MC1970U

Since I don't know if it's appropriate to say here, until I hear back from the company, I sent you a pm. I did some research paid good money and got what I thought was going to help me with a quality restoration. S

Bought factory covers for my wife's 70 a few years ago and they are already badly fading to purple. It has spent most of its time garaged since the interior was completely gone through. It looked awesome when it was first done but now it looks terrible. I live in the northwest and the days the car has seen out of doors have been pretty mild. I don't get it? Trying to make headway on the car but seems like I'm not making any progress. You guys have any ideas on what might be going on? S

Dale thanks for your help. Got it working. It was a bad connection. S

Sure did. When I installed my HEI a couple years back I had disconnected the tach wire from the original points coil/distributor and because I did not have the proper plug/end to fit into the HEI cap for the tach wire I let it hang. I recently put the correct push on plug/end onto what I thought/think is the wire going to the tach so I could properly install it into the HEI. No movement what so ever on the tach. One thing that has me baffled is there are two separate brown wires coming out of the firewall several inch's from one another? I installed the brown wire that had the kind of crimped end that I have seen many times on wires going to oem coils. I am pretty sure it was on the wire from the tach that went to the coil. I don't know what the other brown wire is for? Now my memory could be shaky and that connecter on the one wire could be there to throw me off? After getting the interior done I so don't want to tear into the dash again! Thanks, s

For some reason the tach is not working with my new HEI. Anyone else experience this and how did you resolve it? Thanks, s

I have done several search's and have been coming up with conflicting information so thought I'd ask the good folks here on FGMCC. What is the correct part number for the temp sender that will fit in a Vortec head and work with the stock temp gauge on my 70 Monte? Thanks, spoony

Just ordered! http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines/sp350-357-turn-key Thanks everyone, S

Got 19367084 coming and hope to have it installed at the end of July beginning of August. http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines/sp350-357-turn-key Anyone have any experiance they would like to share regarding the crate motor swaps. Any problems with the Vortec heads on the exhaust side? I would like to thank everyone who participated on my previous thread. To build or not to build that was the question but after a lengthy mulling process I decided to go with the crate engine. Any interest in the original 350 can pm me. Thanks again, S

Everything you say is true but my personal experience has not been too good with, highly recommended, builders coming thru. A lot of things that can go wrong and the parts being used a lot of times in these builds are being sourced from areas that do not have the same quality controls as they used too. I do a lot of work on my own cars but because of Physical limitations r&r engines is not one of them and I have to pay someone to do that. The last engine I had built had to come out of the car 3 times, once to be gone thru by another shop, before I was able to put any mile on it. The GM crate engines have a great warranty, in comparison to a shops, that can be used if something goes wrong and it will pay for any necessary procedures. I'd love to have the original rebuilt but I just can't expect or assume it will go as smoothly as having one of the crate engines installed before, during or after it's all said and done! I was actually hoping one of the crate engines might be a good candidate as a long block but I'm not seeing that. Thanks again everyone and please keep the ideas coming, spoony

Hate to say it but that's exactly what I was planning on doing with it. I am really happy with the engine, other than oil consumption, but don't want to go thru the headache, expense, cheap parts and time loss of another "pro rebuild". I would like to rebuild but it was just too painful last time around. Do you have a part number on that engine? Are you thinking about part number 19210009 333hp 350 turn-key? That's the only small block I can see currently offered by GM in the the 330hp range, other then the truck engine, and the only way to get it is turn-key. Thanks, spoony

Hi all, Well got the interior done late summer, installed new wheels/tires mid winter and now its time to address the engine on the wife's 70 Monte. The engine performs really well but uses too much, though there are no signs of exactly where its going, oil between changes. Any good/better/best options within the currant Crate engine offerings that would match up well for with a factory 300hp car? The only none original parts are a DUI HEI distributor and Powermaster starter. I would have the original engine rebuilt but I would like to go easier on myself this time around. Thanks for the help, spoony

Since this was an irritating intermittent issue I have been hesitant to leave a comment until a little time went by. Replacing the starter and replacing the old 4 gauge battery cables with 2 gauge seemed to have done the trick. I installed one of the Powermaster 9000 starters. It turns over like never before. Super happy with the starter but not so much with PM customer support or the ambiguous, incomplete instructions. Anyways I may have got it figured Thanks for all the help, s

Lots of great info. I was happy with the improvement when I upgraded the headlights to halogen on my Elky. I think I will do the same on the MC, use relays and consider the alternator upgrade. Thanks again everyone, s

Bruce, Like I said I have halogens in there right now but there pretty old and I don't know what wattage they are. Did you have to run relays? When I changed over to some pretty standard halogens sealed beams on my 83 El Camino I had to use relays as the slight extra current draw was reaping havoc with my headlight switch. When you say "bulbs" do you mean you converted to H4 headlight housing and used H4 type bulbs? Thanks, s

