I bought this car from its previous owner in Florida, with the intent of restoring it, ground-up.  The body and undercarriage were immaculate; no rust and no visible damage, just paint faded flat from the blistering southern sun.  I know nothing of body-work, so this was my perfect blank slate.  I picked it up as a rolling chassis, with no engine or transmission.  Some of the interior was also missing, and the rear end was shot.  None of that mattered to me, though, since I had planned on replacing all of that anyway.

        I changed my mind probably once a month in regards to which drivetrain to use.  For a long time I wanted to go with a heavily tuned Buick 3.8L turbo six cylinder, backed with a built 200r-4 automatic.  Then came the LS1 craze, which of course begged for a T56 six-speed manual to accompany it.  I became very interested in doing a big-block Cadillac swap, as well, probably using a 4L80E (gotta have that overdrive!).  After I got into motorcycles, however, I realized that spending a lot of money on a street-driven car didn't make much sense in terms of performance, so I eventually decided that a basic GM crate 350 and a 200/700r-4 would suffice the Monte just fine.  So long as it looked and sounded cool, it didn't have to be fast.  I had my sportbikes for speed.

        But, none of these plans ever materialized.  Between the constant moving, lack of proper facility and tools, and lack of motivation, I just lost interest in the project.  For the kind of performance I like, motorcycles are just more my style.  I sold the SS to my stepdad for what I originally paid for it, so at least it is still in the family.  If I ever do buy another project car, I think I will look for something small and light, some kind of two-seat sports car.  The fun is in the twisties, not the straights.

Also, if you have a real interest in the Monte Carlo SS in general, please check out one of my favorite websites.  You will find out everything you ever need to know about the 4th generation Monte Carlo here: