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Post Info TOPIC: Matt's 84 Monte SS project


Moderator - Monte Hunter Lead Investigator

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Date: Aug 23, 2009
Matt's 84 Monte SS project
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Well, the weather finally broke and my son, Matt, and I had a chance to power wash under the hood and start cleaning it up a bit. He's off all week so he's going to work on it where he can. Today he stripped the inner fenderwells, pulled the right side, and some of the front motor pieces. Then painted the block, some brackets and the firewall.





Tomorrow, after I get home, we'll install the new valve covers, A front seal and finish the tune up, Hopefully it will be running again tomorrow.

I'm having fun and I know he's learning a lot, We did the same thing when I owned the Fiero. and of course the Father and Son time is great!

My son spent the day pulling the other wheel well, cleaning the radiator support and firewall with a wire brush on a drill and as sander. Tonight After I got home, he swapped the valve covers, installed a few other things, I finished the ignition wires and other wiring, painted the firewall and starte cleaning everything else.




Hopefully tomorrow we can get the rest of the engine bay together, but he has Driver's Ed so his time will be limited.



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My son worked his A$$ off today, reinstalled the fenderwells. and installed the alternator and heater hoses. I finished up the wiring and mounted the battery and cables, installed the fan shroud and adjusted the belts.





And there sits My SS with a whole list of things to do! :roll:



Been working on the brakes this week. I Resurfaced the rotors at work, then showed my son how to repack wheel bearings, install new loaded calipers, brake hoses and brake lines. These stainless lines from Inlinetube.com are great! only had to tweak one line so far! Here are a few pics.


tore them down




built them back up




stripped the rear lines and painted the rear end and frame rails before I install the rear lines tomorrow





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Ladies and Gents, I give you Joe Bondo!! LOL! My son, Matt spent all evening yesterday and most of today working on the fender.









It's coming along nicely,only 10 more panels to go! LOL!

Matt's done with school, so he's concentrateing on the SS, here's some update pics








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Matt has been knocking out a lot of the basic body work, when the weather is decent. And between yesterday and tonight, we updated the dash. Thanks to Doug [87 Monte LS] for the parts, we ditched the old fake wood look and intalled the 86-88 panels. And thanks to Tony for the shifter plate so it matched! Plus we installed a new (new to him anyways) JVC stereo, and Pioneer rear speakers plus I installed an Autometer Pro light, I know he doesn't watch the gauges. Here are some pics of the dash.







Since we got back, he has sone some more work to it, he replaced the hood and the rear deck lid. He's trying to get all the easy stuff done now, Once school starts he will only have time to work on it at school. At that point the car will be sitting in the shop for hopefully the winter.

Redneck Rumbleseat!






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A few weeks ago, the driver's seat track ripped through at the stud, I used an oversized washer to hold it down for a bit. Thanks to Mikes87ssgp, on Tony's other site, We got a new set of seat tracks, They arrived Monday and by the time I got home from work, he had them wire wheeled, ground the rough rust, primed and painted. Last night we took out the seats (make a huge mess!) Tonight we scrapped the headliner board and then vacuumed the crap up, then reinstalled the seats and detailed the interior.




I spoke to his Shop class teacher the other night, he said My son has improved a lot since he started there and that as soon as he's done with a bed side on one of the teachers trucks, he gets to start on his car. This should work out great! 1 less car to move all winter, LOL!


Well, Matts car has been at School for less than 2 weeks, In between class room lectures by college recruiters and a few Field trips, he has been doing some work, Today he took some pictures.






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One week after the last pics were taken and they have gotten alot more done!
Hood doesn't look so shiney anymore Huh Doug? LOL!



he repaired the only hole in the trunk, after metal patching it they used Lions hair to smooth it out.


right side showed more issue than it looked, I guess they sand blasted the rust inside the hole and then
sealed it with something

left side getting close

Roof lines coming in nicely


Mistakes happen, I guess they didn't add the proper amount of hardner and it was soft, they chipped
it all off and started again from scratch.


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some more work this week, He was pissed about not having school today, He wants to get these holes patched.









Well, Yesterday Matt and I took a 780 mile round trip to see Jim and grab a door for Matt's car. This is as perfect as one can get these days!



Well, now He has 2 doors and when he heads back to school tomorrow he's be going back as a happy kid! Hopefully Mid february it will be in the final stages. then the nickle and dime stuff starts #-o

Thanks Jim, it was worth the trip!

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More pics! it doesn't even look like it did at all anymore!

















Here are some more, And today Matt found out, All the primer, paint and supplies will be paid for by the school. I don't mind paying My school taxes this year, LOL!

Jim check out the metal patch on that door








Matt has set a goal, he want the car to be 90% done before the Street Machines of Rochester show in June. The guy he bought the car off of, usually attends the show, I think it would be cool to see the look on the guys face when he see's this!


