Rob Peters

If your dad is a mechanic a rebuild of the arms should not be an issue. When you say the old upper arms are bad and need replacing what do you mean. For the most part,, unless they are bad due to rust, the only thing other than the bushings and upper ball joints having wear there is little that can go bad on the original ones. The bushings and ball joints can be replaced, which is the least expensive way to do it. I did a write up for one of our newsletters on how to do a front end rebuild, after I did mine. rob

Dennis is correct, if the uppers are bad it is best to do the lowers. I also agree it is a good time to do a front end rebuild of front end including the springs, tie rods, stabilizer buswings, idler arm etc. If you don't and do it one piece and have to do multiple front alignments. It can be dangerous but if done properly, and carefully it can be done by most backyard mechanics. It makes a world of difference in the handling. I went with rebuilding my stock arms. rob

Without a build sheet the best way will be matching serial numbers on the block with the VIN. The thing most people will not do is the air ride system. Running all of the lines and finding all of the parts isn't impossible but most won't go through all of that. There are many real SS's out there without the air pump but they are still SS's. If you have not already studied the area here on the site on how to identify a true SS I would suggest you start there. rob

Exactly!! Undocumented could mean "clone".... in other words, someone slapped badging on it and is calling it a SS. By having thai "undocumented" clearly stated would mean when the buyer finds out it isn't really aa true SS the buyer doesnt have a leg to stand on rob

That's a great turnout for this early in the game Aaron. Good Work!!!! rob

Is this the one you are talking about.... I agree regarding the limited information. Personally I liked the other one you had appraised better. This one does say it is undocumented: https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1970-CHEVROLET-MONTE-CARLO-SS--200628 Now, Talk about UGLY....... At the same auction this 71 Torino Custom Display Car: https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1971-FORD-TORINO-CUSTOM-DISPLAY-CAR-200631 rob

You could check with these people... I found them on line but don't know anything about them. Not sure what they charge or how reputablethey may be. http://www.auto-detectives.com/MarkBio.html rob

sounds like that same old tale of a wife saying.... "You need to try to sell that car" and the husband saying..."But honey, I tried but nobody wanted to pay near what it was worth." ? Never mind he was asking way too much. rob

I agree in part with the above statement. I would add.... If someone is searching for an original car they may look for a (1) numbers matching,(2) low mileage and (3) unmolested, totally factory stock vehicle. These are getting harder and harder to find which may raise the ante when setting a price. rob

I am aware of that. What I was referring to is in some states the state law states that not only full time but even part time employees receive overtime pay for any hours over 8 in a day. rob

When I look at originality, I look at what what would have been available from the factory, not always how it rolled off the factory line. That is me personally but not all "original freaks" are alike.

None that I know of Steve. I would not let that stop me though if I really liked the car and the inspection comes back positively. rob

Bruce, I love that truck!!! Your brother has done himself proud. rob

I am trying to keep the tire diameter as close to an original tire as possible so the speedometer is as accurate as possible. For all of you tire guru's out there. I am not sure if the original tires were G70-15's or G78-15's. From what I am seeing on line here are my thoughts: If they were G70-15 I think the tire diameter was 27.5 inches so I think my best bet would be either the 215/70R 15 at a diameter of 27.3 inches or 215/75R 15 at 27.7 inches. I think I could possibly even go with a 235/70R 15's at a diameter of 27.95 inches. If they were G78-15 I think the diameter was 28.0 inches and I think my best choice for that would be the 235/70R 15 at a diameter of 27.95 inches How flawed is my thinking. Out of the three which would I be best with? rob

Tony, I am only part time at Home Depot and until you work 40 hours there is no overtime paid. Pennsylvania is not a state that requires workers be paid overtime for any hours over 8 hours a day. At the Home Depot I work at, if any full time employee works more than 8 hours in a day they are told to leave early the following day they work but I don't know that is a corporate directive or if our management just tries to keep a lid on it. rob

