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jahroy72

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Hi.  My name is John and I just bought a 1972 Monte Carlo.  This would be my second 72 Monte.  The following is how I got hooked on the 1st Gen Monte Carlos, and in particular the 72s.

I had just turned 16 (this is 1981) and had been scouring the Auto Trader for weeks looking for that perfect car.  I found 2 that interested me.  Both 70 ½s.  A Trans Am 445HO 4-speed, white with the blue stripe and a Camaro Z-28 LT1 350 with a 4-speed.  Both were going for $2500 (!).  I talked dad into taking me to see the Trans Am.  After I did a burnout across an intersection (totally by accident) the TA was off the table.  The Z-28 was sold.  There was a late 60’s or early 70’s GTO Judge for about the same price for sale in “The Trailer Park” (I was in small town Minnesota and there was only one trailer park).  I had mentioned to Dad’s insurance agent what I was looking at and he quoted me something like $600 for insurance.  Ok, no GTO Judge. 

I was working as the car wash/detail boy at the local small town Chevy dealership (small town like; leave my back door, cut across grandmas yard, go half a block up the alley and I was at work…less than a minute to get to work).  The guys (mostly all the sons of the owner) knew I was looking for a car and they had floated the idea of an IMSA Monza.  Find one with a small block and get the crazy wide fender flare kit as was the style at the time.  I think Al Holbert was winning with a DeKon Monza and that must have been where they got the idea.  But then he said…or, there is this ratty old Monte Carlo that is in the line of junk cars…but it has a big block in it.  Hmmmm, big block you say, eh?  When I saw the interior I thought this was a really cool car!  Black cloth buckets with that center console and the horseshoe shifter, tilt, factory tach…smells kinda weird…but I’m digging this.  The exterior on the other hand…well, typical Minnesota rust bucket.  Both rear fenders rusted half way to the trunk line, front fenders had the typical rust out behind the front wheels, could see the ground through the two large holes in the trunk and rust around both front and rear windows.  Since I was working at a Chevy dealership and the guys were all gearheads they would help me with getting parts and fixing it up.  Sold it to me for $400 and I got a loan for $2500 and just gave them the check.  It turns out the car was Phyllis’ initially.  Phyllis was the wife of the dealership owner.  It was a 1972 Monte Carlo Custom with a 402 BB / Turbo 400.  It had an open diff with 2.73 gears and rear anti-roll bar.  White with white vinyl top, black cloth buckets, etc.  It also had the rear window defroster and the little map light in the rearview mirror, the 4-spoke Sport (?) steering wheel, and the remote driver side outside (again) Sport (?) mirror.  No power windows or locks.  It had 3 of the 4 finned style hubcaps that I tried to throw away cuz who wants hubcaps!!?? (thankfully my brother did and still has the 3)  Rally wheels with trims rings and center caps with BFGs are where it is at.

Spent the summer getting the body fixed up (I had no idea what I was doing but did get some guidance from the fellas).  Finally got it all painted and really wanted to drive it to school.  Wellll, that didn’t happen.  The first night I got it all together I drove it with a couple friends to St. Martin to go drinking.  Got all drinked up and decided to go see how fast it would go (genius, I know, but that is what we did back in the days in that place).  Not fast for long as I started to hear this knocking noise that the radio (possibly Night Ranger or something) would not drown out.  Eventually the oil light came on and the engine died.  After I turned the radio off and discussed what the heck to do with my passenger, Joe, we tried to start it and it did start…but with a horrible knocking noise.  So I drove very slowly back to the Short Stop Bar and picked up by buddies…then drove all the way to St Anna to drop them off then finally back home.  I just parked it in the alley behind the dealership.  Next morning the guys said probably have to pull the engine.  Found out spun bearing.  Took another 3 months or so to get the engine rebuilt and back in the car.  School was long over by then but I did get tot drive the heck out of that car for a year or two.  Oddly enough my brother had bought the 70 Monte that was owned by the dealership owners nephew.  It was a 1970, white with a black top, 350/350, cloth bench, power windows and slotted aluminum mags.  Everyone always got our cars mixed up.

