Rob Peters

Looks like a very productive day. rob

I put the new insurance card in the glove box. Started to take her out of the garage and true to her past "rain-maker" title she made it start to rain. Oh Well, I will be able to drive her plenty this week. rob

Coming along very nicely. I admire your vision and how you are making it reality. Rob

I looked at it like this.... my original plastic ones lasted 32 years, which aint too bad, and other than being cracked they still looked nice and clean, not sure metal ones would have held up any better. As for the battery bouncing around and cracking the plastic ones.....fix the battery hold down clamp and tray. It does come down to preference. I went with the plastic due to keeping the original theme but fully understand someone going with metal. rob

I think it would really crap up the engine compartment. Just look at what gathers on the underside of the inner fender wells. Without them in place all of that would not only collect in the engine compartment but also under the fenders and all over the firewall. rob

Fletch will be back this year.... maybe I can put a little bug in his year if I see him. rob

Nice work there Ryan!! rob

Are you eliminating the rear quqter windows? From the pictures that is how it appears. rob

Sam, I almost missed the ones that came with mine, they are that small. I found them on the floor and it took me a minute to figure out where they came from when I found them later....either that or they quit coming with them. rob

Mike's job is keeping him very busy and you are right, he hasn't been around lately. rob

What, no pretty pictures? rob

The ones I ordered from The Parts Place for my SB 350 werent pictured and I was a little bit worried they wouldnt be the same but as it turned out they were exactly like my originals and fit great. I cant speak for their BB ones but I bet if you called them they would take a picture of them for you. rob

The Parts Place carries the for $5.00 each. https://www.thepartsplaceinc.com/ EN2550C(1971 - 1976 Monte Carlo) SPARK PLUG HEAT SHIELD (BIG BLOCK) 8 REQUIRED - SOLD EA$5.00 rob

That "Banner" is for 10 consective years as a dues paying club member. You will also find a small plastic bag with two very small but very powerfully strong magnets so you can display it on the car using the magnets to hold it to the car. Be very careful when you put the magnets on to hold it because it will pull them out of your hand and against the paint. I found that for me the best place for me to display it was to raise the trunk and attach it to the trunk lid and let it drape into the trunk. It is a nice anniversary gift. rob

I have had a couple very proud moments at the Carlisle GM Nationals. One of these came last year when my car was one of the cars featured on Classic Resto's by Fletch. The year before was Cory's first meet with his beautiful 72 Custom and his was featured on this same series. Here is a link to my car being featured. Go to this link and my interview with Fletch starts 20:16.... http://www.shannons.com.au/club/video/carlisle-gm-nationals-part-2-classic-restos-series-24/ The other proud moment for me was in 2011 during the Eastern Meet when my Monte was selected as one of the 10 Elite cars out of the whole show field. Steve Levanti's car had been selected the year before Below is a picture of me with my 10 Elite award. I am not sure if Fletch will be at the Carlisle Events this year but if he is I hope one of our beautiful cars are featured again. It is also my hope one of our Monte's will be selected as the 10 Elite cars again. Rob

If you want to keep the Upper and Lower A-Arms as original, before you order the bushings you will want to make sure they are all round or if most of the round with also oval bushings. Mine had round and oval bushings.. The ball joints and a-arm bushings are pressed in and riveted in The ball joints that are riveted will be replaced with ones that bolt in. The a-arm bushings will need to be pressed out and new ones pressed in. Some of this can be done by you BUT I found it easier to pay to have the bushings pressed in. Like we have said before, the springs are the most dangerous part of the job. Since it is a job you will rarely do just rent a spring compressor. The other special tool you will need is a Pickle Fork to separate the ball joints, Tie Rod ends, idler arm etc. The pickle fork and good heavy hammer are worth the investment. These can be purchased many places including Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight tools are inexpensive and many of their things are not GREAT Quality, but since what I buy there are things I will rarely use I wouldn't think twice about buying them there. If it is a tool I will use regularly I would usually buy a higher quality tool. Rob

You alsomay have dried lubricant in the cable housing causing the cable to bind and make a ticking sound. rob

Looking at your thumbnail picture, it appears you have the knowledge and ability to do a complete front suspension rebuild yourself. It also appears it would be difficult to take it to a repair or alignment shop for a diagnosis. I agree with Sam on the items he suggested. If your car is apart as much as the Thumbnail shows it will make the job that much easier. You didn't mention how many miles are on the car and if the front end has ever been rebuilt. If it hasn't I would just go ahead and replace all the upper and lower A-Arm bushings, ball joints. Idler arm, tie rods. Stabilizer Bushings, shocks, springs and any other moving parts. Just a note here..... if you have never done a front suspension, most of it isn't brain surgery but one warning here for you, to prevent needing brain surgery or any other surgery I want to warn you how much tension is on those front springs. The most critical tool you should have on hand (many Advance Auto or PepBoys loan or rent) a coil spring compressor and you will want to use one for both the removal and installation of these springs. I would not have any little kids roaming around the garage for that part of the job. Rob

Stan may be right on the color. Dove grey would look to be light blue. The original front shocks I removed from my 70 (350) were also the spiral design. Rob

Sorry, that was almost 15 years ago. I was thinking more a teal blue but would not swear to it. rob

When I replaced my originals that is what color they were. Rob

Went up to the storage garage and got the Monte and brought her to the house. Spent an hour or so cleaning on her for a car show tomorrow. I attended the same show last year. I ran into a lot of people I had not seen in years, since my old Model A Restores Club days. Last year they closed the show early and handed out the trophy's due to tornado's in the area. Tomorrow's weather forecast calls for a beautiful day. No awards last year and since the same people attend this show year after year I don't expect any this year either because many people come in groups to this show and vote for each other's cars so they win almost every year. I mostly go for a good time and to see cars other than the ones I see here in the local area week after week. Scott was supposed to meet me there but due to family commitments he is going to have to pass. This was going to be sort of our warm up show prior to Carlisle. Rob

I don't remember where I saw the listing of all of the cars Yenko did but the list was done by Yenko. I looked it over and there was not a First Gen Monte on the list. Rob

It would have been a clone because to the best of my knowledge Yenko never did a Monte. Rob

Really, it doesn't matter what anyone thinls, it is your car and you should build (including paint) the way you want. That is the point of a "Modified" car isn't it? rob