More impressive to me than a car with 8,500 original miles like this 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is just how it survives going from an ordinary daily driver to cherished classic. At some point, you’d think an owner would consider it silly to preserve their in-town runabout and just use it as intended – but somehow, this Monte Carlo remained the crown jewel of someone’s garage. Find it here on eBay with an opening bid of $10,000 and no action yet.
I’ve always liked this body style of the Monte Carlo, probably because Denzel Washington’s car in Training Day was downright beautiful. Of course, many of these did end up becoming someone’s lowrider or donk or hydraulic-equipped show car, but thankfully, this example has remained a top-tier car that will likely hold a great deal of appeal among GM collectors.
My God – that interior is outstanding. Even on low mileage cars, there are indications of use, particularly in the cabin. Not here: whoever owned this car not only kept the miles low, but also made sure not to tear the bench seat or sully the carpets, or even park it in the sun too long, as there’s no sunfade on the red plastics nor cracks in the dash.
A 305 from the 80s will set no one’s heart on fire, but one that’s this well preserved and detailed is difficult not too appreciate. This Monte Carlo is a time-warp example, good enough (in my opinion) to belong in a GM museum of sorts, featuring the best cars from every generation. You may prefer the original Monte Carlo to this malaise-era model, but it’s too clean not to love.
Sorry, but I am not sure this qualifies as a “cherished classic”. In my opinion, the unusually low miles is more a testament to the owner’s personal desires (rational or not) than to the car’s desirability.
At almost 40 years old, and in that condition, it has to be a cherished classic, and will be by the new owner.
Nice Monty surprised there is no A/C.
No air? In a Monte Carlo? The low mileage makes more sense now. Lol. Museum quality? Not with chrome geegaws under the hood. Just sayin
Looks good, but also surprised no A/C in it. Looks like a buy and drive to me.
Nice looking car, especially the interior. Looks like the only option was the V8 engine. Along with no AC it doesn’t even have intermittent wipers. One thing I am curious about is why the chrome strips on the bumpers have been replaced. The ones that are on it are not factory style. I know these didn’t hold up well but see no reason why they should not be original on an 8500 mile car.
The vinyl top is factory? It looks like a landau but it’s not that model
I think in some instances, the vinyl top was dealer installed
Not totally surprised by lack of a/c. This car lived in New York State. A/C was still a very expensive option back in 1978. This was also the last year that you could get a manual transmission in a Monte Carlo. Still waiting to see one of those pop up!
I had a 81 Monte with that same interior, It was so comfortable.
Mine had the V6.
Wish i still had the car.
I’ve got a blue one just like this one.
With 8500 miles?
Dave 🤣🤣🤣
Parents had a green 78′, I remember it as a 16 year old with a new license as a nice driving car.
The dual air fresheners stuck to the air outlets center dash concern me a little.
Preservation is great. The Headache Red turns me off.
Odd no astroventilation(fresh air directly from outside cowl) on ’78 models w/o a/c, but there IS on older models??!!
Upper dash “vents” on either end are actually covered up here. wth
Looks like a sneaky greedy way for GM to make people buy a/c cars after a test drive of 1 like this! lol
Did they also get rid of the under dash foot vents too by the kick panels? I wouldn’t be surprised.
Sold for $10,000 with two bids.
I see that it went for $10,100 and 2 bids.
All I can picture is Jesses “drug dealer special” Monte Carlo from Breaking Bad. Looked like this one.
Good thing it has low mileage. These did not age well. This color is notorious for fading, inside and out after a few years. At about the same time, the chrome rub strips fell off the bumpers. The doors eventually sagged on weak hinges, requiring a hard tug on the pull straps to get them closed. That is, until the pull straps gave up and you were forced to lower the window to close the door.
And in the rust prone states , the frames were notorious for disintegrating from the rear wheel arches back . So many of these ( and their GM brethren) hit the junkyards by the mid 80s from frame rot . The other thing that saved this one is the 305 . The anemic and junky 231 V6 doomed a lot of these to an early grave as well.
Yep. My parents had a ’78 Grand Prix that was junked after six years because the frame aft of the axle was too far gone to repair. The body was rust-free.
My buddies 84 Monte went off to the junkyard when the crossmember rotted off the frame and the transmission/driveshaft hit the ground. That was in 1996
I see it’s missing the passenger side mirror on the door. Did it break or was that an option back in 78′?
Is this still available?