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What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?


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On 6/13/2019 at 1:43 AM, Hoodicoff1 said:

Installed a 3.5mm aux in on my Factory AM 8track! Since I couldn't get stations in AM around here anymore I decided to take the output wiring and wire an aux jack. 8 track still works but AM now just gets sound from the aux jack.  All it takes is a couple wires and a good soldering iron

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Would love to see "exactly" how this is done!!!

 

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I again went to Bellmore Train Station. It's better than I remember it years ago, I think I'll keep going when I can.

Found a better spot, remembered to bring a chair, discovered where the port-o-potty is and where the ice cream truck parks.

I love the stories of 402 SS Montes, 72 SS Montes, small block SS Montes.....I just smile and nod along. I also like how most people look at my car then go into stories about some long gone car they had.

I found a new use for one of my shop pickup magnets, it holds an info page I made up in place.

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Paul  thats right.. you don't see first gens that often  and its great when someone at a cruise- in had one way back when,or my  "dad,uncle,brother,you name it" -had one...universally they remember a great riding car  that took them EVERYWHERE! just adds to the fun of owning any classic car,or the Monte in particular,of course!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I braved the 100 mile drive from NYC up to my bud's place in Ellensville NY for a four day stay. The Monte sat on the lift almost all that time while he and his krazy drunken friends unwittingly added to their future back problems riding the quads all over his wooded property. You know, a couple of good ol' boys.

In the first mile of the trip up, the car lost an exhaust tip. Sounded like somebody tossed a cowbell out a window .:doh:  I didn't even notice it when I gassed up halfway there.  I have another pair in a box somewhere, ya never know when you'll need more cowbell  :D

The car got a whoppin 9.15 miles per gallon of high test on the highway. I gotta get a 4L80e in it.

She got an oil change, trans filter, "nicer" tank straps than the first set I made up and I tidied up a few things.

I missed the rain returning on Monday morning but the roads were wet and it had to endure spray off cars & trucks. How dare they! I was a Nervous Nelly in the turns with the Mickey Thompson tires and tight posi diff, I was in no rush.

I stopped in Mt Kisco to visit my Godfather Vito, he's gotta be 90. He "ran" the paint line at GM Tarrytown Assembly until he retired. While he was looking it over, I said "Baltimore" and he nodded and smiled, his daughter of course didn't get it. Only his 20-something grand daughter wanted a ride which I of course obliged with a heavy foot.

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Finally got under car and found my power steering leak, was only leaking when car was sitting not running. Was dripping out the bottom of the pump. I resealed it a few years ago so I decided to get a new one. Ordered it right from Advanced auto got it the next day and got it on last night, Fit perfect and works perfect now. Now all I have to do is get it cleaned up and ready for the Syracuse nationals next weekend. Oh yea changed the #1 spark plug again it fouled out again.

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Well, I spent a day re rebuilding the front end. Turns out I made quite a few rookie mistakes that needed addressing. (A fun game is comparing my last pics with today's to spot the differences)Today I got a few parts/brackets refinished, also scuffed, cleaned and painted the firewall and cowl. Nothing I'm doing is perfect but I'm going more for preservation than perfection at the moment. 

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No pics, but test fit a 4L80 transmission into the car today. Went to a hi-perf trans shop locally and he let me borrow a core to see if it'll fit. I'm planning on going with a 4L85E trans, but dimensionally they're the same. A couple of tight spots that a strategic whack will fix, but no metal surgery needed at all.

Wanted to get this out of the way before painting underneath, so in all, a good day.

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3 minutes ago, Paul Bell said:

Joe, it's my understanding that banjo fittings on the cooling ports make the installation of a 4L80e into our cars very easy. Search for "4l80e banjo" on ebay.

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And make sure you get 4L80 fittings like above, if you don't have the long one for the rear it can blow up quick.

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18 minutes ago, jft69z said:

No pics, but test fit a 4L80 transmission into the car today. Went to a hi-perf trans shop locally and he let me borrow a core to see if it'll fit. I'm planning on going with a 4L85E trans, but dimensionally they're the same. A couple of tight spots that a strategic whack will fix, but no metal surgery needed at all.

Wanted to get this out of the way before painting underneath, so in all, a good day.

I know in the LS swap world some people have to trim the lower ears off for header clearance.

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Correct Ian, that longer fitting sends the fluid returning from the cooler directly into the rear carrier. BUT this is on the second design case, which is much better than the original case.

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You guys are awesome!

I already had planned on getting the banjo bolts & was aware of the special fitting for the rear. If you don't have it, the trans burns up pretty quickly apparently.

There's a real good buildup series they're doing on a 69 Chevelle in " Hemmings Muscle Machines" titled "Surgery Without Scars" that is putting a 427 BB & 4L85E in without cutting up the car. They addressed the special fittings necessary, (would have been clueless though if I hadn't read it and you guys didn't tell me). They also mentioned probably needing urethane body bushings for more clearance & a G-Force crossmember. So far it looks like a good fit even with the old worn out bushings. Also looks like I could simply mod the original crossmember to work, but will make that call a little later on.

