88 MC SS on a budget

[creamgorilla]

I bought this monte carlo a few months back and I have been debating on how and what I want to do with it. I been bouncing around, checking other builds on this site, other sites and anywhere i can get some motivation. Well, I'm motivated but I seem to have misplaced my $50,000 budget, so I will be doing this the old fashioned way, myself.
The car itself is not in bad shape for a 20+ year old car. The previous owner put 22 inch rims on it, installed a cd player and i guess only changed the oil. Still has the original 305 under the hood and stock everything else.
So far, what I've done;
new catalytic convertor (to pass smog)
changed oil and fluids
removed 22 inch rims for stock rims
ordered new steering gear box, should be here tuesday and will install immediately
unique 297, 17x8 wheels arrived friday, will have tires mounted and installed by end of day monday




My plan is to make a mean looking car with some power, fit for every day driving.

[creamgorilla]

this is how it looked when i got it


and these are the wheels Im putting on it

[lsx80monte]

Ive seen some cars look really good with those soft 8s. The gbodys are gaining ground and the ss monte is one the most poplular. If you are goin protouring, UMI, Spohn, and BMR have some nice suspension parts. Although you can also use better factory parts.

[creamgorilla]

Cool. The suspension is definitely high on the priority list.

[68firebird]

I like the soft 8s. I was thinking about putting them on my firebird. have fun and keep posting the upgrades as they come.

[lsx80monte]

For a cheap suspension upgrade, snag a 34 or 36mm front hollow sway bar from an iroc camaro. they are dirt cheap in the junkyards. Also aluminum is your friend. You can lighten the car up. For example, with some aluminum rear drums also found in the yards under some fbodys.

[creamgorilla]

NOTED! Thanks. I'm going to keep the cost low as possible and document what I spend. I believe cools cars don't have to cost tens of thousands of dollars

[UMI Performance]

Nice project!

We are also doing a g-body on a budget. If you would like please check out our thread below and following along for some ideas.

https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...ouring-Project

Good luck on the build,
Ryan

[instro84]

if you decide to do the LS1 camaro brake upgrade let me know i may have some parts for sale soon.
dale

[malibuplotter]

I also have an 87mcss using sc&c stuff up front with blazer knuckles and c5 brakes, my super budget build is my driver 80 Malibu, it has blazer knuckles and blazer brakes 99-02 2wd or zq8 s- pickup I believe with sealed bearings and dual piston calipers, direct bolt on using factory arms, I'm using speedway upper arms(some controversy in using them me and my freinds have been fine so far) with tall bj's and umi lowers with hotchkis springs and swaybars(left over from my Monte) and Koni shocks(also left over) jeep Cherokee steering shaft, boxed rear arms with rubber bushings on the rearend uppers and all the f40 braces grandprix bar and behind the rear seat xbraces, core support and fender braces, everything except the control arms, springs and shocks came from the salvage yard and was really cheap, also using electric fans from an 04 impala using my own harness to control them, Malibu has the 305 from my Monte with a cam and vortec 305 heads, 700r4 salvage yard trans and the 3.73 posi rear from the Monte.. I have some ls1 camaro rear disks for it but havnt had time to install them yet(another salvage yard score) has 17" boss wheels with 275 rears and 245 fronts, the car is a hoot to drive and I think what makes it even more fun is that I spent very little money on it and gained a ton of improvement even though I wasn't expecting much from it.
Good luck with your build, can't wait to see how it all evolves and comes together.

[creamgorilla]

Not sure exactly when I will actually make it to the brake upgrade but email me a price and ill let you know if and when I can. Thanks I appreciate it

[creamgorilla]

I'll try to post updated pics tomorrow afternoon. Its been a busy few days but progressive. Got the wheels and tire mounted and new steering gear box put on. When the previous owner put the 22 inch rims on it, he had some blocks mounted in the springs to give it a little life.....this is a pain in the butt to get out so a friend of mine will hopefully be taking them out tomorrow afternoon which should lower the car an inch or two.

I upgraded the steering gear today and i still have a little play in the steering. Could this be because of the rubber rag joint in the steering shaft? any input on this would be appreciated.

[creamgorilla]

as it stands, maybe an inch lower now since the coil/spring spacers where removed. definitely needs about a 2-3 inch drop.

[creamgorilla]

what that 3 inch drop might look like.

[UMI Performance]

as it stands, maybe an inch lower now since the coil/spring spacers where removed. definitely needs about a 2-3 inch drop.

I think you would be pretty happy with a 2" drop. You don't realize how much 3" is until you do it and then you can run into clearance issues. The other problem is to go more than 2" in the rear you need a rear coil over kit, which are nice kits but expensive. I would run a 2" drop spring in the rear and a coil over kit in the front to bring the front down a little more than 2". Just a thought, car is looking great!

[creamgorilla]

I think you would be pretty happy with a 2" drop. You don't realize how much 3" is until you do it and then you can run into clearance issues. The other problem is to go more than 2" in the rear you need a rear coil over kit, which are nice kits but expensive. I would run a 2" drop spring in the rear and a coil over kit in the front to bring the front down a little more than 2". Just a thought, car is looking great!

Okay makes sense, thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

[SS PUNISHER]

For a cheap suspension upgrade, snag a 34 or 36mm front hollow sway bar from an iroc camaro. they are dirt cheap in the junkyards. Also aluminum is your friend. You can lighten the car up. For example, with some aluminum rear drums also found in the yards under some fbodys.

I got a 36 for mine from the yard, $20 and it made a world of difference!