MCfan

My grandson and I took my '70 SS to its first car show today over in El Dorado, KS. It's a small town about 25 miles NE of Wichita on the edge of the beautiful Flint Hills. They just have one car show a year but they close both main streets to host the show. It rained this morning (finally!) and was threatening all afternoon and evening (almost no one stayed around to hear the class winners, including me) but there were just under 100 vehicles entered, including some very nice ones. There was only one other first gen Monte there, a '71 SS owned by Dan Gentry of Andover, KS (a suburb of Wichita). I met and visited with Dan about his car and our club and learned to my surprise that he is also the owner of the '71 402 4-speed Monte I saw at the Blacktop Nationals last summer. As some of you will recall, the production numbers Dan has received (and has offered to share with me) do not agree with the '71 402 4-speed production numbers in our Tech Info section. So, I am anxious to see the production numbers Dan has and see if they can be verified. Dan commented that it was interesting that we both owned factory 4-speed and SS cars of the same year, mine are '70's and his are '71's. A couple pictures follow of our SS cars at the show today and a couple more are of his '71 4-speed at the 2010 Blacktop nationals: My '70 SS car at the show today (after 41 years of dust have been removed from the trunk, interior and engine compartment!). Dan's '71 SS car at the show today (that's Dan sitting just behind his Monte). Dan's '71 402 4-speed car at the 2010 Blacktop Nationals. The production numbers for '71 402 4-speeds Dan claims and I hope to verify in the future. Stay tuned!

Kyle, I just replaced the burlwood insert on my '70 SS car last Saturday. Here's what I encountered and what I did to get the job done (sorry for all the words - I didn't take any photos of this project): 1. Remove the four screws at the top edge which go up into the dash pad. Also, remove the two screws at the top edge of the glove box and then pull the dash pad backward and take it out. 2. Remove the rear window defrost switch. Drop the panel below the steering column to get access then remove the electrical connector from the back of the switch and the two nuts tha hold on the retainer. The switch and housing will fall out the front of the dash. 3. Carefully pull the radio knobs off and remove the lighter. 4. At the right upper corner of the insert there are two metal tabs (the insert is stamped sheet metal with a bonded plastic burlwood surface) that stick through slots in the dash face and are bent around. Look on the backside of the dash just to the right of the center A/C duct (or the filler panel if you don't have A/C) to locate the two metal tabs and then bend them back to allow the dash insert to be removed with less force and without bending it. 5. The remaining retaining devices (dum gum and spread wire retainers) can now be overcome by carefully working a flat tool (I used one of my wife's table knives - what she doesn't know won't hurt her) around the sides and lower edge of the insert. Since the left edge of mine was alread slightly loose, I started there. Push the flat tool carefully up between the insert and the dash face until you meet stiff, yet pliable resistance. When you encounter a glob of dum gum, simply push the tool slowly through it until the insert is free at that point. There are at least two (only two on my insert) spread wire retainers and they are on either side of the steering column cutout near the top of the arch. Push the flat tool up there and carefull pry the insert outward and the retainers should slip out of their respective holes in the dash. Work you way across the dash, until all of the dum gum globs have been separated. You may encounter another spread wire retainer near the radio opening. 6. The insert should now be free of the dash so you can pull it up and out. Pulling it straight out will not work because the steering column immediately swells in diameter just beyond the insert. Getting the new/replacement insert back in (I assume that is your objective) is mostly a reversing of the steps above. I decided to reuse as much of the dum gum (didn't know what it was called, but that sure works for me) as I could so I used a wood chisel to scrape as much off the dash and insert as I could. I wadded it all into a ball and then kneaded it and pulled it like taffy to restore it's flexiblity. Amazingly, it remained tacky as ever. I then cut/pulled off small amounts and rolled them into balls and placed them in locations on the back of the new insert to align with the original locations on the dash. You will obviously need to press slowly and firmly on each location of the dum gum balls to flatten them out and get good adhesion. I used a salvaged insert from a '71. It did not have any spread wire retainers but it did have four small screw holes in it (one in the lower right corner, one on each side of the steering column cutout at the lower edge and one in the upper flange at the left end). Since these holes did not appear to be of factory origin, I did not put screws back in them. Actually they are not needed if you put the dum gum in the right locations. If something more is needed, I suggest industrial double-sided foam mounting tape instead of screws. I am going to fill the small screw holes with JB Weld wood filler and use a walnut stain touch up pen to blend the small patches with the burlwood pattern. I also had to cut an opening in the replacement insert for my rear window defroster switch. I just nested the new insert on top of the old and scribed the opening on the back of the new insert. I used a Dremel cutoff wheel to cut the sheet metal from the back and a grinding stone for final shaping of the cutout and removing sharp edges. It worked perfectly and looks original once the switch is installed. I am not sure how a '72 dash is retained, but I've been told that they have a cutout for a seat belt indicator light as standard so you may have to install a light as a filler even if it doesn't function. There may also be other factory options that mount through the dash insert that I am not aware of. Good luck with your project. Mine took more time but was easier than I expected.

