Dave Gardner

Thanks for responding guys, Rob thanks for the details. Forgot to mention, the car was fully restored prior to my ownership, It was done very well, and still looks like it did when I owned it. Pretty sure there was a shrunken area of the vinyl top way back then. It was mentioned to me at the time of purchase, that the paint was really close to the original Ascot Blue, the original color, the new paint would really turn darker and even displayed shades of purple at night or in a certain type of light. I did give Brian the original intake, quadrajet, valve covers, front bumper, and the original lower and tail light mouldings. When i had the car' I frequented many local car shows and always enjoyed the reactions. "Thats a 402!" Whoa! It's a 4 speed! When did you put the 4 - speed in? Answered them politely, the GM factory installed it in 1970. I'd show them the build sheet, as well. It was always the older guys that knew what this car was! I could have charged a fee to allow show attendees that wanted to put 4 speeds in their Monte Carlos as I would find them deeply investigated the clutch assembly and how it connected to the frame. Many had tried to use parts from Chevelle's unsuccessfully. I used to attend the Midway Cruise in Beaver PA. I worked as a PGA Club Professional at Shannopin CC in Ben Avon Heights, and Montour Heights CC, in Coraopolis during the time I owned the Monte Carlo. A friend of mine that is still in Pittsburgh sent me a clip of the BJ auction and upon looking at it I knew this my old Monte. I always wondered, how the car was doing. I am very happy to see it is doing quite well! My friend knew this car as well and suspected it was my old ride. Great to chat. Thanks for responding. I no longer own any MC's but had a '71 SS 454 my first car, a '73, '74, '75 all swivel bucket cars and bought an '87 Aerocoupe from Crivelli Chevrolet in McKees Rocks. Great looking car, but was a smoker from day 1, many problems, but I enjoyed it anyway. My son is 35 and owns a bucket seat '76 Monte Carlo certainly due to the exposure he had while growing up. It is equipped with the 400 small block engine. Anyone know how many of those were built. Cheers, Dave

Hi all, I've attached a copy of the build sheet below for the '71 4 speed 402 Monte that recently sold at Barrett Jackson. I owned this vehicle from 1995 to 2001. The owner before me, Jon Copeland, Dallas/Fort Worth area, installed the rear SS Black panel and the rear bumper. Jon, had sent me pictures of this Monte Carlo after I contacted him through his Hemmings Ad. He sent a few pictures of the car and at that time there was no SS panel in place. When I flew into Dallas to pick up the car, the rear panel treat ment is in place and Jon informed me that he had these parts installed and that they were valuable and could easily be removed if I wanted them off. The black SS panel looked awesome on this car and set off the car with the black vinyl top. This car was a GM Executive order vehicle out of Davis Chevy in Bismarck ND. She was equipped very well, 402 300hp, advertised by Chevrolet as a 400 CID with that designation on the original air cleaner assembly. PS, PB, Tilt, AC, R Defog, 3.31 12 bolt Posi, 4 spoke sport wheel, AM 8 track, dual chrome side mirrors, F-41 suspension, super - lift suspension. The air lift never functioned when I owned it, the rear shocks were standard, but the air lines were still there. I added the MSD system, edelbrock intake, painted and the 750 dual feed Holley. The AC Compressor was also bad when I bought her. She also had electrical issues due to the gauge circuit board had a hole worn through it and someone attempted to jumper the wires across the hole. I replaced the printed circuit panel, added stainless dual exhaust, replaced all 10 lower trim mouldings, the taillight mouldings, and installed a new front bumper. I had RED's Auto on Babcock Blvd. Pittsburgh Re - Upholster the Seats. She might have an aftermarket Blue colored flex fan on there as well, as I believe I swapped it in there. There was also a bit of black overspray or undercoating around the passenger headlight area that stubbornly remained attached to the paint against my tender efforts to remove it. A truly beautiful, great driving ride. I moved to MI in 2016. Thanks, Dave

Does anyone know the VIN or at least the last 6 of the VIN. I'm 99.9 % certain that I owned this car from 1995 - 2001, when I lived in Pittsburgh. I added the MSD ignition with the 6A Box mounted to the inner fender. I also swapped the intake for an edelbrock and 750 dual feed holley. I kept all the original parts and the provided them to buyer and the time of sale. I still have a copy of the build sheet and can verify the car was a GM.9 executive order out of North Dakota. The Monte Carlo also had 3.31 positraction rear and rear window defogger. I had the seats re -upholstered and had to replace the circuit board for the gauge cluster as there was a hole worn through it and somebody tried to jumper across the hole. I bought the Monte from a man in Texas, Jon Copeland in October of 1995. The car was restored before his ownership and he added the SS rear panel and bumper. I replaced the original bumper at some point and the tail light trim. If memory serves me correctly, I recall the car had 68,000 when i sold it in 2001. The purchaser was from Castle Shannon PA and worked somewhere in McKees Rocks. According to the owner, before me, this car was believed to be the last 402 4 speed assembled. Lastly, I provided the window sticker and build sheet at the time of sale and can't see there being another 402 4 speed in Ascot Blue with the SS rear panel and the MSD as it was after my installation. The Monte was a pleasure to drive and fun with the 300 HP engine and the M20 4 speed. Dave