Here's part of the series:

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/surgery-without-scars-1969-chevrolet-chevelle-2/

Thanks for having my back, I really appreciate it!

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Just for accuracy, the returning cooled trans fluid shoots directly into the center support. The adapter penetrates right into it so that's why it's got an extended tube on it.  Apparently GM discovered the center support was susceptible to burning up and this fixed it in the second version. There were other improvements also.

Joe, I don't know what power level you're at but the 4L85e version (MN8 units) have five pinion front & rear planetaries. There's also a six pinion rear available in the aftermarket as well as hardened shafts, better clutches, billet drums and a few other tricks. These units can be built to handle over a thousand HP.

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Paul,

It's going behind the old 454 LS6 crate motor that GM offered in the late 80's. It's a Mark IV block, GM part # 366250 that was complete from water pump to flywheel, solid lifter cam & dual plane intake. Also steering towards the GM Perf Parts trans as listed in the article above. It's supposed to be validated for 685 ft/lbs. They also list 2 converters for it, one around 2400-2800 stall & 3000-3400 stall. They used the higher stall in the article I think. The local guy says he can build one & a converter too.

I initially plan to use the rear end from the old Monte with 4.10 gears which would put final drive at 3.08 roughly. Could also probably put 3.73 or 3.55 gears in the current diff (the rear in the car now is a 2.73 posi, pretty much useless to me now)  & that would work out to roughly 2.8 or 2.66 final drive, respectively. The first 3 gears of the 4L85 are the same as the T400, so it's just a matter of picking a good rear end gear. Not going to be racing the car or anything but want it to get out of it's own way when I nail it. Any of the above will work fine, but since I already have the 4.10, I'll start there.

Also steering towards an EFI system, so mating it to the trans module is something I'm currently looking into. A few options out there, but the trans module requires a TPS signal that should be separate from the one on the TB itself. Apparently tapping into that one is no bueno. Holley also offers a module that will control the EFI & trans, but is pricey (then again, it about evens up if you get the GM module separately). It would eliminate the need for a 2nd TPS though.

Thanks again & if you have any suggestions on the above, I'd appreciate it.

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13 hours ago, jft69z said:

You guys are awesome!

I already had planned on getting the banjo bolts & was aware of the special fitting for the rear. If you don't have it, the trans burns up pretty quickly apparently.

There's a real good buildup series they're doing on a 69 Chevelle in " Hemmings Muscle Machines" titled "Surgery Without Scars" that is putting a 427 BB & 4L85E in without cutting up the car. They addressed the special fittings necessary, (would have been clueless though if I hadn't read it and you guys didn't tell me). They also mentioned probably needing urethane body bushings for more clearance & a G-Force crossmember. So far it looks like a good fit even with the old worn out bushings. Also looks like I could simply mod the original crossmember to work, but will make that call a little later on.

Here's part of the series:

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/surgery-without-scars-1969-chevrolet-chevelle-2/

Thanks for having my back, I really appreciate it!

Thanks for posting the link Joe, it was a good read. I'll be following your build as i'm planning on dropping a GM crate 502 in my 70 this winter. I'm staying with the th400 (will have it refreshed with a new converter tho) and staying in the carburetor world. One thing I did pick up in the article was the crate water pump might have to be swapped out for me to use my original accessories. These little things add up $$ as we all know so its good to have a heads up before hand. 

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Spent yesterday and today on removing the interior. I wanted to power wash inside and out, all the nooks and crannies. It's been sitting on a farm long enough there must have been entire generations of mouse civilizations come and gone. They apparently like to chew up headliner and carpet padding and redistribute it in every spot that it is not supposed to be...like every hollow spot on the inside...

However I believe I was victorious, she now smells like well water rather than mouse piddle. Floor pan is very solid, aside from a small strip patch I will have to fab along drivers left foot. Trunk pan also seems very solid albeit a bit rusty.

Right now the biggest rot spot is under/behind the deck lid. I'm not sure what is called, but its basically the [censored] of the car without a bumper.

I plan to rough up the surface, put in patches and spray the entire interior. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! At the moment I'm thinking a rust converter followed by a rust encapsulater. I value all of your opinions, I would never have gotten this far without the information on this forum! 

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Hey Tom,

The panel you are referring to is called the tail panel. AZ Chevys, probably Koniks and others may have it. There is usually one on eBay from time to time. Used.  It is the same for all 3 years of Monte Carlo. The only difference is that the 72 has little tabs/studs  for the clips that hold on the rear mouldings and no emblem holes. The emblems are on the moulding. 

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30 minutes ago, MC1of80 said:

Hey Tom,

The panel you are referring to is called the tail panel. AZ Chevys, probably Koniks and others may have it. There is usually one on eBay from time to time. Used.  It is the same for all 3 years of Monte Carlo. The only difference is that the 72 has little tabs/studs  for the clips that hold on the rear mouldings and no emblem holes. The emblems are on the moulding. 

Thanks a lot! I will start looking! 

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