Well-done delMONACO, vintage 1972

Carmine

Old Man with a Hat
Joined
Feb 22, 2015
Messages
5,579
Reaction score
8,635
Location
Detroit 'burbs
New thread since he last one got a little gunked up.

Ok, trying to find some humor in this, thus my title. Seeing (owning) the car in person kinda makes me sad. Somebody put a lot of work into this machine. The unburnt paint is like a mirror (over restored actually) and the details look "sharp". What I can see of the under body looks clean. This might make me at least throw a cheapie fire extinguisher in my cars.

If you're dying to know the details, I'll give them to you in the interest of establishing the value of a burned-out 440 C-body. I purchased it a shop that specializes in late-model stuff, but the owner likes vintage Chevys (Chevelles, Camaros, etc.) Pretty cool guy actually. He went to a salvage auction in Lansing (real GM territory) and didn't even know much about it, but I'm guessing he heard some chatter about "440" etc. He bid it to $600 and towed it back to his shop just outside of Detroit on the ironically named Plymouth Road.

One day on Craigs at $2800, revised to $1800. For some reason I had a mental block about buying this car... "Ehh, I only need a subframe, not a whole car.... I already have an extra 440/727... I don't want an immobile, stinky beached whale in my garage all winter..." (The last item being fairly logical.) But then I started thinking it sure solves a lot of problems at once. Like the low-rider stance of the project I bought in November.

01212_3cctqozodtm_600x450-jpg.102212

Instant drivetrain upgrade (my extra 440 hasn't run in a decade). 8 3/4, driveshaft, new exhaust, new fuel tank, KYB shocks, brakes that have functioned within the last 20 years, radiator, hopefully good hoses, newer Edelbrock carb and perhaps patch panels if I need them. Once this all sunk in, I realized I would be an idiot not to look at it... Especially since the stubframe (alone) I was considering was a helluva lot further away in West Virginia. (A note on that... I feel kinda bad for changing plans after inquiring about that one... I'll try to make it up by bumping his ad.)

So I offered $1200 which I figured was fair for a 440/trans. He came back at $1300 + towing to my house, so a deal was made. It arrived at my house last night, thankfully under cover of darkness. I really wonder what the old folks who live around me think, lol. I don't leave any visible junk outside the house, so they must think I push them into a sinkhole in my back yard. (Not really my yard, but not that far either!)

I will be selling off what I don't need, once I can access what I need. I'm pretty sure I won't need the roof/window channels, so if that holds true I'd pretty much give that to any local that wants to cut them off (no roof would make things easier). I'd like to see as many cars get saved as possible. Trades also welcome... Perhaps you've always dreamed of converting your Polara to a Monaco and have a nice '73 bumper? Come get the Monaco bumpers and clip! I'll post a few pics that I took, but I seriously need to dedicate some vacation time to painting my 2nd floor, so there won't be much car-work the next few days.

IMG_20161230_102152.jpg
 
New thread since he last one got a little gunked up.

Ok, trying to find some humor in this, thus my title. Seeing (owning) the car in person kinda makes me sad. Somebody put a lot of work into this machine. The unburnt paint is like a mirror (over restored actually) and the details look "sharp". What I can see of the under body looks clean. This might make me at least throw a cheapie fire extinguisher in my cars.

If you're dying to know the details, I'll give them to you in the interest of establishing the value of a burned-out 440 C-body. I purchased it a shop that specializes in late-model stuff, but the owner likes vintage Chevys (Chevelles, Camaros, etc.) Pretty cool guy actually. He went to a salvage auction in Lansing (real GM territory) and didn't even know much about it, but I'm guessing he heard some chatter about "440" etc. He bid it to $600 and towed it back to his shop just outside of Detroit on the ironically named Plymouth Road.

One day on Craigs at $2800, revised to $1800. For some reason I had a mental block about buying this car... "Ehh, I only need a subframe, not a whole car.... I already have an extra 440/727... I don't want an immobile, stinky beached whale in my garage all winter..." (The last item being fairly logical.) But then I started thinking it sure solves a lot of problems at once. Like the low-rider stance of the project I bought in November.

01212_3cctqozodtm_600x450-jpg.102212

Instant drivetrain upgrade (my extra 440 hasn't run in a decade). 8 3/4, driveshaft, new exhaust, new fuel tank, KYB shocks, brakes that have functioned within the last 20 years, radiator, hopefully good hoses, newer Edelbrock carb and perhaps patch panels if I need them. Once this all sunk in, I realized I would be an idiot not to look at it... Especially since the stubframe (alone) I was considering was a helluva lot further away in West Virginia. (A note on that... I feel kinda bad for changing plans after inquiring about that one... I'll try to make it up by bumping his ad.)

So I offered $1200 which I figured was fair for a 440/trans. He came back at $1300 + towing to my house, so a deal was made. It arrived at my house last night, thankfully under cover of darkness. I really wonder what the old folks who live around me think, lol. I don't leave any visible junk outside the house, so they must think I push them into a sinkhole in my back yard. (Not really my yard, but not that far either!)

