Beakerz monza spyder maybe project

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Beakerz monza spyder maybe project

Postby beakerztoyz » Sat May 14, 2016 8:43 pm

I decided that since my Sunbird project started forever ago it's not worth doing a journal on, but it might be alright to do one for the spyder I have.

Heres the back story in the late summer of 2014 I was getting ready to give up on my 1980 sunbird, it needed an out of province inspection to be roadworthy and because I had changed the engine and such it seemed like that would not happen, I had thought it was very close but after finding out a new windshield was around 800 dollars was unwilling to take the chance on buying one and having it still not pass and was ready to give up. I had had the car for like 17 years had fooled with it off and on and had never been able to drive it. One night I went out for coffee with some friends and we got talking about it and I told them I was done with it, I was debating pulling the drivetrain and scrapping it, I told them I was thinking of putting my 350 into a fox body or something. About a week later one of then called me, said he knew a mechanic who would look at the car and see what all it needed, and he knew of a place where I could get a good windshield for 150 bucks.

So not long after that me and another friend took a drive to go look at the windshield we ended up at a wrecking yard in a small town about half an hour from where I live where much to my surprise there were 4 h body cars in various stages of repair. The owner of the wrecking yard said he had got all 4 cars from 1 person not long before that. 1 had no rearend and was stripped to a shell.. another had a busted windshield, and was really beat up... another had a perfect windshield, no drivetrain and a very nice interior and the last is the spyder I still have which the owner of the wrecking yard told me would actually run. it has a target master smallblock chevrolet and an automatic trans. The owner and I ended up cutting a deal on the last 2 cars for $ 850 (canadian) he would deliver both of them to my house. I spent the winter gutting the motorless car, put the interior parts I needed and the windshield from it into my sunbird and put the other parts in storage and then sent the shell off to another closer wrecker for crushing. In the spring much to my delight my sunbird did become roadworthy and So instead of having to switch all my parts to the monza which is an in province car I ended up with an extra h body that really I still have no idea what I'm gonna do with. it is an actual spyder according to the vin and I'm sure it would be a nice car if I fixed it up.

When we first got the monza here we put a battery in and threw some fuel down the carb and did get it to start, so in the last few weeks I decided to see if I could actually get it to run for more than a few seconds. So far I've changed the plugs, added an in line electric fuel pump because it wasn't getting fuel to the carb I finished that up today and it wouldn't fire up so I attacked the ignition system. and have now added a new cap, rotor and plugs. it will now fire up but only if I dump fuel in it, there is fuel getting to the carb now though. it seems the more I look at this car the more I realize whomever played with it before had no idea what they were doing... and did a bunch of random stuff that really makes no sense.

Image Image Image
1980 notchback sunbird... 355
1980 monza spyder.... v8

If I woulda known then what I know now....I never woulda got an h body
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beakerztoyz
 
Posts: 344
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:02 pm
Location: southern alberta

1980 Pontiac Sunbird


Re: Beakerz monza spyder maybe project

Postby beakerztoyz » Thu Oct 06, 2016 12:19 am

played with this car a little more over the summer, I did get it to run without dumping fuel in the carb.. it took a bit though, first I had to disconnect the shifter cable as the car was locked in gear (somehow) neither the shifter nor the cable would move and the car ended up being in first gear even though the shifter was in park. Then after some coaxing I did get it to start and stay running and then encountered electrical gremlins, thanks to some good advice on fb I traced the ignition wires and tested everything and came to the conclusion that the problem was in the engine bay, and either in the wiring to the starter or the starter itself. it was a wet summer around here so it was just recently hat I got under it to look at the starter which I ended up pulling out after overtightening the one little nut on the wires :bang: . no room in my garage but I've just recently ended up going in on a rental garage so in the next week or so I'm planning on having this car towed over there.. it will suck having to go cross town to work on it but I figure I can tear into it a bit there and I can throw some heat in that other garage too so who knows maybe I'll make some progress on it over the winter. I figure I'll fix the starter issue.. and then probably tear the drivetrain out and repaint the engine bay., maybe swap in the 4sp I have as well.
1980 notchback sunbird... 355
1980 monza spyder.... v8

If I woulda known then what I know now....I never woulda got an h body
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beakerztoyz
 
Posts: 344
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:02 pm
Location: southern alberta

1980 Pontiac Sunbird

Re: Beakerz monza spyder maybe project

Postby mahoy78spyder » Fri Oct 07, 2016 10:22 am

I've not seen an '80 Spyder like this restored - EVER! Would love to see progress on this car if you're up for the challenge. Keep us up to date and know that we're in your corner. :th:
Ken Mahoy
'78 C06 Monza Spyder
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Location: Covington, IN

1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder


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