One Owner Project: 1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder 2+2
It seems almost inevitable that an owner will advertise a car that has sat for decades, making an outrageous mileage claim courtesy of its lack of use. That makes this 1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder 2+2 a refreshing change. It is a one-owner survivor that they parked over twenty years ago, but its odometer read 256,000 miles. It needs a new home, with the owner listing it here on Craigslist in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. They have set their price at $2,500, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Pat L. for spotting this affordable classic.
Potential buyers spending under $3,000 on a project candidate generally expect to face a mountain of work before the subject of their attention returns to its rightful place on our roads. This Monza is no exception, with its Bright Yellow paint badly faded and its panels sporting a few dings and dents. However, nothing demands replacement steel, and its external rust issues look patchable. It is unclear whether the tin worm extends to the car’s underside, but the situation seems promising initially. Potential buyers might consider an in-person inspection to confirm they aren’t biting off more than they can choose, especially since the Monza is unlikely to become a mega-bucks proposition once the restoration ends. The car retains its distinctive spoilers and factory wheel, with these items looking salvageable.
The seller supplies no interior or engine shots, but the listing has enough information to gain a clear picture of these aspects of the Monza. It seems the interior is in generally fair condition for its age, although the front seats need work. It appears to be trimmed in Black, providing a nice contrast to the Yellow exterior. The engine bay houses the 196ci V6 that produced 90hp and 185 ft/lbs of torque in its prime. Shifting duties fall to a four-speed manual transmission, which should make driving enjoyable. The car has sat for two decades, with the owner removing the fuel tank before placing the vehicle in hibernation. They admit it has 256,000 miles on the clock and doesn’t run. They recommend an engine rebuild, and the seller confirms that won’t be the first for this Monza. It has received two previous rebuilds, and it would be interesting to see the state of the bores once the engine is dismantled. The buyer could throw caution to the wind by dumping the V6 and substituting a 305ci V8. That would significantly increase power and torque and slash nearly three seconds off the car’s ¼-mile ET of 19.1 seconds. Tweaking the 305 could bring more rewards, with a sub-16-second pass within reach. It is a concept that some might find irresistible.
This 1978 Monza Spyder 2+2 will almost certainly never be worth a fortune, but the seller’s asking price makes it affordable. The cost of a professional restoration will far outstrip its potential value, but a DIY approach could minimize the pain. The concept of bolting in a V8 is tempting and would probably be my plan of attack if it were parked in my workshop. Are you tempted to pursue it further, or will you sit this dance out?
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Comments
Junk. With that much mileage, no interior or engine pics, PASS.
Hardly junk. Try to find one.
These were very cool cars in the day Robertt. 😎 🕷
Calm down Karen and go back to your Prius.
Probably a good parts car. No interior or under carriage pics makes this Monza suspect. Be a pass for me to.
The only viable alternative, IMHO, is gut it, and make it into a drag car.
There has to be a roundy round class for these. Maybe cheaper and more fun than the drags, too.
Monza bodies were.popular in funny cars back in the 70s.
Would love one of these in good condition. This one, not so much.
If gonna put in sbc why would you choose a 305???
That is the correct question to ask. All generation one sbc are externally the same size. Why would you choose a 305 because that is what most V-8 Monza came with? Drop a 383 stroker in it and you will be much happier.
Mainly because that’s what it would have come with. Personally, I’d go straight LS.
Why bother? Those cars were dogs!
So is 305, brother.
Not according to Motor Trend, which voted the 1975 Monza their car of the years, beating out many other competitors, including a Mercedes.
That says a lot about car quality in 1975!
Why a Lexus v6? If you’re going to do it on the cheap a Buick V6 would be more readily available and might not take that much to fit. I have to agree with some of the other posters though. No interior pictures or of the underside equals red flag.
Was that the same Motor Trend that chose the 1960 Corvair, 61 Tempest, 1971 Vega, Renault Alliance Omni-Horizon, Aspen-Volare? They sure can pick ’em!
Wasn’t MT doing a separate Import Car of the Year back then?
They maybe, but the Chevrolet Monza won the IMSA GT championships in 1976, 1977 and 1978. They only had to outrun turbo Porsche’s of the era. Both the Chevrolet Monza and turbo Porsches were highly modified, but the dogs won three years in a row.
