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With the help of my father, I purchased this Monte Carlo new from a Seattle suberb Chevy dealer in November, 1978 (at the age of 15) where the car had sat for months after the person who factory ordered it with the available 4 speed transmission decided he didn't want to shift gears and opted for an automatic instead. The car came from the factory with the LG3 305 2 bbl and M20 Saginaw 4 speed. Chevy made 1,719 4 speed Monte's in '78, many were V6s, there were also 882 3 speed cars. The following year they dropped the V8-4 sp.combination though you could still order a V6 with the 3 speed manual trans, they made 1,595 in '79. This particular car came with no air, no power windows or locks, though did have the Luxury "custom" velour 40-60 split bench interior and CC1 hatch roof (T-Top). In '78 it was all about weight savings to enhance fuel efficiency, so many of the body and chassis components were made of light weight components like the aluminum trunk lid. If you didn't load it up it weighed in at less than 3,100 lbs. If you knew what to order you could get lots of "performance" components on the Monte during an era when there wasn't much performance to brag about. This car was ordered with the F 40 HD Suspension, G80 Positrac Axle (delivered with dealer installed 3.23:1 gears) and VO1 HD radiator along with the T-Top roof, tilt wheel and other options.
In '96 with approximately 46K miles on the car, I dropped in the ZZ3 350 ci motor (predecessor to the ever popular GM Performance ZZ4 crate motor) The ZZ3 used the L98 Corvette aluminum heads, roller cam and 9.8:1 compression to produce 345 HP & 385 ft. lbs. of torque. It didn't take long to realize the Saginaw wasn't gonna survive the additional 200 HP and added torque. I found a Super T-10 from a '77 Z28 for $500 along with a Centeforce dual friction clutch that still allows 2nd and 3rd gear chirps at will.
The wheels are 16" billit Centerlines and the tires are B F Goodrich Comp TA ZR 255-50's in the back and 245's in the front. Does anybody use 16" anymore? While the trend now is LS1 fuel injection crate motors, 18-20" wheels and high dollar brakes and suspension kits, this car is still a blast to drive and is always ready to light 'em up or burn through the gears. I'll eventually catch up with the current trends, 15 years late, when my young kids are out of school and on their own. It gets driven year round, though has rarely been caught in the rain since the early '80's. Its never been hit and most of the paint, trim and interior, is original and in near factory new condition.
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