What did you do to your Monte Carlo today?

[yorkies]

Well even thou it is January I bought and installed a new battery, because I know May will be here before we know it, an all that Pennsylvania snow will be gone.

[DragCat]

Finally got the old 454 out , put in the cradle and almost ready to bag for storage. No I didn't pull it with the spark plugs in it lol. Only thing left is to pop the plugs and drain the remaining water from the block. Trans should come out this week. Never a dull moment 

 

[72RustBucket]

Waiting on parts to do more work to my tail panel, so started on the floor and trunk pans. Really only 2 spots that need patches. Made 1, the other might need to be purchased. There are some spots with some pitting, but the metal is very sturdy, so think I will be ok just treating those areas with ospho. 

 

[RON T]

Found an original nk4 steering wheel from a club member to put on the 71..horn button cap is nos ... build sheet called for this sport wheel,, why some one took it off and put a camaro   SS wheel on it I have no idea... anyway, it’s back to what it should be....   

Also replace dinged seal plates.... approximately 136 days till eastern meet... 😎👍🏻

[DragCat]

Pulled the trans yesterday, The bad news is there is a 5 inch crack in the bell housing where it mounts to the engine, the good news I guess I found it now not later. Was going to check with my builder to see if he could do something like this https://www.summitracing.com/parts/jpt-92451/overview/make/chevrolet but its a race weekend so he's at the track. Might be posting questions in the drivetrain thread lol. Did read I might want to upgrade my crossmember to a chevelle type due to the additional HP. Will see what happens

 

[Paul Bell]

Mark, I installed that bellhousing many years ago, I cut the transmission myself-almost perfectly straight.

The current version of it has some sort of O-ring around the pump bolts to seal them.

Be aware you'll need a smaller than stock torque converter and there's no way to mount a torque converter cover.

[DragCat]

Thanks for the heads up Paul 👍 Cutting it myself is out of my skill set, i'll see what the trans guy says. And of course I already bought a new converter when I ordered the crate, but the new one is a 10 inch and I think the stock is 11?. Never a dull moment 

[imr]

1 hour ago, DragCat said:

Thanks for the heads up Paul 👍 Cutting it myself is out of my skill set, i'll see what the trans guy says. And of course I already bought a new converter when I ordered the crate. Never a dull moment 

Mark how bad is the crack. could it be welded. Might be cheaper than cutting and adding a bellhousing. unless you need the safety of a scattershield. 

[DragCat]

1 hour ago, imr said:

Mark how bad is the crack. could it be welded. Might be cheaper than cutting and adding a bellhousing. unless you need the safety of a scattershield. 

Hey Antoine, its about 5 inches. I thought about the possibility of welding but with the new crate and the added HP i'm in a safety mindset. Especially since i'd rather get it done now and not have to revisit pulling the trans again later. 

[jft69z]

I wonder if someone broke it years ago trying to draw the trans up to the block, but the TQ converter wasn't seated correctly. It happened to a customer of mine years ago. He was trying to save a few bucks on the car I was restoring for him. Decided to mate the engine/trans himself while I wasn't there. He ended up paying me to weld up the trans case instead. Man, did he have a long face...

 

Read a review that someone had on Amazon for that bellhousing. Said he needed a 153 tooth flex plate & corresponding starter. Is that what you found as well Paul?

[willie]

Where do you think she is going?

Hopefully going for Paint tomorrow depending on the weather.

 

I do have a question, where do i find the pics of how to paint the black under the moldings and in the door frames, and also what color is it? Semi gloss?   

thanks guys

[stangeba]

looking good! 

 

[1970mcss]

21 minutes ago, willie said:

Where do you think she is going?

Hopefully going for Paint tomorrow depending on the weather.

 

I do have a question, where do i find the pics of how to paint the black under the moldings and in the door frames, and also what color is it? Semi gloss?   

thanks guys

Willie, looking good. Didn't Overdrive (Dan) have that information when he repainted his SS???

[yorkies]

Hey Willie, I have the seat belts from my 72 you can have FREE front belts only,  black from a bench seat car. Let me know, e mail vryorkies@yahoo.com

[MC1of80]

Looking good Willie! Hope the weather cooperates with you! Can't wait to see her painted! 

[overdrive]

Willie, here you go. Use satin black. The tape line on the fenders goes through the center of the fender trim holes. 

Dan

[willie]

Thanks guys, still a lot of work to do.

Ron I will pm you.

Tom, I am checking the weather report almost every hour for tomorrow. lol and keeping my fingers crossed. lol

Dan, thank you for posting them, I looked but had to go to work so couldn't spend to much time.

Thank You All

[imr]

Willie i followed dans pics and used hot rod black it is a satin color. it came out very good

[Rob Peters]

Looking good Willie!!!!!  Looking forward to seeing her in Carlisle.  Keep up the work, the countdown is on.

rob

[714024SPEED]

Looks great !!! Just got out of work sun is out so get that Monte to the painter !!!!

[Traveler]

Good morning all,

Since my last post I have put my 2004R in the shop for a hardened input shaft, larger clutches, wider bands, and the trim to allow release of lock up without a switch(going vacuum instead of the brake light switch), and the proper speedo gear to match the 275/60/15’s I plan on.  I have got one quote on a TV cable and bracket, $285 + shipping seems a lot, what do you think? I pick up trans next week which puts it 2nd or 3rd in the Q, rear is almost done(that’s my goal for today) then a nice day for the swap, going with the stock trailing arms for the time being.

There’s one small(lol) rust spot which will be addressed at the end of the month, hopefully.

I’ve been trying to decide which way to go on the engine, I plan on putting in one of the big blocks I have(383 or a 400 lost out to displacement and $), I’m leaning towards the 427(less to do then the 454 to get it running), I have a set of oval ports, Team G intake and a Holley 780 and a 1050 dominator.  Anyone have a suggestion on a cam, plan on using 93 but there is e85 available up the street, heads and pistons I will use will yield about 10.5/1 even if I have to use thicker gaskets 2004R has a 2200 stall and will have, soon, a 12 bolt 355 gear).

[Traveler]

replaced the trunk&glove box locks yesterday, now I can get in the trunk without worrying about the key breaking off, progress, ya got to love it

[72RustBucket]

Did some shop cleaning today. Gave the monte a good air bath to blow out some dust and rust. 

Also, shrinker/stretcher and bead roller came in today. Played around with the beads and steps, made a floor patch. Got all my major floor patches welded in.  I won't lie, they are (in my opinion) ugly as sin, but very strong. Had a few welder issues during the process, but it should be fine.

[RON T]

Had no bumper jack in the 71, hopefully this is correct one ... 70-72 bumper jack with part number...

[Paul Bell]

Another (eight) piece of the puzzle has showed up!