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Here are some updated pics. they managed to get the passenger side mirror repositioned, plus fill in all the holes except the on in the rocker panel that we never knew about until they started grinding. I guess it was just surface rust until the grinder hit it. Oh well another metal patch.



























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Well, he hasn't had the luck we hoped for, Between College speakers, A SkillsUSA Competition, all kinds of BS from his teacher and damage from other students that needed to be redone, It finally made it to it's first coat of primer. And yesterday I find out he will be going to Syracuse to be in a 3 day competition April 1,2 and 3! So here is the latest pics:













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Ok, here is what everyone has been waiting for, the first touches of color!













Well, I have to say I'm a proud father right now!


Last pics of it in primer





Now the Blue!






Taping it off!





now the Silver and the clear!








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Some more shiney pics




















Well here are the wet sanded pics! Matt's arm is about to fall off, LOL! Of course he managed to press a few friends into service, including Doug's son Bryan last Saturday.





And now the return to shiney pics! all the trim is painted and most is back on, All lights were tested and some replaced. Next is to get the doors reassembled










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And Just to remind everyone what it looked like the day he bought it


Compared to now



Well, Matt got to drive it to school today! He was the hit of the class, I guess every kid was amazed at his car, including some teachers too.

Over the last 3 weeks Matt and I have been thrashing at reassembling his car and mine, Seems like I spent more time on his, But the doors are done, the emblems are on and everything works! All thats left is I have to finish cleaning these headers so I can get them to Joe [1987LS] to powder coat, then to our friend Dans shop for the custom Exhaust, then to a pinstriper to have a 3/8" stripe separating the silver and blue. then HE needs to get a job to pay for rebuilding the interior this Fall!

So here are the Semi finished pics!!!

Cleaned up Engine bay




The new Emblems




this one especially for Cort


And the semi finished product







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well, spent a good portion of the day cleaning the cars. finished some electrical stuff on Matts car while he cleaned up the entire car, we are waiting on the gauge mount to install his gauges and the pinstripe guy to call me back




Matt didn't go to his prom last night, so we worked on his car :roll:

Had the Pinstripe done this morning, hard to see in the pic, but it's a dark purple stripe that separates the 2 colors.


Last night installed the gauges he got for Christmas.


Spent the day waxing the car for the first time. The blue pops out now!


And thanks to Redline Dave, I found a license plate mount that I adapted to the front to keep the plate off the paint.


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Exhaust Time!!! Thursday adn Friday Nights, Matt and I pulled out the exhaust manifolds and installed the new headers. Today we took the car to our friend Dan's shop and he custom made the entire exhaust front to back and installed a set of Flowmaster 40 series Mufflers.

Out with the old!




In with the new!




Driving the car open headers in the rain


At Dan's Shop


More Obsolete exhaust, LOL!

The new system!





Well, the car is LOUD! But it really smoothed out and sounds killer. And after driving it today, I'm thinking we had better get on a 700R4 conversion really soon!

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It rained today so Matt and I spent a few hours swapping his gas tank, His old one was crushed when he bought it, this one is a southern tank with a much smaller dent in it, LOL!



out with the old

in with the new, well new to him anyways, LOL!




And a cheap quick interior upgrade! after looking at the shifter in John's car and the one in My 01 Matt liked the look of a shifter boot. The one from a late 90's Grand Am fits perfectly!



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Just ordered the Drop spindles for the 84, Already have a set of lowering springs. Hopefully it will all come together before next weekend! it would be great to have it done before Olcott! on the 5th!

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Doc


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Dave, this thread is one of the best on the board. Watching this project from the beginning and then seeing it in Binghamton was great. Matt has done a great job and he will only get better.  Don't forget before, during and after pics of the spindle swap. thumbsup.gif  thumbsup.gif

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Very nice pics. I think he did a wondeful job fixing up his monte from the begining to the end  I am glad I saw it upstate and got the chance to ride in it. It ran so nice and smooth.

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Jay, Don't worry, I'll be documenting everything!


Matty, Glad you enjoyed the ride.

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damn, you got them before me lol, I hope you do get them done, I want to see it and hopefully use that setup if it works out good

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better get extra front wheel wells

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Matt the car looks great!! It was awsome to look at the pics and follow the restoration.

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87 Monte LS wrote:

better get extra front wheel wells



yes, that thought did cross my mind.. atleast we know there are 2 sets at Ables and one set at M&M.

 



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black07ss wrote:

Matt the car looks great!! It was awsome to look at the pics and follow the restoration.



Bob, I'll tell him. Hopefully he'll be taking it to Summit in Ohio next year so you can see it in person. He's still got a long way to go, But every step is forward.

 



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You guys did an Absolutely amazing job! The progress to see it live via the pics was awesome...and the pics don't do the car justice, totally awesome in every way, from the eat off your engine bay, to the awesome 2 tone paint scheme, to the australian ss badges, everything came out perfect! Great job fer sure!