I will be selling off what I don't need, once I can access what I need. I'm pretty sure I won't need the roof/window channels, so if that holds true I'd pretty much give that to any local that wants to cut them off (no roof would make things easier). I'd like to see as many cars get saved as possible. Trades also welcome... Perhaps you've always dreamed of converting your Polara to a Monaco and have a nice '73 bumper? Come get the Monaco bumpers and clip! I'll post a few pics that I took, but I seriously need to dedicate some vacation time to painting my 2nd floor, so there won't be much car-work the next few days.

Way-ta-go! Carmine. Now about that stub frame in WV. . . Any info about that?
 
I saw delMonaco and instantly thought of this...

Michael-Jordans-Delmonico-Steak.jpg


A nice, juicy Delmonico (Ribeye) steak. I am the Meat Man after all. lol
 
I considered that car hard to pass on at 1800 bucks, nice grab on that one Carmine.
 
Carmine, I'm interested in the right side mirror if it's decent. Thanks.
 
Carmine,

You are my hero!

...and my superpower is hopefully an avoidance of tetanus.

The bacteria causing tetanus can be found in soil, dust, and manure. It can enter your body through an open wound caused by contaminated objects. Those contaminated objects are mostly rusty metals. Why rusty metals? Does rust cause tetanus? Rusty metals are commonly located outdoors or in humid places, where the bacteria Clostridium tetani are more likely to reside. Rust itself does not cause tetanus infection. Instead, it only provides the perfect habitat for the bacteria spores. Hence, rusty metals are usually contaminated with the bacteria.


When you are wounded and get a cut, scrap, opened stretch, or puncture through accidents with contaminated objects, in this case rusty metals, you have the risk of transferring the spores from the metal objects—their habitat to your body. This is the initial period of the incubation period.

...I always wondered why rust got the blame.
 
More progress pics...

IMG_20170415_161040_zpsv1cy7nxl.jpg


Yes, I know I should have capped the tailshaft. But I have loads of sawdust and a pressure washer, so clean up was easier that taking the yoke off or trying to concoct something that would fall-off half way through the pull as per normal.

Observations...

I think whomever did the cosmetic restoration was better at body/paint than observant of good practices when modifying cars. These are the reasons folks like me would rather buy something original and broken vs. modified and functional.

IMG_20170414_190629_zpszuelfs2i.jpg


An electric choke in itself is not a bad item, but when you just grab power from under the dash and wedge the wire between a sharp steel edge and a grommet, you're asking for a helluva (unfused) short. (Grommet removed in this photo for clarity.) While I don't think this wire was the source of ignition (I would expect more damage to the wire), it certainly had the potential.

IMG_20170414_183803_zpsicbdfcz7.jpg


There was no roll pin connecting the steering shaft to the box! That made it easier to remove; but damn!

IMG_20170414_182349_zps5dbcmmil.jpg


Blower motor itself seems ok. Spun freely.

IMG_20170412_202953_zps51xg11ie.jpg


Do you hate working under the dash? Me too. However, necessary to save the booster; which was still proving power brakes when I drove it up/down my driveway.

IMG_20170411_175841_zpst7xq8uxq.jpg


Fuel line was just a long rubber loop over the manifolds to the fuel pump. Carb was fastened down on top of the original choke... Just crushed down with the mounting bolts! The choke removes with one bolt, WTF?!

This is why many of us prefer to keep things OEM! There is a place for mods, IF you know what your doing, not just doing what you know!

Speaking of shortcuts and hackery... I have an older friend who needs to move an old Dodge plow truck a few hundred feet into a polebarn (It's a few hundred miles from me). The underhood wiring is chopped up and he gets no spark. So I used the Monaco's engine wire harness to create a "drop in" electronic ignition hot wire kit.

IMG_20170411_203318_zpsvh5s6pf2.jpg


For all the mystery surrounding this box, it's really just 5 wires for trouble shooting purposes. Two of those go to the distributor, one goes to power, the last two are coil +/-. Yes, you will overheat the coil if your drive around like that, but if you're just trouble shooting or need to move a wounded beast, as I did... it works.
 
And so it goes...
IMG_20170519_205200_zps5j8emfyq.jpg

I cut the roof this way to save the ft/rr window channel areas. The look ugly from melted urethane/vinyl, etc, but i'm sure they'd clean up well.

IMG_20170520_153646_zpswvxkks3o.jpg

If I told you there was a fairly large piece of wood used in the OEM construction of many of our cars, would you know where to find it?

IMG_20170520_153657_zpsnn3ofdlb.jpg


I imagine there is some sort of irony that the scrap is being hauled away in a Dodge Truck that could have come west on the same transport 45 years ago...

IMG_20170520_153709_zpsfqblrxqy.jpg
 
I would have guessed the fold down rear armrest for the wood.
 
Back
Top