LS-7, 4 Speed , Cowl Induction SS454 Project

[LS7 4 Speed]

This is my first post. It will be somewhat lengthy. I've been a lurker here for sometime, but decided not to post anything about my project until it was completed. I'm 70 years old, and this will be my last major project. I was a teenager in the first muscle car era, and have owned a ton of them through the years, but this is my first Monte Carlo. To be honest, a Monte Carlo was never even on my radar. While I always admired the body lines/ long hood, they were never thought of as a muscle car by me or anyone that I knew, and I never had heard of the SS 454 model until I came across the subject car.

This project started in January of 2024 when I came across an NOS LS-7 454 engine ( Code XCH) at a very good price that was located near me. I wasn't even looking for an engine ( or a project) but I bought the engine because of it's rarity, price, and proximity to me. So then it became "what am I going to put this engine in?" I have owned numerous Chevelles, Camaros, Nova's. and Corvettes through the years. While I like them OK, I was not interested in building another one. As fate would have it, I tripped across a FB ad for this '71 SS454 Monte. I was intrigued, having never heard of this model. I did my research, and it was indeed an SS model complete with the ride leveling system, F41, 12 bolt, shock shields and numbers matching LS-5 / Turbo 400. It was also in terrible shape.

I liked the idea of building something a little different, as you don't see very many restored Monte's, at least compared to Chevelles, Camaro's , etc, and as mentioned, I had already owned them.  Despite this, I was conflicted. While I've always loved the body lines of the first gen Monte's, there are things about the car that I absolutely hate. The chintzy, wide aluminum trim on the sides that never lines up, and the pseudo-luxury button tufted interior with burl trim mainly. I don't wish to offend anyone here, we all like different things, and I realize that the mentioned items are a big part of what makes a Monte a Monte. Nevertheless, as I formulated plans for this build, I thought what if I built a Monte that maximized the performance attributes of the SS454 model, while minimizing the luxury side? In the end, I suppose this resulted in a "Montelle" since it has so many Chevelle characteristics. Some will say it is a Chevelle wannabe, but I certainly could have built yet another Chevelle if I had been interested in doing so.

This particular car turned out to be a perfect candidate for such a build, as I believe it to be rare even among SS454's. It never had air conditioning, power windows, or a vinyl top. Pretty much just the SS454 option and power brakes / steering. I don't know its history, but like to imagine that it was ordered as a "sleeper" by a performance oriented person. My goal was to build Montelle as Chevy might have done, if they didn't already have the Chevelle SS.

The side moldings were removed and all of the holes welded up. Ditto the emblems on the sail panels. When the lower moldings were removed of course this left the big side marker lights sitting on the outside of the body panels. Patch panels were welded into their mounting holes, and they were replaced with small marker lights from a '68 GTX. Also I welded up the seams where the headlight bezels attach to the front fenders. This made the front end look even longer and cleaned it up a bit. The headlights can still be replaced, and the bezels would simply come off with the fenders.

A steel cowl induction hood was installed and it is operable. The automatic was swapped for a Muncie M22. The 3:31 12 bolt rear was ditched for a 9 inch Ford from Moser with 4:11 gears. This was done mainly so that I could quickly and easily change rear end ratios if i got tired of the 4:11's. The Moser setup is great. It was a true bolt in swap with no issues, and all of the stock F41 suspension parts fit fine. I probably should have opted for disc brakes, but the tab for the rear end was already over $5K....

The body required replacement of both quarter panels, all 4 rear wheel houses, the trunk floor, the trunk floor extensions, the panel between the back glass and the trunk, the trunk lid, the package shelf and extensions, the cowl panels and most of the passenger compartment floor. I installed new front fenders and the cowl hood. The right front fender fit fair, and the left front was terrible, and required a lot of work. The frame was powder coated. M&H electrical fabricators supplied the new wiring harnesses. Their products fit perfectly and are reasonably priced. Get rid of those chopped up harnesses and rusty fuse panel!

I did everything including paint, except sand blasting, powder coating, exhaust system and installation of the rear seat upholstery.  The color is Azure Turquoise, which is a color used on 1969 Camaros and Chevelles. I wanted a white interior, and as previously mentioned, hate the stock '71 Monte interior, so Chevelle door panels were used.  I wish they hadn't come with the Chevelle medallions on them. The bucket seats are Pro Car 90 series seats, and the rear seat cover also came from Pro Car. The seats are a steal for the money and look very similar to stock seats. The pleat pattern also matches the door panels pretty well. A brand new dash (for a '70) was installed with new gauges. The correct LS6 /LS7 6500 RPM redline tach is installed, and I opted for the voltmeter conversion in lieu of an amp meter.

That about sums it up. Love it, or hate it, I hope it will encourage you to complete your project. If an old guy like me can do it, so can you!!

 

[Dtret]

Oh man, sorry but I hate it. Are you kidding me, that car is absolutely gorgeous. The work you did is incredible. I consider myself very much a purest but I would have no problem rolling in that car. Thank you for the incredible pictures and thank you for becoming a member. 

[70white402]

Beautiful color!   I see aftermarket hockey sticks.   Car is beautiful!

[70white402]

Do you have a video of it running and driving?

[FL 72 Monte]

Beautiful job I love it enjoy!!!!

