Glen

Welcome, Greg! Great looking ride. And, yes... open up that exhaust so she can breathe (not to mention you’ll love the rumble). I imagine you get a ton of looks driving a “gas guzzling” American classic where you’re at... ENJOY IT!

Rob, I need clarification on classing, please ... Would intake and carburetor be one modification or two? Same question for aftermarket radiator and electric fans. Does each individual part count as one? Or does the former fall under “fuel delivery/induction” and the ladder under “cooling”? I’ll be checking time off availability at work on those days, hope to be joining you folks for my maiden meet. Thanks!

Good stuff

If anybody here is seriously interested in this girl, the seller isn’t located too far from me (judging by the location posted in the ad). I’d be happy to act as a liaison, picture taker, etc. in the event it might help out in any way.

Beautiful work, wish I had 10% of your skills and know-how (not to mention tools and equipment) to do that kind of work. Can’t wait to see the final product.

Good look and keep us all posted Jefro.

She IS a Van Nuys baby. I will start my hunt at the oil filter come spring when hibernation is over. Oil change will be one of the first things to do anyway, so I’ll bring more than a filter wrench when I roll under there. I’ll update accordingly. Thanks Dan.

No problem Carlos. Keep us posted if you pick up any kind of promising leads. You never know when something may come outta left field.

Raymond & Carlos... I just left my buddy at the DMV, and as you probably anticipated, the search results were negative. Always a longshot, but worth the effort for sure. Glad to have tried to help and I’m sorry things didn’t go better. I just got off the phone with Joe in New York… same story on his Monte 😞. When these cars sit for years, even decades unregistered, it makes it that much harder to hunt them down. I was able to grab a screenshot of each VIN in the system and the results:

Thanks MC! I already knew it was a 2.56 open end and the build date and location (why the guy who ordered this car didn’t opt for G80 is beyond me), I was just wondering why the omission of the “2” on the POP and the conflicting literature I’ve read regarding the shift not being stamped until 1971 and later. No doubt great variances exist between 50 years ago and today with quality-control issues, so I’m sure little things like this were pretty common.

Hello all! I’ve got another numbers question, this time concerning ID’ing the axle on my car. I located a picture of the diff code that was taken by the prior owner when he listed the car for sale. It is: CRJ 1205B2 While this jives with the build sheet and protect a plate (minus the “2”), other literature I’ve seen suggests that the “2” wasn’t used to designate the second shift on which it was assembled until 1971 and later. Everything I’ve read, combined with the help I’ve gotten here deciphering numbers and codes, leads me to believe that everything is on the square: Motor assembled: 22 Dec 69 Trans assembled: 26 Nov 69 Axle assembled: 05 Dec 69 Car assembled: 22 Jan 70 (I still haven’t made the time to crawl around her to locate the partial VIN to match the stamp on the block and/or the one near the oil filter). That said, I’m sure a logical explanation exists for the “2” stamped on the axle but not on the P-O-P. I’m thinking another production line-to-showroom miscommunication like the one digit difference between the block stamping and P-O-P issue I brought here a couple weeks ago. I have attached applicable pictures below if it helps.

The compression dropped to 8.5 if memory serves me correctly. Who doesn’t love a lopey cam? But I err on the side of purists... a real SS needs to stay as stock as possible with the exception of mods that are easily REVERSIBLE. Upgrade or change what you need to make the car more reliable to drive and enjoy without permanently hurting originality. And YES, save all original parts. That said, you’ve scored an absolutely beautiful car that appears pretty much original and complete. Throw us drooling guys lots more pix when you have the time. If the seller was the original owner, I’d imagine he probably had/included lots of documentation with the car also. Welcome to the club, Skifoggy... my FGMCC seniority now moves up another spot!

I have a buddy who works at our Secretary of State (DVM). He’ll be back to work on Thursday so I’ll reach out to him to see what kind of access he has. I do know that when running older VINs, it’s not uncommon for LEADS to return two, three or sometimes even more VINs that share most of the numbers/letters of the one submitted for inquiry because they’re close in many characters to the VINs with 17 digits in them. Do me a favor gents: to the best of your recollection/ability, give me the approximate YEAR and STATE in which your believe these cars would’ve most recently been registered. I’ll let you know what - if anything - he’s able to tell me as soon I can (hopefully by Thursday evening).

