Sjepps Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) Was passed down this car from a close friend; Vietnam vet with agent orange exposure and four cancers and counting, God bless him. Absolutely amazing car. Only issues are the driver's drum is currently stuck and the r12 leaked out. Suggestions for the r12? I'll get the drum fixed next weekend. According to him, the motor was built when he bought it, but neither he nor I know to what extent. They also cut the front coils, which I'm not a huge fan of, so we'll address that in the future. The hood is also not original, or at least the ornament isn't. Edited May 12 by Sjepps 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Welcome Steven. Several things to be thankful of, you obviously have/had a great friend and it shows, he is/was a caring person ( you can tell by the car) and you have joined a great group here that respects and cares deeply about the members of our armed forces. God bless him. If the car wasn’t driven much recently the shoes could have just be stuck to the drum. Easy fix no matter what’s wrong in there. A vacuum/ leak test should be done on the AC. One the leak is repaired you can go back with R12 ( hard to find) or have flushed and retrofitted to R134a. Have to see the hood and see what going on there. I’d replace the coil springs back to the original height and make sure nothing else was changed. Great looking car. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Welcome Steven! Beautiful Monte your friend entrusted you to be the caretaker of. Sorry to hear about his health issues. Like Dennis suggested I would convert to the cheaper an more readily available 134a for the a/c. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Steven, Welcome aboard the FGMCC club website. We hope you like what you see here and decide to become a full fledged dues paying member of the club. It is a great group of people here. OH, WAIT... That is a beautiful Monte. I am so sorry to hear about your friends troubles. I have several friends who are suffering the effects from the use of Agent Orange from the time we spent in South East Asia. Luckily I have never had any issues. I am not sure if you have seen all the hype on our Eastern Meet. This year our Eastern Meet will be held in Carlisle, PA in late June. As of now we have over 80 members registered to attend. It would be great to see your beautiful Monte there and get to meet you in person. If you would like more information on this amazing meet you can call me at 412-926-9168. If I can't answer when you call please leave a message and I will call you back. You will never see this many first gen Monte Carlo's in the same place at the same time. The trip to Carlisle would be an easy one for you, just hop onto I-81 and ride it right to Carlisle. Our hotel is just a half mile from the I-81 Exit. rob 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 very nice monte you have. I know a few affected by agent orange complications it's very sad for sure. Great group of people here for sure lots of knowledge too. Good luck with the car. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Maug Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 beautiful car steve. as a new member also, Welcome, i'm loving it. saying a prayer for my fellow veteran his friends and family. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marks71 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Welcome Steven, beautiful Monte. Sorry to hear about your friend. I see he has entrusted you as its new caretaker. There is plenty of good info here to get you through whatever you encounter. Send us some interior and under hood shots. If you choose, the $25 membership is money well spent. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregs70 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Welcome, beautiful SS, keep the pictures coming, we love pictures 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Hey Steve, Welcome to the club!!!!  She is beautiful!!!  A Great group of people with tons of knowledge that would love to help with any questions you have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Welcome Steven! Nice monte! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBMan Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Welcome, Steven! Nice car, is it Gobi Beige? Don't see many that color. There are a lot of great guys with a ton of knowledge around here that are happy and eager to help. Sorry about your friend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjepps Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 (edited) 3 hours ago, TheBMan said: Welcome, Steven! Nice car, is it Gobi Beige? Don't see many that color. There are a lot of great guys with a ton of knowledge around here that are happy and eager to help. Sorry about your friend. It was actually repainted a Toyota color, Desert Sand. Looks better in person I think, although it isn't a bad looking color generally speaking. It may have originally been Gobi Beige as the entire car is painted, so either it was stripped and painted or they picked something close. I haven't investigated yet. Thank you, we're hoping treatment helps. Edited May 13 by Sjepps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjepps Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 (edited) On 5/11/2024 at 9:13 PM, Dtret said: Welcome Steven. Several things to be thankful of, you obviously have/had a great friend and it shows, he is/was a caring person ( you can tell by the car) and you have joined a great group here that respects and cares deeply about the members of our armed forces. God bless him. If the car wasn’t driven much recently the shoes could have just be stuck to the drum. Easy fix no matter what’s wrong in there. A vacuum/ leak test should be done on the AC. One the leak is repaired you can go back with R12 ( hard to find) or have flushed and retrofitted to R134a. Have to see the hood and see what going on there. I’d replace the coil springs back to the original height and make sure nothing else was changed. Great looking car.  