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The drowning of Phil Silvers' 47 Ford convertible always got to me - of course, it was just a low value obsolete used car then, but I always like those:
https://youtu.be/CY5X8DD0ams
The scene where the 56 Sunliner taken from Don Knotts is "parked" by plowing it into a parking barrier also made me cringe.
A memorable scene with a cameo and a car, Jack Benny and I think a smaller model 31 Cadillac:
https://youtu.be/i73LNY9ctFs
The battle between the 62 Dart convertible (also has a memorable jump scene where it catches good air) and the 61 Impala is famous:
https://youtu.be/oiYBUM-EE-w
Some may know I am a filming location geek, here are a couple relevant videos:
https://youtu.be/lwCcownGNYM
https://youtu.be/2vuMeq5BXu8
And the 60 Ford background scene, this appears identical to my dad's car:
https://www.automobilemag.com/news/chevrolet-monte-carlo-cool-dads-car/?wc_mid=4035:20109&wc_rid=4035:1076571&_wcsid=5F38EB4024F1A17419B31E6DC7785DA4CF34ED51DFCFAB67
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I liked the Grand Prix a bit better than the Cutlass, and I liked the Regal about the same as the Monte for styling, mostly for the rounded wheel openings.
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Checkerboard rims still look cool. I think the article had 6 pics with those wheels.
I did like how the taillights looked like the '74 taillights, but that somewhat went away with the smoothed-over '86 and later LS models.
I don't believe I ever saw a Monte Carlo magazine ad or TV commercial after '81. If I did, it was for the SS model only. At least that's my memory of it.
But, 1st generation models got hot-rodded with jacked up rear ends and big tires. Starting in '73, it was just a boulevard cruiser.
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Nope, the 1980's models weren't particularly "hot stuff". The '81 model saw a brief resurgence in sales with the aero restyle, jumping from around 148K to 188K units. Considering how south the economy was going in that timeframe, and the way the auto market in general was shrinking, that was a pretty big deal. But, for '82 it got knocked down to 92,392 units. This, despite some in-house competition being removed with the dropping of the Malibu coupe. Although the '81 Malibu coupe was down to around 34,000 units.
In '83, sales dropped a bit more, to 91,605 of the regular coupe, but the SS added another 4,714 to that. In '84, the market in general was improving, and the Monte jumped to 112,730 of the regular Sport Coupe, and 24,050 SSes. Just shy of 137,000 total. And, as the economy continued to improve, that was where the Monte peaked.
For '85, the Sport coupe dropped a bit, to 83,573, but the SS was taking off, with 35,484 units. For '86, it was 50,418 of the Sport coupe, 27,428 of the LS, 41,164 SS notchbacks, and 200 SS Aerocoupes. In '87 it was 39,794 LS coupes (no more Sport coupe), 33,199 SS notchbacks, 6052 SS Aerocoupes.
Finally, for the abbreviated 1988 model year, it was 13,970 LS coupes, 16,204 SS notchbacks.
When someone says "Monte Carlo", I wonder if the '95-99 or the '00-07 models even pop into anyone's mind. They don't, for me. I almost forget about them, unless someone reminds me.
FWIW, love it or hate it, the '73-77 Colonades were by far the Monte Carlo's glory years. Even in 1974, when sales cratered thanks to the first oil embargo, it still managed about 310,000 units. Oddly, that outpaced 1973, which was a record year for the auto industry in general, but only around 289,000 Montes were sold. However, I wonder if the Monte might have lucked out a bit during the recession, because people who would have otherwise bought a full-sized car moved down to the Monte?
Now, '75 was where the Colonade Monte bottomed out, with about 259,000 sold. This is when the Cordoba came on to the scene, so it might have caused some competition. The Torino Elite might have taken some sales as well, It actually came out for '74, but I think Ford started promoting it more heavily for '75.
In '76, when bigger cars were starting to sell well again, the Monte improved to around 353,000 units. And, while you'd think the new '77 T-bird, which was a smash hit, would have hurt the Monte, it still went on to move about 413,000 units!
The downsized '78, in contrast, only sold about 358,000 units, and the '79 sold 317,000. I wonder if two factors might have been at play here? First off, while downsizing worked great with the full-sized cars, making a car that keeps most of its interior room in a smaller, more fuel efficient package, personal luxury coupes buyers are probably less concerned with that. They want the style, the opulence, the flamboyance. And it's hard to pull that off with a smaller, more practical design. Another factor might have been the Cutlass Supreme and Regal. During the Colonade years, there wasn't much difference between a Regal and a Century, or a Cutlass Supreme coupe versus a Cutlass S, Salon, or whatever. But, they went through a lot of effort to make a Monte, or Grand Prix stand out from a Malibu or LeMans coupe, even giving it an extra 4 inches of wheelbase ahead of the firewall.
