Scott’s Monte

First a little information about my Monte:

I bought my Monte Carlo on April 13 1979 when I had just turned 17 years old. It had 93611 miles on it. The car came from Kenley N.C. I live in Western Pa. where the cars rust out because all the salt on the roads in winter time. So this car had no rust on it.

Of course the first thing a young kid has to put on a car, is a good stereo system. I was no exception. Fog lamps were next. And after saving up enough money, headers and loud exhaust. My parents would just kringe every time I started it up.

In the fall of 1980 I went to automotive mechanical school. When we had shop classes, out came the engine and trans for a rebuild. Nothing drastic, just a freshen up. A mild cam, 4BBL, and a shift kit. Fresh enough to be able to smoke the tires like a banshee. My parents where even more impressed. I think they wanted the school to return their
money.

Then came the time for the body work. I stripped it down to nothing and started getting everything ready for paint. A friend of mine talked me into installing a L88 hood scoop, just to make it different from any other. Paul Stamp, the guy who painted the car, said that would be a good place for a murial. So it was decision time. We came up with the
skull wearing an old style metal war helmet. Paul nicknamed it “The Red Baron” while it was at his shop. The name stuck with it.

I had it painted Firethorn Red. Paul said to use light grey primer instead of the red oxide the original Firethorn Red was painted on. It gave it a totally different shade of red. At first I did not like it. But after it was shot with clear laquar, I liked that look better. Then Paul surprised me by painting on the pinstripes. That really set it off.

After the paint work was done, I had a chance to get another engine. A guy I worked with had a 64 Impala with a 327 in it. The engine was using a lot of oil and needed rebuilt. He tore it down to find 2 broken pistons. But it also had the 2.02 double humper, small cc heads and a steel crankshaft. After some serious thinking, I sold my engine, and rebuilt this one. I had it bored .030″ over and put in 11.25:1 pistons. Turned the crank .010″ on rods and mains. The only problem was mounting the accessories because those heads were not drilled and tapped. So those heads got sold, and I was in the market for another set.

Now was time for the interior to finished. But without it running, how was I going to get the car to the interior shop? The guy that did the interior said he had a trailer and would pick up and deliver. I bought a set of chevelle bucket seats from a friend of mine. The interior was done in black and red diamond tuft. He did a wonderful job on it. He said that was the most fun his shop had doing an interior.

I had my car at my other brothers house. I would work on it every free moment I had. I remember a bunch of my friends, my brother and I sitting around one night having a couple of cold ones. My brother said “When you discover women, the car will be the first thing to go”. Lo and behold, I discovered women. The work on the car slowed down
dramatically. Then came times when I wouldn’t work on it for months on end.

In 1988 I got a different job and bought a house. I had the car brought over to my house on a rollback, pushed it into the garage and covered it up. I got married in 1991, had a daughter in 1992, and then built a new house. Had the car brought to the new house, pushed it in the garage, and covered it up. See a trend starting?

Fast forward to 2006. One night while playing on the computer, I stumbled onto the First Generation Monte Carlo Club’s website. A site devoted to the preservation of the 1970-1972 Monte Carlo. I watched the site for two days to see how much activity was on the message forums. To my surprise there was a lot of people posting questions and getting answers right away. I joined the club right away. Now I had some ambition to finish my Monte.

I sat down and tried to figure out the best plan of attack. I had no idea where to start with trying to finish up what I had started so many years ago. I just started to go through all the boxes of parts I had, and all the parts from the car. Then I made room in my garage, and tore into it. Flying by the seat of my pants most of the time.

I went to the 2007 FGMCC Eastern Meet in Indianapolis. It was a great time getting to meet other members of the club, and seeing their cars. It really got me motivated that much more. The 2008 FGMCC Eastern Meet will be held in Greensburg, Pa. and that is about 30 miles from my home. I have a lot of work to get done before then, but I don’t think I will have a problem getting it done in time.

I had seen a Chevelle at a car show that had the firewall and cowl smoothed out, well that was the first project. While I was stripping the paint from the firewall, I decided that I might as well remove the frame to have it sand blasted. So off came the frame, had it blasted and then painted it. Added the stainless steel brake lines and fuel lines. Then came the time to strip the underneath of the car. That was quite a project. With the body on 4×4’s on cement blocks, all work was done from a creeper. After what seemed like eternity, I finally painted the underneath. Now I am in the process getting the engine running and then set the body back on.

More updates as they come along!