LS5

Rumor had it that there was a couple of things changed mid 1971 here are some examples... ....Some late 71's had the Fasten Seat Belt light.. ....Maplight mirror changed to black from chrome or shiny.. ....The woodgrain dash faceplate was held on with dumbgum and not butterfly clips. ....Manual window winder knobs changed to black in color from a yellowish tinge color. there are probably more to add to this but these are the 3 I know of... Darren.

What else can I do to improve mileage? Besides the obvious joke here of just sitting in it idleing rather than driving it will get you better gas milage... There are some things to try... switch out the holley carb and go with a quadrajet as those 750 double pumpers drink lots.. switching to headers rather than stock manifolds I heard helps with flow to get better milage, actually using the right spark plug for the engine as sometimes the wrong plugs get put in... and make sure the timing is set correctly...bad timing will get that engine struggling and have it idle wrong and drink the gas to try and keep it running.... there is probably more stuff but thats just a couple of idea's.....my other 70 chevelle also had a 454 in it and got 7 miles to the gallon and thats why i dont have it anymore... Darren.

Hey Chad, on the burning oil are you sure its the rings and not the valve guides or rubber seats that are shot in the heads ?? did you have them rebuilt or had new valves put in and not change the guides ? As Sam mentioned the 454 is pretty good keeping with the stock appearance but has get up and go... in my 70 chevelle I had the LS5 rebuilt with the heads done and new valves etc and the block decked and bored out and the crank turned 10/10 with Keith black pistons and a Thumper cam and had it all balanced with stock low rise 454 intake and factory rebuilt carb and exhause and was sitting at around 440hp and man was I pleased with the rebuild on that 454.... but then again so was my local tire shop as well.....hahahaha.... for that stock look as you say and get up and go that 454 decaled up as a hidden 402 should be pleaseing and also as sam said I had to mess around with timing too....... just my 2 cents... Darren

Hey Mark,, happy new year my fellow Canadian friend... if memorey serves me right it should be somewhere between 7-9psi but gonna lean more towards the 7 end.... Darren.

Hey Barry, Welcome to the club... yes there is a wealth of knowledge here which you can ask of and pick and choose on the thoughts shared with you.... whilst you have picked up on the Posting idea well why not post a thread in our New Members section 2 boxes down and fully introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself and what year and type of car you are working on so we all can help and get to know you as we like new members and love to see pictures too..... Now to answer your question somewhat... try going to our home page and look at members cars and see what the majority are going with or grab an idea on something you see..?? most will use the GM SS Tips that are high quality and heavy gauge as well even if your car isnt an ss model they look cool..... welcome again.... Darren.

In his modifications done I sure hope he didnt cut up that console to make the DVD fit in there ???? hopefully he cut around it with that box he made...??? And can anyone say NEEDS NEW REAR SPRINGS to this fella.....hahahaha.. Nice Custom anyways but as many my opinion is OEM all the way take out that other Junk..... Darren.

Correct..... 454= W code and NO 4spds for 1972 period BB or SB oh and the Code 19 - Black Paint was Custom Order only... Darren.

Sorry Robert, I read it all again and slower this time... if i understand right you are looking for a bulb in the simular plastic rubber housing that the bulb sits in now that has a ground wire and a feed wire too .??? the Fasten the seat belts light in later half 71's and all 72's use that exact set up with the same twist lick style housing and 194 bulb with ground and feed wire there.. I believe one is pink and the other grey maybe ??? is that what your after.??? Darren.

Mr King........ the bulb... isnt it just a 194 just like in the dash that goes in the holder there on top of the jug.. its in the picture there correct thats the one in question..??? and have you tried engine shampoo or disc brake cleaner and a firm toothbrush to get all that off maybe .?? Darren.

Hey Dennis is that the kit from Sonnie24 on Ebay. ???? if it is then thats the same kit I ordered as well.. just curious and it does look gooooood..... Darren..

