I'm back - With a new Monza!

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I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby monzaman69 » Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:50 pm

Picked up a basket case 1975 roller today! $300 from a local who had it in storage for a while. Said it was stored indoors for most of its life until very recently.

Originally a V8/4spd car, but no powertrain inside as of now.

Car has rot in the usual spots, fender bottoms, lower quarters, but the rest of the car seems pretty solid. There is one hole in the floorboard, but I'll probably find more later.

Previous owner said it has an aftermarket rear end - 10 bolt with torque arm. Haven't crawled underneath to see if there are any markings. It has 5 lugs in back, 4 lugs on front.

I'm looking forward to tearing into her. She appears to have originally been a silver car from flaking paint in the jambs.

Vin is 1R07G52125*** if anyone wants to decode it.

Pictures below:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... ElRLVplWGc
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... 3dLLWJwRWM
Adam
1975 Monza 2+2 Basket Case

Gone, but not forgotten:
1977 Monza Mirage
1978 Pontiac Sunbird Notchback
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1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage


Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby cammerjeff » Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:54 am

Not a bad looking car for $300! Welcome Back
Jeff R

1971 Catalina Freeway Enforcer
77 Astre Formula, some day soon powered by a 215 Buick V-8
1973 4-speed Lemans Safari STOCK!!!!! 1978 Catalina Safari
2006 Mallet Solstice, 6.0 LS2, 6-speed manual
2009 Solstice Coupe, 2.4, 5-speed Manual
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Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby Monza Harry » Sat Jul 22, 2017 7:20 pm

monzaman69 wrote:Picked up a basket case 1975 roller today! $300
Vin is 1R07G52125*** if anyone wants to decode it.

Pictures below:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... ElRLVplWGc
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... 3dLLWJwRWM

I bought rougher cars than that to drive! That seems like a pretty good deal up front, unfortunately time will tell if our first impressions are Good! And as for a decode, visit Bryan's [http://forums.h-body.org/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3] site: http://monza.homestead.com/monza.html and go to here: http://monza.homestead.com/files/VINdecoder.htm That will make short work of that and Welcome back to the H-Body fold :th: Harry
I'm not a hoarder I'm a preservationist 78 Monza Spyder (~Soon(ish +/- I guess) To Be 2+2 with Spoilers)
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Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby monzaman69 » Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:43 pm

Did a more thorough inspection tonight when I got home from work. It's better than I thought. Undercarriage seems very solid except for one fist sized hole in the driver's floorboard. The lower quarters and fenders are needing a lot of love. I'm considering a Mirage kit, it would save a lot of headache with fixing the panels right.. I could just cut out the cancer, treat and coat the edges, and move on. I might need to weld a lower mount point for the flares, but that would be easier than matching / patching new metal to fit the contours. I'm not the best welder in the world, and don't want to use much filler if I can avoid it.

They left the trans crossmember, and there's a spare in the hatch area. Radiator top brace is in the back as well. No shifter assemblies came with the car. Rear end is a 10 bolt. Not sure if 7.5 or 8.5, but it has 5 lug axles.

Interior is much better than I expected. All the plastics are in 8/10 shape, very little damage anywhere. The door panels are nice. The doors seem perfect except for the rubber seals. No rust I can see on them at all. Glass is in good shape.

It came with the original hood, and one that has a very proper looking scoop (although all the filler they used to bond it on is coming off in chunks. It would probably look very nice if redone, but I think I'll probably stick with the stock hood.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... W9peHBtVTA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... Tgza2YwN3M
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... EJucWExc00
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... nZiYnh5R0E
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... 2w0R3ZjT0E

I plan to start gutting the interior on Monday and Tuesday. Once I get the inside emptied out, I'll see how it looks there. I'm hoping to find a build sheet.
Adam
1975 Monza 2+2 Basket Case

Gone, but not forgotten:
1977 Monza Mirage
1978 Pontiac Sunbird Notchback
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Location: New Hampshire

