The History of my Monte

Prelude

June 12 2005 - The turning point in the history of my monte happened on this day. I had big plans for the ZX2, plans that included swapping the atx with a mtx, swapping the engine with an svt focus 2.0L zetec, and then going turbo. This was going to be made possible because i had just learned that i was accepted at a job that was going to pay me twice as much as what i was already being paid. Unfortunately, the zx2 was totalled on this day, and i was car-less for the time being. I didn't know what i was going to drive, and the search began about a couple months later.

The Monte

July 11 2005 - The monte has officially been signed into my name. This happened after a former employer informed me that his buddy at a local car dealership (who happens to be a salesman there) said there was a monte that just came in. My monte never made it out to the lot. I bought it right away because i knew that it was going to be a good car.

July 27 2005 - I decided to take the monte out to the dragstrip and see what it would run completely bone stock. My hopes were that i would make the 1/4 mile at 15.8. My Fiance (girlfriend at the time) reluctantly came with me to the track. My first race i ran at 15.78. I was extremely happy with that because i had already beat my goal. The second run was 15.8x, and the third run was 15.9x. I called it a day after that. My goal had been reached.

March 25 2006 - I decided that i was going to mod the monte and come in like a storm. I went to ZZP and had them install a GT1 cam with new valve springs and retainers. Along with all of that, they installed a stage 1 t/b for me too. The monte was a new machine.

April 8 2006 - Second time at a drag strip with the monte and i was dieing to see what kind of improvement my monte had made. I was aiming to hit a 15.3 second 1/4, but i was hoping for a lil faster then that. My first run was actually kind of dissapointing. I ran a 15.48. So, i tried again. The next two tries were even worse, both times were 15.5x and i was not happy. My Fiance told me to run one more time just to see what it could do. My final run was a 15.374. That made my day right there. I left the track in high spirits.

June 2006 - I can't remember which day it was exactly, but i went to the drag strip again. This time i had installed an Intense PCM, shift kit, ZZP water pump UDP, and a set of Bosch Platinum 4 spark plugs. I was hoping for a good time, either a 15 flat or possibly high 14's. However, that did not happen. I ran a total of four runs and on each run i made a 15.5x second pass. i was very angry especially since a honda civic that was there had run a 14.8 second 1/4 mile. So it was back to the drawing board.

July 2006 - Again, i can't remember which day exactly it was, but i went back to the drag strip again to redeam myself. I had installed a FWI with a 9" K&N cone filter, a 180* drilled thermostat, and had a custom 2.5" exhaust system built for me by a local exhaust shop (Exhaust Special T's). I had no idea what i was going to run, so it really didn't matter as long as it was better then 15.5. My first race that night i made a 14.94 second 1/4 mile. I couldn't believe it. I was in the 14 second club now. The second run wasn't as good at a 15.1 time. The third run i ran a 14.98 time. But the fourth run was the funnest of the night. I didn't do my best on that run, but what made it fun was that i ended up racing a buick regal gs. The regal had a couple mods done to its L67, so i knew i wasnt going to win. Plus, what made that race so much fun was that it was the very last race of the night at that drag strip. I ended up running a 15 flat and gave the guy a thumbs up at the end. He had run a 14.4. We ended up talking a little bit after that and then called it a night.

August 23 2006 - I had the opportunity to go to US131 Motorsports Park that night. Masterjacko was going to be there too and it was looking like we were going to have a close race. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but after receiving some advice from mymonte.com, i went to ZZP and had them reprogram my PCM. They did an awesome job, and it was well worth the money i payed. When i arived at the track, jacko had already made a 14.83 second run. That was better then anything i had done so far, so i was kinda worried. I lined up for my first race that night (it wasn't against jacko), and pulled a 14.73 second 1/4 mile time. I couldn't believe it. My second run was a 14.74, which was very consistent for being freshly modded. Then my third run i ran a 14.67 second 1/4 time. That made my day right there. But, i thought that i might be able to do better so i went for it again. My fourth race was horrible. I ended up sitting on the line roasting the tires and ended up running a 1/4 mile time of 16 flat @ 90mph. After that, jacko and i decided that we were going to race each other. We lined up and then took off. Jacko immediately pulled ahead of me (he had a better reaction time and a better 60' then me). That made me scared at first, but i started pulling past him around the 1/8 mile point. I ended up running a 14.70 and he ran a 14.9x. After that we went home.