Minus the V6, pretty light chassis/shell. Aerodynamic shape, interchangeability of things like brakes perhaps suspension. So perhaps there are still many parts around. 2 front seats; the rest: make it cargo area since it’s not ever going to be a people hauler. A 2.2 EFI DOHC FWD Toyota drivetrain if it fits would shave a good 200+ pounds and add 60 horsepower or more over the original engine. Or stay RWD and get a Lexus V6 in there. Properly prepared body primered after all the metal cleaned up and maybe go with a pearl white after addressing the saggy doors etc fitment, you may be into it $15-20k. But a daily driver getting good gas mileage and pretty quick. It may not ever sell for more than $10k even if done very well. But buy a new $55k+ Tesla, and $10k disappeared before the ink is dry on the purchase agreement. So probably more green reasons to get the Monza up and running. Could turn out beautifully. Or if not seriously undertaken, just another car on Barn Finds again some day.
Summit/Jegs catalog has everything you need to make a real street sweeper out of this thing.
I will never forget seeing Grumpy Jenkins in one of these at Fremont/Baylands Raceway as kid. Race car is all this should be next. No resto value anyways. Cage/tubs and BIG HP eng!
Those were cool cars. I remember a white one cruising around this small town. They looked really cool and I always thought they would be a fun car to drive. I owned a Chevrolet Citation X11 and it got hit in the door. Easy fix just replace the door but I was stupid and sold it. That car with it’s short throw 4 speed and factory body kit looked amazing, to me anyway. I always wished I had it back
I’d take a chance on getting it going again. Original owner makes no unreasonable mileage claim, and you don’t drive a car you hate a quarter million miles. Title sounds available when the guy gets a duplicate. I’m not a racer, so I wouldn’t go that route.
I’m guessing the plastic front and rear pieces are brittle and will crumble like potato chips. Probably made of unobtanium.
I remember the Buick version of this car was, far and away, the best looking of the bunch…………can’t remember what it was called.
Skyhawk?
And it had an available glass 1/2 roof
Most of these are at the Drags. I know of 7 in the New England area. But not as popular as the Chev. Vega.
Check out the Facebook H body groups, dozens of people daily driving these cars.
It’s a Vega of another name
Never saw a Vega with 250,000 miles!
A complete set of pictures sure would help.
A buddy had one of these in college in the early 80s. It was a dog, even with the 305 and a manual trans. I had a 73 Capri with a 2.6 V6 and a four speed, and it would trounce it in a straight line.
The worst part was trying to work on the car. If I recall correctly, changing plugs involved disconnecting the exhaust from the manifold, unbolting the motor mount and jacking the engine up to get clearance.
Owned one. Fact check: true on the plug change. The V8 also placed 60% of the weight on the front wheels and added the charm of breaking ball joints.
I used to walk by a green one of these that was “forever parked” on the street. The “Spyder” hood really made it desirable to me. Having a nice one, with a modern drivetrain, would make an awesome daily driver.
You guys O’MAN wow even thinking about this THING destined for the crusher.
It’s riddled with HIV standing on a street corner wearing a Spiderman t-shirt.
You really want to entertain the thought of touching it?
Commonsense Bros.
It’s best crushed.
Nuff Said.
Go ahead be offended – I’m offended it even EXISTS!
The Monza was my first car. Everyone else has mentioned both positive and negative. Go with your gut. Do you like what you see & do you have the time, patience, and money $$$ for a resto mod?
The hidden rot would be the scariest part. Spend the $2500 bucks to own it, then find out that the floors and frame rails in the unibody have rotted out after you disassemble it and send it off to be dipped or media blasted! Then you’d just have a money pit and a pile of moderately salvageable parts! At a minimum, I’d want to put it on a lift, to get a good look at the underside before offering any Dead Presidents for it.
P.S. If the frame rails and underbody are solid, then it might be worth the effort to restore if you do the work yourself. If you have to hire any pros to do any significant portion of the restoration, you’ll probably spend a good deal more than the finished product would be worth. GM built millions of these under every nameplate they had except Cadillac, but most have returned to the iron ore from whence they came! “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”
A friend of mine had one in metallic blue it had a 305 with a4 speed,it was a nice ride in the late 80’S
I have a 1977 with a V8 with 80k original miles I’d sell for $1000, I’m in Oklahoma just about 20 miles from broken arrow. It’s stock and no accidents good body and frame but rough interior and paint (red) faded bad. But can be Road worthy for little cash but lots of labor.
I don’t know how to get it posted on this site.
If you are going to do an engine swap, which I would absolutely do, then an aluminum LM7 5.3 LS makes way more sense than a 305. It would weigh less than the original V6 while makes roughly 200 more HP. Add a nice T5 behind it and you could make a really nice handling little car.
That would work, or for street use, an LFX V6 would work, and be easier to service to boot. Access to those rear plugs can be “difficult” when the V8 is installed! Almost as much power as the V8 in a smaller lighter package, and with less weight on the front wheels, less understeer, as well. Either way, a significant improvement over the motor the car was born with!
Reminds me of the Buick Skyhawk Oldsmobile Firenza… they were fun cars as a teenager