Long story short, he never did anything with the car even though I was willing to pay him. I went off to college and forgot about it, then came back and got a job in my hometown. The car is still sitting about 30 miles away and I'm going to get it this weekend.
It's a Red Monza Spyder Automatic with the 5.0 L 305 v8 in it. It has an immaculate white leather interior, working 8 track deck. Outside, it needs a little more TLC, detached trim, paint is relatively OK, some rust behind the front and rear wheel wells. The car ran when I took it out there, and I'm hoping all is well, but we'll see.
My questions relate to exterior restoration, wheel replacement options, transmission fluid leakage, and possible motor and tranny swapout options. I'm just gonna rattle off some questions and hopefully people with insight and experience may have guidance for me.
- Are there any good sources for trim for these things?
- What have people replaced the wheels with?
- I like the idea of aluminum wheels that cost around $100 each, but I remember the bolt pattern on these things was weird... 4 lugs or something.
The transmission is leaking fluid (like all of it if it sits too long.) But it drives fine when it's full. For this reason I am weighing the following options:
- Open up the tranny and try to find the leak and fix it with only the necessary parts
- Do a Monster-in-a-box kit: http://www.monstertrans.com/store/products/TH%252d350-Mega-Monster-Transmission-Complete-Rebuild-Kit.html
- Get a Reman Monster TH350 Trans... (is the trans on the monza a 9"tall model or a 6" tall model) I would get the mild transmission if I kept the 305 or a heavy duty if I do a 350 swap
- Get a Reman Monster 700R4 Trans. I like the idea of having overdrive, but I'm not sure how much of a bolt-in replacement this is.
- Will the gear stick need to be modified since it only has 1 2 and D?
- Add an overdrive toggle?
- Is there additional modification required to fit the tranny under the body or for mounting?
- Dump Tranny fluid in it all the time and let my girlfriend drive it to work.
The engine is overheating/possibly completely effed after sitting for 6 years (last time it ran it was by a 19 y/o version of me who let it overheat quite a bit). The guy who has it said it wouldn't turn over last time he tried, but that might be an utterly dead battery or something else. Due to this I'm toying with these options:
- Year one 400HP crate 350
- Year one 400HP crate 350 with aluminum heads
- $1000 budget build 400hp 350
- Top end rebuild
- Full engine rebuild if necessary
- Something crazy (turbo/super ecotec, supercharged buick motor, open to ideas)
Last question: Let's say I want to get the 305 running quickly so I can drive this thing around while I hum and haw about the 350 swap idea. If it turns out I have cracked heads and I want aluminum heads on my budget build 350, can I put aluminum 350 heads on a 305 in the meanwhile, then reuse them for my super duper 350 build?
As soon as I get over there with the trailer, I'm going to begin taking pictures of the thing and what's going on with it. I may start a project journal thread on it, but for now I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do with this thing.