I need to address the dim headlights on the Monte Carlo. I have read all the headlight topics in our forum but most are pretty old and wanted to know what the current thoughts are. I have some halogens in there now but they are pretty old and I have no idea how well they are working. Just want to brighten things up as much as possible legally. I was thinking about the setup Doug did in this thread http://www.firstgenmc.com/forums/index.php?/topic/14184-headlights-stock-replacement/?hl=headlights "The bulb that he used is Flosser Head Light Fog bulb 9003/hb2/h4 . They are 145 watt high beam/100 watts low beam halogen bulbs." Can that bulb be legal? It looks like it should be as some cars are manufactured with those bulbs. Also interested in thoughts on LED conversions like this EBay item number 122105974423 Thanks, s

Went out yesterday to try and push it into, it was stranded in the front yard, the garage to try and get down to the bottom of this and don't you know it started up again. So I parked the car in the garage, pulled the starter and started trying to trace the wiring back from that point to see if I could figure something out. So far nothing? "I have had this happen before due to a lose hot wire on the starter. Check the connection of the battery lead on the solenoid to be sure it is tight." I did and all connections were tight. Bruce and Sam the neutral safety switch was the first thing I thought of when I started having this problem. The neutral safety switch seems to be working fine as it has had no effect moving the shifter in and out of any position once the car has decided not to start. It's something I have tried repeatedly. "Bad battery?" The battery is new and I have taken it down and had it checked. Checked out good. Even though the starter benched tested fine is it possible the starter solenoid could have some kind of intermittent issue? Since I bought the car the starter has always been a bit sluggish. Has anyone had good luck with one of the Powermaster high/ultra torque aftermarket starters in a daily driver? I am going to replace the battery cables and was wondering what you guys have used with good results on the Monte's? I have not replaced battery cables in many years. I have never used spring ring battery cables and wonder about those as well. Belden used to make some nice cables? Thanks guys for all the help and please keep the suggestions flowing. On a brighter/warmer note its not freezing here anymore and it is a lot easier to work on the car. s

I am stumped on this. The car starts fine most the time and then sometimes out of the blue it just won’t. I did a parasitic draw test and thought the radio I installed over the summer might be drawing to much standby currant so I disconnected it charged the battery and the car was fine for a week. I have the same thing happening again tonight with a no start. Each time the car would not start I could hear the relay I installed for the distributor working fine. I have had the battery checked out. This time charging the battery is not helping. One interesting thing is that each time this has happened the starter solenoid did not even partially cycle/engage/clicking like would usually happen when a battery is partially dead. Other than hearing the relay engaging just dead silence? I have checked to make sure I am getting current everywhere I am supposed to. Any ideas where I should check? Thanks, s

Yes I will be doing something to extend the tracks next time I have the seat out. I am still surprised that these cars once were set up like this. It seems a large segment of society would be excluded from buying? spoony

Bought Bilstein's from RSD Suspension 2 years ago for the 70 Monte. Also put some on a 63 Nova longroof 4 years ago. Those shocks have been some the best products I have installed on my cars. spoony

Thanks everyone, So I was wondering? When someone was in the market for a new car in 1970 and they went to their local Chevy dealership would they experience this same seating situation when they took a car for a test drive? spoony

Thanks for the help guys, So any ideas what the sidewall bulge would look like for a 235/60/16 mounted on a 7" and 8" wheel? Would the sidewall tend to bulge out more or less on a 235/60/16 opposed to a lower profile 235/45/16? Even when the section width is the same do the sidewalls bulge further on taller profile tires compared to lower profile tires? Thanks again, spoony

Thanks for the response monte70car, I am restoring the car for my wife and she wants all four corners to be the same. I have decided the 235/60/16 will be the tire choice just having problems deciding on 7s or 8inch rims? Do you know what the stock non-rally wheel width was? I think what is on the Monte is the stock 15X7 with 215/70/15 but that tire bulges quite a bit? I don't mind a bit of bulge but not a much. Thanks, spoony Here's my personal ride before and after wheel change.

Thanks Bruce for the great article! spoony

So I think 16X8 4.5BS 235/60R16 should work fine with no problems? What do you guys think? Thanks, spoony

"I re-built a benchseat with new foam and covers and suddenly I'm disappointed!" To tell you the truth my gut sank. I couldn't believe how much it changed things. First thing that came to my mind was how my sons first car, a 68 Chevelle, turned out just like this after we redid his interior and he is 6'4". He sold the car shortly after and bought a Nissan 240SX that he actually fit into much better. The fast and furious movie had come out and he got all excited about it. Helped put a Skyline engine in it and he proceeded to scare the you know what out of me. But he wish's he had that 68 today. My wife reminded me that my 72 Camaro was like that as well. I was a young man and I just remember loving that car. I had forgotten about this issue with the 70s. It's hard to believe they were building so many cars that were uncomfortable to drive for a big, pun intended, segment of society? Murphy, how much did that add and was it enough to get you what you needed? It looks like 2 inch's! Thanks for going through the trouble to post pictures me with the cardboard tip. I will give that a try By the way the foam I used was from American Cushion Industries which I was very happy with. Perfect fit, attention to details, awesome comfort and made in the USA ! The dimensions on the bum cushion were thicker but I really don't know what the original was like when it was new. Thanks everyone!