There are plenty of GM G-body fans within the BangShift readership. Aw, who are we kidding…there are two major G-body fans writing: Nutting, who owns two Monte Carlos (that I can remember at the moment), and myself, who has owned three Cutlasses and a Monte Carlo SS, and came within minutes of buying a Buick Grand National a few years back. They are an excellent compromise between an old-school muscle car and a late-model: body-on-frame, V8 and rear-wheel-drive with room for friends in the car, but they have the room for an overdrive automatic (or you can get a manual trans in with minimal effort), and if you do the 1980s rubber hose delete under hood, the world is your oyster. Turbo six, small-block, big-block, LS, LT…whatever you want. But it’s still a 1980s car and like every other 1980s car, no matter how good they were from the factory, there is room for improvement just about everywhere, and that’s where this first-year 1984 Monte SS comes in. This is Detroit Speed’s shop mule, and aside from a nearly-stock 305 and TH350 automatic, you might think it’s stock. But those 17″ “N90” wheels give away this car’s true nature: it’s all about the suspension, baby. G-bodies can be tuned into wicked handlers with some mild tricks, and if you’ve ever driven a Cutlass that’s set in full-soggy mode, you’ll know how welcome of a relief that is. Matt Farah got a chance to wring this one out, and even with a stock 305 pushing along at a tepid pace, you can tell he’s enjoying his time behind the wheel.
I had my share of Monte SS’s during the late 90’s/ early 2000’s. The best cheap mod I did was swapping out the stock SS wheels and tires for the S10 ZQX set up. The car’s handling change was amazing.