When they downsized though, the Monte, and the Grand Prix, lost a lot of their uniqueness. A Monte Carlo was still about 7 inches longer than a Malibu, but it was all in overhang, rather than wheelbase. A longer wheelbase will make a car look more substantial, but more overhang just makes it look front-heavy. And with the Grand Prix, it ended up only being something like 3-4" longer than a LeMans. Meanwhile, Olds and Buick seemed like they worked hard to make the Cutlass Supreme and Regal stand out more compared to the Cutlass Salon and Century models. So, it was like the Monte and Grand Prix became less special, while the Cutlass Supreme and Regal became more special. IIRC, it was also the Monte and Grand Prix that saw the biggest sales declines for '78. The Cutlass Supreme coupe, I believe, saw its sales about the same. However, the Cutlass lineup as a whole dropped off, because the Aeroback 2- and 4-door models didn't sell as well as the Colonades had. The '78 Regal actually saw an uptick in sales.
I did like how the Monte Carlo script remain unchanged from the '70 to the '88.
My understanding of it is the 231 had several weak spots. First off, the block was a bit lightweight and fragile. Secondly, a lot of the oil passages were too narrow, had many right angles that restricted flow, and were easily clogged. And finally, the nylon mesh timing chain/gear, or whatever it was?
Buick had sold the tooling for its V6 to AMC back in the late 60's, I believe. There was so little demand left for 6-cyl Buicks, that they figured the Chevy 250 could fill that niche. But, once fuel economy became a bigger concern, they bought the tooling back. But, to save money, they increased the bore so that it could use the same pistons as a Buick 350. This bumped up its displacement slightly, from a 225 to a 231.
I'm not sure when, exactly, the engine picked up its oil passage issues. I've never heard complaints about the old 225. Its V8 counterpart, the 300, went on to become the Buick 350. In later years, the 350 had trouble meeting emissions standards, and got banned from California. And it usually seemed designed more for torque, than hp. But as far as I know, it was always durable. But not so, the 231. At least, not at first.
Buick gave the 231 a major overhaul in 1985. They used the beefier turbo block, for all applications, and I believe they got rid of most of the undersized/right angle oil passages. And, almost overnight, the 231 went from being one of GM's worst engines, to being one of their best.
Even from personal experience, I've heard nothing good about that '75-84 generation of 231, unless it's from somebody trying to sell one! I bought an '82 Cutlass Supreme in the summer of '93. I remember a guy at work, an aerospace engineer, telling me he predicted the engine would be shot in the 70-90,000 mile range. His wife had owned an '82 Bonneville G with that engine, and it had happened to her car. Meanwhile, he was driving an early 80's Delta 88 with the 307, still going strong. At the time I bought it, my Cutlass only had about 61,000 miles on it, and I was hoping he was wrong.
When my 231 did go to crap, around the 73,000 mile mark, I asked my mechanic about it, and he said it was a common issue; they just weren't a good engine. I asked him about rebuilding it, and he said it wasn't worth it, and that he'd never seen a 231 worth rebuilding. I also went to the local junkyard, and asked if they had any good 231s, and they said that every GM car that came in with one was pretty much junk.
Well, except for the Corvette, I guess?
To fix the anemic 350 SB I re-curved the distributor and installed a Mallory Unilite pointless ignition(the dealer had deleted the HEI on the order sheet to save a few bucks). I also added an Edelbrock Performer two-plane manifold and a Q-Jet, a Crane Hi-Torque cam, Blackjack 1 5/8" headers. a 2 1/2" dual exhaust with Cherry Bomb Q mufflers, a B&M Trans-Pak shift kit, a Hayden 15,000 lb. GVW transmission cooler, and a 3:42 rear gear set. I also upgraded the lighting(Cibie "off road only" Z Beam 7" H4 halogens), and the audio system(Pioneer in-dash AM-FM w/Dolby Cassette, 6X9 20 oz. coaxials, and an AD-304 power amp with a whopping 15 wpc!). I left the suspension alone since even Road & Track thought it handled pretty well. It was very quick for its time(1974-1983 or so). It would chirp the tires on the 1-2 upshift at 35 mph and on the 2-3 upshift at 70 mph. Not bad for a 4200 lb. barge. I sold it in 1989 and it was still running strong...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
By the time I was driving age, 70s/80s Monte Carlos were already a mainstay of the lowrider community, along with still being held on to by Peggy Hill style women, and little old ladies.
That being said, the first gen cars are "cool" to me, along with 80s SS models, and maybe others with just the right equipment and colors.
