'79 Monte - The Search for Animal Chin

[Tony_SS]

With a renewed focus and optimism, I've begun to dive back into my Monte Carlo. This time around, I'm actually having a good time with it. I've sold off the other distractions, the billet wheels and such. Now I feel like I'm moving in the direction of more of what I'd like the car to be. Clean, simple, functional, minimal, interesting and most of all, fun for me for work on and drive.

I'm not going to get into the back story too much. I had an 80 Monte all throughout high school. It was my first car. I sold it to go away to college. I finished up, years later bought a small house and decided I wanted my Monte back. I bought this in July of 2003. Since then it's seen a lot of changes that I don't care to relive, so we are forging ahead with the here and now.

Currently:
GMPP 350/330hp crate engine
750 edlebrock carb (too big)
Hedman shorty ceramic headers
2.5" x-pipe and magnaflow exhaust
Bowtie Overdrives 200-4R Stage II Trans
Alum radiator
7.5 factor rear with Auburn pro posi
3.73 gears

LS1 front brakes on a g-body spindle
Monte SS fast ratio steering
Suspension Techniques sway bars
Bilstein shocks
Front: Tubular lower control arms
SC&C stage 2 kit
OPGI 3" lowering springs
Rear: UMI upper and lower tubular arms
Hotchkis springs

Monte SS dash and gauges
Cipher racing seats
B/M megashifter (hate it)
Alpine mp3/USB head unit
Infinity speakers


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[SRD art]

Glad to see the fire ignited again. I've always thought these were a bit of an odd guy compared to the other same vintage G-bodies. Curvy lines ala pre 78 rather than cereal boxes like the others. With that they make very unique rides and look fantastic when done right. I like these better than the transition 81 cars. Looks very clean, mostly done and great as is, what are some of the changes in plans? Looking forward to seeing more...

[Swiftandswank]

That was a great movie! Good looking car by the way

[rmorman]

You mentioned on another thread that the front spoiler was from a '69 Camaro. Got any good pics of how that looks? That is a REALLY SWEET RIDE!

[stapel7]

I hate that body style monte I have 1
But that 1 looks great

[Tony_SS]

Glad to see the fire ignited again. I've always thought these were a bit of an odd guy compared to the other same vintage G-bodies. Curvy lines ala pre 78 rather than cereal boxes like the others. With that they make very unique rides and look fantastic when done right. I like these better than the transition 81 cars. Looks very clean, mostly done and great as is, what are some of the changes in plans? Looking forward to seeing more...

Yes, I like the lines and curves too. The bulges are 'muscular' looking compared to the 81-88's. Another reason I like the 3rd gen Montes is that they were very light right from the factory, 3200 lbs. So there's a lot of potential there with weight savings.


You mentioned on another thread that the front spoiler was from a '69 Camaro. Got any good pics of how that looks? That is a REALLY SWEET RIDE!

Thank you. Yours is nice too from what I remember. I'll have to take a recent pic of the spoiler. It's attached to the core support to forces air up nicely. I still think it could use a more aggressive front lower spoiler though.

[monteboy84]

I've always loved this car, can't wait to see what you come up with.

-matt

[Tony_SS]

Thanks Matt.

I'm working on the rear end here. It needs a lot of help. Here's how it looks now (minus that oversized exhaust tip)

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Here's my plan: Monte SS spoiler, remove the trunk emblem and bezel. And painting the tailight bezels charcoal to match the wheel centers and smoking the taillights. I still don't like the big reverse lights, but that's the best I can think of right now. The rear end just needs a lot of streamlining - hopefully this helps do the trick.

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[monteboy84]

I like the updated look. What do you think about moving the extra trim from the bumper? I think it'd go a long way toward the clean look you want.

-matt

[craigs73]

that looks a lot better with the charcoal trim man your car is sexy :)

[RicerwannaB]

Hmmm....I like this alot! Should look great when you get the rear finished!

[Tony_SS]

I like the updated look. What do you think about moving the extra trim from the bumper? I think it'd go a long way toward the clean look you want.

-matt

It really makes the top strip stand out if I do that..

I could paint them charcoal or the car color?

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[rosslord]

I think the body color on the bumper looks good. The charcoal not so much.