Joe

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very nicely done guys.it turned out beautifull


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Thanks Guys! It's given him something to work for. Now he's talking about a fuel injection set up, Like the one John S Runs, 4" cowl hood, and a procharger set up.

I just tell him Keep Dreaming kid, Keep dreaming ... LOL!

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just tell him if he eats like a normal person he could save $100 bucks a week lol

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Donutboy97 wrote:

just tell him if he eats like a normal person he could save $100 bucks a week lol



Umm, Remember, when he buys it's 2 items off the dollar menu only! When I buy, it's the left side of the menu! Who's saving the money?

 



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Thats why car shows are good, they get us to meet people, and see new cars, and get new ideas....that's why car shows are bad, they give us new ideas to spend out money on...lol...

Joe

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twomanymontes wrote:

black07ss wrote:

Matt the car looks great!! It was awsome to look at the pics and follow the restoration.



Bob, I'll tell him. Hopefully he'll be taking it to Summit in Ohio next year so you can see it in person. He's still got a long way to go, But every step is forward.

 That would be great. I was going to try to do the Binghamton next year. I will try to follow the posts better so I can plain on making the trip in 2010




 



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definately need to try and make Binghamton, I know Dave and I want to go back to Summit next year

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Awesome hopefully you caan make Binghamton next year Bob!The more the merrier!

Joe

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Matt great job.  Want to come down and work on an aerocoupe.smile


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Well, Matt's drop spindles arrived yesterday. So last night we installed everything.
But due to time restraints and Dead Camera Batteries, I didn't get to document the
procedure. I only had an hour and 51 minutes to get it done before Diana came home.

The stock height, Measured from the ground to the tip of the wheel well 27.5" in
the front and 29" in the rear.

After the 2" drop spindles adn drop springs in the rear were installed 25.5"
in the front and 26.75" in the rear. equalling a killer stance! Plus I'm sure it will settle over the next week and loose anothe  half inch.

No more unsightly rusted springs, LOL!


The Drop spindles were purchased of Ebay for a 84 S-10 pick up and they fit perfectly!
Funny thing, They are made by Ground Force, But they have Bell T. stamped into them. I
Can't remember what Mine say, But if they are really Bell Tech Spindles, We just saved
about 75 Bucks!


Like I said, A killer stance..


Special Thanks to Keith W [85T5MCSS] Or as Matt calls him "Uncle" Keith for the
Donation of the rear springs.

Don't worry Tim, we'll still let you park that 4X4 Monte next to ours, LOL!

-- Edited by twomanymontes on Thursday 10th of September 2009 10:09:47 PM

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Dave, MAtts car looks killer...

ok, now a couple of questions cause Santa and B-day is coming and Santa said i can sit on her... i mean his lap and say what I want.

what is the measure ments on your car?
is Matts tires stock size? the rear looks larger.

judging by the measurements that Matts car has, I'm thinking i may want to go a little lower. I was thinking of getting 2" A-body drop springs in the rear, which would be a total of 3". With the 2" spindels in the front and how my ride currently sits (27.5" front/27.75" rear) I'd need another 1" up front, but I don't know if thats pushing it

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Doc


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Dave, Matt's car keeps getting better and better! New stance looks great, Another nice job. clap.gif

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Matt has larger tires all around, P225/60r15 up front and P245/60R15 in the rear. I have the stock P215/65R15 in front [soon to be P205/70R15] and P235/60R15 in the rear which is almost the same diameter as the front [But thinking about going to P255/60R15]. I also think I have 3" drop springs in the rear because I am exactly 1" shorter in the rear than Matt, It's been so long, I don't remember what I ordered.

the problem with going too low is you'll wind up riding on your bump stops and you'll have a harsh ride. I guess you'll need to drive my car and see how you like it before you change things over.

The spindles were cheap, $115 plus shipping, the springs were cheaper, Free, But They usually go for about $100.

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Thanks Doc! You never know what will be next, But it will be shown here first, thats for sure!

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thanks Dave... I've been pricing it out and scratching my head at the same time lol. I think i need to see Matts car in person too. it's hard to judge.

and if i drive your car, you better put a short leash on me... i'm not in position to swap out my drivetrain yet lol

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looks awesome

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Thanks John.

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looks great Dave and Matt.

i'll be keeping my 4X4 monte the way it is thou.

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LOL!

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The drop makes the car look a bizzilion times better!!!! Very Nice indeed!

Joe

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Joe, All he needs now is a nice set of wheels! a new Interior, a trunk kit, fuel injection, a ........ LOL!

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It's only money and what better to spend it on than a Monte!!!

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LOL! yeah, my thoughts exactly! I mean other than tools and this house, I can't think of anything I have spent more on than My SS.

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One step at a time...a car is never done...and if it is, it means its time for a new project...lol...but it has come a long way, and just the fact that it's on the road and driveable should keep him happy for a while until the money comes in...lol....

Joe

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