Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Anything H-body related, but please use one of the topic-specific forums below if appropriate

Moderator: Moderators

Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby Fastmax32168 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:11 am

Some of you may recall a few months back I bought this car in an Ebay Auction. I really hadnt wanted this style of Monza, but I had seen it for sale so many times without selling that I felt it necessary to "save" it.
Image

So I brought it home and cleaned it up a bit......and when I got the dirt off of it I discovered that it was actually the prototype for the H-body urban legend known as the Monza GT!
Image
Image

Note the blacked out moldings, trim, and dual exhaust sneaking out from under the rear bumper
Image
Image

Apparently the Monza GT was a testbed for future GM products. These blacked out wheels look suspiciously like the ones that came on early 80s Trans-Ams, and the color appears to Mimic the bright blue available on 1980 Trans-Ams. Also who would have thought GM had such aggresive tires back then!
Image

It seems a special grille with bowtie theme was included in the package, as well as grille center GT emblem and hood blackout treatment.
Image
Image

The big surprise however was to discover that hiding under the hood, and paired to an overdrive transmission, was a fuel injected 3500 V6 that makes 250 HP, gets over 30 MPG, and will propel the Monza GT to sub 14 second 1/4 mile times.
Image

I wonder what future discoveries await as I continue to explore this special prototype H-body!
Roy
80 Monza Cabriolet coupe
94 Corvette Convertible LT-1 500+ HP
Trailblazer EXT LS6 powered
1991 K1500 6.0 LS swapped
Fastmax32168
 
Posts: 945
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:56 am
Location: Port Orange Fl

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage


Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby DrCAS » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:40 am

It's a legend in your own mind!

Hard to believe that is the same car. I like it so far.
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter

1973 Pontiac Astre Panel Express
User avatar
DrCAS
 
Posts: 515
Joined: Sat Aug 21, 2010 4:10 pm
Location: St Cloud, MN

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby my79monza » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:45 am

My, My, My you have done a bunh of work to that Monza.
And in good taste I might add especially the grille I would't mind finding the material used myself as mine has too many missing bars from too many years of sunshine destroying the plastic.
Merle
User avatar
my79monza
 
Posts: 820
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2009 10:34 pm
Location: Washington, Iowa

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby gerbsinmd » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:47 am

That's really nice! It totally changes my view of the 2 headlight cars.
1999 Saturn SL2
2017 Cruze Hatchback
2008 Town & Country - Family transport
2018 Cruze - 35mpg - avg, 49.7mpg - best so far.
2011 Impala - commuter
RIP-2002 Saturn SL2 Commuter car - burned a valve @ 234k miles

1977 Monza Mirage being Restified!!
User avatar
gerbsinmd
 
Posts: 2062
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:48 pm
Location: Dunkirk, MD

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby res0o7eb » Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:04 pm

My favorite style of Monza Hatchback - one with chrome bumpers.
Your Monza GT cleaned up nice. Yes, a rare car indeed. Perhaps 1 of 1. Our resident Monza experts can weigh in on this one.
Washing the dirt off brought out the true hue of that blue which forms a good base for your Black and Blue Boulevard Bruiser.
User avatar
res0o7eb
 
Posts: 3783
Joined: Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:53 pm
Location: Near Seattle, WA

1977 Pontiac Sunbird Hatchback

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby fyrftr50 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:20 pm

I like it, certainly does make the 2-headlight car look stunning. Love the GT look, nice to see what the factory GT 'could' have looked like. Great work, what a gem.
Bryan
fyrftr422@hotmail.com

22 Mazda3 GS
20 Kioti CK2610HST
12 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT
80 Chevy Monza Spyder

MONZA, SKYHAWK, STARFIRE & SUNBIRD ... http://monza.homestead.com/monza.html
User avatar
fyrftr50
 
Posts: 2399
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 2:36 pm
Location: Madoc, ON, Canada

1980 Chevrolet Monza Spyder

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby hammerdown7 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:28 pm

Boy, it cleaned up really well! Nice job!

Dick
User avatar
hammerdown7
 
Posts: 3805
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:53 pm
Location: Clawson, MI

1976 Chevrolet Vega Cosworth

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby Fastmax32168 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:59 pm

my79monza wrote:My, My, My you have done a bunh of work to that Monza.
And in good taste I might add especially the grille I would't mind finding the material used myself as mine has too many missing bars from too many years of sunshine destroying the plastic.
Merle


Merle, That grille was just a plain piece of ABS that my buddy cut out for me on his CNC machine. I asked him how much he would want to make another one and he said about $60.
Thanks for all the kind comments. Some of the things unseen in the photos are the all new shocks, brakes, sway bars and posi 3:41 rear I installed. I sort of felt like that show overhaulin, I had set this imaginary deadline for myself and I just kept rocking on it every chance I got, trying to get it done.
I also installed a ton of extra insulation and dynamat type material inside, as well as new carpet and headliner. All of the weatherstripping and door seals were replaced. I am trying to build something that has a vintage "how the factory would have done it" look, yet drives more like a modern car. As soon as my front seats come back from the upholstery shop I will post pictures of the inside.
Roy
80 Monza Cabriolet coupe
94 Corvette Convertible LT-1 500+ HP
Trailblazer EXT LS6 powered
1991 K1500 6.0 LS swapped
Fastmax32168
 