[monteboy84]

Man, that's a tough call. I almost like it best with the chrome still on everything there, I think it works well with the swoopy body lines and the paint color. Though if I had to choose, I think I'd go with the color-matched bumper and trim.

-matt

[Tony_SS]

I think I'll just leave those strips as is for now and finish up the rear as planned then make a call from there. Those things are NLA now so there's no going back if they're painted.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

Beautiful Monte! This bodystyle is overlooked, but your car may help change that.

[Tony_SS]

The brown truck dropped these off today.

Speedhut gauges, GPS speedo. Night mode the whole face lights up light blue with black text. These look great and I got a great deal on them thanks to their Independence Day sale!

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[RicerwannaB]

Nice Gauges!

[brans72]

When you find Animal Chin let me know cause Lance Mountain,Tony Hawk with the Powell crew had no luck. Nice looking car you have there.

[Ash]

The body colored trim looks best, can you make a rendering with body color trim and charcoal rivets. just curious to how it would look.

Also, what about modifying the reverse light to another brake light...then adding a sequential turn signal/ brake kit.

Check out this thread (https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?81086-hidden-reverse-light-ideas)For Reverse lights, a trunk width led strip like Neil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Ug5Deq2sY)did. Tony gave some insight too.

I think the all red/smoked lenses, coupled with the spoiler, shaved badges/lock, body color molding, and charcoal taillight bezel would look amazing.

[Jims78elky]

Those gauges are nice Tony...you going to use the stock Monte dash to place them? I don't have any pictures as of yet..but the classic dash gauge panels look pretty good. I have one on my elky and have all auto meter carbon fiber gauges loaded up in it,the look is better to me than the old stock one, it does not provide the air conditioning duct for the drivers side,but I re-located mine.

[Tony_SS]

Those gauges are nice Tony...you going to use the stock Monte dash to place them? I don't have any pictures as of yet..but the classic dash gauge panels look pretty good. I have one on my elky and have all auto meter carbon fiber gauges loaded up in it,the look is better to me than the old stock one, it does not provide the air conditioning duct for the drivers side,but I re-located mine.

I have an 86-88 SS bezel that I use now and will be running the speedo, fuel and tach within that. The rest will be angle mounted on the dash bezel over the vents. (I have not a/c or heat in the car)


The body colored trim looks best, can you make a rendering with body color trim and charcoal rivets. just curious to how it would look.

Also, what about modifying the reverse light to another brake light...then adding a sequential turn signal/ brake kit.

Check out this thread (https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?81086-hidden-reverse-light-ideas)For Reverse lights, a trunk width led strip like Neil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Ug5Deq2sY)did. Tony gave some insight too.

I think the all red/smoked lenses, coupled with the spoiler, shaved badges/lock, body color molding, and charcoal taillight bezel would look amazing.

Great idea - thank you. I think I'm going full LED with the rear tail lights. I might end up painting the rev lights the body color except for an led behind it, but do a sequential led's for the turn signals/brake lights of which there are 3.

[Tony_SS]

Last weekend with the help of a buddy (Thanks Jeremy) we got the gears swapped out from 4.10 to 3.73's and it's much nicer with my 200-4r and 26" tires... I'm at around 2500 at 70mph which is acceptable.

Also got the rear Summit (SSBC) brake kit installed. I'm pretty happy with this kit... nice bolt on deal. The only issue was that the lines and hoses were all about 1" short on each side, which wasn't too bad of an issue to get worked out. The parking brake hooked in nicely, we just had to do a custom adjustable connector where the 2 cables met in the center. It did push the wheels out about 3/8" so I'm going to have to mill down the 1" spacer to get the rears to tuck back under there again.

After this, I replaced my booster and master with a stock reman unit and had the whole system flushed. There was a ton of junk in the front calipers. I replaced the front hoses with factory replacements.

As for performance it is 100% better. It no longer pulls to one side when braking, the pedal is firm but not hard. Braking is much improved.. at some point I may need to get the correct prop valve, but I'm going to have to see if the rears are locking up first... which I think they would. But all in all.. good stuff for a street car.

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[Tony_SS]

The other odd thing is that when I put my Hotchkis springs back in my rear sat a good 1" higher?! Maybe I don't have them clocked right... but that is annoying.. I don't quite understand how it could be such a difference.

[devwil68]

well done

[threbikecrash]

You didn't have any problems with the LS 1 brakes and spindles on the front end. Also, the suspension set up you have. Did it reduce most of the body rolling in corners.

