Hello all,

Matthew (a.k.a. Galadorn) here, 46 year old father of one. New to being a car enthusiast, it was thrust upon me without warning! I'm a full time international school teacher, having lived in a half dozen countries over the past 18 years, currently living in China. My main hobbies are family, food, movies, video-games and role-playing games. Currently raiding in World of Warcraft Classic, and patiently waiting for Diablo 4 to come out.

I am here to learn about my potential new car, ...a rusted, recently condemned, unmoving, 1976 Monte Carlo Landau, 350 engine with a 400 transmission. “the first year with the square headlights”... apparently.

My best friend must sell it, and while I do not currently even live in the same country as he or the car, I can't let it go to a stranger, so i'm jumping on it from afar. Kind of like a future labor of love for me, to slowly restore over the years. I'm getting it for a "steal", and will have it stored safely out of the elements at least during the winter months. I'm fronting him the funds to completely overhaul the transmission to get her moving, so he can drive it into storage for me until I get the time to really fix her up. He promises to sell her to me "for cheap" ((haha, you say!)), so mainly i'm here to learn about her, from you experts, and find out just how much of a bargain i'll be be getting..... or..... if my best friend is "taking me for a ride" after all.

Cheers, and looking forward to learning more!

~Matt

 

Welcome to the forums Matt

 

Thank you!

 

Hello and welcome, Galadorn. Your occupation sounds like a really interesting one!

I'm curious about the appeal of owning a Monte from the mid-Seventies.
Is it the size? A certain style? Some special memories? Just something different?

 

Hello, Matt and welcome to the forum! Nice to have you here. This forum really is a ton of help. With a little bit of research you can find an answer to all your questions. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I have some Great memories of cruising around in a 76 best ride I have ever been in !! Yep that hood is long but lots of room for a big block !! More power !! And welcome !!

 

Yes, i've always just truly loved big cars first of all. The Monte Carlo style is also exactly what I love. This car does hold some memories for me as well, it is my best friend's car, who's down on his luck. He's had it for 15-20 years. She's not running now, and he can't find the cash to fix it (second car and all), so I made him promise me a decade ago, that if by some miracle he ever wanted to shake it, to make sure he contacts me, and i'll find a way come hell or high water (or broken transmission =)) to make sure she stays with "us". So, he did.

He said if I can't buy it he'd "let someone tow it off his lot for $800 to $1000", and my heart just SANK when I heard that... so, here I am.

It might be not running right now, but since he's my best friend, and he also appreciates my desire to "save her", he will sell her to me at a real steal. So, I fronted him the money to get her rolling again (which basically means she's mine now), and he said he'd store her for me for the upcoming winter while I find a better way to care for, fix up, and store her next year. Good deal as I see it and I trust him. My biggest problem is I live in China, and the car is back in Newfoundland, Canada (the land of ICE, SNOW, DRIZZLE, FOG, and ROCK SALTED STREETS for 9 months a year...). But I will prevail.

I'm here on this forum mostly because I need to get educated on this. And I know the people here are like minded. I need advice/help with storage, upgrading/restoring, values, etc, etc. I do realize I might not be able to restore her back to "spec" but i'll sure as hell give it a good try.


And thank you for the response carid and jnjstouf!