(Editor’s note: You’ve seen Dave Nutting’s byline many times on the electronic pages of BangShift. He our ace lensmen at BS Eastern World HQ. Outside of his handiness with a camera, the dude can also turn a wrench and he’s been neck deep on the Buford Project and other misadventures as well. Dave’s 1987 Monte Carlo SS will be the subject of many upcoming stories so we wanted to give it a proper introduction. Here’s Project El Monte Carvo!)
(Words and photos by Dave Nutting) – Just in time for the Holidays, I’d like to introduce the latest member of the Bangshift family, my 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, which Brian has dubbed “‘El Monte Carvo”. (Trust me, this is better than most of the nicknames the car has has throughout my ownership…). Much like his full-sized brother, Buford T Justice, the plan is to horrify and offend competitors into submission at various autocross events across New England this coming year. We have a whole slew of suspension upgrades planned for this winter, so expect to see some neat tips, tricks, and advice on repairing and modifying GM’s G-body platform.
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A quick history on the car:
I purchased the Monte from a local bodyshop in 2003 (Pro Tip: Never purchase the shop “beater”, unless you’re looking for a serious project). I was eighteen, knew literally nothing about cars, and it was Winter in New England. Through the grace of the Car Gods, both myself and the car managed to survive this first winter in one piece, and I decided to relegate the Monte to fair-weather-only duty from that point forward.
Being somewhat of a nerd (ED: SOMEWHAT?), I’ve been known to research and tinker with new car tech whenever I can get my hands on it, which explains the three engine swaps, multi-port fuel injection conversion (With several iterations of TPI intakes), and now the suspension overhaul.
We’ll dish on the suspension upgrades at a later time, but for now here’s a quick overview of our starting point and a few photos of ‘El Carvo:
Engine and engine management
– GMPP 350 “HO” crate motor
– Holley Stealth Ram intake
– Kirban adjustable fuel pressure regulator
– -6AN braided steel fuel lines (supply and return) from tank to fuel rails
– Racetronix “Hotwire” fuel pump harness
– Cleaned and flow-matched 22 lb/hr injectors
– Howell TPI harness with ‘730 Speed Density ECM
– Ramcharger electric fans
– Ceramic coated Hooker Competition full-length headers
– 2.5″ Pypes x-pipe exhaust with GN style tailpipes
Drivetrain
– Rebuilt 2004r
– 2200 stall converter
– B&M transmission cooler
– 8.5″ 10-bolt with 3.42 gears, Eaton posi
Suspension and brakes
– UMI double-adjustable tubular upper and lower rear control arms with roto-joints
– Bilstein shocks front/rear
– Hotchkis front upper control arms
– B-body front disc brake swap
– Stainless brake hard lines
– Front end rebuilt (Tie rods, centerlink, etc)
– Jeep steering shaft
– GTA wheels with 245/55/16 Sumitomo HTR Z III tires
Interior
– Custom black interior (All plastic panels dyed with SEM Landau black)
– Entire body sound deadened
– Grand prix dash
– Dash plate wrapped in 3M Di-Noc “Carbon fiber”
– Glowshift gauges (Speedo, tach, oil pressure, water temp, volts, fuel level)
– B&M megashifter
– Procar Elite bucket seats
– GSI “Raceback” rear seat (The original! )
– GSI upper door panels and sail panel inserts
– Concert Sound II lower door panels
– Recovered rear deck and headliner with fabric from GSI
– Black carpet
I was heavily into Monte SS’s back in the 90’s. Bought a 96 9C1 IN 2001 to do a LT1 swap but like the Caprice so much the Monte’s became a distant memory.
I owned roughly 15 Monte SS’s over the years including 3 Aerocoupes.
I have always liked that body style, would like to do a 6 Speed Manual conversion some day.
So is this going to be “Snowball II”?
I wonder what interesting surprises this one has in store…
I had two of these, your upgrades it was begging for..wrecked one, bent another. be careful about the t-tops and over all power.
I love these, I need one, that car looks to be in pretty good shape,maybe the pictures dont do it justice.
Love these cars. Have these same wheels on my GTA only in gold. Think they were also stock on the GNX buicks. The more project cars the better.
I’d be curious about the history of the several itinerations of TPI intakes. What worked, what didn’t, and why…then how did it work out going to aftermarket.