[Tony_SS]

You didn't have any problems with the LS 1 brakes and spindles on the front end. Also, the suspension set up you have. Did it reduce most of the body rolling in corners.

gbody spindles - no problems, the LS1 stoppers are great.
no noticeable body roll at all. it does well.

[Tony_SS]

Yuck. I've ignored my floors long enough. The good thing is that they've been like this since I've owned the car. But it's time to basically patch things up, add some Dynamat, extra Jute and some other goods including 3 point rear seat belts for kiddos.

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[Tony_SS]

In between POR-15 coats.

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[Tony_SS]

First coat of POR15 silver (with metal)

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Second coat of POR15 satin black

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Used one box (9 sheets) of Dynamat and even covered the back of the firewall on the passenger side.

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Bossman approves.

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[craigs73]

looking good how much does a box of that dynamat run?

[Tony_SS]

I got it from Amazon for $125ish but it just went up to around $135.

[irregal83]

whered you get your POR15 at? i keep hearing about this stuff but ive never seen it

[Tony_SS]

Got it through Amazon too..lol.

Seems to be very nice stuff, it lays down well and isn't supposed to crack or chip ever.. but I'll never know, I'm not pulling up all that Dynamat ever. I plan to POR15 the underside of the floor pan too one day.

[NOT A TA]

Did you use panel adhesive to hold your floorpan patches?

Side note, I owned a BMX/skateboard store when Chin came out, we had several copies we rented out, think I still have it on VHS somewhere. ahaha

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/09/ppchin-1.jpg

[irregal83]

oh right on thanks... like a step down from powdercoat.. cool.. probably a good idea for my resto-mod

[sixfivepost]

Cool car and nice re-do!

I've had really good luck with Eastwood's Chassis Black. I used the Ceramic Chassis Black on my frame. Stuff is hard as nails!

[Tony_SS]

Did you use panel adhesive to hold your floorpan patches?

Side note, I owned a BMX/skateboard store when Chin came out, we had several copies we rented out, think I still have it on VHS somewhere. ahaha

No adhesive because according to POR15, it acts as its own adhesive, so I laid down the first coat, put down the sheetmetal patches and seamed the edges, then laid the second coat over that.

The directions warn that if you get any paint between the can and the cap and seal the lid it will never come off.

After it dried that floorpan patches felt like they were welded on there...

That's cool you owned a skateshop... it was quite the big deal back in the day..

[Tony_SS]

Back seat was restuffed, upper and lower for extra support. 3 point rear seat belts were also added.

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It's not pro-touring without cupholders.

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The trunk needs a lot of help...

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[Tony_SS]

Progress on the sound system / trunk... not complete though...

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All those color wires have been heat shrink wrapped.. so its not a circus of color anymore.

[irregal83]

Very Professional looking! Nice job

[somcamaross]

Glad you are finding new love in the Monte! I know how har d it is to become motivated again on an old project... A Monte at that!

Best of luck for your renewed vows! It's looking great!


Speaking of which, you motivated me enough to get mine out this weekend and drive it to work this week.

Today is the first day Ive driven mine on more than 5 mile trip in about 3 years!

[Ishmael]

I like it - clean and functional. I read an article in Jp magazine about how guys overbuild their jeeps then don't enjoy them because they can't drive them anywhere. I started thinking about the cubic dollars put into some of the builds I see and wonder if guys are able to make use of the parts or if they are just show cars. I would love to drive your car daily. You've got a great direction going.

[Tony_SS]

Thanks all.

I just returned from the Fall Street Machine Nationals in Springfield MO. Lot's of nice cars there. Many pt inspired too. I drove the Monte round trip about 360 miles and averaged about 16mpg, and that was turning 2800-3100 (assuming my tach is correct) going about 70-80mph on the highway. I need to get those rpms down, either by going to 3:42's or just have a spare set of 28" tall wheels/tires for extended trips.

The car rode great.. the Dynamat really quieted everything down on the inside. I only had a couple of issues... the courtesy fuse keeps blowing and the tranmission pan has some serious leaks through pan gasket and drain plug. And I don't like running the short A-body coil springs... I'm afraid of them popping out if I have to go over a huge bump, turn or something, so I plan on going to a coil over setup for the rear suspension. Other than that, I was pleased with everything. I'll look for some relevant pics to post up.