Hi guys, I stand corrected on the Rubber SS strip he has for sale and this is the response i got.. Hey Darren, thanks for the email. You are correct with your guess as all my parts you have seen listed are either NOS or OEM stuff from GM some with boxes and some with wrapping But with this item it is neither NOS or OEM GM as it is the only repop item I have for sale. its condition is Brand New and never used but is the closest reproduction one at that time and still today as it looks identical to the one on the back of my 71 when I had it. I bought it as a spare but have found I never used it and is now up for sale. considering there is none out there being repopped or eom I should still get $395 and thanks for asking joparts. Thats all he said but it is new and is a repop and he is right there are none out there it just depends i guess if someone wants it for $395 which isnt too high i guess seeing how the price on tires per set is and what i spent on door panels and weatherstripping then $395 would be the cheapest part i would have bought..... . Darren.

Hey guys , this one that Rodney posted has ended but is relisted again. Now it was mentioned here by someone that it doesnt mentioned weather its a repop or not and at 395 maybe not worth it and also mentioned that it appeared the wrong color too.. Upon further looking into details and searching the seller joparts it seems that A the color should be right as when you look at the one on Toms 71 copper car and zoom in from this thread it IS the same dusty color of grey with gm used as a coating on the rubber moulds as often the bumper gaurd rubbers and 70 chevelle ss pads came that grey looking you just had to remove the film to get the solid black you want it. B. if you look at all of joparts other items for sale all 8 pages there is not 1 repop item.. They are either all nos or just slightly used but still oem parts. With that said and its relisted again i would say it most likely based on all that info to be a real nos item and with the prices of repops nowadays at the guessing of $300 how could this most likely nos one not be worth the $395 as oem or nos parts are usually way higher look at the sheet metal gm prices like a rear quarter, some $2000. So if this is real then $395 for a gm part nos or not in its shape and the existance of them still is less then sheet metal then it should be worth it isnt it.???? Just my 2 cents worth and the fact mine is a 70 and it wont fit plus there are 2 different posting on this item and 4 pages of threads and its still up for grabs... Haha Darren.

Hey Bill that almost looks identical to the one I have except the what appears to be a smooth flat chrome plate behind the V pulley is not there on mine it has the chrome fins like on the GM one.... I dont have a link but after hunting the box actually says Performance World GM Chrome alternator 110 amps and offers a 1 or 3 wire install application and has a part number of 37127 Show Quality. I have had it on the convertible for 500 miles now no problems and yes have the Voltage regulator bypass wiring installed but out of site so it cant be seen as its UGLY !! and mine is a 1970 too so i needed the kit... Darren.

Hey Allen, as Rod said it will come with time your trouble shooting will be just second nature after some years... Ditto on needing more info such as the year of Monte as the wiring harness is different between the years of 70-72 and when re-assembling as you mentioned are you re using the same wiring or did you switch harnesses ?? Most of the Battery hook ups I hjave seen as Rod mentioned was the large negative cable mounted on the Alternator bracket and then the secondary wire grounded out on the pass side fender about 6" away from the negative post.. any new parts ?? Alternator, horn relay, voltage reg ??? Darren.

Hey Rodney, I just bought a Chrome alternator through Napa and was in a Blue and White GM parts direct box and was 100 amps for $99 on sale just last month for the monte... Darren.

I went christmas shopping for the monte (on ebay) and bought it some front and rear bumper guards as well as a power door lock set up and fiber optics and tach and gauges and power trunk and convertible rear courtesy lights and rear seat belt holders.. yep i spoiled Misty this christmas now somehow and sometime when feeling better I gotts install all this stuff... its all GM stuff too and good prices as well which surprised me.... Darren.