Nice work, MG! Salt is nasty stuff, but looks like you arrested its work, reclaimed what was still functional and replaced the rest. Good feeling to know it's done even if it isn't visible to everyone every day.

Dave, I noticed that wheel code "AV", which is next to last on Darren's list, is a five spoke, gray, 15 X 7 wheel for a Z28. Is that possibly what you are looking for?

No problem, Scott. Glad it might be useful to someone. I have benefited so much from what others have shared that I want to at least share a few things I have done that turned out okay. It's always challenging to try to explain what you know or feel in words so if anything I wrote under the pictures is too confusing, please feel free to ask for clarification. Good luck with your project!

Bruce, I don't recall the tech article you are remembering but I'd like to see if if you can find it. In the meantime, I will share a link a photo essay I recently finished on my frontend rebuild project last November. Both the project and the essay were done by a novice (me) so don't have high expectations, but it might help someone who has never done it before. I know I will be a lot better prepared and more efficient when I do it again on my SS car this fall. Hope it helps someone. Here's the link: http://s912.photobucket.com/albums/ac329/dbengtson4/Front%20suspension%20rebuild/

Thanks for your feedback, Robert. Looks like I owe John an apology for hijacking his thread, although I didn't mean to. I distinctly remember writing a reply to John's original post and asking him where he got his dual snorkel air cleaner, but I can't find it on the thread so I must have screwed it up. Sorry, John. Since I'm already in violation... I hear you on the carb fitment issue, Robert. My 454 is completely stock so the dual snorkel unit should work fine on its Quadrajet. My 402 car has an Edlebrock Torker II manifold and 1806 Thunder carb that sits so high I can only squeeze a 2" thick aftermarket air cleaner under the hood pad because it also requires a 1/2" spacer ring. Thanks for your comment on my SS car. It had a nice external appearance when I bought it (not show quality but decent), but there were lots of hidden issues. I now have enough of them fixed (and some others scheduled over the next two weeks) that I am really beginning to enjoy driving it around town. I am waiting for cooler weather this fall to rebuild the front suspension. My wife really enjoys cruising Douglas Ave in it (as we occasionally did in our VWs 44 years ago when we were dating here). Last night she told me I should keep this SS car if I decided to sell one (although she fortunately has no problem with me having both Montes right now). We'll see about that later.

Many thanks for the detailed reply, Carl! That's what makes this club so valuable! I found some reproduction ones on eBay but, as your reply has shown, there's more to it than meets the eye. I'll check it out.

Where did you get your dual snorkel air cleaner, Carl? I'd love to get one for my SS car since it came to me with a 350 air cleaner on it (single snorkle with small round opening). Thanks!

Yes, Scott, it has been done successfully more than once. I researched it and seriously considered it last year but decided to add factory PS to my 4-speed '70 as a first step. The conversion is not cheap ($1,800 - $2,000), but apparently the results are very impressive. I exchanged emails with two former members who had both installed the Unisteer kit for '68 - '72 Chevelles. http://www.unisteer.com/search_by_product/bolt_in_rack_pinions/chevelle_gm_a_body.html Everything works except the lower steering shaft segment has to be longer (about 10 5/8" total length as I recall) because of the Monte's longer wheel base. The factory is well aware of this and can provide you with the right substitute shaft if you tell them it is for a Monte. There was a very nice photo essay of this project available here for awhile, but it seems to have gone away when the member left that had posted it. There is at least one other kit available that should work with minor modifications and there are probably other members that have done this conversion. Hopefully, they will chime in and share their personal experiences.

Beautiful grandchildren, Mike! They obviously like their Grandpa AND his cool car! I have grands in both locations where my Montes are and they love to go crusing, also.

Very nice, Abe! Amazing what a difference a little elbow grease and a few new parts can make. The best part is that the results will continue to contribute to your enjoyment of your Monte.

