Hi everyone! I'm Andrew. I'm new to the montecarlo forum but not new to vehicle specific forums in general.

I just acquired a high mileage 97 LS, on a whim with very little prior inspection to the vehicle. It was an even trade for an 89 s10 4x4 I had which I no longer needed due to also recently acquiring a 97 S10.

I am incredibly lucky to have an ASE certified master mechanic for a father. Thanks to him I have a pretty good level of mechanical knowledge and many hours of experience turning wrenches.

I am hoping I can put everything he has taught me to good use and turn this car into a great daily driver, but as with my other cars I have found vehicle-specific forums to be invaluable when troubleshooting and looking for ideas.

Right off the bat here I could use some help. I wanted to stick my code reader on the car last night and see if anything was pending. No CEL right now but that is easily cleared long enough for a trade like the one that occurred last night so...

Here is my problem: Cannot locate the OBDII port!
Seriously. I expected it to be under the drivers side dash just like it is in my 97 S10. No can find. Am I blind? Or do they have a different location for it?

There are many suspicious things to inspect on this thing to determine whether I have traded up or been burned. It has 224k miles. One owner till 2012, then changed hands twice before landing in my lap. Overall not bad looking, little fender rust and scrapes and dents, interior is decent. Power windows work and all. Engine starts well and transmission feels good. Slight tick on cold startup that goes away when its warm. Rear struts are SHOT, brakes are weak, I have some work ahead of me for sure.

The weirdest thing by far has to be this 3 foot long piece of 2" angle iron that is BOLTED underneath the driver's side rocker panel... I'll try to get a pic later. My dad has things like that going on in his 86 plymouth but his has has 400k+ miles... I can't believe the frame could have rusted through on this 97 already? Body seems straight, if it was in any accident they sure did a good job of getting matching replacement body parts and lining everything up well. No accident history that a $10 imitation carfax report online brought up.

It will be interesting to see what else I find when I get it in the garage and start inspecting closer. Like I said, would like to fix up and drive it but if something super bad/expensive rears its head... this thing will be gutted with a roll cage welded in and find itself doing ice and baja racing in no time.

Looking forward to browsing around and checking out other people's rides and mods! Anyone who can throw me a bone on that OBDII port location, much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Here is a picture of the new mean machine. Anyone have any idea what these rims are off of? I have no clue but they don't look stock...



They remind me a lot of these Volkswagen wheels, the previous owner said something about the front two tires coming from a VW but not the rims...

 

Andrew:
Welcome to the forum..
Congrats on your recent trade for a 97 5th gen.
My odbII port is drivers side right next to the console under the dash... (Highly visible)..

As far as the piece of "Angle" Iron.. I have no clue.

Theres a lot of Great Members and Info here.. so ask away if/should the need arise!
Also come join the conversation in your members daily blog, Come say hello or just check out what other members are up to each day!

Post some pics when your able!
I see you just posted 1...hehehehe

The wheels look after market..But don't quote me on that..
Thanks for joining the MCF Family!

 

Turns out yes, I am blind! In my meager defense, on my 97 blazer the obdII is on the left side of the steering column, and much more visible than the one on this monte. I was also searching for it hastily in the dark with nothing but the dome light on in the car. Excuses excuses...

Anywho, here are some shots of that angle iron I described. Pretty sweet...

 

In response to your wheel question, those rimes look like rims GM used on the '99-'04 Grand Am SE. They may have also used them on other cars in the GM Family (but they were not OEM on your Monte). Hope that helps with one question

 

Another red 5th gen, welcome! Glad you found your OBDII port.

 

Welcome to the forum and good pick with the red Monte.

 

Aha, we have a winner! Thanks Maniac, you are correct these are OEM wheels from a slightly newer grand am. Cool beans. I have two snow tires for this car so was hoping I could source some matching rims and then not have to pay to swap used all season tires on and off the front rims every spring and fall. Shouldn't be impossible to get my hands on a couple more of those grand am rims so that will be nice, I can have matching rims all year long and two full-size spares handy at all times (at least, thats what I'm going to shoot for).

 

Happy I could help.

 

Welcome to the site