Unhijacking the GTO thread: MONZA'S RULE!!!!

Too cool for words man...

2400-2600 lbs. and a stock small block.

Build one and show the local ricer knuckleheads what the correct American economy car can do....

On top of that, 90% of the gearheads out there will never know what hit them...

They are too cool...

I've been sort of casually looking for one, (or even a Vega)....but it's tough to find any around here.

You know, I'd like to find a '78 or '79 Spyder......and autocross it!

Originally posted by Z284ever
They are too cool...

I've been sort of casually looking for one, (or even a Vega)....but it's tough to find any around here.

You know, I'd like to find a '78 or '79 Spyder......and autocross it!

Riddle-

What do you get the Redneck that has everything (Camaro, mullet, can of Skoal, stone washed jeans, double wide trailor)?

Answer-
A primered Monza to use as a beater!

Or better yet... roadrace it.

Ahhhh.... the pleasure factor whilst blowing by some overpriced Porsche in a Monza...

The DeKon Monzas absolutely destroyed Porsche for 3 years running in the late 70's.

Imagine a horrific Chevrolet nightmare crawling out of the grave and ripping the heart out of a 911 30 years later....

Hmmm... how about an heads/cam LS1 and T56 in a Monza? That would rock.

425 rwhp and 2500 lbs.

Originally posted by formula79
Riddle-

What do you get the Redneck that has everything (Camaro, mullet, can of Skoal, stone washed jeans, double wide trailor)?

Answer-
A primered Monza to use as a beater!

The only thing I have on that list is a Camaro.

But I'll take the primered Monza though.

Originally posted by PacerX
Or better yet... roadrace it.


The DeKon Monzas absolutely destroyed Porsche for 3 years running in the late 70's.

Imagine a horrific Chevrolet nightmare crawling out of the grave and ripping the heart out of a 911 30 years later....




How right you are. Monzas sort of took over the road race banner for Chevy in the mid to late '70s...very few people remember that.

For your convenience, I brought these pics of a DeKon Monza from the other thread:

www.lineguide.com/dekon/img_00191.htm
www.lineguide.com/dekon/img_00211.htm
www.lineguide.com/dekon/img_00201.htm

If they make the Solstice....how about using that platform for a Chevy Monza hatchback.

wtf? is that a dead starfish layin on the rear rim? (first pic)

I'd love to see a monza remake, if it kept those simple clean awesome lines. could do without the lower window 'droop' but everything else is worthy of revisiting.

Originally posted by kizz
wtf? is that a dead starfish layin on the rear rim? (first pic)



Hey, I think you're right!

Monzas were going to take the place of Camaros when it seemed the Camaro was headed to the dust bin of history.

First, Monza was to be the platform for GM's rotary engine. Then that idea was canned in favor of a shoehorned 262 and 350 V8s (don't get too excited about that 350, it was choked down to 120 horsepower). Camaro was due to be cancelled first along with Firebird in 1975, then cancelled on it's own in '76 with Firebird continuing. Once Camaro's future was assured, Monza Spyder lost it's V8 (1980) and became the joke that some here think it always was.

But, during those few years in the mid-late 70's, it was Chevrolet's performance car. Monza was on the drag strips as funny cars, it was winning races at the IMSA competitions against Porsches and pretty much everything else with 4 wheels in it's class. There were far more Monzas visible in competition than Camaros for a time. Anyone that wanted a real street machine back then were driving Trans Ams, NOT Z28s (hard to believe today).

I certainly understand why some of you view them as cars of undesireables, for a time in the 80s were a dime a dozen because there were so many of them. At the prices they were going for, many ended up in places not good for it's reputation. 3rd gen Camaros and old fox 5.0 Mustangs have the same problem. But that doesn't mean they were insignificant or bad.

IMO Monzas were the cars Camaro should have become. They were light, tossible, had an interior that didn't spell cheap, had a HUGE fuel tank for it's size (16 gallons), and were heaps of fun.

Just so you don't think I've lost objectivity here, Monzas were also a nightmare to work on under the hood (including unbolting & jacking up the engine to get to the rear 2 driver's side spark plugs), they were geared way too low (my V8 automatic came with a 2.29 rear end:eek: ), and they were glorified Vegas.

But in a day when the most powerful Camaro you could buy had 155hp, the 145hp 500 pound lighter V8 Monza Spyders with nothing more than a rear end change were Chevy's affordable performance car....... unless you had a way of getting a 9C1 Nova.

Solstice coupe does seem to have a bit of Monza's spirit in it, though.

Originally posted by Z284ever
How right you are. Monzas sort of took over the road race banner for Chevy in the mid to late '70s...very few people remember that.

For your convenience, I brought these pics of a DeKon Monza from the other thread:

www.lineguide.com/dekon/img_00191.htm
www.lineguide.com/dekon/img_00211.htm
www.lineguide.com/dekon/img_00201.htm

See, the "ricer" craze is nothing new. ;)

Originally posted by guionM
Solstice coupe does seem to have a bit of Monza's spirit in it, though.

Maybe, but they're worlds apart, from where I stand. There's plenty of spirit; not from Monza but from the Opel GT, which is pretty much never-heard-of here, compared to Europe. Then the roadster is a tangent off the coupe.

GT

Originally posted by kizz
Maybe, but they're worlds apart, from where I stand. There's plenty of spirit; not from Monza but from the Opel GT, which is pretty much never-heard-of here, compared to Europe. Then the roadster is a tangent off the coupe.

GT

Opel GT? Very true!

Originally posted by guionM
[Anyone that wanted a real street machine back then were driving Trans Ams, NOT Z28s (hard to believe today).

[/B]

Any old farts( I guess like me..compared to alot of you guys), who remember the street scene circa 1979 will tell you that the '79 T/A 6.6 absolutely was the fastest thing you could buy from a new car dealer (that wasn't an exotic).

The LM-1 powered Z was no match for a T/A 6.6 in the 1/4 mile when stock, but.....a smallblock Chevy is still a smallblock Chevy. I never saw a modified Z/28 ever lose to an equally modified Trans Am (6.6 liter or T/A 6.6).