Widely recognized and appreciated for its muscle car heart, but upscale style, the Monte Carlo is a favorite to many especially when equipped with a factory big block. Having received a repaint in its lifetime, it would seem that little else has been changed on this survivor. With some recent maintenance, and in driving condition, this Monte is currently bid up to $9,100. Check out this sweet survivor here on ebay out of Buckley, Washington.
The massive 454 cubic inch heart purrs smoothly, and has no apparent running issues. The actual mileage on the car is a bit vague, but the seller has listed the mileage in the auction header at 80,000 miles. One very happy option to see is the factory equipped air conditioning system. Described as intact, and functioning, the system does not produce cool air, possibly meaning a cleaning and recharge are in order. As a whole the engine compartment could stand some detailing, as there is some general dirt and grime present. Also there appears to be some minor surface rust on the passenger side of the frame section.
Although the interior is a little bit faded, it is very complete and reasonable for being original. The seats are well worn and have a couple of splits present. The carpet and console suffer with some wear and dirt exposure that could stand a good cleaning. The faux burl wood dash is in excellent condition, and the gauges do not seem to suffer from any ill effects from sun exposure. It is hard to tell, but the dash may have a couple of cracks above the climate control.
Repainted at least once in its lifetime, this Monte still looks pretty darn good. The paint is off in color, but overall is very shiny and is nice enough for a driver. The seller was keen to point out any rust issues, and as a whole this Monte is very solid. There is beginning rust on both rear fender arches but the seller explains that there are no holes, and that patch panels are not needed. The only other apparent exterior rust is located at the bottom of the passenger front fender in the form of a 1 inch hole. Beyond these areas, the floors and trunk are described as being in awesome shape really making this 454 Monte seem like a big block Cinderella. Beautifully straight, and ready to drive, does it get any better than this when it comes to original Montes?
Now that’s how to write an ad to sell a car.
@barzini you are not kidding. a lot of thought went into writing that ad and maybe 1 or 2 words in caps. good parts and warts too. i think anyone considering that vehicle will have a good idea of what they are bidding on.
Wow….rare….and sooo complete – look….it even has the factory air ride suspension…most likely for towing ! And LIKE big time !
I am sorry, but an A/C system that is ” intact, and functioning”, means that it does in fact blow cold air.
Cool find! That will be an R12 AC system and before O rings, so it has to be retrofitted to O rings and the old compressor is likely leaking. So it will need replaced. Expect a bill of about $1500. It’s well worth it if you like the car, but not for a flipper.
Nice car with the right stuff.
A flipper won’t take the time or spend the money to fix the AC…famous last words…”just needs recharged” and jack the price.
Flipping is free enterprise…buyer beware and do your due diligence.
Or find someone with a can of virgin R12. I have one in storage for just this reason….
I live in Mexico where there are no restrictions.
I have my R12 systems re-charged all the time.
I got an estimate to service and re-charge the dual A/C system on my Durango and he said it would be $1300.00 pesos which is about $77.00 including the R12.
I was not aware that DODGE DURANGO’S left the factory with R12 !!!!!! Please explain !!!!!!
SS Monte Carlos have the logo on The Rocker
The SS454 emblem on the passenger side is in the pictures. The build sheet is proof of what the car is, not the emblems or lack there of.
Steve R
Sharp looking car with more than enough power, this would make a nice alternative to the chevelle.
I’m curious about the switch on the door; if it’s for power windows or locks ? And WOW !! That is the deepest fan shroud I’ve EVER seen !
Near-end-of-life Studebakers also had deep shrouds, awaiting the grim reaper.
power window switch.
I was thinking the same thing about that “barrel” shroud!
I also noticed, in the engine shot, that the original Rochester Quadrajet carburetor has been replaced with a spread-bore Holley. One can see the accelerator pump just below the air cleaner and that extra-long stud sticking out of the air cleaner (with no wing nut). I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing; just small details that are not original to the car.
good eye! and yes that kind of stuff makes a big difference when you have to buy it. Especially 1970 Q-Jets. The Q-Jet on my 70 SS 454 4 speed chevelle was 800 bucks to replace!
he says this in the ad.
This is a very rare chev.. All the right options, and I cant run the numbers,but it looks to be a real ss. In all my 57 years I have only seen one other one and I knew the original owner!. At least it does have the pass. ss454 emblem. I really like this and it will sell for a lot more than then the9000ish at present. I wish I had the money, I live in Washington so its close.
I had a 1971 Monte Carlo SS I did a frame-off on it fortunately I had to sell it when moving I did lot of research on Monte Carlos I know the build sheet is there but all the SS emblems are not on the tail on underneath Chevrolet should be an SS emblem and on both rocker panels but one of the number pictures looks like it was patched around
I also have a 70 SS454 Monte. The 71 indeed has the tail panel SS emblem you describe, and some other items to show the car is an SS454. The 70 does not. The only emblems on the 70 are on the fenders.
The ad states that the driver’s side moulding with the SS454 emblem is in the trunk.
Wonder if the original owner got lucky and a warranty LS6 engine was slipped in there…you won’t know unless you check the oil filter mounting area for the special galley plug signifyng 4 bolt mains. Could have happened.
I actually saw a black one years ago and it was a 454 SS with a four-speed. Pretty neat…This one does have a CE block which is a replacement motor, probably replaced under warranty.
Probably an owner-installed manual trans. Exactly zero SS cars have been documented as manuals. NOW THE Non-SS, with big-block LS3 ,there have been a number of them found as manuals.
My friend has a beatiful 70 Monte equipped with the M-20 and 300hp /350 loaded with options but no tilt wheel.
nice car that is most definitely a real SS/454 also well optioned and deserving of a complete restoration. believe or not the fiber optic low washer fluid warning light is a pretty rare option. so were liquid tire chains which this one fortunately does not have. I want this car so bad! to bad the original motor is gone.
I’ve seen Montes painted in the original gold color and they are stunning. I’d do the rust repair and bring the paint back to gold, but keep the black top.
In the mid-80’s, a high-school buddy of mine had a ’72, factory 454/console/cloth bucket car. Lots of cool memories when I see one of these early Montes.
The auto leveling was part of the SS package and its absence a dead giveaway when someone was trying to pass off a non-SS as the real deal.
We had a ’70 Monte SS 454 4-speed on our Chev showroom in Lakewood, Ca. It was a beast! Three of us in the PDI dept got to drive all the Chev. muscle cars after we serviced them to put on the lot. It was an oddball because the Chevells and Camaros is what people wanted. It had buckets and a console. Only have seen a couple of SS Montes!
Sweet looking car. I’ve always liked this generation Monte Carlo.
This has nothing to do with this article, but I am hoping that a Barn Finds composer will see this! There is a awesome looking Studebaker 1.5 truck on Hemmings they should check it out! Thanks! I don’t know how to get in touch with any of them!
The seller says the car is equipped with fiber optics. Where are they? If the car was equipped with them, they would be a chrome part located on the front fenders. The pictures show that there is nothing on the front fenders
The car is equipped with the optional auxiliary lighting package. It included a little map light under the rearview mirror, a lighted vanity mirror, extra cabin lights, and the windshield washer monitor system. This system is comprised of a small indicator that can be seen to the left of the steering wheel and way down under the dash. It looks like a little shiny spot in the pictures. This thing has a fiber optic “wire” about 3/16″ diameter with a stiff plastic casing that runs to the washer bottle. On the washer bottle there is a little gizmo that has a 194 light bulb in it and a float stick that sits in the washer tank. The float stick is kind of like a hygrometer with a float build on one end. At the top of the stick, there’s a flat section with the top painted red and the bottom painted green. The light bulb is positioned on one side of this flat part and the fiber optic cable end on the other. If I recall correctly (my Chevelle SS had this and it’s been a while…) when you activate the windshield washers the light comes on and if there’s enough fluid to have the float high up enough, the “eye” in the car glows green. Once the fluid level goes down enough, the float stick drops and the eye will light up red. Ingenious! It was pretty early fiber optic stuff so it wasn’t exactly bright, but it was effective.
There was also a fiber optic system shown in early catalogs as an option that was similar to the Corvettes which would show that the tail lights were working. There was a “monitor” that could be seen in the rearview mirror, mounted above the back window opening. When you stepped on the brakes, it would light up. I can’t say I ever saw one in a car and believe me, I scoured the junque yards looking for one!
Thanks for the info on the washer fluid system…I had never heard of it! I must say, like my ’80 olds toronado, the fact that it only operates when the wipers are turned on, is usually a little late to be finding out you are low/empty on washer fluid. As for the rear brake light fiber optic system, they were fairly common on Cadillacs and other luxury models, never saw one in an A- body though…
Considering the engine is what makes this car rare and special, the value really suffers with an engine of unknown origin, and no original heads/intake/carb, but nobody will know unless you tell them
My best friend had a 70 triple black 454 SS beautiful car loved it You don’t see these any more even at car shows This is the first one I have seen for sale in a long time I wish I could have it for sure
Well optioned???? All montes were well optioned. Anyone that is into that already knows that. They were a luxury sports car. I honestly don’t know of any NOT having AC. The fake wood burl dash is tin with a vinyl cover. Cheap
Nothing special on this one other than the big block. I have seen many with 4 speed so even that nothing out of ordinary.
I once owned a 71 with no A/C. It had the 350/300, F41 suspension, tilt wheel, column shift, gauge package.
Early Monte Carlos seem to finally be coming into their own. I would guess that if you are going the Monte route, this is the car to do it with. The SS and options make it a very interesting variant that you don’t see very often.
And if you are going to go with a big hulking 1970 car, get it with the monster engine and driveline.
I had a ’70 SS454 back in my college days. It was a real sleeper. At a stop light a “competitor” might have noticed the dual pipes and exhaust note but unless they had noticed the small SS454 script almost hidden down on the rocker they weren’t prepared to be dusted when the light turned green!
I had a friend who had a blue and white SS 454 Monte Carlo and I teased him that there was no way his car could beat my 1970 SS 396 350 hp Chevelle WRONG he blew my doors off. great find
Is that a flux capacitor on the driver’s inner fender?
That’s an air compressor and tank for the automatic load leveling rear suspension that all SS454 Montes had from the factory. It was available as an option on other Montes and Chevelles. The compressor will build over 100 psi using engine vacuum to run it. I make parts for that system, since the system is rare and some cars have had some of the parts removed.
Dan- What parts for the G67 system do you reproduce?
Hello Dan, how can I get a hold of you ? I am getting ready to prep a 70 SS that is missing the auto load leveling set up.
Yes it is Marty, LOL
Factory guages too💖
I make the mounting brackets for the compressor, the same for the control valve that mounts on the frame, the control valve actuating arm, and the ball swivel linkage for the valve. New control valves are still available from the original manufacturer, Dayton Air Control Products. They are in Ohio.