I've heard a lot of horror stories on converting from r12 to r134a but I've never done it myself, well, I did but I was a kid and the leak never got fixed so it didn't work long enough to have problems I was looking at Enviro-Safe and just sticking with r12 if I can find the leak. The hood ornament is this: https://www.opgi.com/emblems/exterior-emblems/1971-chevrolet-hood-spear-assembly/hood-spear-1971-monte-carlo-wemblem-m240130.html - I didn't think it came with the SS? Unless it was an option? Any suggestions for springs? I was considering going progressive fronts but that's just usually what I do with my non-coilover cars. And I'm not sure anyone makes progressive fronts anyway Also, the air pump for the rears is still there, but not hooked up. I assume most people have removed it after this long? Edited May 13 by Sjepps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Welcome! Nice Monte. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 19 hours ago, Sjepps said:  I've heard a lot of horror stories on converting from r12 to r134a but I've never done it myself, well, I did but I was a kid and the leak never got fixed so it didn't work long enough to have problems I was looking at Enviro-Safe and just sticking with r12 if I can find the leak. The hood ornament is this: https://www.opgi.com/emblems/exterior-emblems/1971-chevrolet-hood-spear-assembly/hood-spear-1971-monte-carlo-wemblem-m240130.html - I didn't think it came with the SS? Unless it was an option? Any suggestions for springs? I was considering going progressive fronts but that's just usually what I do with my non-coilover cars. And I'm not sure anyone makes progressive fronts anyway Also, the air pump for the rears is still there, but not hooked up. I assume most people have removed it after this long? The hood ornament is correct for 71 SS or not, they all that one. If ac is converted correctly you shouldn’t have any issues. Plenty of spring options. There is a thread here that explains it really well. The load level was garbage from the factory but everyone with a real SS wants it back and complete, whether it works or not. They sound like a ticking lifter if they work properly. Yes it’s kinda annoying. But when you know what the noise is it’s all ok. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montemedic Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Welcome Steven !!! You have found the right place to be for the First Generation Monte Carlo. Only $25.00 per year dues. Plenty of great members here to assist with your questions or Monte issues, camaraderie, numerous Club Meets and fun !!!. As Rob had said earlier, the Eastern Meet at Carlisle is coming up soon. A great place to meet Club members, see many Monte Carlo’s of various colors and options, from small blocks to big blocks, 4 speed and Monte SS cars in attendance. Over 80 plus members in attendance too. A great opportunity to meet you and see your Monte. We hope you will join us. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjepps Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 6 hours ago, Dtret said: The hood ornament is correct for 71 SS or not they all that one. If ac is converted correctly you shouldn’t have any issues. Plenty of spring options. There is a thread here that explains it really well. The load level was garbage from the factory but everyone with a real SS wants it back and complete, whether it works or not. They sound like a ticking lifter if they work properly. Yes it’s kinda annoying. But when you know what the noise is it’s all ok. It's a real SS so maybe I'm beholden I guess the hood was swapped as this is a 70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Welcome, Steve!  Do right by your friend (please thank him for his service) and continue to keep that Monte proper. PS - You’ve found a great group here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 10 hours ago, Sjepps said: It's a real SS so maybe I'm beholden I guess the hood was swapped as this is a 70 Probably. The 71 hood has an extra hole, about 3/8, for the spring on the spear. I don’t think a 70 spear will cover the hole, not sure though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Peters Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 3 minutes ago, Dtret said: Probably. The 71 hood has an extra hole, about 3/8, for the spring on the spear. I don’t think a 70 spear will cover the hole, not sure though. From what I have learned Dennis is correct, a 70 spear will not cover that hole in a 71 hood. rob 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankOC Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 40 minutes ago, Rob Peters said: From what I have learned Dennis is correct, a 70 spear will not cover that hole in a 71 hood. rob I tried but the 70 spear is not wide enough to cover the hole. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjepps Posted May 15 Author Share Posted May 15 Some more pictures and bonus of our 73 Volvo 1800es 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Steven, your '70 SS is absolutely gorgeous!! I don't recall seeing that color combo before but it is a winner! Those wheels look great and the velour interior looks super comfortable, too. Just my opinion, of course, but I don't think that much rake is very fitting for such an elegant and sophisticated vehicle as your Monte. However, unless you are willing to do some serious looking and/or wrenching, you may never come up with the original front springs to replace those that have been cut. You may have a Build Sheet to confirm which (of 10 possible) front springs were assembled with your car at the factory but it was almost certainly the heaviest GQ spring. That spring featured a free height of 18.13" (giving a pre-load of 1760 lbs per spring) and a deflection rate of 275 lbs/in. One of the closest (and most popular) aftermarket springs you can get to replace it is the Moog 6330. It has a slightly lower pre-load around 1700 lbs but a slightly higher deflection rate around 295 lbs/in. When I rebuilt the front suspension of my '70 SS (with similar options as yours), I used the Moog 6330 and still got a very slight rake (see photo) so you may want to look at other possibilities if you decide to restore the frontend height. Good luck. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Maug Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 absolutely GORGEOUS Dennis.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 On 5/14/2024 at 10:26 PM, Sjepps said: Some more pictures and bonus of our 73 Volvo 1800es Monte is beautiful also the Volvo is cool too. I was parked with one at a cruise in last week, this is us leaving the show. Car belongs to another members father in law he has 2 of them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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