Offered only in two-door form, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo signaled the style and sophistication of the driver starting with its debut in 1970. The model underwent two revisions to get to the third generation, which ran from 1978 to 1980. Chevrolet sold nearly 360,000 Monte Carlos in 1978 as buyers sought to enjoy the perks of driving what was labeled a “personal luxury car”. The second re-do saw Chevrolet downsize the model to improve handling and fuel efficiency. The car shed more than 800 pounds and lost a foot of overall length. This 1978 Monte Carlo Landau coupe wears rich burgundy paint with a complementing interior and features a half vinyl top, full wheel covers, chrome accents, and pinstriping. It is currently with its second owner in Greenbank, Washington, and is available here on eBay. Bidding is currently just over $4,000. Thanks to Russ Dixon for putting this car on the Barn Finds radar.
The Monte Carlo debuted as a rear-drive coupe and ended its run in 2007 as a front-driver. Its fame in part came from a silhouette version driven in NASCAR at various points in this era. Race fans remember Dale Earnhardt piloting a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the yellow-and-blue Wrangler livery paint scheme. The car he was in when he crashed in the Daytona 500 in 2001 was also a Monte Carlo, but that 358 cubic-inch monster drove the rear wheels and thus bore no mechanical resemblance to the street version, though there was an Earnhardt halo edition offered for sale in 2002. The 1978 Monte Carlo in question has as its heart a 305 CID V8, an upgrade over the other engine choice, a 231 CID mill (more commonly called a 3.8-liter). Even with the 8-cylinder, this car falls short of 150 horsepower.
This car offers a combination of positives and negatives. It has less than 80,000 miles, but the very honest seller is forthcoming about its many needs. The engine is original, but it has been driven only a quarter-mile in the last year, and the owner does not suggest driving it on the open road. He adds that the car wants a new windshield and paintwork from a fallen tree, and he adds that front-end work is also in the cards. The driver’s seat bottom will also need a better repair than the red duct tape currently holding it together.
Other obstacles that the potential new owner will need to clear include back payment of at least two years’ worth of DMV fees, as the current owner has not registered the car, since he was not driving it. Fixing this up might prove difficult from a distance, so perhaps a local buyer, or someone willing to fly in and spend a day at the license bureau, is best suited to be the third owner of this Monte Carlo.
You could also get 267 V8
If my memory is still intact, they also put that engine into the Monza hatchback and its relatives at GM. I had many satisfied customers who bought the car, even when gas was spiking to $1.50 per gallon. One buyer’s wife came in for service and came up to my office to thank me for doing a good job because she wanted the car from the get-go, just didn’t want her hubby to know. They also ended up with two V8 Trans Am’s – a Recaro and a Turbo in the next six months. That sale stuck in my mind because it was role-reversal in the buyers. It also shows how our wage structure has fallen. These two were a childless couple that worked at the Camas paper mill and could get approved for three new cars at a time when “Gold Balls” were a common requirement, as Washington’s usury laws (remember those?) capped new car loans at 12% when the money was costing 21%. But, I digress.
Hi Dave, I believe you’re thinking about the 262 v8, which was available 1975 and 76 in the Monza and Nova those years. The 267 was made from 1979 to 82 for various Chevys and Checker cabs.
Maybe not until 79 on 267 ,my wife had one.
This would have sold for $500-750 in the late ’80s/early ’90s
Bought one like that for 200.00 in the 90s..
We had a 1978 Monte Carlo with the base engine in it. Monte Doesn’t Haul. Nice enough car but man it was a slug…
SOLD yesterday — winning bid of $6,000.
This is a hard no. Why would anyone want this car?
Actually I like stuff like this way more than the camaro, mustang, charger, et al that seem to be literally everywhere. The rarity and the fact that a generic car like this somehow survived makes it interesting. The only change if I had my brothers is that I would prefer the diesel monte carlo
No diesel Montes were ever made
There was a diesel Cutlass. By 81 they had the engine right but GM had produced so many bad diesels that nobody wanted one. In typical GM fashion, they killed it as soon as they got it right.
This was my first new car in college so the ‘78 will always hold a special place in my heart.
Good luck finding parts for this model, they’re extremely hard to find.
Wow, this one brings back memories! Dad had a 78 Monte he bought in 1980, from Avis Car Leasing Used Car Sales in Westbury NY. It was a medium metallic green with a chamois color landau top and vinyl interior. It only had 14000 miles on it. However, though it had the landau top, it was actually a standard Monte Carlo, not an actual Landau model. We figured the top must have been a dealer add on when it arrived on the selling dealer’s lot. It didn’t have the stainless steel trim that the actual Landau models came with. It was more heavily padded than the factory installed top was, and it had what was called the “frenched” effect around the back window. It was attractive. At least we thought so. The interior was very attractive, the same style that the featured car has. It was an extra cost option known as the “Special Custom” interior. Even back then, Dad and I realized it was somewhat rare to find this interior, as most of the other Montes we saw had the standard bench seat. We were both impressed by how smoothly and quietly the car drove, very much like one would expect from a much bigger and heavier car. It had the 231 V6, which was just what Dad was looking for. Remember, it was 1980, and gas prices were at a high after skyrocketing all through 1979 in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. While many people weren’t fond of that engine, with regular maintenance Dad ran it up well over the 100,000 mile mark with no major problems or breakdowns to speak of. I wish we had had the foresight to park it when it got older and restore it someday, but maybe it’s best we didn’t. It had spent its entire life on Long Island, and eventually the years of traveling the salt covered winter roads would have undoubtedly rusted out the rear frame rails, as was common with the G body cars. Pity. I still miss that car…
Guess Chevy had no other choice on these. Squatty and bug eyed compared to the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen Monte Carlo’s.
These metric chassis GM cars In the rust belt areas anyway were extremely prone to rear frame rust out , and well before the usual 10 year life expectancy came . We had a lot of these 78 -80 cars come into the junkyard, and there were three things that brought these cars in – A blown 231 v6 , rotted out frame rails, or both 1 and 2 . They were very popular as street stocks due to them being much lighter than the early mid size GMs, but there were so many with bad frames that , at least at our local track had a rule that said you could make your own rear rails ! They did sell a lot of these cars, but very few seem to have survived
$6k? There’s body damage and hardly any options. Someone must be nostalgic
This car has reminded me of a time that set my career in stone due to the economic stress of the late ’70’s. I got a Grand Am from the marshalling yard because it had the then new deluxe cassette am/fm stereo and a dark blue color. And a V8 engine. Essentially it was an SJ Grand Prix inside and under the rocker panels. Rear sway, 15 inch Rallye wheels and full guages. Thick leather steering wheel. No vinyl roof or any outside adornment. It was a great open road cruiser, even with only 150hp. Or thereabouts. As usual, the store I was stationed at sold it out from under me after only driving it for about six weeks. This was in my “avoid T/A’s at all costs” phase because the hippie chicks I was into at the time thought them ostentatious. Should have stuck to Monte Carlo’s.
We had these and Cutlass’ on the rental fleet as our “some people will only drive GM” option. We always got the 305 (sometimes the Olds’s arrived with a 350) rally wheels and bucket seats (for resale). Compared to the Cordoba or T-Bird of the time, these were tiny but to me a more enjoyable car to drive.
Well. It may not be fast , but I like these. One of those hand full of Chevy I like. Might have a lot to do with the MPC annual kit of it I built when these were new. I ever the kit was either black or very dark blue plastic and came with a trail bike.
Too late to add? Again I had a 1978 with a v-8, 4speed ,bucket seat, aluminum hood and trunk lid, anyone else have one?