81-88 monte anyone?

[GreyGoose006]

i am pretty seriously considering getting an 80's monte carlo and was wondering what y'all thought of them.

currently i have an 84 caprice classic (see sig) and i like it, but it is a bit bigger than i would like.

ideally, i would get one with fuel injection (if that is even possible)

my plans would be to put a TPI setup on either the 305 or a 350
i would also like to put either a t-5 or t-56 manual trans in.
suspension plans would be to lower the car about 1 - 1.5 inches in front and .5-1 inch in back.
wheels are still up for debate, but something cheap would be nice.

the plan is to make it something that can go up against a fox body mustang and come out ahead 90% of the time

let me know what you guys think of this generation of monte carlo's, and what should i look out for.

['97ventureowner]

Go for it! I've owned 2 1981s and have always wanted another,(currently no more room with 6 vehicles in my yard and that's down from 8 two months ago )They are fairly easy to mod and the parts aren't that expensive. Things to watch out is rust on the frame just behind the rear wheels,(that's what killed my '78 Monte.) Other things are rust on the lower panels including the door bottoms, and those early GM V6s were nothing to write home about. Other than that they are fairly decent solid cars. Even the doors don't seem to suffer the same fate as earlier generations have with bad bushings leading to sagging. Find yourself an Aerocoupe, they only made those one or two years and didn't produce many.In my area I don't really see any of that generation anymore.They all ended up in the salvage yards due to the heavy salt usage on our roads in the winter. I see a few SS's in the summer and the token winter rat driving around.

[GreyGoose006]

that cant be all you guys have to say...

['97ventureowner]

There doesn't seem to be many older generation Monte owners or enthusiasts that regularly check out this forum. Maybe in a few years we can foster questions like this in the Chevrolet Classics forum ::

[dwalmop]

Personally, I like the cutty's and the regals of that generation, but the monte's have their place too. I actually have a friend who has an 85 that's never been driven in the winter that he's currently modding the crap out of. He got a 396 BB out of an old chevelle, rebuilt it (approx. 420 hp and 500 lb-ft torque at flywheel) and replaced the 4.3L v6. He also bought a turbo 400 tranny and a ford 9" rear end for it, and is currently re-wiring the car to suit. I can't wait to see how that thing goes in a straight line. To correct the normally TERRIBLE handling of those G-body cars, he also bought a lot of suspension parts (not sure what, but he mentioned it would be lower), and will be buying new wheels and tires soon. But yes, watch out for the rear frame rails. They deteriorate like crazy in the winter.

I used to have a 79 cutlass supreme brougham. The body was immaculate, as my dad worked in a body shop for about 25 years, and I took really good care of the interior also. I loved that car, but similar to what I mentioned above, it handled like a parade float, even though it had the "rally" package sport wheels, suspension, gauges, etc. I really miss cruising around with the T-Tops off.

[GreyGoose006]

well the handling couldnt be much worse than an 84 caprice classic...
although the biggest thing to help my ride was cop spec shocks.
top of the line ones really make a difference.

[luxeryvic]

put a 350 in her, my 77 monte has a 305 and it ain't that strong