454Monte.com

Well luckily, actually he is along with Red, his wife, Welcome Dave and Red!!

Dave is a fellow member of the FGMCC and he and his wife, whom I only know as “Red”  are the proud owners of this stunning 1972 Monte . It just returned from the body shop where it was treated to a new coat of sexy black paint.

Dave, and I chat back and forth on occasion and I’ve (along with all the other Monte Nutz over at FGMCC) been anxiously awaiting the results of his Monte’s newest make over. I have to say the car gives me great inspiration, I’ve wrestled with the paint scheme for my Monte for months now, but seeing this example, maybe the Triple black motif is going to stay. Thanks Dave, thanks a whole bunch bud,  thanks for sowing yet more seeds of uncertainty into my already addled mind…

This is a true “W” code Monte originally equipped from GM with a 454 cubic inch engine, which makes it a fairly rare beast, only 1268 454 Big Block equipped cars were produced for the 1972 Model year.

As my own project plods on at a glacial pace, as Dave and I chatted over the last few days, an idea struck me that I could profile his car here on 454Monte, and also, let him answer some questions about the car as well.

I’ve highlighted other Owners Monte’s in the past, but only my impressions of them, Pictures are great but to get a feel for what this or any car’s history is, what sort of efforts it took to bring it to it’s current condition and why it is being done, takes a little bit more effort. So I sat down and I composed a list of questions and then I Emailed them to Dave. He graciously took time to reply, and here’s the results…..

Q. What made you choose a 1st Generation Monte Carlo as a project?

Well actually this is the 5th Gen 1 I’ve had.  The first was a plain Jane ‘70, second was a ‘71 SS454 (bench seat, no gauges, way before anyone cared), third was a ‘72 350 with a dealer installed 4-spd, fourth was a ‘72 Mojave Gold with saddle top and interior, gorgeous car and finally this one.

What happened was I got the Chevelle back in ‘03 and after awhile Red decided she would like something too.  After thinking about it I thought, you know, a nice Gen 1 Monte Carlo would be great for her.  Very civilized and if I can find the right one, a performance car too.  So I got on Ebay and started showing her Monte’s and she fell in love (better than some other guy!!).  So the hunt was on and we found this one on Ebay in Telford PA.  Not an SS but still a factory 454 car and actually the rarest of the three 454 years.  Not only that but it matched the Chevelle, white with a black vinyl top so we thought it was meant to be.  Bid on it, got it, shipped it to So. Cal……

What the car looked like just 11 weeks ago….Still not too shabby if you ask me!!

Q. The car has obviously undergone a lot of work, what kind of shape was it in when you bought it, and can you give  a brief run down of everything you’ve done to it?

The car was really in very good condition.  It was basically all original with one re-spay, no rips, tears or dents, excellent chrome, glass and stainless.  It came with the original window sticker and about 30 years worth of receipts.  This allowed us to document the mileage at 71,000 when we got it.

Since the original motor was gone we built up a new full roller 509 c.i. one with all the usual support pieces.  Doug’s headers, Flowmaster, B&M stall, 3:73’s, always been a Cragar SS man so those had to be on there too.  Other than the drivetrain that’s really about it except for some detail stuff, it was that nice to begin with.  The only real flaw was the 25 year old re-spray, not done very well and tired.  Well Red always wanted triple black so when I took it to the body shop I asked them “can this thing handle black”?  The guy said it was straight enough and with a lot of blocking 11 weeks later it’s triple black!

One other thing, since it is a 454 car Red decided she wanted to do a “if they would have made a ‘72 SS it should have looked like this” car.  Hence the Chevelle style ‘72 SS 454 emblems on the front fenders and the ‘71 Monte SS emblem under the trunk lip.

Q. What’s next for it, or is it “done” ?

Done!!!  I don’t think that will happen, there’s always something that could be better.  Even though the interior is original it still looks a little tired so we will gradually freshen up everything inside.  In fact as I write this stage one is happening, the front buckets are being rebuilt, should be done in another hour.  Also plan on upgrading the heat/air system.

The “tired interior” Yeah WHAT-Evah!

Q. What was the biggest challenge for you and Red once you started the project?

I’m a perfectionist by trade so everything becomes a challenge to get it to “my” standards.  So no one thing stands out, I fret over everything.  Of course the biggest challenge is dollars, now that I’m retired those big paychecks have gone away but I do have my serenity back!

I think we can say “mission accomplished” with the perfection part here….

Q. The racing scene has evolved a lot since 1972,  You can take almost any car this day, even a lot of the small engine imports and with enough money.. an 11 second street car isn’t hard to do, do you think people are getting carried away with making cars fast?

Interesting question, I do have some strong if not unpopular views on this.  I’m old school from the old Lions Dragstrip days.  I’ve always been fairly good at building good combinations that worked a little better than average and took a lot of pride in that.  To take a modern car and just strap on a bottle or bolt on a turbo to go 11’s doesn’t take much other than a checkbook.  Granted there are some out there who really do understand what they’re doing and I applaud them.  However most I come across can recite the catalog they ordered the stuff from and that’s about it.  Of course to be fair there are some new guys with old school cars who are just as bad.  Honor the tradition….

Q. 2009 Fully loaded Porsche Cayenne Turbo or the Monte, you only get one choice, pick one. Why?

If someone gave me the Porsche, I would sell it so I could pay for building the Monte, I think that about covers this question.

Q. Right on the heels of that last loaded question, comes, A project like your Monte, takes a lot of Money, Time and Effort. Some people would wonder what’s the point in it all. Just use that money to buy a new car. What do you say to people like that?

Buy a new car?  Well anybody can do that, you need a daily car or truck depending on your needs but something like the Monte, well that’s passion.  When you start taking them apart and putting them back together it’s almost like a relationship, you get to know each other on many levels.  For me and Red it’s not a thing, it’s very much alive with its up, downs and personality.  What do I say, like I used to tell my Dad, “you don’t understand”!

Q. You’ve put up some posts on FGMCC highlighting your 1967 Chevelle and it’s performance on the 1/4, which to say the least, is impressive at under 12 seconds, will the Monte follow suit?

Red plans to run her Monte at the strip, of course not to the degree I run the Chevelle.  the Chevelle’s kind of a mutt, the Monte’s too nice to tear up but she wants to have a little fun with it.  She’s run the Chevelle a few times to get ready, maybe later this month.  Besides, we have a match race with Royce Tollman lined up for the 2010 Western FGMCC meet.

I think Ol’ Royce is gonna be in for a run… OOOF! *Snicker* 454 on the valve covers …sneaky Dave, really Sneaky!!

Q. I’ve highlighted at times those shops in my local area that have done good work for me, Care to let others know who did your body and paint?

Manuel Lam owner of Lamborg’s Auto Body right here in our lovely town of Yucaipa did the paint in 11 weeks.  Talked to him many times until I was satisfied we were close to being on the same page with expectations.  I think for the cost he did excellent work.  Also a shout out to Don Spillman of Big Boys Toys in Yucaipa as well for his help with some of the mechanics.

And finally the last shot of this work of art….They just don’t build ‘em like this anymore.