Posts: 945
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:56 am
Location: Port Orange Fl

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby monzaaddict » Wed Mar 02, 2011 6:45 pm

Did you have to do some rinding on the Sunbird spoiler to make it fit the Monza rear fascia?
monzaaddict
 
Posts: 2599
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 3:04 pm

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby Fastmax32168 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 6:50 pm

monzaaddict wrote:Did you have to do some rinding on the Sunbird spoiler to make it fit the Monza rear fascia?


Yes I did, the bottom edges fn the back side sections need cut away and then rebuilt to match the lines of the Monza tail section. I got them as close as I could with a grinder, then I put masking tape on the Monza taillight panel (filler doesnt stick to masking tape), bolted them into place and filled in the void between the side pieces and the taillight panel with duraglass. When I removed them I had a perfect match to the monzas lines, and just had to do the finishing work.
Roy
80 Monza Cabriolet coupe
94 Corvette Convertible LT-1 500+ HP
Trailblazer EXT LS6 powered
1991 K1500 6.0 LS swapped
Fastmax32168
 
Posts: 945
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:56 am
Location: Port Orange Fl

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby bill1978v8 » Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:31 pm

Very nicely done! More about the 3500 swap please, oh never mind that's OEM...
1975 Monza 2+2, 4.3L V8, Auto
User avatar
bill1978v8
 
Posts: 1657
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:44 pm
Location: Ambridge PA

1978 Chevrolet Monza 2+2

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby Fastmax32168 » Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:58 am

bill1978v8 wrote:Very nicely done! More about the 3500 swap please, oh never mind that's OEM...


Bill, the 3500 swap was easy, I just took a picture of it real close up so that you couldnt tell it is still sitting on the stand in my garage. :mrgreen:

I have nearly everything I need to put it in, the mechanical ends of the swap look to be pretty darn simple. The motor is extremely compact and looks no bigger than a motorcycle engine sitting on the stand. There should be no problem fitting it into the engine compartment with room to spare all around it.By my measurements nearly the entire motor will sit behind the front of the crossmember. It barely goes 350 lbs and should sit further back and lower in the chassis than the 4 cyl it is replacing so I expect handling to actually be improved with its installation.

The only moderately challenging things I see on the horizon are the building of a torque arm to mate the 700 to the monza rear, and the wiring up of the ECM.
Other than that it looks to be easy breazy.
Roy
80 Monza Cabriolet coupe
94 Corvette Convertible LT-1 500+ HP
Trailblazer EXT LS6 powered
1991 K1500 6.0 LS swapped
Fastmax32168
 
Posts: 945
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:56 am
Location: Port Orange Fl

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby spencerforhire » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:53 am

Those 60deg. V6's are tiny; should be a pretty neat swap into a Monza. What's your 3500 & 700 out of? Late 4th gen Camaro? I did the electrical end of a 3.4 liter TPI 95 Camaro engine swapped into an S-10. As long as you have the PCM and complete harness getting it to run shouldn't be too hard; off the top of my head the first couple of problems I thought of were fuel pump, instrumentation and the always pesky OBD2(96-up) necessity of a rear O2 sensor after the cat. If you go with an aftermarket programmer for the computer, the cat and sensor can be eliminated.
Here's a pic of an odd place to find one of these V6's- an Opel GT!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
User avatar
spencerforhire
 
Posts: 2442
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:02 pm
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

1972 Chevrolet Vega Hatchback

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby Fastmax32168 » Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:10 am

Spencer, Motor is out of an 07 Pontiac G6. Tranny is out of a 90 Camaro. I am going to run it off of OBD1 for simplicity's sake. Using a Cavalier Z24 computer and harness. It basically just runs the motor and isn't wired into tons of other useless things for me.
Roy
80 Monza Cabriolet coupe
94 Corvette Convertible LT-1 500+ HP
Trailblazer EXT LS6 powered
1991 K1500 6.0 LS swapped
Fastmax32168
 
Posts: 945
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:56 am
Location: Port Orange Fl

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: Secret Monza GT Prototype discovered!

Postby vegastre » Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:32 am

Good job. This is what it is all about folks. Restoring (saving) one H-body at a time with a little flair and ingenuity. Got my vote and keep at it.
Phil Kennedy~
72 Chevrolet Vega GT Hatchback
75 Pontiac Astre SJ Safari Wagon
User avatar
vegastre
 
Posts: 1289
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:10 am
Location: Dallas, Texas

1975 Pontiac Astre SJ

Next

Return to General Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Majestic-12 [Bot] and 9 guests

cron