I believe the backspace of the wheel is the critical measurement for rear tire clearance. A 7X15 rim with a 4" backspace places the outer rim exactly as far from the hub as a 8X15 with a 5" backspace (the extra inch all goes to the inside). Since a 275/60 on such an 8" rim clears an untrimmed/unrolled wheel opening by a good 1/2", I am quite certain that a 255/60 on a 7" rim (w/4" bs) will clear as much or more. The question is, what is the actual backspace of your wheels? Unless you already have, the safest thing to do is to measure it. Take a wheel off the car (assuming the spare might be different), lay it on its face put a straight edge across the back edge of the rim and measure directly down to the surface of the wheel that meets the hub. Or, you can lay a longer straightedge across the outside bulge of the tire and measure down to the mounting surface and then subtract the measurement down to the outside edge of the rim to get the actual backspace measurement. If your 7X15 rims only have 3.5" of backspace, the edge of the tire will have .5" less clearance than the same tire on a 7X15 rim with a 4" backspace (regardless of the tire size). I know a 255/60 on a 7X15 rim with 4" backspace will work, but I have not tried them on a 7X15 rim with only 3.5" backspace.

Steve, What you suggest will probably work, although most tire size calculator programs warn against diameter differences greater than 3% (braking concerns). A 225/60-15 is over 6% smaller diameter (shorter) tire than your current 225/70-15s and over 5% smaller than a 255/60-15 (which is just slightly smaller/shorter than your current tire). Unless you just want a particular look, you can run 255/60s all the way around as Aaron does on his '70. On my 4-speed car, I am using 255/60-15 on stock 7X15 (4" backspace) rally wheels on the front and I am certain they will also fit on the rear although I have 275/60-15s back there on 8X15 (5" backspace) rallys. Both of my '70s had 245/60s all the way around when I got them (the SS car still does) but since that tire is 2% smaller/shorter than a stock 27" tire, the speedometers were off (read too fast). A 255/60 is almost identical in diameter/height to a stock 27" tire. Don't know your rear gear ratio or the type of driving you do, but rear tires that are smaller/shorter than stock will require higher rpms for highway crusing than stock or larger tires, especially if you have a higher (numerically) ratio rear gear. There are several tire size calculators online. If you use 205/75-15 as the stock tire, you can compare any of the other sizes and profiles to it and quickly learn what the changes will be. I used the following one tonight but there are others: http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?action=submit

Thanks for sharing that tip, Steve. Actually, I think that "bolt" is the one that goes with the fitting. I just tied the hoses up so they wouldn't leak brake fluid all over and put snug-fitting plastic plugs in the caliper housings while I refurbished them. I'll try your technique when I rebuild the front suspension of my SS car this fall.

Yes it will, Phil. I installed a factory power steering pump out of a junked '70 with a 350. I got a pair of factory Big Block brackets from Leo, although aftermarket brackets are also available from several suppliers. You may also need a different crank pulley unless you have a spare groove now. Sounds like your car may already have a power steering gear box. Mine didn't so I used one from the same small block '70 after putting a new seal kit in it. The only difficulty I encountered was getting the correct new supply hose (high pressure side). Advance Auto had the incorrect number in their system. I finally got the original part number from my GM Assembly Manual which they cross-referenced to another hose that fit perfectly. Let me know if you need that number and I will look it up for you. I custom made my own return line (low pressure side) from new hose and used fittings. You probably know to slowly turn your steering wheel completely from lock to lock about 5 times when you get your system installed and filled with fluid. That squeezes the air out and eliminates any jerking or squeeling. Fittings have to be very tight to avoid leaks. Here's a link to my project album: http://s912.photobucket.com/albums/ac329/dbengtson4/Installing%20Factory%20Power%20Steering/ As you can see in this photo, mine bolted right up and was compatible with the positioning of my Classic Auto Air compressor. Everything works beautifully and has made my car tons easier and more fun to drive. Good luck with your project!