Then I was backing up one night and hit a concrete thing with the right rear quarter and messed it up pretty good.  So over the next winter I redid the bodywork (much straighter this time…but still with lots of bondo…still had more to learn about doing bodywork) with help from Arnie at the body shop owned by the same dealership family.  But I drove it for another year or so and as it was my only transportation, I had to drive it through the winter.  Well I was just starting to see evidence of the paint bubbling so I decided to get rid of it before all the bondo fell out.  One of my friends girlfriend really wanted it and bought it for $3000.  Then about a month later her bother was driving it and wrecked it but good.  I went and looked under the tarp where it was parked down from my house and the entire front end was crushed up.  Even then I was thinking I should ask him if I could pull the entire interior out of it before it went to the junkyard or wherever.  But I was on my way to moving to Arizona and had no where to put it.  Still get a kick in the gut when I think about leaving that sweet interior.

So, put he VCR on fast forward…recently I have been getting frustrated by ridiculous sensor issues on some of my cars (old Honda and 10 year old Audi…don’t get me started on that Audi…).  And the sensor turns on the check engine light which will not let me pass emissions.  So I decided I would look for a nice clean simple old Chevy.  And what better to look for than the car I loved when I was a kid.  Good ol’ 72 Monte.  But it had to be white/black interior with the buckets, center console, and factory tach.  Would have liked to have found a Custom and wanted the BB/Turbo 400 but ended up with a 350/350.  But all the big stuff is there.  Time to go through her and make her reliable.  But at least it runs and moves (as opposed to my other projects cars…1967 G20 108 Chevy van and 1965 Bel Air Station Wagon).

I attached the only photos I could find on short notice of my old 72 Custom.  Can just see the rear bumper of my brothers 70 on the left and the black roof of his over the top of mine in the rear view.  Yes, I was a “street squirrel” thus the small air cleaner lid on top of the air filter (and the KQ92 bumper sticker..sheesh).  Similar to the “flip the air cleaner cover over” thing from back in the 70’s/80’s so could hear the howl when put the hammer down and the secondaries opened…which was often.

I’ll post photos of the current Monte soon.

549778587_Old72Custom_drivside_2.thumb.jpg.04e9b60dc03a65f873b21d906909249a.jpg740898801_Old72Custom_rear_1.thumb.jpg.cc69b0b25ccae62a7e56a32817417d2f.jpg60188033_Old72Custom_eng_3.thumb.jpg.3856eb11712c7826b6fc3581dd781cf2.jpg

Old 72 Custom_eng_2.jpg

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Welcome John, great story! My first car was a 72 Monte as well. "Flip the lid", lol, my buddy & I were just laughing about that exact thing a week ago from when we were kids (graduated HS in 1980).

You'll find this place is a wealth of knowledge and will find an answer to just about anything you can think of. Looking forward to the pics of the new one.

Joe T.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Welcome! Enjoyed your story! When I was a kid, my Dad kept the air cleaner lid flipped on our family car. It was a 72 Buick Estate Wagon with a 455. It was heavy and I’m sure slow off the line, but it sounded so good. Naturally when I bought my first car in 1978 (a 71 Monte Carlo) the first thing I did was flip the lid!

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  • 1 month later...
On 6/21/2020 at 3:20 PM, jft69z said:

Welcome John, great story! My first car was a 72 Monte as well. "Flip the lid", lol, my buddy & I were just laughing about that exact thing a week ago from when we were kids (graduated HS in 1980).

You'll find this place is a wealth of knowledge and will find an answer to just about anything you can think of. Looking forward to the pics of the new one.

Joe T.

Nice car

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On 6/21/2020 at 3:20 PM, jft69z said:

Welcome John, great story! My first car was a 72 Monte as well. "Flip the lid", lol, my buddy & I were just laughing about that exact thing a week ago from when we were kids (graduated HS in 1980).

You'll find this place is a wealth of knowledge and will find an answer to just about anything you can think of. Looking forward to the pics of the new one.

Joe T.

welcome

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