My name is Steve. I've had my 1972 Monte Carlo for just over a year and I'm the second owner. Beautiful Midnight Bronze color that most people think is black if the sun is not shining. So, I call her "Ole Black Betty" (OBB). Fun to drive and rides like a dream. So smooth compared to my
Ford Cargo Van. Once you drive a cargo van, everything else feels superior. I have a few other muscle cars but they are 2005, 2016 and 2018 and I don't have any problems with maintenance on them. But OBB, has typical issues. I have a great mechanic but he considers her to be a "driver" and seems to want to replace everything when it doesn't work. The latest problems is an AC that doesn't blow cold. He said that part of the problem is having to go behind the engine block for access and clean out since it gets clogged. He said that might happen every 6 months or so. I only drive it to and from car shows once a month and around the block once a week. It is stored in a garage. He said these "old cars never had good air back then." Somehow that doesn't seem right to me. He recommended getting Classic Air or some similar modern replacement. Also, the gas gauge gets stuck at 1/4 tank and now he says to replace all gauges with Dakota Digital and re-wiring for car...the idiot lights aren't working well either and he did replace the gel circuit board behind gauges already. So...I don't see why I have to replace everything to new parts

Old Black Betty
. My question is do you recommend anyone in the Orlando area that works on older cars and tries to maintain their vintage integrity and not rushing to restomod everything? It's hard enough to find an honest and fair priced mechanic, but now I'm trying
to find one that also works best on vintage cars. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Well I had one of these when it was brand new then I got a Chevelle again. But both had ac and they really worked good at the time. I am not sure what would be behind the engine that would deal with the AC the compressor is in the front and the tubes are as well. I don't recall that it had an Accumulator or not. Post a photo of the engine bay.
As far as the gauges on these cars remember you have a 40 year old car the wires will get brittle and the gauge may go bad too. I would find a place to get the original parts and replace them it isn't that hard on these cars. Probably some Youtube videos that will help you get there.
Check original parts group or Rock auto and see what you can find.
Unfortunately when you have a classic car you almost need to be able to do most of the work yourself.
Grab some shop manuals and start reading thru them.
Today's technician wants to plug it into a computer and repair it that way.

 

Thank you for giving your input. I have attached engine bay photo. Not sure what he was talking about with AC. He made it sound like it would "clog up" again when it gets gunk or dirt from use. ??

 

Okay I added some arrows to the photo A with the arrow is you AC Compressor when that goes bad you won;t have cold air. B in the back goes to the area of the AC has a little radiator back there and they can get plugged up. The green arrow shows the heater hoses and they appear to be old in the picture might be good to have them changed. Check the belts to make sure they aren't cracked.
back in September I was at a Carshow and there were 3 first gen Monte's there one of them looked exactly like this.

 

Thank you so much! Wow. So, he must have been talking about Arrow B and it getting clogged and difficult to get to and clean. But, don't all 1st Gen Monte owners have the same issues? I'm going to see more about finding youtube video on this now that
you have directed me more. That's a lot of Monte's in one place in your photo. I just went to Turkey Run in Daytona with 1000 plus cars and only saw 2...of course I couldn't find the owners to ask questions. I just want to keep it as original as possible even if I don't
use the AC. Thank you tons. P.S. I love Chevelles too....who wouldn't :-)