Bucking the Trend: 1977 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Unless you built small, economical cars in the mid-1970s, chances are your sales were down. Thanks to the OPEC oil embargo in 1973 that forced Americans to get used to higher gasoline prices. One auto that bucked that trend was the Chevy Monte Carlo. Its 1973-77 second-generation cars were extremely popular; in fact, it set a record in 1977 at 411,000 copies! This ’77 Monte looks to be in admirable condition and may need nothing more than some work done on the factory A/C. Located in Raynham, Massachusetts, this Chevy is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $13,325. Another cool tip that comes to us by way of Mitchell G.!
General Motors redesigned their mid-size products in 1973, so that included the Chevy Monte Carlo which was part Chevelle and part Pontiac Grand Prix. The Monte entered the scene in 1970 as a personal luxury car, a market segment that would soon see growth. By 1977, it was one of the biggest vehicles in the Chevy portfolio as the full-size Impalas and so forth were downsized that year. Intermediates like the Monte Carlo would go on a diet in 1978. All in the name of better fuel economy.
The entry-level engine in the ’77 Monte Carlo was a 305 cubic inch V8 which the seller’s car has at 76,000 miles. These were anemic powerplants even in the smaller Nova, so a 350 would have been a better choice for off-the-line acceleration. This one must run just fine as the New England seller says it’s ready for a road trip to Florida if you’re game.
This Chevy has had only two owners, though we don’t know if that includes the seller. It’s said to be a well-documented car that will come with “tons” of original paperwork. No rust is present, and the paint looks more than adequate, though there appears to be a big chip in the driver’s side front fender. This automobile is loaded with accessories including an 8-track tape player (does anyone still have these tapes? Mine all broke years ago). The red interior looks perfect, the Chevy sports new tires, and the seller will throw in a set of Rally wheels if you prefer but doesn’t indicate if there’s an upcharge. A nice car that should turn a few heads at Cars & Coffee.
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Comments
Nice, clean car in very good shape with some rare options. I hope it finds a good home where it’ll be preserved and enjoyed for what it is.
My mother had a’77 light green half vinyl top with white interior and swivel bucket seats!!! Also console shift automatic on the floor. Great car. One of my favorites.
Lot of these ended up as derby cars.Nice car but I never liked the stacked headlight look.imo. 73’s were the sharpest out of the 73 thru 77 MC run imo.glwts.
Probably the easiest car, ever, to do any kind of work on. Nothing was hard to get to in or out. Just plain easy.
I had a ’73 with a 350 that for some reason ate fuel pumps. They were very difficult to change but I got so used to swapping them I could do it on the side of the road. Something was misaligned as it was the pivot pin on the pumps that failed. I always carried a spare pump and tools in the trunk.
A beautiful example from the malaise era. This is one of my favourite times for cars. The muscle car guys who now had families to drive around seemed to choose a personal luxury car like this. I’d definitely have a Monte Carlo, Cordoba, or Cougar parked next to my Road Runner.
Strange placement of the ac line running across the top of the motor
Virtually the same on all long water pump engines.
It’s hard for the young ones to imagine how popular these were. 411k of these, yes, then 242k Cutlsss Supreme 2-doors, 288k Grand Prixs, and 175k Regal couoes. That’s nearly 900 strong of GM personal broughamage. Then add 311k new Thunderbirds, 167k Cougar XR7s, and 140k Cordobas and you start to see the true picture.
If you were not driving American personal luxury in ’77, you were nothing. Just a step above trash. I can imagine how nervous the GM brass felt as they approached the introduction of the squished down ’78s. They tried, but were simply incapable of delivering the same plush, coddling statement these were, and it was all downhill for this glorious segment from there.
Is a nice Monte Carlo but not for 13,000 no way
Too bad it’s got a 305 in it which is a garbage GM motor that would best be forgotten. Other than that, it’s a beautiful car that would be better suited with a newer 350 or bigger crate motor….
Yeah I had a 1977 Monte Carlo Landau light blue with a half white vinyl top. It has the internal signal lights above the rear glass so you saw it in your rearview mirror when your turned the signals on. It took had the casterated 305 in it. The 134 h.p. engine struggled for sure but for a junior in highschool in 1981, man I had loads of fun in that car! It has 43,000 when I bought it for 4000.00 in Taylor, TX. It was spotless too. Finally sold it 9 years later but I should have kept her… Good handling car for it’s size.
In fairness to the 305-V8, it was rated at 145 hp. (The 350-V8, with four-barrel carb, was rated at 170 hp.)
I had a 1977 Monte Carlo with a 305 that had a good take off and top end speed. Now I’m not mechanically enough inclined to explain why but I do know in NASCAR in 1979 Junior Johnson with Cale Yarborough raced 1977 442 Oldsmobiles at Talladega and Daytona because of their aerodynamics
but raced the 1977 Monte Carlo on tracks less than 2 and a half mlles because they discovered it got off the corners better because of the engine displacement in the Monte Carlo.