1986 Monte Carlo SS I live in massachusetts and this man lives about an hour and ten mintues away. The monte is currently registered and insured. has 100k on it and he is willing to drive it to me. The interior has no rips, dash has no cracks. Floors are solid, frame is rust free has been covered and garaged for 20 years. The plan is for me to buy it this week but i told him i want time to research it. He has the title and its clean. what do you guys think??

 

do you have the vin? is the 8th digit a G or H? mathcing nunbers is a load of bs, american monte carlo's never came with either a 350 or th400 it would be a 305ho and a th2004r to be correct which is a overdrive trans where the th400 is not, a numbers matching car would not be getting sold for 2grand if it was in as good of condition as he claims, .. see if he has all 4ss wheels, if not find out why, if he does make sure they are 15's and not 14's as the 14 in came on camaro's did he provide you with extra pics driverside, back end?

i'd be a little leary of this 2g for a "matching numbers" 86 ss

 

I'm going to go take a look at it Friday. I'm gonna write down the vin. It should be a g right? Otherwise it was a ls or 6 cylinder. What should I check for? It's an hour drive so it's not too bad. What should I ask and what should I look for? They said it's such a cheap price because they are really behind on bills and this is the last thing
they can sell. Please any help guys I plan on going like Friday morning.

 

am I missing something or what, where is the 2 grand mentioned in the original post by emnasty?

 

Oh if you click on 1986 Monte Carlo SS you'll be directed to the craigslist ad where it shows the price. Any ideas to help me when I go take a look at it? What to look for, what to ask?

 

ok, sorry dude, I totally missed that!.... but I think Justin (budsjlm) pretty much has the best knowledge for that gen Monte. I would take his advice on it!

 

So let me get this straight. Check the vin for the 8th character and make sure it's a g. Check the wheels are 15" Monte SS rims (it'll b written on them correct?). The interior looks mint according to the pictures. The rust must be minimal since I can't even see it on the pictures. What else should I investigate Justin? To be fully honest I don't care for numbers matching and originality. I'm getting this car for the purpose of how much I love the 4th gen. But what do the numbers he posted mean? 350 turbo 400? His wife said it's original motor and tranny

 

It can not be the original motor and tranny as justin previously mentioned since neither was available in that car. I would approach with caution. Something smells fishy.

 

Didn't some dealerships upgrade the engine to a 350?

 

Red Flags:

False information about Matching Numbers
Right rear wheel is different
No pics of rear or driver side
Hood/Front Fascia don't appear to line up on passenger side
Left front of vehicle appears to be drooping (might be because of different right rear wheel)

If they need $$$ to pay bills why would they be willing to trade for car/truck of equal value? I agree - approach with caution...

Edit: Here's some basic engine/tranny info:

http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/...feature12.html