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February
2005
This 1976 Monte
Carlo is owned by
Dustin Denner
The Story.......
"I am the proud
owner of a 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Landau. Its GM Firethorn
metallic with a white, half vinyl top and white vinyl interior with
bench seats and white and dark mahogany trim. This car has been
in my family since 1978 when my grandfather purchased it used with 27K
miles on the odometer. When he purchased it, it came with the
stock 145-horse 350 2-barrel, TH-350 transmission, 2.73 non-posi rear
and single exhaust. In 1987 he had the car repainted and a new
vinyl top put on the car. The stock 15x7 Turbines were replaced
with the current 15x7 chrome American Racing wire-basket wheels.
In May, 2000, he
returned to the same dealership he purchased the ’76 from and bought a
new 2000 Monte Carlo LS. The salesmen were very disappointed
that he didn’t trade the ’76 for it. In June, 2000, he handed
over the keys to me for my high school graduation present. I had
the car for a little over a year before I wrecked it. But that
wasn't the end of the car. I, with the help of my brother,
father and grandfather, got the car repaired in about a month.
That started my obsession with getting the car completely restored.
In April, 2003, I had the seats re-upholstered. In June, 2003, I
pulled out the old motor and replaced it with a Golen Engine Service
350 small block and had the transmission rebuilt with a TCI Saturday
Night 2000-stall converter. New headliner was installed in July,
2004 and I removed the air conditioning and installed an A/C delete
box.
This year will be the
year I will finally get my car restored... to an extent. Plans
for this year include a 73 Monte Carlo tachometer gauge cluster,
aftermarket oil pressure gauge, straightening the frame, body and
paint work, a new vinyl top, new lower door panels, restoring the
plastic trim, Headman headers, dual Catco catalytic converters, dual
2.5-inch pipe, dual Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers, 3.73 rear end gears
with an Eaton posi, and BF Goodrich 235/60-15 Radial T/A white letter
tires. There are a couple other miscellaneous items I didn't
mention, but you should get the idea. My plan is to turn this
awesome cruiser into an awesome sleeper. Keep it stock looking,
but put some muscle under the hood."
Dustin Denner
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