[daveybtv]

Hey Tony, looking good man. I love them seats, what kind are they?

[Tony_SS]

Hey Tony, looking good man. I love them seats, what kind are they?

Thanks Dave. They are Cipher racing seats. I'm a dealer for them if you're interested. They bolt into the stock location with the custom brackets which are supplied with them.

I plan on posting pics of my completed interior soon.

[daveybtv]

Thanks Dave. They are Cipher racing seats. I'm a dealer for them if you're interested. They bolt into the stock location with the custom brackets which are supplied with them.

Definitely, PM me with some info and pricing.

[Tony_SS]

~400 miles driven round trip to the Fall Nationals in Springfield MO

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[craigs73]

looks good.. love your car.

[Tony_SS]

Today I dropped the transmission pan due to a leak in the pan gasket and drain plug. I removed the plug and installed a temp sensor for the trans temp gauge in its place. I just used o-rings and some thread tape for a leak free install... torqued the pan bolts to 9 ft lbs, refilled 6.5 qts and she is leak free. :)

Currently I'm chasing a gremlin that keeps blowing my courtesy fuse. For some reason the radio is on that circuit and is not supposed to be, so I'll be chasing that down before I move on to installing the Speed Hut gauges.

[jbake]

If you are using the factory power wires there is your problem. There is a red and yellow. If my memory is correct the yellow wire was for light in factory radio and red was the power for radio.
Good to see a local(ish) guy on here. I work out of Gerald. Great looking car! After I get my sons regal up n running then I can start on mine. Keep up the good work man.

[CruizinKev]

your Monte looks great Tony! I love the wheels! I just saw you got Monte shirts :twothumbs I need to order some asap :cheers:

[Tony_SS]

If you are using the factory power wires there is your problem. There is a red and yellow. If my memory is correct the yellow wire was for light in factory radio and red was the power for radio.
Good to see a local(ish) guy on here. I work out of Gerald. Great looking car! After I get my sons regal up n running then I can start on mine. Keep up the good work man.

Yeah I think you're right about the yellow/red.. I need to run new wires. Gerald isn't too far... good luck on the Regal.


your Monte looks great Tony! I love the wheels! I just saw you got Monte shirts :twothumbs I need to order some asap :cheers:

Thanks Kevin.. I think the wheels are a good fit.. The billet ones I never was happy with... too fancy looking for me. Let me know on those T's!

[bonecrrusher]

Starting to dig these G-bodies.

Honestly - until your thread and Kevin's - I'm not sure Ive never noticed a not SS Monte before...

[Drew2672]

Really cool car. I had an 80 Monte that I drove in my high school days. I still miss that car. Good luck with your upgrades.

[Monte]

Great looking car!
Some questions. Sorry bad english, its not mine language.

I see your rear tires is 285/40-17, how about front tires?
What brand is your wheels?
What size is your wheels?
What is wheels bs?
If i wanna have wheels/tires as out is possible whitout any rub what is best bs 17x9 wheels, tires 255/4517.

Thanks. :)

[CruizinKev]

~400 miles driven round trip to the Fall Nationals in Springfield MO

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/10/ef0-1.jpg
Tony you got any more pics of that black Monte next to yours?

[Tony_SS]

Sorry Kevin.. I sure don't... it's a super nice one though..

[Tony_SS]

New Cipher seats installed...

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[Code Red]

Looking real good man

[68firebird]

very nice monte! those seats are very nice too. I'll have to keep you in mind when I have spare change to toss on seats.

[Tony_SS]

Thanks.. here are some updates.

I added a Mac in the garage.... helps out tremendously. Here I laid out my gauges using Illustrator.

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Here's the shell I started with. Scot was nice enough to send this to me since he wasn't using it... basically a fiberglass mold of the factory gauge bezel.

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template mockup

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This is a textured piece of plastic to give contrast to the smooth gloss black bezel trim.

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And after all that here's a little pic of the results... I need to take some better pics in natural light. I'm over this camera..

All the gauges work good.. except the fuel... not sure what's going on there, but it's erratic.. and when I press the brakes, I'm getting some intefference that makes the needles creep up 10º on the temp gauges... it might be the teflon tape causing a poor ground.. I don't know.. They work good otherwise so I'm not going to screw with it for awhile...