[DragCat]

Beautiful, thanks for posting al the pic's. 

[willie]

First let me say, Welcome to the club Richard!!!!  Second your car is gorgeous!!!   Would of loved to see it being built while you were building Her!!  Also i like the color combo!!    One question, did you keep everything that was original and removed!!

 

Another blue one Steve!!!  lol

[LS7 4 Speed]

4 minutes ago, willie said:

First let me say, Welcome to the club Richard!!!!  Second your car is gorgeous!!!   Would of loved to see it being built while you were building Her!!  Also i like the color combo!!    One question, did you keep everything that was original and removed!!

 

Another blue one Steve!!!  lol

Thank you Willie for the kind words! As far as keeping parts, I kept the load leveler compressor, control valve and the shock shields. That's pretty much it. The engine block had an extra hole in it, the rear end is in a friends Chevelle. I gave the original bench seat and transmission ( needed rebuild) to a friend. Everything else was rough and was scrapped.

[LS7 4 Speed]

4 hours ago, 70white402 said:

Do you have a video of it running and driving?

I'll post one soon!

 

[420ponies]

Now that is beautiful ! Things that I like ,and some leave me wondering. I will tell you this.... there will be a lot of questions about this build.  I  just hope you get to enjoy your time with it.  I've  had mine for 25 yrs and never,ever miss a beat. Sure it's gone through some upgrades( a lot the past 4 yrs), but with each of us, searching for the vision we seek with each build . I believe you nailed it !! After all of your work , go and enjoy it, you deserve it !  So, the question is ? Are we  going to see it on tour some where, in a magazine shoot, maybe at the Syracuse National's next year( July 17-19 ?) with our group? Now that would be nice to see there for sure. We also have our Eastern Meet in Carlisle Pa., (June 19-21?) . Like I said, BEA-utiful !!

[LS7 4 Speed]

Hi James! Thanks for the warm welcome/kind words. I have previously admired your '72 while lurking on this site. Gorgeous - one of my favorites out of all of the Montes I have seen! Hopefully I will be at the Eastern meet in Carlisle. I will try, as it is not too far for me. Would be great to meet some of you and see the great Monte's in person.

[cny first gen 71]

Beautiful car, fantastic job you did on it. Welcome to the club. 

[70white402]

Did you keep the factory 11.25 compression ratio in the crate motor?

[Marks71]

Welcome Richard. That is one beautiful well thought out build. All in about  a year and a half too. Please post a few more shots of it outside. Congratulations on a job well done. Thanks for the post. Really enjoyed it. 

[714024SPEED]

Welcome. WOW !!! Beautiful job.

[Rob Peters]

Very nice.  Like Dennis, I am a purist on my cars but can appreciate other peoples vision.

rob

[LS7 4 Speed]

11 hours ago, 70white402 said:

Did you keep the factory 11.25 compression ratio in the crate motor?

Actually the LS-7 is 12.25:1. That, and a more radical camshaft were the major differences between it and the LS-6. Yes, I kept it all stock, requiring the use of 110 race gas. These engines were sold only over the counter and did not come with an intake manifold, carb, water pump or distributor. I am using a Chevrolet Bowtie intake ( slightly taller than an LS-6 manifold but similar in appearance) , an 830 CFM Holley that I already had, a Weiand aluminum water pump, and an MSD pro billet distributor. I intentionally did not install headers to give a more factory look.

 

[LS7 4 Speed]

52 minutes ago, Rob Peters said:

Very nice.  Like Dennis, I am a purist on my cars but can appreciate other peoples vision.

rob

Thanks Rob. I sure like the color on that Monte you posted. Is that Misty Turquoise? I'd love to see the two cars side by side to compare the two shades.

[LS7 4 Speed]

9 hours ago, Marks71 said:

Welcome Richard. That is one beautiful well thought out build. All in about  a year and a half too. Please post a few more shots of it outside. Congratulations on a job well done. Thanks for the post. Really enjoyed it. 

Thank you very much Mark. I posted a few more, one has a better view of the molded in headlight bezels...

[70white402]

did you have a machine shop balance and blueprint the motor or did you just use it as gm assembled it?

[Scott S.]

I'm with you on the door panels..... The '71-'72's with the buttons just seem wrong to me.

That's why I'm partial to the '70.

Beautiful work... Great results.   

[DragCat]

8 hours ago, LS7 4 Speed said:

. Yes, I kept it all stock, requiring the use of 110 race gas. 

OUCH ! 🤣

[DragCat]

23 hours ago, LS7 4 Speed said:

Hopefully I will be at the Eastern meet in Carlisle. I will try, as it is not too far for me. Would be great to meet some of you and see the great Monte's in person.

Look forward to seeing you and the Monte at Carlisle 🤘

[LS7 4 Speed]

17 hours ago, Scott S. said:

I'm with you on the door panels..... The '71-'72's with the buttons just seem wrong to me.

That's why I'm partial to the '70.

Beautiful work... Great results.   

I agree- the '70's look the best. They would even look better without the pull straps and the chrome backers behind the arm rests.... Thanks for the kind words regarding my project.

 

[Scott S.]

It's a clean, straight, gorgeous Monte.  

I've always liked the crossed flag displacement badges...... But if I were to ever go that route, 427 would be my personal preference.