Mustang'S New Ride

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Hey, y'all.

I got my new ride, yesterday. A 1981 Monte Carlo. It's got a 267 small block V8 engine, rear wheel drive, a/c, power windows, seats, locks, and mirrors. It has a very straight and solid body, new brakes, exaust system, and re-built carb. It also came with mag wheels. I'll post some pics tommorow. This will be my new 1:1 work in progress. Any ideas, guys?

Edited January 5, 2010 by Mustang3.8

[jeffs396]

Congrats!

It'll be a good car for you...I've had a 79 with the 267, & an 87 with a 305 (still have). They are nice, neutral handling machines, throw a set of Bilstein shocks on it for a big handling improvement!

[disabled modeler]

Hi Mustang3.8 jeff is right the shocks will help handling of the car,rear sway bar will too. go with at least a 70s series tire so it will grab the road. i use to have a 84 monte SS with a HO 305 that was 0.40 over rebuilt engine.....man i miss that car,preformance,handling,and plenty of classy looks....enjoy the new ride.

[CAL]

Congrats!

It'll be a good car for you...I've had a 79 with the 267, & an 87 with a 305 (still have). They are nice, neutral handling machines, throw a set of Bilstein shocks on it for a big handling improvement!

I didn't know marshmellows were neutrual.

[CAL]

put a ZZ572/720R in her

[charlie8575]

I agree with the shocks, after two Cutlasses in my family. Even just good-quality shocks will help a lot.

Another suggestion I'd make is that if your car has P195/75R14 tires on it, to go to P205/70R14. We did that with my mother's second Cutlass and it made a HUGE difference in cornering stability and still rode well. We found that Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWPs were very nice tires for that car and had a 3/4" whitewall that looked really nice on it.

Those '78-'88 A/G-Bodies are very nice cars; I'm actually keeping an eye open for one for me, preferably a wagon, but I'm negotiable. And with the 267, it'll be cheap to run, not real fast, but good on gas and not too powerful to get you into trouble. If you want to compromise a little, I know one guy that put an Edelbrock 4-barrel intake and a Q-Jet on it on it; it woke right up and still gave him 24-26 miles a gallon on the highway. If you do the whole Performer Plus (low-RPM) package, you'll get a slightly-built 305 power and pretty close to 229 gas mileage provided you drive reasonably (a low-rpm "torque/economy" cam might also be a good move, like an Erson 308.) Sounds like a good deal to me at +/- $2.50/gallon!

Charlie Larkin

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Dave,

I traded the Mustang for the Monte Carlo. The Mustang had problems, and it had dents, and dings. Plus it took two or three tries to start, and it leaked oil. The Monte Carlo starts right up.

[RJWood]

This is what I would do with it:

Congratulations Kevin. Now you gotta change your screen name.

Edited January 6, 2010 by RJWood

[Guest Mustang3.8]

lol. Thanks, RJ. I'd have the first lowrider in the County. I like those wheels, though.

[Chuck Most]

I wouldn't have traded the Mustang for the Monte- I'd have kept the Mustang around and dropped the 3.8 into the Monte. Or, if I did trade a 'Stang for a Monte, I'd drop a Ford 5.0 in it, just because I know it would make so many o' dem uppity Bow Tie boys projectile vomit!

[Craig Irwin]

I've got a 350 and a 350 turbohydromatic.

[Custom Hearse]

Pictures Kevin! Pictures!!!!

Just kidding, Congrats on the new acquisition!

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Thanks, guys. Marshall, I'll get pics up tommorow. I'm leaning toward sleeper.

[sfhess]

Edelbrock makes a handling kit for it. Kinda pricey though. See the current issue of Hot Rod mag.

[Modlbldr]

From Kevin's comments it sounds to me like he was trading for dependability, which is always a good choice. I'd take dependability over a decent car that sat dead in my driveway. Besides, the Monte is a nice looking ride when done right and can be souped up to whatever you want. I think we all know that he made the wise choice. Now let us see those photos.

Later-

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Thanks, guys. The Mustang was a nice car, but it had problems. It leaked oil, had dents, a broken taillight, the headliner was shot, and I needed a screwdriver to use the horn.

[Greg Cullinan]

Any pics of the new ride yet? It's one of the first things I do when I buy a new car,ofcourse I clean it first even if if looks clean .Thanks

[Jason Vandergriff]

He also traded for a cheaper car to work on and engine trans for it are plentiful. I like the g-bodies but Im a s-series fan. Nothing like big motor in a little truck. Ive got a few motors laying around if you ever want to upgrade. 283 305 350's all sitting in the shed or on the stand. Even got 2 spare trans for my blazer.

[Abell82]

Thanks, guys. The Mustang was a nice car, but it had problems. It leaked oil, had dents, a broken taillight, the headliner was shot, and I needed a screwdriver to use the horn.

Just curious... How many of the problem's that the Mustang had were caused either directly or indirectly by you? Seems like a little bit of maintenance could have repaired most if not all the problems that you mention. I hope that you take better care of this one. Best of luck to all of you.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Abell82

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Just curious... How many of the problem's that the Mustang had were caused either directly or indirectly by you? Seems like a little bit of maintenance could have repaired most if not all the problems that you mention. I hope that you take better care of this one. Best of luck to all of you.

I did take care of the Mustang. The car was vandilized 4 times. The taillight was broken also by vandals, and the rear tires were even slashed. My mechanic could not figure out where the oil leak was coming from. None of the problems were caused by me. The car was just worn out. I take very good care of my cars, thank you very much.

[Agent G]

The Monte sounds like a good move on your part. Watch the radiator, I had a 267 in a '79 Malibu classic and the darn thing kept ruining radiators. Never did figure it out.

G

[Robert81]

lol. Thanks, RJ. I'd have the first lowrider in the County. I like those wheels, though.

That isn't true. about ten years a go I saw some Mid-70's Chevy Lowriders in Kamploops, a few Caprices and a Caddy, if I remember right.

Nice score on the Monte. Get her on the road, then start saving for the Upgrades. The sky is the limit with the G-bodys. You can swap in a bigger, more powerful engine, or swap in some suspension parts to make her handle.

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Hey, y'all. Here's some pics of the Monte Carlo. And no, the oil under the car is not from the Monte Carlo. It's from the Mustang.

[charlie8575]

I always liked that maroon or cinnamon over cream. Nice-looking car you got yourself there. Definitely needs a set of whitewalls to set it off. Pictures were a little dark for me to tell, do you have the sport wheels or plain rims? If regular rims, a set of wires'll look real good on that.

Charlie Larkin

[Guest Mustang3.8]

Charlie, those wheels are just winter wheels.