72MC

Niiice. Way to go. That is one(there are multiple) thing keeping me from the strip right now....the heat and humidity. - Dave

Well a/c is gone and so is the distribution box. Below is a pic. Probably will sell the a/c setup. Not sure about the distribution box that mounts in the cabin under the dash. The plate is from BMR Fabrication. Trip to the strip is close at hand. - Dave New booster and MC has well as line lock.

a/c system(needs a compressor) will either go in the 72 El Camino or it will be sold. - Dave

Yea Bill, ladder bars were out from the beginning. I hook extremely good on the street right now. I was just thinking ahead to how the car might react on the strip. Line lock is installed and now to remove the rest of the a/c and off to the track I go. - Dave

Thanks guys for the responses. From your input and the input I have received from non board sources, it sounds like the verdict is this. Traction bars don't do much for 4 link cars. Lift bars, however, help out our cars the most. So again, thanks for your input. - Dave

Rear is tight right now. Current rear is BMR Fab. tubular arms. Just looking for a little extra. That is one reason I don't think I need ladder bars but would like to find the pros, cons of either of them. Ladder bars are harder to install, traction bars are easier.

Questions are, are they worth the money? Do they really help that much? Looking at Comp Engineering or Lakewood. How much difference in performance are the traction bars vs the ladder bars? Thanks for the info. - Dave

I will put my two cents into this. I like old cars period.. I do have a preference for Chevy and preferably 64-72. But, I do enjoy other makes and models. I don't care if it is original, stock, modified, cloned, drag car, and the list goes on. The most important part of this list is the honesty factor. Don't lie to me, just show what you have and I will appreciate it for what it is. If it was a plain jane grocery getter and you cloned it SS, good for you. Enjoy it, and show it, but don't lie to people or make it sound like it was an original something. Cars are like women, there are a million beauties out there. Just be honest about it,.. we'll appreciate them.

Steve, unless your A/T is built to down shift like mine is(full race tranny), it is not good to downshift an A/T unless your rpm's are on the lower side. - Dave

If you go with a 4l80 full manual or a 4l80e, you will need to do some fab work for the crossmember. The crossmember mounting tab on the 4l80 is 3-4"inches farther back than the th400. However, a "built" 4l80 will handle the most hp of all of them.

With a MSD digitial 6 plus box or better, use a MSD pro billet dist P# 85551 (like bones said) and a MSD hvc blaster 2 coil.

Go with Denny's Driveshaft. Speak to Denny himself. He will most likely answer the phone. GREAT GUY. I had a "nitrious ready" driveshaft done by him and it was flawless. He will want your trans yoke or you can buy one from him. Needs that to balance everything correctly. If going with 1350 joints, they will be non-zerk joints. Proper way to measure is on his site. You won't be dissatisfied. OK, I sound like a commercial. Yes Rob and all FGMCC members, MIGHTY MOUSE is lite and he is fast. Anybody want to buy a stock drive shaft?? I will be at the estern meet. - Dave

Thanks guys. I have placed my order. - Dave

Are our first gen Montes considered to have hidden or non-hidden windshield wipers? By today's car standards, I would say no, but, back then, maybe they were considered hidden. Looking at pump and motor from year-one and am not sure which it is. I would rather say they are partial hidden. Thanks for the help. - Dave

Tom, I was quoted 5 large!!!. That includes a Yank convertor which is almost $1000.00. The 300m metal input shafts cost over $2300.00 by itself. Per Zach, this thing should be bullet proof and they do offer a good warranty. Don't know it off the top of my head. I called them originally to order their level 3 200r4 which handles 600hp. After a lengthy, helpful, and insightful conversation with Zach, I decided to go with the 4l80. He is putting a 4l80 in his muscle car as well. Hope that helps - Dave

Phil, your car looks great. Your dad would be proud. Also, nice layout on your myspace page. - Dave

Tom, you have Gear Star right there in Akron, OH. They are building me a 4L80, non eletric, manual shift only. Per the owner, Zach, it will handle 800hp at the wheels. All custom parts. They have other levels of 4L80's as well. - Dave

Scott - Yea that would be nice in my 96 Impala. Maybe a Z06 or better for that one day. Nygel - yes that is my kitchen counter.... well actually leftover parts. It makes for good, easy to keep clean, portable working space. Patman - yes it is a 383. Bones - Okay, I may not be able to take you since I think Don is involved with your build as well. Maybe I will stick to slaying Ford and Mopar BB's. Thanks to everyone else for your nice words. I just hope this runs as good as the 355 I built for the El Camino. - Dave

Thanks guys, forgot a couple parts that are going on this Rat Slayer(ROB). Ignition will be MSD digital 6+ box, MSD Pro Billet Distributor, MSD HVC Blaster II coil and MSD super conductor wires.

Took the Monte out yesterday for one last ride before the tear down and install of the new stroker(from Don's specs). Don and I have tweaked it a little so that it should be 500+hp and 500+ftlbs. I hope this works as there is a good bit of pics. Here is a little of the details so far. The block is from 1976(purchased from Steve aka Cornball from Columbus, OH) and has been bored 30 over. The machine work was done by "General" Lee Edwards, ranked #2 on the list of greatest IHRA drivers of all time. The crank is a 3.75 stroke ultralite forged unit purchased from Don. The pistons are forged SRP units. The rods are 6"inch Scat forged H-beam. The cylinder heads are from Jegs/Canfield and are aluminum with 197cc intake runners, 72cc combustion chamber, 2.055 intake valves, 1.60 exhaust valves. Compression ratio should be 10.1:1. Other parts include Felpro 1010 head gasket, Moroso 7 qt pan, Felpro 1880 one piece pan gasket, Edelbrock quiet gear drive, two piece alum timing cover, Comp cams custom grind(Don's specs)cam, Comp cams Magnum roller rockers, Comp cams Magnum lifters retro fitted, ATI super damper, and forged crank pulley. Progress is on hold waiting for Comp cams Hi-Tech pushrods. Parts still waiting to be installed include Holley 300-36 intake, Felpro 1205 intake gaskets, Holley HP series 750 cfm carb, Mallory elect fuel pump with cannister fuel filter, all forged pulleys, etc. Going to have ATI build the transmission. At some point and maybe not before eastern meet, I will have a gear vendors overdrive installed as well. After completing everything but the body, I put the El Camino body off restoration on hold so I could do this build for the Monte. Hoping to be done for the eastern meet. Should not be a problem but we will see. Thanks Don for your help so far.

I rebuilt a th350 for my El Camino project. I used a Hughes performance kit($300), Hughes Man/Auto Valve Body w/shift kit($200) and a new TCI streetfighter convertor ($??). I also have a very detailed rebuild book that help beyond what I could say in words. IMHO I think you should disassemble the trans yourself. It will help you familiarize yourself with the internals. Wasn't hard except for some bushing removals and at one point I needed a tool but fabed one myself and it worked. I can't recall what specific procedure it was. It wasn't hard, just TAKE YOUR TIME!!

I think Year One sells year specific date stamped tags for Georgia. They are located in Georgia so they must snatch them up and restore. - Dave

I was also considering bondo but wasn't sure if it was the best thing to use. Thanks

For those of you that have sanded, smoothed out, and painted your fire wall - engine side. What did you use to smooth out the surface. Seems the factor leaves alot of spot weld divets and other larger divets that I want to smooth out before I paint. I was thinking some type of resin, but am not sure. Thanks for the help in advance. - Dave

kc, I use large baby wipes to clean the car now. They work great. The problem with the rain is not necessarily the water on top of the car, it is all the nooks and crannies under the car that are the problem. It is just my preference. - Dave