Sounds like we're having fun now, Joe! Not sure just what you mean by "inner and outer ball joints". Upper and lower, I get. Frankly, you haven't given us much info to work with so I'll make some assumptions. Sorry if this is more than you need. If you had already removed the old ball joints, you would know that the lower ones are pressed into the lower control arm and the upper ones are either riveted or bolted to the upper control arm. You will need to separate both ball joints from the spindle first. You can use the force of the coil spring to your advantage here. Loosen the nuts on both ball joint stems and back them off until the top of the nut is flush with the end of the stem. Put a floor jack or suitable block about 1/2 inch beneath the lower control arm to "catch" it when the ball joints pop loose. Now you can separate the ball joints from the spindle any one of several ways: smartly whacking on the nut that is flush with the stem end; rapping on the side of the spindle adjacent to the taper joint, using a "pickle fork", using a ball joint separator tool or using a homemade spreader tool. After both upper and lower ball joints have separated from the spindle, use your floor jack or suitable block to support the lower control arm and then remove the ball joint stem nuts and move the spindle/hub assembly aside. If you are replacing the ball joints without removing the control arms (since that certainly is not required), You will need to chisel the heads off of the four rivets that hold the upper ball joint to the control arm. An air chisel makes quick work of it, although a heavy hammer and sharp cold chisel will get it done, also. After cutting off the heads, use a slightly smaller diameter punch to drive the rivets out. Obviously, if there are four bolts already there instead of rivets, just unbolt it. The lower ball joints can either be dirven out or pressed out with a special "C" clamp tool that you can borrow from any Advance Auto store. You'll probably need it to install the lower ball joints anyway, so you might as well use the tool to press out the old ones as well. Just follow the instructions that come with the tool. Installing the new ball joints is just reversing the removal procedure. The upper ball joint is bolted in with the four bolts, washers and nuts that come with the ball joint. The lower ball joint can be pressed into the lower control arm with the "C" clamp tool. Don't install the grease zerk until you have the lower ball joint safely pressed into the control arm to avoid damaging it. Once both joints are in place, you can bolt them securely to the spindle. I've heard that you can actually bolt the lower ball joint to the spindle without pressing it into the lower control arm because when you remove the support/jack under the lower control arm, the force of the spring will pop it into place. I can see that this would work, but I haven't personally tried it. I've included a few pictures below that may help also. Obviously, the upper and lower control arms had been removed from the car in this case, but you can do the same thing with the control arms still in place, it just won't be as handy. Chiseling the rivet heads off. Driving out the lower ball joint with a heavy hammer. The "C" clamp tool set I borrowed from my local Advance Auto parts store. The new lower ball joint ready to be pressed into the control arm. The only pieces of the tool set needed to press in the lower ball joint. Pressing in the lower ball joint with the "C" clamp tools. New lower and upper ball joints installed in their respective control arms. Upper control arm and new ball joint in place. Lower control arm and new ball joint in place and spindle being bolted onto the new ball joints.

Congratulations on your amazing performance, Davey! Man, that is heads up racing! Thanks to you and your excellent videographer for sharing some of the excitement and inspiration of this great experience! Hope you and the 'Velle get rested up and ready for the next challenge. Rock on!!

Congratulations, Davey!!! Great photo! All the best in Vegas!

Made a bit more progress on my "new girl" the past couple weeks. Installed my first ever "vanity plate". My first choice,"70SS454", was aleady taken so I went with my second choice which was "MC454SS" and got it. When I got my "new girl", the trunk was a disaster: broken trunk lock, rotten trunk mat, light surface rust on the floor, rusty jack, grimy rally spare wheel, unmounted 70 series tire (wrong size) and no tire cover. The spare tire cover I ordered from The Parts Place finaly arrived last week so I finished the trunk refurbishing project I have been working on over the past two weeks. I had previously replaced the trunk lock (got a new one on eBay), so I yanked out the old trunk mat, and then stripped, primed (Rustoleum gray primer) and repainted the trunk floor with Dupli-Color DM109 Black and Aqua Spatter Paint (matches the origninal perfectly). I disassembled and refurbished the jack with a wire wheel, buffing wheel and Dupli-Color black semi-gloss and lubed the action and bare metal parts with Break Free CLP. I repainted the spare rally wheel and bought a nearly new 245/60-15 tire from a local tire shop which they mounted and balanced for me. After installing a new trunk mat and jack instruction label from The Parts Place I called it good for now. Of course the front end needed some attention also, so I disassembled, cleaned and repainted the parking light housings with Dupli-Color Bumper Chrome and installed new amber bulbs. Then last Wednesday, I pulled the grill, radiator cover and hood latch off, cleaned and repainted each with Dupli-Color black semi-gloss and/or Bumper Chrome, as appropriate. I masked off the bumper, fenders and engine behind the radiator and repainted the exposed surfaces of the radiator support structure black semi-gloss. Got her all put back together and have been enjoying driving her around town the past few days. Thank goodness the AC works! It was 108 yesterday and 107 today. We had a brief thunderstorm mid afternoon today and the streets steamed like water boiling on the stove! Today, I took my wife to lunch in the Monte. When I came to get the car (parked way out in the lot, of course), a man was waiting in his car for me to show up. He jumped out and explained why he had put his business card under the wiper blade. He's a car collector (anything in near factory condition from 1928 to 1983 his card says), not a dealer, and wants me to call him first if I ever want to sell the car. I thanked him and told him I would keep his card but he was # 5 on the list. Guess the little things add up after awhile.

