[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

Shiny!

[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

Replaced rear shocks and springs last night. Didn't take any pics as my phone was dead, just the comparison between the new and old. Not sure if the old ones were drop springs or just collapsed. Her booty definitely has some bounce now!

[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

30 minutes ago, MC1of80 said:

Hey Tom,

The panel you are referring to is called the tail panel. AZ Chevys, probably Koniks and others may have it. There is usually one on eBay from time to time. Used.  It is the same for all 3 years of Monte Carlo. The only difference is that the 72 has little tabs/studs  for the clips that hold on the rear mouldings and no emblem holes. The emblems are on the moulding. 

Thanks a lot! I will start looking! 

[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

Spent yesterday and today on removing the interior. I wanted to power wash inside and out, all the nooks and crannies. It's been sitting on a farm long enough there must have been entire generations of mouse civilizations come and gone. They apparently like to chew up headliner and carpet padding and redistribute it in every spot that it is not supposed to be...like every hollow spot on the inside...

However I believe I was victorious, she now smells like well water rather than mouse piddle. Floor pan is very solid, aside from a small strip patch I will have to fab along drivers left foot. Trunk pan also seems very solid albeit a bit rusty.

Right now the biggest rot spot is under/behind the deck lid. I'm not sure what is called, but its basically the [censored] of the car without a bumper.

I plan to rough up the surface, put in patches and spray the entire interior. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! At the moment I'm thinking a rust converter followed by a rust encapsulater. I value all of your opinions, I would never have gotten this far without the information on this forum! 

[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

Well, I spent a day re rebuilding the front end. Turns out I made quite a few rookie mistakes that needed addressing. (A fun game is comparing my last pics with today's to spot the differences)Today I got a few parts/brackets refinished, also scuffed, cleaned and painted the firewall and cowl. Nothing I'm doing is perfect but I'm going more for preservation than perfection at the moment. 

[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

Finished front suspension for the most part, got steering reconnected, pulled her off blocks. Pulled it around the yard a bit with the Mule. Feels good to get her out of her secluded nook!

Tomorrow I've got to get the pressure washer going so I can give her a good bath inside and out!

[front suspenion overhaul]

Scott, I bought a polygraphite front end rebuild kit from P-S-T almost a decade ago, and only just got around to installing it, and its mostly still like new, they make good products, I just hope they don't squeak! I have hope hearing about your Chevlle.

As far as doing the bushings and ball joints yourself, it really depends on how much money you feel like spending, or what tools you have. You can rent a ball-joint/u-joint tool kit from most parts stores that will actually make pretty quick work of everything save one bushing on each upper. You can use a hammer and angled chisel to beat out the the rest. That's what I did, but I'm poor and doing everything on the cheap lol.

[What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?]

Well I haven't updated in a very long time, but I finally have enough free time and a fire under my butt. My apologies for not taking very many pictures! My car sits on my grandfathers farm, and isn't allowed back in the shop until it rolls( He has 3 corvettes that take up a lot of space, and he doesn't like them sitting outside for long). So  usually I'm too dirty and eaten by skeeters to take a ton of pics with my phone. The rebuild is taking a bit longer than it should, because i made the mistake of not properly labeling everything, or not keeping all the fasteners but it's a good learning experience regardless! I hope to have more photos for everybody in the future! I have a donor car for the motor that I can snap a few pics of as well. Thanks!