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby Monza Harry » Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:10 pm

Well for that price the interior alone would cost at least double that, and that metal work is all fixable, so Monzaman69 for the win! :th: Harry
I'm not a hoarder I'm a preservationist 78 Monza Spyder (~Soon(ish +/- I guess) To Be 2+2 with Spoilers)
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Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby monzaman69 » Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:37 pm

I'm making my "This is what I need" list.. It just keeps growing :P

Engine / Trans (preferably a matched set from another Automatic V8 Monza with A/C to save piece parting stuff like oil pan, tailshaft, compressor, brackets, mounts, etc)
V8 Capable Radiator
Auto Shifter Assembly, cover plate & Brake pedal
Mirage Body kit (Already found, just need to drive down, pay the man and make the deal)
Front end 5 lug conversion
Door / Hatch lock cylinders (The hatch is missing, and I want all 3 to match)
Carpet kit
Dash Pad (This is very low priority, the one in there is in decent enough shape to just cover it temporarily)
One black rear seat bottom, driver side. Maybe both if they've discolored at all as I'd want them to match.
Matching wheels and new Tires
New rear end emblems
Center console trim piece (plastic tray under e-brake handle is missing)
Seat belt retainers, maybe new belts.
Headliner board & headliner (It's intact, but horribly sagged/warped and the vinyl headliner has a few tears)

Not to mention all the extra tools, paint gear, and such.
Adam
1975 Monza 2+2 Basket Case

Gone, but not forgotten:
1977 Monza Mirage
1978 Pontiac Sunbird Notchback
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monzaman69
 
Posts: 422
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:34 am
Location: New Hampshire

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby monzaman69 » Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:06 pm

Cleanout started this evening. Removed the hood, vacuumed out all the leaves and dirt in the cowl. There wasn't much in there, and it's in quite nice shape underneath, makes me believe it was kept inside as the original owner said.

Opened the rear hatch, vacuumed out the channels, then started removing plastics and carpet. When I laid the back seat down and flipped the cover over, I discovered an entire ant colony living behind/under the backseats. Yay. Shop vac to the rescue. It's probably going to take a few days to get them all out, as they were escaping under the carpeting. I ran out of daylight, so I'll tackle it again in the morning.

Found another hole in the floorboard. Backseat driver side, large enough for my shopvac hose to fit through. Yippee.
Adam
1975 Monza 2+2 Basket Case

Gone, but not forgotten:
1977 Monza Mirage
1978 Pontiac Sunbird Notchback
User avatar
monzaman69
 
Posts: 422
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:34 am
Location: New Hampshire

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby monzaman69 » Tue Jul 25, 2017 3:48 pm

So, the floors and part of the frame is a lot worse off than I thought from my cursory inspection.

It's "fixable" but not without a lot of metal work. 3/4 of the pan needs to be replaced.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... mtaZTc1cHM - driver floor
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... G56SnE4SG8 - driver floor
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... FZDSUJHX2c - driver floor
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... k5nMVNqN0E - passenger floor
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... 190SW4zeE0 - crack in trans tunnel, pass side
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Yeq ... XFldVJNZkE - rear passenger floor in seemingly good shape
Adam
1975 Monza 2+2 Basket Case

Gone, but not forgotten:
1977 Monza Mirage
1978 Pontiac Sunbird Notchback
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monzaman69
 
Posts: 422
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:34 am
Location: New Hampshire

1977 Chevrolet Monza Mirage

Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby OldsStarfire » Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:46 pm

I think you might have moved into parts car territory. With that much rust chances are the unibody structure is bad too.
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Re: I'm back - With a new Monza!

Postby Diesel Dan » Wed Aug 02, 2017 6:48 pm

I think my DD 1980 spyder was in worse shape than that, 25+ years ago!
1980 Monza Town Coupe
5.0L/auto
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