79 monza build and questions

[Tvin21]

I recently picked up this monza and just decided to start working on it. I picked it up as a roller. All I know about it is it has Lakewood 50/50 drag shocks on the back and I think 90/10 on the front. I don't know anything about the rear end in it. I'm gonna have it rattle canned flat black this weekend. I will post pictures below but I had a few questions. 1. I'm gonna put a th350 in it that I already had built but I was wondering about the crossmember and torque arm. Will I need a different Length arm and how will I mount it? How do I determine what length I'll need? 2. I've always had trucks and messed with suspension on them but I was wondering the best way to get traction, bars? Or what's the best option. As it won't be a super high powered car. 3. The windshield got shattered and I was wondering either where to get a new one or is it hard to do a plexi windshield?
Thanks in advance for the advice. I'm new to this so I'll have a lot of questions so be patient. Haha.

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[Tvin21]

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[spencerforhire]

If the TH-350 you have is of the short(6" tailshaft) variety, all you need is an H-body tailshaft housing. It will have the bolt holes for the torque arm. Traction with a low powered engine could be as simple as a set of air bags inside the rear springs. Speaking of rear springs, the 3rd-gen F-body(82-93 Camaro/Firebird) ones are easy to find and are only an inch higher. Monza windshields are still available through any auto glass shop, but if this a dragstrip only build, Lexan is easy and saves a bunch of weight.

[Tvin21]

Thanks for the reply.
Just yesterday a guy I work with said he has a Camaro parts car with full rear suspension I can have anything I want off of it so that's pretty cool. The local glass shops I called couldn't get the windshield. Is there a lip the old glass sits on that you could self tap the plexi to? I didn't know if you would have to make a bracket to mount it to or not. I haven't got the glass out so i don't know what it looks like. Is there any other upgrades I should look into doing that you could reccomend. All the info is appreciated.

[spencerforhire]

I didn't realize that the Monza windshield was getting hard to find. There is almost an inch of lip all the way around to screw to; I used stainless machine screws and nylock nuts to hold the windows in my drag car; no sharp points inside the car to rip open a hand. If you want to reinstall the OEM window trim to hide the screws, you will have to space the Lexan out 1/4"-3/8" to make it flush. If you go with plastic, make sure to use Lexan(polycarbonate), not Plexiglas(acrylic). Plexi is slightly more scratch resistant, but it cracks easily, especially around screw holes. Acrylic can be re polished if scratched, but if you're careful with Lexan, it will outlast the plexi.
The best possible stuff to use is Lexan with "Margard II" coating; almost as scratch resistant as Plexi, but it's not cheap. Like $600/sheet for(48"x96") in .177"(almost 3/16"). That's thick enough for a windshield, and you can get away with .118" (almost 1/8") for side and back windows.

[Monza Harry]

Glass is getting hard to find but was recently still available try these two out, don't worry about the one being Canadian he has warehouses on both sides of the border. I have dealt with both of them with good results. Spencer gave you good answers to the rest. Harry http://arnoldautoglass.ca/about-arnold.html http://www.bkclassicautoglass.com/

[spencerforhire]

A couple of distributors I checked say "out of stock". At least that's better than "no longer available".

[Tvin21]

I didn't realize that the Monza windshield was getting hard to find. There is almost an inch of lip all the way around to screw to; I used stainless machine screws and nylock nuts to hold the windows in my drag car; no sharp points inside the car to rip open a hand. If you want to reinstall the OEM window trim to hide the screws, you will have to space the Lexan out 1/4"-3/8" to make it flush. If you go with plastic, make sure to use Lexan(polycarbonate), not Plexiglas(acrylic). Plexi is slightly more scratch resistant, but it cracks easily, especially around screw holes. Acrylic can be re polished if scratched, but if you're careful with Lexan, it will outlast the plexi.
The best possible stuff to use is Lexan with "Margard II" coating; almost as scratch resistant as Plexi, but it's not cheap. Like $600/sheet for(48"x96") in .177"(almost 3/16"). That's thick enough for a windshield, and you can get away with .118" (almost 1/8") for side and back windows.

Thanks for all the information on this. I really appreciate it. I didn't realize it was so
Expensive to run lexan. I thought that was the easier and cheaper route. I guess I will search for glass till I get everything else lined out with the car.
The guy with the springs and bags said he would just give them to me! I just have to go pull them. Anymore parts that would be an interchangeable upgrade? Thanks for all the replies.

[docbillet]

Ordered a new windshield (with antenna) from here about 2 1/2 months ago, finally received it yesterday. Total cost was $385 shipped from MN.

http://www.windshieldstogo.com/

Dave