Jefro, I echo the sentiments here regarding the value/worth of any particularly vehicle. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “it’s worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it“. That said, do your due diligence before pulling the trigger on the purchase. Ask for restoration photos, receipts, and documentation supporting the authenticity of the car. In my case, I paid a nationally registered vehicle inspection service based in Los Angeles to fly to where my 70SS was located in California. Not only did the inspector take pictures (A LOT) of the vehicle, he also took pictures of original parts that were to be included in the sale, receipts of work performed on the car, the Protect-O-plate, build sheet etcetera. It was a small price to pay rather than buy the vehicle based on a few photos posted online by the seller and then pay to have it transported across the country only to find out it had underlying issues. When I started the hunt for my car I routinely reminded myself not to fall in love at first sight and to be cautiously optimistic (don’t get your hopes up, kid!) when something looked legit. Hell, I just recently reached out here regarding a conflict between numbers on the block vs. the P-O-P with my car. You absolutely cannot go wrong reaching out with questions and concerns... there is a ton of institutional knowledge ripe for the pickin’ here. Just my 2 cents.

Welcome! MC1of80 is right...LIGHTLY tap the float bowls a few times with a screwdriver, pair of pliers or small hammer to stop that gas from pouring out of the vent pipe (ask me how I know 😬). And if you don’t plan on dropping the gas tank to dump the bad fuel, it sure wouldn’t hurt to throw a bottle of carb/injector cleaner in since it’s obviously been sitting for at least a year. I’d err on the side of caution and drop the tank to minimize making things worse. And, yes... PIX PLEASE!

Nice job Aaron. Appreciate the time and effort.

PS - I just realized the literature cited by Paul has an additional ten 1970 SS’s unclaimed (3,833). Happy hunting, gentlemen!!! 😂

Thanks for this validation, Paul. I’ll be sure to let “Greg” 😂 know what you found. All ball busting aside, I appreciate your time, knowledge & contributions towards addressing my concern. I’m sure this won’t be the last issue I dump on you guys as I get to know my Monte more and more intimately.

I’ll keep that in mind and break out the trusty magnifying glass, wire brush and mineral spirits when I find the time. This is going to be better than an Easter egg hunt as a kid.

Not sure if I mentioned earlier, but I did not get that deep in to looking at the block past where the paint was removed by the sellers mechanic for photos when he listed it for sale. And the service I paid to inspect the car took a picture of the “TI222CRN” (he was also able to get photos of the trans ID tag Even though he had to do so while the car was on the ground) but nothing else is visible in that picture/from the angle the photo was taken. Looks like I have some homework to do once I get back out to the garage. I may even open up the cocoon, roll it back, pop the hood and get to hunting on my next day off instead of waiting until spring. I remember looking at the exposed stamp, but didn’t think past that point to look for a partial VIN stamped after it, under it or nearby. I’ll report back with whatever I find, when I find it - good or bad. Side note: immediately prior to submitting this comment, I hit Amazon & purchased Chevrolet by the numbers for 1965 through 1970 vehicles. I’m sure flipping through those pages once the book arrives will have me pulling out what little hair I have left 😬

Jeezus, can I ever use a drink! Thanks guys. Even if it’s ultimately discovered not to be the block originally mated to the car, it’s still good to know that it’s there RIGHT block. You all rock, thanks again.

As I said in my previous comment, I’m gotten conflicting information from literature I’ve read previously and what you are claiming. Just found a quick reference I have used in the past. This is from a site called chevellestuff.net. By clicking on the “1970” tab it will bring up all power train options available for the year. This source clearly shows that the CRN block was used for the 1970 Monte Carlo SS. They also reference a source called “Chevrolet by the numbers” - I will look at that later after work. More thoughts and comments are appreciated. For now I’ll attach the two screenshots I took supporting this side of the issue:

It’s a 70 SS according to all the documentation and options, build sheet etc. Prior threads have discussed the CRN stamping / block being correct for this car, so this is indeed conflicting information. Is there literature I can reference to support your claim? in the event your information is 100% correct (it’s a 1972 motor) how does that ultimately affect value?

To be honest I haven’t looked at it that closely since I bought the car. My understanding is the sellers mechanic removed the paint in order to make the numbers visible for verification purposes when he listed it for sale. Would the VIN stamping immediately follow the “T I 2 2 2 CRN”? Because it’s not visible in the picture I submitted and that’s the only pic the inspector took of it. Where else can I look for supporting numbers stamped? Will the one near the oil filter be the same characters or different? I may be breaking into the bubble before spring now, lol. Thanks again for all the help guys !

I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s truth to what both of you are saying. Just guessing here... perhaps someone on the assembly line was tasked with retrieving relevant numbers off the cars and stamping them into the metal part of the plate. Or maybe this person scribbled the numbers down on a piece of paper and handed them off to someone else to stamp the plates? And then that person thought the 2 was a 7. Hell, I know I can’t read my own writing sometimes! And my fat fingers make typing anything a chore (thank God for auto correct/auto spell!). And it would also make sense that the original owners name and address would be added to the PP by someone at the dealership upon the buyer taking delivery. Regardless, all of this makes sense and will keep me from overthinking what is in all reality much to do about nuthin’. Thanks again for the input gentlemen, it’s appreciated as always.