Michael Boyte Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Absolutely beautiful!!!!! Great job! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70white402 Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 dan did you get your nos grill from the guy in fredricksburg, virginia? jeff in n.j. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 Thank you, everyone. Jeff, I got the grille on ebay. It was sold by Ausley's Chevelle. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 I got more history on this 1970 Monte yesterday. Some of you have read part of this before. I apologize for the redundant parts. I did a title search back to the original owner, not long after I bought it in Kansas in 2008. I hadn't yet found the build sheet at that time. It showed the car had 4 previous owners in Kansas and that it was in Kansas City, MO before that. I did a MO search and got more than I hoped. It had one owner in MO, and he bought it new in June of '72. But what I found more unusual was that it also showed the car was originally shipped from the Van Nuys plant in LA to the Leeds plant in KC, instead of to a dealer. I wondered why it was sent there and remained there for 5 months before being bought by Pappas Chevrolet in June of '70. I've since found out that Montes weren't assembled at the Leeds plant until the '71 model year. After I found the build sheet, it showed the same and more. The car was sent to Leeds from Van Nuys, no dealership name was printed on it, and it has POOL P.O. LE-17578 in block 107. I've never seen that on a build sheet before. A guy that goes by Dale M on the Chevelletech forums said he had never seen that before, and requested a copy. That made me more curious, because he's been collecting and studying build sheets for many years. Yesterday, our fellow member LS5 (Darren), sent me a PM that explained a lot. He contacted a friend he had worked with at GM by email. Here is basically what he sent me: Hey Darren how you doing Pal. Is this not the same car we spoke about a while ago? The build sheet you sent me shows this is the pool car we spoke of. This won't show Dealer info. Box 113 shows Dealer as 29 and the zone is zero, this all spells out as follows and you were close. Pool/Executive cars were given to Executives and Management Team members of choice of Plants who travelled to Dealerships and Zone and Plant meetings, plus personal use. This Monte Carlo was a Pool car and is the same one we spoke of before. It shows that the Leeds Plant dealer code 29 and zone 0 ordered this car from Van Nuys and was a pool vehicle. I was one of those "executives" who drove one. We got to choose the model and color. In addition to gas and car washes and oil changes were free, we were expected to keep the cars in pristine condition and everyone I knew did. Employees got first chance to buy them, when they came out of service and were in high demand. This is a neat car. To know an Executive or Management Team member drove this back in 1970 and is still around today is great. Take care Darren and keep in touch. George Zapora Vintage Vehicle Services GM Heritage Centre 1189 Colonel Sam Drive Oshawa, ON L1H 8W8ode __________________________ Thank you again, Darren. You continue to be a very helpful, fellow Monte Carlo fan. Dan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orbit Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Very Cool 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Darren is a wealth of knowledge. Every time he attends a Western Meet I learn more about these cars. Thanks for sharing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Darren is the Man!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I really want to see this car in person. What a thing of beauty! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 a friend of mine has a 1970 mc ss all original triple black car with a sticker on the drivers side 1/4 glass wich states it was a executive car. that is one of the reasons he bought it. when i get together with him i will take a picture of this and post it. not till spring. great story. thanks joseph. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 Thank you, Rock. I want to show it sometime at the Back to the Fifties show at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. It would be great to meet you there. That would be great, Joseph. If our car had a similar sticker, someone removed it. More progress. I've finished reinstalling the package tray cover, the insulation under it, the speakers, defogger, sail panels, rear side panels, arm rests, seat belts and the rear seat. The only thing left to do inside is the stereo, and it's ordered. Finished modifying and painting the steel inner fenders yesterday and installed them today, along with the battery tray, and the load leveling compressor. Aired up the compressor and put a little air in the rear shocks. The punch list is getting shorter. Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leghome Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Looking very good. Is that a small block fan shroud? I thought a big block shroud covered the whole radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Thanks, Larry. It's the original big block shroud. None of them covered the entire radiator, as far as I have seen. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridercoachbob Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Your car is absolutely phenomenal! Thanks for sharing the process! Hopefully I'll have my car half as nice as yours someday!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 Thank you! It's been a fun project. I've been working 62 hrs a week at my power plant job lately, but I still can't stay away from the garage. I did final sanding and buffing on the hood this evening, and I hope to install it soon. I need to restore the stainless steel trim that goes at the base of the windshield and the rear of the hood. A few other minor things and the AC system will be last. Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orbit Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Dan Great job. Absolutely beautiful 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 Thanks, Joe. My wife and my son helped me put the hood on last night. I spent some time this evening adjusting the hood and the hinges. It's close, but I still need to fine tune it. Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 28, 2018 Author Share Posted March 28, 2018 The Vintage Auto radio was shipped today and I should have it Saturday. I hadn't planned to replace the rear end, but a friend offered a rebuilt '67 Chevelle 12 bolt posi with new 3.55:1 gears, bearings, and axles for sale. I thought the price was right, so I grabbed it 2 days ago. It's been cleaned and painted already, but it was a couple years ago. I'll repaint it sometime in the next few months and try it out. The original 2.56:1 posi is under the car now. I don't think I'm going to be doing much highway driving anytime soon, so the 3.55s will make for a very fun street car. The performance improvement over the 2.56s should put a smile on my face. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 OT at work ended for awhile yesterday. I got to work on the '70 today. Restored the translucent paint on the float for the washer fluid monitor and got the system reinstalled and working. Started restoring the lower windshield trim. It had a few light dings in it. Should be able to finish it this weekend. Finally put one of the rocker trim pieces on. Since the reproduction metal clips for the trim are too thick and dent the trim, I used plastic clips from Auveco. They were too thick also, so I sanded them about 20 thousandths thinner with 40 grit. That worked great. No dents. Dan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 I have to get the hood hinge rivets replaced, so I drilled all of the rivets out of them and blasted them. I sent them to Virginia to be rebuilt. From there, they'll go to California for the gray phosphate coating. I've installed the stainless steel trim at the bottom of windshield, the wiper arms, the other rocker panel trim, and installed the stereo from Antique Audio Radio. I've been battling air leaks in my automatic load leveling system, and I'm real close to winning. Drove the car a couple miles to warm up the motor and check for coolant leaks. None found. Dan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 I'm still lovin the attention to detail. Keep the pictures coming 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970mcss Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Dan, the progress looks great. I had the rear fender moulding come off while I was replacing the inner fenders. I don't think the former owner used the correct moulding clips. The middle clip was missing and I don't think the others are correct. They are pushin, are they correct? Is there a good source for a complete set of retainers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 If you're talking about the trim at the rear of the front fender, the original clips had studs with nuts, but push in clips would work. I've seen full sets on ebay, but you can buy singles there, too. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1970mcss Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 Thanks Dan, it seems like everything I touch on the car is wrong. I replaced the skirts and half of the bolts were wrong or missing. I will order a set and see what I find under the rest of the mouldings. Thanks again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Posted April 16, 2018 Share Posted April 16, 2018 LED in the dash lights? Nice and bright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 No, standard incandescent bulbs. I don't like them brighter than stock. I sometimes dim them some, anyway. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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