October 2006 - I installed a the new HV3 (see page 4 for installation instructions). On the 21st, i drove to US131 Motorsports Park to find that it was closed due to rain, but it wasn't raining. This made me mad because every other drag strip i had called that day said that they were closed on their answering machines, but US131 didn't say anything. So, to this day, i still don't know what my car is running.

July or August 2007 - I ran the car again at the track, but after a combination of adding a resonator and a few miles on the engine since August of 2006, I could only muster a 15.1 1/4 mile. So, it was back to the drawing board to get the Monte back in shape.

March 2008 - The new resonator is removed and i instantly feel an improvement on the ol' butt dyno (not that I have an accurate one ;) ).

April 25 2008 - ZZP installs a set of used TOG's. I originally was going to have the install a set of coated Pacesetter headers, but when they told me that they had a set of used TOG headers and wanted to know if I would like those instead, I said yes. They also made me a custom downpipe to fit onto the TOG's and exhaust system.

April 26 2008 - Race day, and my birthday. My fiance, dad, sister, and cousin (thank you for coming Ben) came to the track on a cold and windy (steady 20-30MPH winds) to see me race. Mind you, it has been almost a year, since I had last raced and here is the results. The first run was a 15.3253@94.27MPH. I almost left right there, lol. Second run: 14.5098@94.98MPH. Third: 14.4391@95.34MPH Last run: 14.5071@95.71MPH. All in all, I had a good time.

April 28 2008 - I go over to ZZperformance in Grand Rapids, MI and have the car dyno tuned (Mustang dyno). The good folks there didn't seem to interested in my car at first. I felt like they thought I was wasting there time, and in a way I could understand why. I mean, my car isn't even supercharged. I talked to the guy who was performing the tune on the car and I asked him what 3800 v6's usually put down for wheel horsepower. He told me that stock, a 3800 should have 150whp. If it's modified, anywhere up to 190whp. So, I stood back and watched. After the first run on the dyno my car put down 205whp. I think after that their attitudes changed toward my car. I asked them what they thought and instantly they said that this was a very good number, and that they have never had a NA 3800 put down that much hp (mind you they have only had the dyno for about a year now). I was pretty happy. They then did some changes to the shift points and air/fuel ratio, and ran the car again. My car now puts down 210whp. The Monte feels so much stronger now too. I can't wait to go back to the track again.

April 2009 - The new ZZP stage 2.5 heads are installed, along with a MMS LIM, aluminum LIM gasket, and .045 head gaskets. There was a change in the power from this but I wasn't sure how much better the car was. So I had to take it to a 1/4 mile drag strip to find out.

August 2009 - Took it to US131 Motorsports Park to see what the Monte would run after my roommate and I installed the new parts (heads and stuff). Unfortunately, it wasn't a good night. The best time that I was able to run was a 14.7@94mph. This was very disapointing, but I was able to get my best 60' time ever (2.19). However, after this night I was convinced that there was something wrong with my Monte and I figured that I needed to have somebody look at it before I went crazy.

October 1 2009 - It was time to take the Monte back to ZZPerformance and see if they could help me diagnose the problem. After taking a visual inspection of the Monte, there was nothing that looked bad, so it was time to put the car up on the dyno. Amazingly, everything was still good and the first dyno pull was 218whp. That was an improvement over the last time, which made me very happy. We ran the car a total of three times to manage its best whp number yet, 222whp on a Mustang dyno. What was decided was that there was nothing "wrong" with the car, but it needed better tires (stickier) and it could use a new set of spark plugs too. This is very exciting because it's getting very close to where it needs to be to run a 13 second 1/4 mile time.

Present day - Still waiting to go to the track :(

Page 1: Intro
Page 2: Engine
Page 3: Interior 
Page 4: HV3 install
Page 5: My Monte's History
Page 6: Old pic's
Page 7: At the track