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No, we're not running a car with out a front clip. Colin has been taking apart his '85 SS to do a full color-change repaint. He has been kind enough to weigh all parts he removes for the benefit of Monteperformance.com followers. We'll follow his progress with updates each week or so. The project starts at the bottom of this page, then work your way back up to the most current updates.
It's all
starting to come together now...7/31/02
The wheel tubs are now in.
Note the original frame boxed off below.
The backseat view. The plan is to still use the stock
backseat. Some creative carving may be necessary.
All this cutting has made enough room for a massive
345/55/15 BFG Drag Radial (29.9" diameter).
Finally Some Progress...5/14/02
After months of inactivity, Colin is back to work in the
Brag Shop Garage. He sent me these pics of the new rear frame
(below). The stock frame was cut just forward of the rear
wheel-wells and this new box-steel frame has been welded in.
James was over to lend his welding skills
.
Another detour...10/18/01
Mr. Cartesians has now decided to do a radical
reconstruction of the rear end. The rear part of the stock frame
is being cut out to make way for a custom box-tubing set up. The
new frame rails will be set inward of where the originals were to
make yet more room for rear rubber. This will accomodate widening
the stock wheel tubs and converting to a coil-over set up. A new
rear axle housing is on order also. I'll pass on more details as
I get them!
And it drags on and on... 8/7/01
Turns out the drivers side door was beyond repair. In
case you haven't noticed, it's not easy finding decent monte
carlo doors in the northeast. And I'm not even talking SS
doors--just regular monte doors! We were able to locate a really
nice door in a yard in Suffolk county. This car must have been
garaged. The door had no rust, and the paint was even in decent
shape. There was, however, chrome trim along the bottom that had
to be removed and the mounting studs ground off. There was also
two bolt holes that needed to be welded shut.
A fiberglass bolt-on trunklid was ordered from VFN
Fiberglass. It weighs
only 13 pounds! We'll let you know how this worked out soon.
Week ? --
4/29/01
Dupont Variprime has been applied to the body. Hopefully
we'll be getting to the good stuff soon...the color!
Week 10 --
3/31/01
All of the remaining paint has been stripped, and the
rest of the car is disassembled. As usual, Colin has been
sidetracked, and the paint job has been delayed. He decided that
he needed more clearance for the rear tires, so he has been
heating and hammering the frame. He has also cut the frame in
certain areas.
Week 5 --
2/25/01
Colin has now stripped the paint from the roof and
doors.
Frank from Performance Products Unlimited has this to
offer:
I FOUND OUT FOR YOUR WEIGHT SAVINGS EXPIDITION THEY MAKE PLASTIC
HEADLIGHTS TO
REPLACE THOSE OLD HEAVY LIGHTS. WELL THE WEIGHT SAVINGS IS
PROBABALY ONLY 6
POUNDS BUT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAVE WEIGHT RIGHT? NOW DONT
GET ME WRONG I DONT
HATE CHEVYS BECAUSE I OWN A MUSTANG THAT ALOT OF PEOPLE
CALL A POTATO CHIP
WITH NO SALT. THIS CAR STILL HAS FULL INT. AND IS DRIVEN
EVERYWHERE. SO I AM
JUST GIVING YOU GUYS SOME IDEAS. OH YEA ALSO TAKE OUT THE BRACING
THAT LINES
THE TRUNKLID , MORE WEIGHT. MY MOTTO IS WEIGHT IS HP*
Week 2 -- 2/8/01
Crazy Collins describes how he removed the door crash beams:
"I used a new torch head to
cut the metal in the door and then remove it in
pieces with Zero damage to the door except for some bubbled paint
which is
unavoidable...." AMMENDMENT #1: Be careful with this type
of operation. The torch was used to remove some of the glue/foam
between the door skin and the crash beam. This caused some slight
warpage of the outer door skin.
Monte Carlo
Weights and Measures: (in pounds)
Radiator Support | 23.5 |
Nose Air Box | 16.5 |
Bumper shocks | 8.5 each |
Trunklid (w/power release) | 49.5 |
Centerlink | 5 |
Idler arm | 3.5 |
Headlight buckets w/lights & bezels | 9.5 each |
Hood hinges w/spring | 2.5 each |
Pass. Fender w/antenna | 24.5 |
Drivers fender | 24.5 |
Front bumper shims (6) | 4 |
Front bumper | 13 |
Front honeycomb | 4 |
Right Door Assembly (complete) | 101 |
Left Door Assembly (complete) | 99 |
Door Window Glass (each) | 15.5 |
Door crash beam | 14.5 |
Bucket Seat | 38 |
Rear seat upper | 18 |
Rear seat lower | 13 |
Rear seatbelts | 4 |
Rear seat insulation mat | 9 |