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I'm not sure if this is the correct spot for this type of post, but it seems as good as any...
So I recently decided that I needed a project in my life. Something to focus on when I wasn't work that would help keep my mind occupied. My wife and I decided it was time to sell the motorcycle and get a car for my primary transport. She has a 2002 Park Avenue Ultra, a supercharged 3.8L car that is ridiculously comfortable. After doing a lot of research into the engine it became very apparent that the GM manufactured 3800 is a much loved powerplant with a large fan base. One site in particular, 3800pro.com, is a massive forum with a vast wealth of knowledge on every vehicle with every generation of this engine. While I'm no mechanic, I do enjoy tinkering and hate paying someone to do something that I could do myself. With the resources that these you're of forums provide, it was a simple decision to search for another vehicle with the same engine. After a couple months of perusing Craigslist, I was finally able to land a 2002 Monte Carlo SS at a very reasonable price. The body was in good shape and it ran great, but there was still plenty to do with it in addition to any upgrades I may decide to do along the way. There's no telling how deep this project is going to go, how long it'll take, or how expensive it may get; but I'm excited to see what happens and what all I learn before it's all said and done.
Welcome friend. I'm also in the same boat, wanting to add mods and other neat things to my own Monte. There is an extensive list here on some performance adds. It's stickied somewhere.
Took the Monte to a shop for a free diagnosis and found that the motor mounts, valve cover gaskets, control arm bushings, outer tie rods, and left inner and right outer cv axles need to be replaced and there is a leak from the thermostat housing. Took the housing apart to fix that and saw all of the brown sludge inside, so now I also need to do a flush on the coolant system. I figured while I was under there anyway may as well do the airbox chop as mentioned here – https://montecarloforum.com/forum/he...x-28343/page2/ – also noticed all of the oil down below and need to figure out how to best clean all of that gunk out. So I decided to just start by unpluging what I could up top and labeling it all to make it easier to pull parts and put everything back where it belongs.
If you're looking to make a good cruiser, the 3800 is an unstoppable beast that will outlast the nuclear apocalypse.
Buuuuut, the supercharged engine was only available in the 04 and 05 models, so you won't have as much pep in the monte as you did in the Buick since on 02 was a N/A engine. I'm sure it's too late in the game, but I would look for a supercharged car from 04 or 05.
That, or make the ultimate project to swap in a supercharged plant into this car. You can probably grab the ECU from the donor car as it was a factory option at one point, but if you do, I would highly recommend you getting the 4T65E-HD transmission reBUILT, cause anything more than stock power on this trannies will make them a time bomb. And, you know, shorten the final drive ratio and put in a limited slip. Because yes.
Well, it's been a while since my last post here. Haven't had the chance to really do fun work on the car, mostly finding stuff the previous owners put a band-aid on. Oh well, one thing at a time i guess. This site is awesome for finding out how to fix things right, you guys are the best!
2002 SS Project