Kevin, unfortunately, the air conditioned garage is at our winter home in Florida. My (blue) 4-speed car is resting comfortably there, awaiting my return this fall. My (gold) SS car is here in Wichita where my garage is not (yet) air-conditioned. The only consolation here is my comfortable basement work shop where I can do most of the refurbishing work once I take parts off the car. For the bumper alignment project, I stripped parts off the car and painted the rear frame early in the morning and put everything back together late at night with three fans going. Nearly every day my wife says, "Tell me again why we left Florida and returned to Wichita for the summer?!" Today is our 25th day of triple digit temperatures and that is also the forecast for the next two weeks. This is only July so we have at least 40 more days to go!! Ugh! We are working on a plan to put Kansas in our rear view mirror permanently.

Beautiful, Lloyd! What a difference! Amazing how detailing seemingly small or insignificant areas and parts of your car all of a sudden adds up to a very noticeable change in its overall appearance. Makes you feel good too. Thanks for sharing the products you used. Gotta remember to do that in the future.

Whoa, Davey, no harm, no foul. I was glad to learn of a source for a replacement part that actually works well! My inclination is always to try to fix something first and replace it if I have to. Unfortunately, some of my "fixes" either don't work so well or don't last very long so I end up going the replacement route anyway. This fix was easy and cheap (I had the spring laying around) so I decided to share it, but it certainly is not an "original" part so it's good to know they are also available for those who want/need them. Sounds like you were able to walk into the supplier, tell a knowledgable person what you needed and get one put in your hand that should work. You could probably even take it back easily if it didn't. One of my pet peeves is that many parts suppliers offer thousands of parts online but provide very little information and often no pictures to help a buyer select the correct part for his vehicle. If you guess, it could cost extra time and money, so you end up having to call to talk to someone anyway. This club provides a valuable service to its members by everyone sharing what works and doesn't work, as well as, where to get the best stuff. I really appreciate that so thanks again for sharing!

Thanks for the source info on the new hood pin assembly, Dave. Good to know they are available if/when the need arises. I looked it up in the True Connections catalog and it appears to be on page 58 as part number HL-7021 1970-1972 Hood Pin for $42.95 plus tax and/or shippping. I don't see any distiction between Chevelle/El Camino/Monte Carlo for this part, so it's also good to know it works well on your Monte.

I recently solved one of the two hood problems I discovered on my "new girl". I will share it here in case anyone else has a similar problem. I will ask the group about possible solutions for the second problem (hood won't always stay up) in another post. Here's the problem I recently solved: When I pulled the hood release lever, the latch would release, but latch spring would not pop the hood up far enough for me to get my fingers in to lift the hood further. Initially, I removed, refurbished and lubricated the hood latch assembly. I also tried several different length adjustments but nothing worked. Finally, rather than buy a new stock spring (assuming that might help), I got the idea to install a "helper spring" inside the stock spring to increase the hood lifting force of the latch assembly. It's the same principle as dual valve springs, of course. (And, it turned out to be cheap and easy!) I determined the uncompressed length should be about 2 1/2" and the ID had to fit easily over the latch shaft to avoid binding under load. I tried several heavier springs from my spare springs collection first but they did not allow the hood to close far enough to latch without excessive downward pressure. Finally, I tried the light spring show in this photo and it worked like a charm. Now, when the release lever is pulled, the hood pops up with a half inch of clearance into which I can insert my fingers to further lift the hood. Sorry I don't know the specs on the spring so I attached a picture. Anything of similar size should work. As you can see, it doesn't take much of an additional sping so don't over do it. One key is to select a fairly loosely wound spring because the latch needs lot of travel to work correctly. A tightly wound spring may "bottom out" before the latch closes. To install the helper spring, I used a slip-jaw plier to turn the upper spring retainer counterclockwise, unlocking the shaft allowing the spring/shaft assembly to be unscrewed from the hood using a large flat-blad screwdriver in the slot on the conical end of the latch shaft. Be sure to measure the amount of shaft protruding from the retainer before you unscrew the shaft from its threaded base so you can put it back with the same length adjustment (assuming it latches well otherwise). Once disassembled, simply slide the helper spring over the shaft, reassemble to the same length measurement and reinstall it in the hood. Technically, this fix is probably considered a modification to the car so the purists will want to buy a new stock spring or find another solution to keep their cars original (although I doubt few judges would even notice).