Junkyard Find: 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Examples of the rear-wheel-drive Chevy Monte Carlo have held their value pretty well, especially the A-body-based 1970-1977 ones. Even a fairly rough one can be worth restoring, particularly in Southern California, and so I don’t see many of these cars during my travels to the wrecking yards of the Golden State. Here’s a very rough ’76 that I spotted in Los Angeles while visiting Cheech & Chong movie locations in a ’15 Ford Transit van.
Good things never happen when you scrape off a vinyl top and then drive the car that way.
These cars make excellent lowriders, but to get this car into proper condition for nice paint and interior would have cost about three times the value of the finished result.
I’m not sure what the junkyard symbolism of the ace of clubs could be.
Endorsed by this Canadian yacht designer.
Yes, Canadians were crazy about the Malaise Monte.
Makes you look rich!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
More by Murilee Martin
Comments
Join the conversation
@jeff, Yes the personal luxury car! It's heyday was the early and mid 70's. They were the C-Class/3 Series of their day. I believe that at one point the Olds Cutlass was one of, if not the top selling car in Canada. Personal income in North America peaked at that time. Boomers were still young and spending on things other than housing. During that period I owned, leased or was provided with company vehicles that included a Grand Prix SJ (the big engine), a Gran Torino Elite, Thunderbird and Cordoba. Each was 'fully dressed' with all the options. Also an L-82 C-3 Corvette. Personally I thought that the Fords had the best interiors, the GM's the best engines and the Cordoba the nicest looks.
Arthur--Many of the young professionals I worked with in the late 70's had Thunderbirds, Grand Torino Elites, Cordobas, Grand Prixs, Monte Carlos, Cutlass Supreme coupes, and Regal Coupes. The GMs were the most popular and in the US the Cutlass was one of the top selling cars and the most stolen. I was one of those young professionals as well in my mid twenties and single aspiring to climb the ladder of the corporate World. I had my 77 Monte Carlo with the swivel buckets, rally wheels, landau top, and power everything in buckskin with tan interior and tan landau. I loved my Monte Carlo and kept it all clean and shined up in A-1 condition. My Monte Carlo was my first new car.