I am going to buy a 1977 Monte Carlo this Tuesday and I have comprised a few questions and I'd be really, really happy if a few if not all can be answered:

1. I don't really like the tail lights in the 1977 Monte Carlo's is a 1971 taillight conversion possible, if so what's recommended? If this conversion is made would it make the value of the car go down considerably?

2. I want to improve the gas mileage of the car what tips do you have to do this? I figured removing seats and replacing them with racing seats would be a good start more tips would be greatly appreciated. If any of you actually own a 1977 Monte Carlo and know what gas mileage it typically gets please do tell.

3. How durable are the engines in the 1977 Monte Carlos? Are they pretty much down and out, by 100k miles?

4. Do you any of you guys know any sites that are good for hood vents, I tried ebay, but I couldn't find any cowl induction hood vents which was a real downer.

 

What engine is in the Monte ?
Model Monte Carlo
Weight (lbs.) 3852
Price range (new) $4,968-$5,298
Number built 411,038
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/chevro...nte-carlo8.htm

Check back to see what our member's posts on your questions.
Good luck

 

first gen tail lights wont fit the second gen car. personally and this is just my opinion i dont think any of the montes are really worth anything except the first gen (70-72) big block cars, maybe second gen big block cars, and maybe the aero coupes from the 80s, and this is only if they are low mileage numbers matching original cars. you could take a look at 76 lights theyll work but arent all that different.
fuel efficiency is open for debate. me personally if it gets 14mpg highway on a 4bl carb car then i think its fuel efficient. many people would disagree. i drove mine for 11yrs it originally got 15/16 mpg on the highway with a 3spd trans and 2.70 open rear, which i was happy with. after the build up and 4spd it got about 10/12 highway 6/9 city which only bothered me when gas hit $3 a gallon. its all dependent on what motor, trans, rear combo is in the car, heads, cam, intake, and carb. with a carb its only going to get so good. the carbs just not great at doing everything. fuel injection would be the best way to go.
if its a small block chevy and its well maintained they can go forever, but obviously the more miles that are on it the more tired its going to be. main seal is always an issue, timing chain, piston rings, valve seals, and guides just some of the things that dont last the test of time.
if you were looking for fuel economy i would run a 2 barrel carb, or pull the motor and go with something thats fuel injected,and, get an over drive trans. racing seats will only cut the weight so much and lower the value even more.
for a hood you can check out vfn, harwood,up22.com,opgi.com and several others plenty of people make second gen cowl hoods.

 

MonteMan, you have given me some serious insight but to allow for a more accurate answer the Monte has 66k original miles, has a 350 in it and has some rust on it being that it's Buffalo but isn't a rust bucket. I planned on keeping it for a lifetime being that it would be a good first "muscle car" I am 19 and it's pretty good to learn on. On that note however I wanted to know the "value" of what I was driving, you catch my drift? As for the tail lights I really am realizing that it would be stupid for me to make such conversions because it loses that bad *** natural and original feel to it and marks me as a poser. I'll leave the tail lights as is and try to keep most of the exterior the same but the one thing that gets to me is the hood ornament. It really makes it look like an older caddy. Everything else will stay though.

 

personally ive always like the monte hood ornaments. in fact i like them so much i got a huge tattoo of one. on the hood ornament thing, when i was your age mine was all bleached out. so i cut the actual ornament of off the mount and ground it down and repainted the mount. a silly move since the 78-80 ones are expensive now but i got a new one for free. i like it now. its like a crosshair to aim the car with. good news about your year is boy panels and just about everything else is readily available and all the other a-body stuff interchanges except body panels obviously. if you want to pick up mpg look into rebuilding the 350 and getting a fuel injection set up. if your not going to get wild with it the tpi stuff off of the irocs,gta,t/as will work. good luck with it. oh and check the frame for rot since the cars in buffalo.

 

I'll see what I do with the hood ornament, I plan on painting it blitz black and that hood ornament may be what it needs. The frame is solid and the car was a car that belonged to a family's grandfather after he passed the grandchild that had it didn't know what to do with it. It's in a lot better condition than I expected to be honest, I bought a 98 Jeep Cherokee and that was in a lot more of a rust bucket than this. It's going to need some serious maintenance to keep it where it's out though I'll need some frequent visits to a car wash. As for rebuilding it and the gas mileage it's not as bad as I expected. I drove it from Buffalo to Rochester and it used almost the same amount of gas as my 98 Dodge Ram which is what I really wanted. It wouldn't hurt to get it even better though. It's good to hear another persons perspective though, the hood ornament and emblems would flow well with the blitz black paint. The interior can use some touching up though, it's tempting to make big changes such as changing color, getting rid of the wood and putting some racing seats with chevy seat covers on but it would make it look really different I'll look into the cowl induction hoods but don't you think it would look ridiculous having the hood ornament and cowl induction hood? I could always save the hood ornament and put it back later or something. That's pretty much what I wanted to do keep all the original components and make changes that are pretty much interchangeable. What's cool is that it came with the original jack which is a safety hazard, but someday may be worth more than the car itself. lol

 

yeah those bumper jacks suck. ive thrown away a ton of them. the cowl hoods i dont believe come with the ornament location predrilled so you wouldnt have to run it if you didnt want to. to improve current mileage i would do a basic tune up. plugs, wires, fluids, filters(fuel,air,oil), hoses, belts. if you want a little more power small 4 barrel carb, headers, aluminum intake, and a 2.25 dual exhaust minus the cats. should be a decent increase and help it breathe easier. plus as long as u keep your factory stuff then everything can be changed back.

 

I'll jump right on it, I painted the car flat black and I am glad I didn't take off the hood ornament it looks like a boss with it on. I need to post pictures asap, but my privileges on the forum are really limited since I'm a new member when I can I'll show it off. I was concerned originally that the ornament would make people think it's a caddy, but the flat black fixed that confusion. lol

 

If you want good MPG, I would switch to a 3800 or 3.8 liter engine, 4 speed OD, and 3.28 rear end gear. Or you could go with a straight Chevy six, and a 4 speed auto, or 5 speed manual.

Good luck with the old iron. Wife and I used to have a 71 Skylark.

First, concentrate on making sure everything is in good working order. Check bearings, bushings, and mounts, these items would effect your gas mileage. Replace any that are worn out. Go through the shocks, brakes, fuel filter, air filter, and what not. They were good cars for their times.

Oh, and post as much as you want about your project. There are plenty of people on here who've been there, done that already, and can tell you what to look for.