I did set the gauges a little lower so I could see them faces through the steering wheel... the pics make it look worse I think... seeing the gauges trumps just having it look neat peeking in the window.

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[CruizinKev]

nice!!! :twothumbs

[LSXZ28]

Nice lookin car!

[Tony_SS]

Recent photoshoot.... I"m going to be making some visual changes here soon...

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[carguykeith]

Looks great! Man isn't that black carpet a pain in the *ss to keep clean? Mine looks awesome right after I vacuum it, but drive it two times and blah...

[Tony_SS]

I'm ready to sell today, the car hasn't seen much use over the years. PM me if you want to talk.

[nowukno]

Tony I purchased the some rear disc brakes for my wagon that uses similar rear calipers,any problems with them hitting the frame? Are you using the stock disk drum master cylinder? How low are you sitting in the back? Im installing next month.. And your not selling the Monte are you? I hope not..

[Tony_SS]

With the kit I got... no, they are no where near the frame... good clearance... stock master/booster.... I think it could use a prop valve to dial it in, but its really nice now.... lowered about 2" in the rear..
Everything is for sale or trade except the tools!

[nowukno]

Thank you Tony,, Mannn,I cant believe you're selling the Monte ,, But you have to do what you have to do..Anything special you gonna replace it with ?

[Tony_SS]

.Anything special you gonna replace it with ?

Nothing specific... just putting it out there... I'd like to do some sort of trade on a 66-72 GM, lowered Suburban or some odd LSx project...

[nowukno]

Nice Tony,,I wish you lots of luck Bud !!!

[Tony_SS]

The Monte has been sold and is in route to the Netherlands.... so I'm pretty sure I'll never see it again!

After 12 + years... It's been a blast, but time for some changes.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/05/MysxsVvs-1.jpg

[monteboy84]

Ah man, sorry to see that, but best of luck with whatever comes next, anything final on the next project yet?

-matt

[SSLance]

Man, everyone is selling ther 3rd gens... Congrats on the sale Tony, I know you've been kind of stale on it for a while now. Was a beautiful car.

[daveybtv]

Man I know how you feel I had a 72 monte I put so much time and money in, then life came a knocking and had to let her go. But the funny thing is its not hard to fall in love all over again! We are still talking about cars right?

[CruizinKev]

sorry to hear you sold it! maybe I'll see it here one day on a carshow/cruise/meet.. netherlands is not too far

[Samckitt]

Holy cow man, I didn't know you sold it. To someone in the Netherlands? WOW.

[Tony_SS]

Yep, I had it posted on Mautofied. Props to them! As BB King said, "The trill is gone".. that's sums things up. I wasn't sad to see it go. I feel like I got a great price for it too! I'm currently rocking an older Honda Civic hatchback. Don't laugh, I get 45mpg. :D

I also picked up an older Cherokee XJ that I'm working on making into an expedition/camping/trail rig. Think off-road/all season "pro-touring". No more "show cars/race cars" for me, nothing against them, I just never drag raced or autocrossed , and could care less about a car show anymore. Who knows, maybe one day I'll end up with a 69 Cutlass to hog the garage and soil the floors, but not anytime soon...

[SSLance]

I've got a good friend here in KC that is into the Expedition\camping\trail rig scene Tony. He built a fantastic Jeep a few years ago, then figured out it was better to use a Toyota truck to pull his camping trailer with and went that route instead.

They have a great time with it, just got back from a trip all over the North rim of the Grand Canyon.

My wife is more of a room service type of gal so camping is probably out for me, even though I grew up four wheeling in the mountains of Colorado and LOVED it.

[Tony_SS]

Ha! My whole family is more of the hotel type too, so we'll have to see. Im thinking this is more of local toy for me, that we can take on weekend trips if the family is up to it.

The XJ is fun vehicle though. A lot more versatile than the Wrangler, and cheaper to build. We'll see what happens. When I retire I'll do the truck/suburban/camper thing. :)

[CruizinKev]

found your Monte for sale..

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=181333154

[rmorman]

Hello,
Was going through this thread and while I was sorry to read you sold the Monte, I was wondering if you would enlighten me as to the manufacturer of the wheels from post #65. I have a '79 that I'd like to update the wheels on and thought something similar to these might be nice.

Thanks,
Russ