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So... I removed the driveshaft, drained the tranny (oil appeared to be new) put new tires on the rear (keeping the originals of course), drained and filled the rear diff (which had what seemed to be brand new oil in it already) and towed it back to my home, still covered in dust of the past 31 years.

I did a quick soap and water wash to remove the dust and found a body that was in near perfect shape except for 5 or 6 small rocks chips. As a former auto broker, I would rate the car a 9.5 out of 10 if it were just 5 years old.

After the quick wash and getting the car safely in the garage, I removed the spark plugs and placed a few ounces of Magical Mystery Oil in each cylinder. I also removed the distributor and spun the oil pump for 12 minutes to get a nice oil flow throughout the engine. After letting the Mystery Oil and engine oil sit for 3 days, I took the 1st try with spinning the engine manually at the crank with a long ratchet and to my amazement (and fingers & toes crossed) the engine turned over with little effort.

Now, I'm at a loss of what to do next. There are obviously several options, with the ultimate intent to sell it as I have no desire (sorry) for another car since I already have more than my garage and drive way will allow.

1) Do I keep going mechanically and turn it into a driver (have to replace 1 brake line and find an electrical issue preventing power to the car (guessing it's a corroded plug somewhere up front)

2) Get it up and running an do a partial restore?

3) Do a full restore?

Any help, suggestions, purchase requests, etc.. would be greatly appreciated. I'm what you'd consider a "youtube mechanic" with several years of experience of wrenching on my own and friends vehicles, working in a dealership with a auto shop but never wrenching there as a job. I'm relatively, confident that I could do any mechanical work required on the car but wouldn't mind selling it without having to do the work as well.

Thoughts, Suggestions, Comments... etc would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a photo of the Odometer. More photos to come as I get time to resize.

I personally would just preserve it as is, or find someone who wants to do that, but whatever you decide don't go over 1979 miles!!!

Al

Great story! There is nothing like a survivor car! In my opinion the originality of the car is the biggest value. Everyone here goes back and forth on what these cars are worth but I've seen some go for good amounts. Depending on how you go about selling it an auction like Mecum might be your angle for the best amount. A member here sold this car on ebay and then it was flipped. Your car I would say is in better shape plus closer to 100% original which is big plus at an auction. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42261

I have factory documents on the options for your car and if you want would send you copies. For most of our cars it is kind of like a non issue but for something like yours it could help.

LG3 - 5 litre 2bbl V8 - 8,180 Monza's were made in 79 with that engine. That is 5.5% for 79. (79 was the last year for the V8 in a Monza)
F41 - Sport suspension - 6,156 Monza's were made in 79 with this option. That is 3.8% for 79.
V01 - Heavy duty Rad - 7,505 Monza's were made in 79 with this option. That is 5.1% for 79.
75L - Red - 10,124 Monza's were made in 79 with that color. That is 6.2% for 79.

I sure would like to see more pictures! I would try and keep everything as original as you can, good luck and keep us posted. Brian

More images

Nice find with a great history too. Not sure what its' value is, unfortunately these cars generally don't bring much interest except for us small niche H body guys. I see it was sold from Phillips Chevy in Frankfort, Illinois. Not too far from me....where is the car now?

Right now, it's just north of Denver,Co. Figure value is a crapshoot like anything else with age. It's going to have to be a nostalgic purchase most likely. Someone that is at least 52 (16 years old + 36 year old car) or retired that had one just like it as their 1st car or something like that.

I'd keep it if I didnt already have 4 cars and a small pop-up.

Ok, Frankfort is about 10 miles from me so thought if it was local I could check it out if someone was interested. Colorado is another story
Good luck, should make a nice car for someone.

Thanks the offer to check it out. Colorado is nice this time of year though .. I was actually going to contact Phillips to see if they had any interest as a marketing piece. You never know what a dealership will spend it's money on. Figure since it has all the papers, may be kind of cool sitting in their showroom.

Well, after hooking up a secondary fuel bottle straight to the carb (via fuel filter) and a bit of work fiddling with the vacuum lines, I was able to bring the Monza back to life!!!! Starts right up, revs smoothly and when I release the gas peddle, the idle drops down to 600-700 rpm's. Power steering worked smoothly as well. Now I just have to replace the brake line that has the hole in it and see if the brakes work.

Now, I knew that when it was parked, the fuel tank was 1/2 full (according to the fuel gauge) and the ungodly smell of old fuel. Well, when I was replacing the drive shaft this morning, I found a nice hole in the side of the tank that I could almost fit my entire fist into. At this point, the car is 100% original from the factory with the exception of:

-Battery
-Oil Filter
-9" of brake line
-surface rust on parts of engine, drive shaft, and rear diff.

Thoughts on what to do about the fuel system?

1) Drop the tank and see total extent of damage
2) Replace it with a used tank (I found a Fuel Tank from a 1976 Sunbird but with shipping it would be $275
3) Take it to a repair service and have it repaired properly?
4) Leave it be and let the new owner decide what is best?

Wow what an amazing find. I deff think you have taken the right approach to it. "Least Invasive" for sure what I would do.
Have you finished the repairs Been a while since you posted. Have you made a plan for it as far as what you are going to do with it?

I haven't had much time to work on it lately. I was able to repair the brake line and flush the old brake fluid. While I had the wheels off, I sanded the inside of the drums and the front discs of light surface rust.

I also fixed the horn, windshield wiper motor and washer fluid motor. So, as far as I can tell, the only thing that doesn't work is the fuel delivery system. Later this week I plan on refilling the tranny oil (which dumped out when I removed the drive shaft) and then getting her all cleaned up.

My intent is to sell it to someone who would appreciate the car and keep it as original as possible, not turn it into a drag car as so many of them have been converted to.

skdmarx wrote:My intent is to sell it to someone who would appreciate the car and keep it as original as possible, not turn it into a drag car as so many of them have been converted to.

I hope this would happen. I saw a very clean original 1972 Vega panel wagon with 9000 miles cut up for a drag car. It was sad, but nothing I could do as it wasn't my car. Can someone sell a car with a legal obligation to keep it original or limitations of what can be done with it? I don't have a problem with someone changing color, doing some basic performance mods, or anything else that can fairly easily be undone. I would think if a home owners association can do this with homes, why can't it be done with cars?

Ken