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Think I Should?

Blake Noble

By Blake Noble
in The Lounge

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Blake Noble Newbie

Blake Noble

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You sure you want to dance with another old car? You already have the Cutlass, and after the issues with the Monte pertaining to finances, I'd think it'd be smarter to let this one slide and grab something that will be much more reliable for daily driving.

Hopefully, my finances will look better at the end of the week. :wink:

The Monte is a bigger money pit than I first realized. Work on it has been at a dead stand still since early this month. I've been scratching my head over what I should do with the car. I'd really like to keep it, but then again, I've began wondering if sinking so much money into it would be worth it. This car isn't going to be the garage queen the Cutlass has ultimately turned out to be. After all, I wanted the SS as a DD to replace the 'Bird, not another project car.

So far, just to make the car road-worthy again, I'm going to need to buy a set of digital gauges (about $750) for starters. The carburetor, I think, only has a few thousand miles left. I can hear the diaphragm squeak and wheeze like the Cutlass's old Edelbrock used to do and since GM doesn't make the particular model of Quadrajet the MC/SS uses anymore, I have to pay about $500 bucks for a rebuilt one and I'd rather not waste money on a chance like that. So, in order to use an aftermarket carb (or even an older, more basic Q-J), I have to remove the engine management computer and there's where I'll really run into some money. In order to remove it, the car will need a new carb, new intake manifold, a set of headers, a new TV cable, and a lock-up kit for the torque converter. To buy quality parts of all of the above, I'll need somewhere over a grand (I don't have my estimates handy). The HVAC is busted too, and since winter is coming up, it's a priority this is fixed. I don't have an estimate on what that will cost at this time, but I know it won't be budget-friendly. Then there's the bodywork and paint that will inevitably have to be done. I'm certain there's some rust lurking in the car that I don't know about.

The Formula I found is just a thought. Since the owner is open to trades, I might try to find a way up to Newport this week and check 'er out (and much, much, much more thoroughly than I did the MC/SS; I don't know why I was so ignorant about checking it out, so I deserve the buyer's remorse I have as a result of that). I won't make any offers until I know for sure that some rusty sheet metal and a bad carb are all that's wrong with it. If everything checks out, he accepts the offer, and a deal is made, I'll throw on a new 4-bbl carb, find a decent job and save up some money to have the rust fixed and a new coat of paint slapped on.

I let that '71 Cutlass slip through my fingers and I've regretted it since. It needed the valvetrain assemblies replaced, but the parts were already in the trunk (in fact, new parts came with the car to fix everything major that was wrong with it except for the bodywork). It had problems in numbers far less than the Monte has turned out to have.

I've thought about a newer car, but outside of a '98 and up T/A or Z28, there isn't much that would really make me happy.

There's also this: http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/1395899939.html

... but the digital dash makes me uneasy.

Also: http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/1357634889.html

... That one blew me away, too.

EDIT: RE: a newer car; thinking about it, I wouldn't complain if I could find a decent early '90s 3er coupe in black with the I-6 and a stick. 944s are sort of new ... ish, and are cheap. If something major broke on the 944 broke, though, I'd probably shit myself. :P

Edited by whiteknight
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toesuf94 Newbie

toesuf94

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While that '72 is a great looking car, think of what it will be worth finished. Then take a look for one already done...you will save a ton of money and time by buying the finished one. Hemmings turned up cars from $4000 to 15,900 finished.

If you think the $3200 price of admission is worth it, figure on triple that amount unless you can do every bit of the work yourself, then you can double your costs on the car...

I do love that body style though.

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A Horse With No Name Experienced

A Horse With No Name

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Keep the Monte, it will be cheaper to fix than the 'bird. You didn't really think a twenty plus year old car would be without issues, did you? But then again, restoring it will be part of the fun.

I say Go with a 4.3 S-10 as a daily, keep the Monte, and take 5 years to get the Monte just the way that you want. IMHO if you get the bird in three months you'll be back wanting to trade it on a 78 firebird T/A or something.

Besides, the Monte is a really solid start for a long term project.

Chris

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A Horse With No Name Experienced

A Horse With No Name

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It would be awesome as an early 70's T/A clone.

ESP. if it was cloned as a vintage SCCA Trans Am race car and actually run on a track. Now THAT would be awesome.

Chris

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