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Project El Monte Carvo: An In-Depth Look At Exactly What We’re Starting With


Project El Monte Carvo: An In-Depth Look At Exactly What We’re Starting With

(Words and Photos by Dave Nutting) – We last left off after a brief introduction and history of El Monte Carvo. Now let’s dig into the current condition of the car a little more deeply and go through some of our winter plans.

Like most older vehicles that have long-term owners, El ‘Carvo has, to be fair, been taken apart and put back together more times than can be considered good for it, and I never really had a cohesive plan for the car during much of my ownership. Many of the parts were acquired through the time-tested “Well, this broke or is worn out, so I might as well replace it with a performance version”. Often this was done without stepping back to think about the car as a whole, especially in regards to the suspension.

Before diving into the suspension, which right now is planned to be given the most attention, let’s quickly go over the drivetrain:

Engine

Not a heavyweight by any stretch of the imagination (Below is a dyno graph from a tuning session at SD Concept Engineering in West Warwick, Rhode Island), the Monte’s powerplant is the GM Performance Parts “350 Deluxe”, which is rated at 330 HP and 380 ft/lbs of torque at the flywheel with a 600 CFM carb and long-tube headers. The carb was traded in years ago for a TPI setup from a Speed Density (’90-92) F-body. The current intake is a Holley Stealth Ram, and the whole deal is exhaling through a set of Hooker long-tube headers into a 2.5″ true dual exhaust.

 

We don’t have any plans to touch the motor or intake at this point in time, although I do want to address the cooling system, which consists of a stock replacement radiator, 180 degree thermostat, and Dodge Intrepid fans. Overall it’s decent, but the water temp has a habit of creeping up past the 200 mark in stop and go traffic. The water pump is reasonably new, so we’ll probably start with changing out the thermostat for a 160 degree piece.

 

I also have to look at the fuel system as well, which is in need of an overhaul. El Monte Carvo currently has a factory Buick Grand National tank (Complete with 20+ years of sediment) with -6 AN braided lines for feed and return. Unfortunately, the lines are not PTFE or Teflon, and so 5 years later I’m beginning to smell fuel, which is a sign that the rubber is finally starting to degrade thanks to the Ethanol content. I’m going to take this opportunity to replace the tank as well with a  replacement part from Spectre.

The motor mounts have also seen their fair share of abuse after 25 years, and I have just a TINY bit of a clearance issue (Or lack thereof) on the passenger side. A set of poly motor mounts and a matching transmission mount should solve this.

Transmission

Currently installed is a rebuilt 2004R with a mild shift kit and 2200 RPM torque converter. The Monte was originally a split bench/column shift car, so a B&M Megashifter was installed in lieu of sourcing a factory floor shifter and console. At the autocross event that I attended this year, plonking the car in second gear “worked”, but it’s not the same as rowing through the gears. If funds and time allow, I’d like to see a manual transmission in this car before the end of the upcoming season. The “Manual Monte Carlo Cult” is growing in strength and numbers with each passing day, and thanks to this there’s now several options for bolt-in clutch pedals and crossmembers for the G-body from companies like American Powertrain.

Rear Axle

No crazy swaps or modifications planned here: Just a tried and true 8.5″ 10-bolt rear sourced from a Buick Grand National (These can also be found in other Turbo Regals, as well as the G-body Oldsmobile Hurst Olds and 442). It was rebuilt with an Eaton posi, Moser axles, and 3.42 gears for a tradeoff between highway mileage and performance.

Body and frame

Here’s where it gets a little ugly. Being a t-top car, the floor does have a small hole on the driver’s side that eventually will need to be cut out and replaced (Currently POR-15’d and has sound deadening covering it), and there’s a few suspect spots by the driver’s door hinges and near the rocker panels. The scratches and orange peel in the paint, along with my inability to wash the car more than once or twice a season, do wonders to cover up for this.

There’s also some damage to the front bumper from a low-speed collision that occurred early in my ownership. The inevitable orange cone marks from autocross will be great at hiding this beauty mark.

Luckily, the frame itself appears to be solid, although the body mounts themselves are probably toast from age and use. I do plan on purchasing a spare frame to box, but for this year we will work with the existing frame to hopefully have a good Before and After of a stock versus boxed and reinforced frame.

Suspension –We’re going to split up the suspension into two sections (Front and Rear), and address each separately.

Front suspension

Much like it’s older A-body sibling, the GM G-body platform front suspension consists of an unequal-length A-Arm setup with a coil spring and shock. A rear sway bar was optional, although all Monte Carlo SS models come from the factory with the F41 suspension package, which consisted of uprated springs, a larger front sway bar, a rear sway bar, quicker ratio steering box, and some misc bracing.

GM also saw fit to bless these cars with an awful camber curve, lack of positive caster, a steering shaft with a rag joint that perfectly emulates the experience of steering a boat, and single-piston disc brakes that would now be considered undersized for modern compact cars, even more so for our roughly 3500 pound G-body.

Similar to Buford T Justice, the steering shaft issue has already been resolved with the install of a solid steering shaft from a 1994 Jeep Cherokee Learn more about performing that swap by clicking here. However, the factory box still remains in place, and it’s definitely seen better days. Even after adjusting some slack in the box, I’m still not quite there in terms of road feel. Either a performance rebuild or replacement with a high quality aftermarket box is on the list of To Dos, along with a slightly smaller diameter steering wheel to replace the well-worn original.

The Monte also already has progressive rate Eibach coil springs and Bilstein shocks installed. For the time being these will remain, although I do want to investigate available options for adjustable shocks to better match the rate of the Eibach springs.

 

To fix the camber curve and caster issues, we’re going with a set of Spohn “tall spindle” upper control arms and a matching set of lower control arms, both with Delrin bushings installed as they don’t have the binding issue that poly bushings can experience. Installed with a set of 1/2″ taller upper and 1/2″ taller lower ball joints from ProForged, this control arm and ball joint combination adds an additional inch of height to the stock G-body spindle, which corrects the camber curve, allowing for negative camber faster when the suspension is compressed.

The “tall spindle” upper control arm is a must as it is shorter and flatter than a stock G-body arm to avoid binding of the ball joint during suspension compression.For bonus points, the Spohn arm are constructed with a few degrees of positive caster “built-in”, making it easier to setup an alignment with the 5-6 degrees of positive caster that we’re shooting for to improve the steering feel and response.

 

We’re currently limited in rotor size by my inane insistence on using GTA wheels due to their period correct look and low weight (17 lbs!), so the current front brakes will be replaced with a dual-piston 12″ disc brake setup from a 98-02 F-body, more commonly known as “LS1 brakes” even though the same brake package is available on V6 cars as well.

These brakes require some modification of the Monte spindle as well as a custom hub to fit the slip-on rotor design (The G-body used a rotor with an integrated hub and wheel bearings). The brake pads and rotors are from Stoptech, and we sourced a trick hub and braided stainless brake lines from Tobin at Kore3. The calipers themselves will be mounted to the modified spindle using a custom bracket.

Our Monte is currently using the “B-body” 12″ brake swap, which consists of a “tall” spindle and single-piston caliper from a 70s/80s Caprice, along with the 12″ rotor from a Third-gen Camaro with the 1LE package (The Camaro rotor is 5×4.75 while the Caprice rotor is 5.5) and a set of Hotchkis tall spindle control arms. This was a popular brake swap in its day as it allowed for a 12″ rotor that would fit under many 15″ wheels, but has some drawbacks in the handling department, namely increased bumpsteer due to the location of the Caprice spindle’s steering arm versus the G-body steering arm.

Tying the left and right side of the car together will be a 36mm hollow sway bar from a thirdgen F-body. While not as pretty as a new aftermarket bar, they’re inexpensive to buy and a good upgrade over the solid 32mm solid bar that comes stock on F41-equipped cars.

Rear suspension

Start with a solid axle that is attached to the frame via a triangulated 4-link. Add some coil springs, shocks, and an optional rear sway bar. Instant G-body suspension. Monte Carvo’s rear suspension currently has Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks to match the fronts; As with the front suspension, these pieces are staying in place for now, but adjustable shocks are on the list for future upgrades.

 

The factory stamped steel upper and lower rear control arms have been replaced with double-adjustable uppers and lowers with Delrin-bushing equipped Rotojoint arms from UMI performance. I’ve previously had tubular upper and lower arms with poly bushings, and these new arms are a huge improvement. The Rotojoints allow for articulation of the rear end, whereas the arms with poly bushings would bind when cornering.

 

I’m planning on keeping the factory rear sway bar in place for the time being, as I’m not sure if a bigger rear bar is needed. That said, there’s a few options for frame-mounted rear bars that I’m definitely keeping my eye on for if I decide that a bigger rear bar is needed. Probably the most “race car part” that will be installed on the car this winter, a Watts Link will be used to center the rear axle and control the location of the roll center. We’ll get more into the science of this once it’s installed and being tested, but needless to say this is a really cool piece that I’m really excited to be buying and adding to the car. The factory rear drums are still be used, but a set of rear LS1 disc brakes to match the front brakes are planned although I’m interested in seeing how well (Or terribly) the stock drums perform first.

So, there we have it! Plenty of work to be done during this long and cold New England winter, and we’ll be sure to keep your updated on our progress (And any mishaps) along the way, so stay tuned!

 

 

 

 


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5 thoughts on “Project El Monte Carvo: An In-Depth Look At Exactly What We’re Starting With

  1. tigeraid

    I dunno if the answer’s just going to be “man up, wussy,” but isn’t a straight steering kinda dangerous? I know every circle track racing class I’ve ever competed in has mandated a collapsible steering column “with at least two u-joints.” Maybe that’s not true in road racing?

    1. tigeraid

      Aaaaand I’m a dummy, just read the other article and realized it’s still collapsible and has two joints. Maybe shouldn’t call it ‘solid” ? 😛

  2. Dave Nutting

    No problem, I can see how my wording was a little confusing. It’s more “solid” than a g-body steering shaft that has a worn-out rag joint, but not “Spear you through the chest in a front end collision” solid.

    I’m crazy, but not that crazy!

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