Hey Sam my mistake you are absolutly correct it is the 390hp not 375... The 375hp was the L78 engine not the LS-5... I blame the pills. Hahahaha thanks for pointing that out i shall correct it .. Darren

Whilst sitting on my butt and still waiting for my kidney operation to happen grrrrr. I looked and looked and looked and from what I can see and tell and have read it looks like the Canadian SS cars came with Dual Sport Mirrors on them and the US made cars only came with one for whatever reason no one will ever know ...my guess is like everything else back in the day they made it an extra cost option you could simply buy at the dealership and have them add it so more money could be had by GM and the dealer that installed them.. Now the Custom 72 montes got them as a standard Mirror meaning that the sport mirror was part of the custom package and therefore standard to that option which is what replaced the SS in 1972 anyways.... so D35 was the Sport Mirror or custom mirror in 72 and D33 was also a remote mirror but the Chrome based one and NO they didnt offer a chrome remote mirror on the Pass side only buicks did.... Canada seemed to do a lot of Wacky and Goofy things back in the day in Oshawa like in the chevelle line for 1970 they ran out of 365hp LS-5's for them and none coming in so they stuck in overstocked Corvette 390hp LS-5's in about 23 chevelles which would make them more rare than the LS-6, there is food for thought....... so Canadian Only built monte SS cars haveing the option of Dual sport Mirrors does not surprise me as being Canadian only thing.... so for me and my 2 cents and reading lots until someone can show me a USA built SS monte or Custom that has Dual Sport Mirrors and has a build sheet showing Plural or both then it stands to reason canadian only...... also anyone have a 1970 chevelle they can show me that was USA built with a factory 390hp LS-5 in it??? another goofy canadian thing....... Darren.

Whilst sitting on my butt and still waiting for my kidney operation to happen grrrrr. I looked and looked and looked and from what I can see and tell and have read it looks like the Canadian SS cars came with Dual Sport Mirrors on them and the US made cars only came with one for whatever reason no one will ever know ...my guess is like everything else back in the day they made it an extra cost option you could simply buy at the dealership and have them add it so more money could be had by GM and the dealer that installed them.. Now the Custom 72 montes got them as a standard Mirror meaning that the sport mirror was part of the custom package and therefore standard to that option which is what replaced the SS in 1972 anyways.... so D35 was the Sport Mirror or custom mirror in 72 and D33 was also a remote mirror but the Chrome based one and NO they didnt offer a chrome remote mirror on the Pass side only buicks did.... Canada seemed to do a lot of Wacky and Goofy things back in the day in Oshawa like in the chevelle line for 1970 they ran out of 365hp LS-5's for them and none coming in so they stuck in overstocked Corvette 390hp LS-5's in about 23 chevelles which would make them more rare than the LS-6, there is food for thought....... so Canadian Only built monte SS cars haveing the option of Dual sport Mirrors does not surprise me as being Canadian only thing.... so for me and my 2 cents and reading lots until someone can show me a USA built SS monte or Custom that has Dual Sport Mirrors and has a build sheet showing Plural or both then it stands to reason canadian only...... also anyone have a 1970 chevelle they can show me that was USA built with a factory 390hp LS-5 in it??? another goofy canadian thing....... Darren.

Looks Great Jeff.!!!!! did you say you had the convertible pillar posts and header as well to still go on ?? That trunk lid looks great all lined up and gaps are good, and i see you have the correct convertible trunk hinge braces too.. nice.... let me know if you need more measurements or any questions as I am more than happy to help out if i can too......also noticed you have the temp "L" cross braces in at the doors and the center one as well, extremely important those are.... Darren.

Hey Matt, Do you know what those windshield pillars and back window chanel and roof panel are screaming to me.???? CONVERTIBLE ME PLEASE....!!! .. Just a thought and my 2 cents... Darren.

Hi Robert, That socket for the fiber optic gets its power from the Printed Circut board and can be moved within reach of the fiber optic cable length to anywhere on the dash cluster. Where as the Heater bulb or Heater gauge cluster has its bulb in a plaastic housing that has to be pushed in rather than twist in and its power comes from a secondary power feed wire rather than the circut board so No on that one and I would imagine its the same for the AC dash as there is no printed circut board on that one either. Darren