doesn't that usually mean faster mph? Thanks for all your input, Steve

Thanks Davey, From the video you can see that the car leaves without too much twist already but doesn't really have much weight transfer either (car looks relatively flat now). I'm running 20lbs in the right rear bag which eliminated the twist I had in years gone by. The lower first and second gear are suppose to make my rear a 3:64 and then 3:46 although I don't feel much of a difference. Which should make the car 60 foot better. I never expect 2 tenths but I was hoping for 1...high 11.50's Now I did only reduce all four jets by one but it made a big difference in the plugs. They were black (not horrible) but now they are a golden brown....which I thought was perfect but could the car still be running out of gas so for racing it needs to be richer is what I'm thinking. Here's the in car video We're thinking of another day trip in October....hopefully I'll have this figured out. Thanks again Steve

As some may have seen, we went racing on the 10th at Atco Raceway in NJ. Rented the track for the day with a bunch of local guys....great times!!! Unfortunately the Monte didn't run as expected. Last spring I had a lower gear set installed in the transmission so I was expecting to go faster than last year’s times. The trans guy was optimistic and claimed I would get 2 tenths. The only other changes I made were adjustable upper rear control arms, new dist cap, wires and I reduced the jet size by one (the spark plugs were black but now are a golden brown). So last year it ran 11.70’s with 1.74 60 foots all day with a best of 11.66 at 116.87mph and 1.73 60 foot. This year it ran 11.90’s consistently with a best of 11.88 at 113.89 with a 60 foot of 1.724 and an average of 1.760 60 foots. So I spoke with the guy who built the trans, before I mentioned the jet change he said that it sounded like I was losing power and questioned me on my fuel delivery. When I told him about the jet size he said to go back to the bigger jets that although the plugs were black it maybe what the motor wants. So..that’s my story..any thoughts? Oh, and one of the regular race guys said I should leave my front sway bar in to prevent the car from twisting off the line even though I have an air bag. Here’s a video of the launch. Steve

Paul...I think Larry already had the correct answer for the rear bumpmer guards. And my understanding is the same, on a 1971 SS Monte you could only get the guards on the front and they were not an option for the rear...See Capri's SS Monte. As far as your quest Larry...it looks like Wille is willing to send you what you need but if he is unable to come through with it, I have an NOS 1971SS Monte rear bumper in my attic with the holes already drilled in it if you want a stencil of them. I also have my original rubber strip off the car and can take a few pic's for you but it looks like Wille is willing to send you his so you can make a mold.....mines original and I'm to afraid to send it anywhere...sorry. PM me if you need what I have, Steve

Wow...you've been through a lot Rob but glad to hear things are looking good.....We'll continue to pray for a quick and full recovery! Steve

All progress is good....looks great!!! Steve

Maybe a valve sticking...... or I'm with FastSS on this.... but it's not constant so I wouldn't think the worst. Steve

I'm with Mark on this one.....if you want to cheap out...maybe a "come along" and some heat on the bar at the bends. Steve

Ditto...... I wish I knew where that cool "ditto" guy comes from.....lol Steve

The front is sort of high so I would make it level. Once you lower the rear the weight will transfer and the front should come up a bit too. But we need a new pic to confirm Steve

That is great news Rob...now take it easy and no working on the Monte!!! Steve

I like it but I think if you lowered the back it would look more NASCAR.... Steve

Everything with the exception of the "Z" bar can all come from a Chevelle. They actually reproduce the cross member and I've seen them on e-bay for $150. But you can probably find one at your local swap meet and pick it up for $50. My 2 cents Steve

Glad to see your doing better Rob. You had us all worried for a while there. We're still praying for you and a quick recovery so get well soon!!! Steve

September 10th is Race Day...we'll find out!

Quote: then you can take that $60 bucks and spend it on something else for the monte You can buy something shiney....... Be careful coil springs can be very dangerous. Steve