I agree with your brother and as I stated in my post: "Even though my tires still have about 1/2 to 3/4 of their "Tread Life" remaining I am thinking I am on borrowed time when it comes to the age of the tires". Yes, age is not a tires good friend. It is not just the elasticity that is lost, the tires will start to dry rot. In looking at my tires there is no visual evidence of dry rot but some of that could be due to applying the tire dressing on the tires hiding some of that possible cracking of the rubber. My fear is mostly based on the age of the rubber and the fact it could break away from the belts and destroying fenders, quarter panels etc. One of the things that got me thinking about making the change is my son had a tread separate on his 2001 Pontiac Bonneville. It did a lot of damage. It damaged the rocker panel, tore the rear bumper, disintegrated the inner fender panel, ripped the gas filler tube out of the car and a wiring harness. Luckily he was able to get it off the road without crashing because he was going at a fairly low speed. Now, all I need to do is save enough money and find the tires that will fit my desire of no more than a 3/4 inch white wall. rob

I agree with your brother and as I stated in my post: "Even though my tires still have about 1/2 to 3/4 of their "Tread Life" remaining I am thinking I am on borrowed time when it comes to the age of the tires". Yes, age is not a tires good friend. It is not just the elasticity that is lost, the tires will start to dry rot. In looking at my tires there is no visual evidence of dry rot but some of that could be due to applying the tire dressing on the tires hiding some of that possible cracking of the rubber. My fear is mostly based on the age of the rubber and the fact it could break away from the belts and destroying fenders, quarter panels etc. One of the things that got me thinking about making the change is my son had a tread separate on his 2001 Pontiac Bonneville. It did a lot of damage. It damaged the rocker panel, tore the rear bumper, disintegrated the inner fender panel, ripped the gas filler tube out of the car and a wiring harness. Luckily he was able to get it off the road without crashing because he was going at a fairly low speed. Now, all I need to do is save enough money and find the tires that will fit my desire of no more than a 3/4 inch white wall. rob

I have seen reproduction window stickers but not build sheets. There are other ways to verify if it is a true SS so having a fake build sheet would not do much for you. Not only that, anyone who really knows these cars or for that matter any car built at the Flint would know it is fake. In reality if I were buying a car built at the Flint plant and the seller presented me with a build sheet I would wonder what else they were being dishonest about and be more inclined to walk away from the deal. If you are only concerned with having something to display find a place that can reproduce one of the window stickers. rob

Darren, I know the Bias-Ply would be more original but I will go with the radials for the safety and ride comfort reasons. rob

Blue Tony, just not enough scratch to do both. Bill, unless I have wet or gravel covered pavement burn outs just don't think happen on my baby. The nice thing about the white stripe tires is they look nice with either the original rally wheels or any of the hub caps offered on the Monte. The nice thing about the rally wheels is they work with either the rings & derby or if you feel like running the hub caps you can pop off the rings and derbys a snap the hub caps on them for a whole new look. rob

I bought my first car when I was 15 years old, 51 years ago at age 15 and still have it. My first new car was a 70 Monte Carlo rob

Even though my tires still have about 1/2 to 3/4 of their "Tread Life" remaining I am thinking I am on borrowed time when it comes to the age of the tires. I bought them the year after I got the car because the old tires were just yucky black-walls and they were just plain old butt ugly. I put the BF Goodrich T/A Radials on her and I really liked the look of the raised white letters. My only complaint was that the raised white letter tires were really not put on Monte Carlo's. I am not sure but you may have been able to special order raised white letter tires like was available on Chevelle's but it was not common to see them on a Monte from the factory Those who know me are aware I am kind of a stickler when it comes to original things on my cars. To that end, since my tires are getting old I am thinking of of going to a thin whitewall, closer to what was on the Monte's from the factory. I could still run my rally caps and rings but the thin whitewalls would open up other possibilities. I also have a full set of the body color keyed caps and a full set of the classy looking standard caps. It would also allow me to install a set of fender skirts if I wanted. I already have a pair of fender skirts (they would need a bit of work but I have them and the brackets too. I like the Monte dressed in both the raised white letters and the whitewall's so I haven't fully decided which way I am going. Another reason I am considering the thin white wall is the number of times I am getting called by production companies for my car to be used in movies having the tires closer to original would be a better fit. So what are others thoughts on this..... Raised White Letters or Whitewalls? rob

Steve, click on the below link and read through the information regardine keyless entry, it may answer your questions on keyless entry: rob http://www.firstgenmc.com/forums/index.php?/topic/8758-group-buy-power-door-lockstrunk-release/

Here is a picture of Bill at the 2011 Eastern Meet in Carlisle. Unfortunately it is not a great picture. You will need to scan to Page 5 rob 114_Sep_2011.pdf