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"That's a Monte Carlo in name only".
Truer words have never been spoken, LOL.
I did like how you could still get them with a bench seat and column shift, but I'm weird that way. I like(d) the feeling of no console butting up against my leg.
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My experience is that it's almost impossible to find a clean, original stock '78 to '80 GM mid-size. For whatever reasons, even with the advent of 'Computer Command Control', I'm aware of more '81 and later ones out there.
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He ended up buying a new Century Special coupe at another dealer.
I think the '75 was my least-favorite of that '73-77 era, followed by the '77.
She died in 1986, from cancer complications. Still had the car when she died, but I don't know what ultimately happened to it. It was a dark metallic blue, with a white landau top, and, just going on memory, I'm picturing a white vinyl interior.
I don't know that I have a least favorite, among the '73-77 era of Monte Carlo. But, maybe it would be a tossup between '74-75. I like the rear end of the '73 a lot. It almost looks exotic, and like it's too expensive for the rest of the car! Just something about the way the taillights are inset, and the way the edges of the trunk lid are curved, just gives it a nice, well-flowing look. Even the big bumper seems well worked into the design.
But, for the most part, for any given year, there's just a whole slew of cars that I like better. I actually prefer the Chevelle/Malibu coupe, as long as it's the top trim level. The base model ones looked kind of cheap inside.
Uplander, just curious, what is it about the '77 you don't like, compared to '76? Is it them moving from a 350 to a 305 as the standard engine? Stylewise, isn't the only real difference the taillights?
In '77, I was all about a loaded Caprice Classic coupe with F-41. Guess I was trendy then, LOL.
I could have really, really liked a '76 Malibu Classic if it could've been had with the triangular quarter window and a hood ornament delete option. But not available with either of those.
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I'm sure my Dad would've put his cigars in there.
Now that I think about it I've never owned a 1974 model year Detroit or import car. But if I had to pick one now that I'd like to have...
edit to add this Road Test link.
For '74 and later years, the front bumper looks like it fits better to me, but I don't know if that's just some kind of optical illusion. But then, for '74 the taillights look ill-fitting to me, like they just used the '73 rear and forced the new taillights on whether it was a good idea or not. The '75 and '76-77 rear seems a bit generic, and the style seems like it exaggerates any sloppy assembly quality.
The '73-77 Chevelle/Malibu isn't the type of car I ever really lusted for. But, more along the lines of, if my Mom was buying a new car back then, I'd rather she got the Chevy than a Torino, or a Mopar B-body.
My Mom did buy a '75 LeMans coupe, brand-new, and at the time I thought that car was hideous. Mainly, it was the front-end I didn't like, which I thought was really garish. But, nowadays when I look at them, I don't mind it so much.
I do think the '73 looks nicer, with the grille segments actually separated from the headlight bezels. And the grille segments on the '74, while they did touch the lights, like on '75, the pattern didn't seem as garish. But, with these it was always the '76-77 that really caught my eye.
In '74 and later, the Chevelle made you get the bottom-line Malibu (which really, replaced the '73 Deluxe) to get those windows, and the interior trim was dismal to say the least.
The Malibu Classic had quality seating and door panel trim IMHO--tuck and roll, and cloth on the doors if you got cloth seating. That seating seemed to hold up well in addition to looking pretty rich IMHO. The vinyl was fairly leather-like.
But in '74 to '77, it seemed to me like there should be a model between the Malibu and Malibu Classic. It was sort of like moving from the Bel Air to the Caprice Classic, with no middle-model there.
I like the '73 Chevelle, generally. I didn't like the '74 taillights, and wasn't crazy that they returned to using the big, swoopy "Chevelle" script from the '72, again, on the '74.
The '75 taillights to me are awful. Look close, and it looks like a shop class project. You can see where they cut out the prior year's panel and inserted that cheapy panel right in there.
I did like the '76 Classic's ornate grille, and I liked the rear styling too. Even the base Malibu had a pleasant front end styling, but still--that very cheap interior.
http://www.motorologist.com/wp-content/uploads/1974-Chevrolet-Chevelle-Brochure.pdf
Link goes to this '76 Malibu Classic which looks good and not a bad price for what it is.
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I would have always ordered the black rubber bumper strips on any GM with big chromed bumpers, in the '70's. Hid all those bolts.
The grille emblem is a bit too high, which would indicate something having gone on up there.
A friend of mine and I chuckle at how many cars like this are advertised as having a 350, when both our memories are that most we ever saw new at dealers had 305's. We wonder how many 305's are actually advertised as 350's.
That friend has told me to look for a '73 before they get too high, but really, not on my radar now.
I also liked the 74 GTO a lot too!
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