1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in Antique Green & 454 Engine Sound on My Car Story with Lou Costabile 

Dad had a ‘71 with 350ci same color but had the fender skirts and baby moon wheels. Always remember how much room there was to work underneath that hood.

What a beauty. My brother had a 70 I took my DL on when I was 16. It was 3 months old. Since it has been my dream car. It had everything except the big block and the SS.

The 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS is the top of the line luxury muscle car. Magnificent car in showroom condition! Thanks Lou for the video. Congratulations to the prowd owner!

Stunning! I would have never put that color in car together but it fits so well,

Was at many car shows with this man. He was friends with friends of mine. I have a 1963 BUICK RIVIERA. GOOD TIMES IN Chicago land

Gotta appreciate a car like this

Love this car and this style of the Monte's! But ...I'm impartial, cause I was born in 72. But I truly do love these.. the 70,71's and the 72's.. One of my uncle had a 72 with the 454 that he bought when I was about 12, maybe 13.. he had brought it over to show my dad, and to show off of course, and I fell in love with that car and this style! I'd love to have one now, , and this one is beautiful.

Thanks Lou for another great video on a beautiful car. The Monte Carlo was never going to be a front wheel drive car, as it was created as a 1970 model because of the tremendous success of the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. The SS Monte Carlo for 1970 and 1971 are also a favorite of mine. Keep those videos coming!

Lou, you know I had a good friend in high school that had this same car. Smooth

Gary was hilarious with his short very honest answers in that gravelly voice of his. Lol'd when he said he "bought it for bar hopping" and said "I know" in response to Lou saying sounds great

I'm a Ford man, but this is 1 COOL car.I NEVER saw an SS Monte Carlo 45 years ago. I knew they made them in the 80s but not in the 70s. The Roman numerals in the grill are crazy.I never knew that.Thanks Lou!!!!!

I grew up in a 72...when o turned 18 I bought it from my mother. I loved it...interior was flawless, vinyl top was perfect, paint was still good. I put in a fresh crate motor & transmission...drove it for 2 years then a big rig rear ended it at a stop light. I was heartbroken...had planned on keeping it forever. That was in 93. I still miss it daily.

Very rare Monte! Thanks for sharing it Lou! My next door neighbor as a kid had a 70 SS454 MC. Always loved the lines on those Monte's!

Man that interior is Mint

MANY moons ago my friend and I rented a metal storage garage from an older man to work out of. He had a 71 MC 350 2bbl sitting under a cover. We enquired about it. He said it had been sitting since the late 80s and needed brake lines. It was triple green, same color as this feature car. He said he wasn't interested in the car and said for $250.00 it was ours. Of course we bought it. Inside, it was like new. Outside, it was rust free though the paint was thin in some spots. We put on all new brakes, lines, tires, rebuilt the carb, all new fluids, new tires, hoses, belts ( a/c was still charged!) and battery. It ran great, trans shifted fine. We had about $1,300 in it, and sold it for 6k. We worked out of that garage until 2004. The owner died and the family sold the property.

Had a Monte back in the day, one of my favorite cars. It was like driving a couch down the road.

The hood alone is longer than some of today's cars. Dark green must have been one of the most popular colors through the 70s , we had two cars in that hue.

I had a 72. It was one of my favorite cars ever. Love it. Thanks Lou.

Awesome! That color, those wheels, & a 454, too! This truly is the "big dog" Monte Carlo of the era, & it still is today, too.

Holy Cow that engine bay is immaculate

Beautiful Monte Carlo SS454! Couple of things: my 1970 Monte has 1970 in Roman numerals also. It was discontinued in 1972. My 70 has the 71 style vinyl too also, as it is a late production car built in May of 70.

its not everyday you get to see a 1971 ss because very little production were made. but thats a nice ss. I still love the 1970 ss.

These are rare and best 454 they made in Monte Carlo.

Great looking car. I have a 1971 but a 350. Thanks for sharing.

This Monte Carlo body style was the cleanest and most beautiful. That it is an SS with a 454 was the icing on the cake. The SS interior was really upscale as you can see in the bucket seat design and upholstery. Also the console and shifter were beautiful . Great find Lou!

My grandad has a 71 Monte Carlo SS 454 and it’s been sitting for almost 30 years. But I’m gonna restore it one day

My mom bought one new in '71. The car had constant problems and she traded it in for a 460 Ford LTD in 1973. No problems for 22 years. 1995, she bought a Lincoln Town Car which was her last car before she passed away in 2008.

I had two 70 Monte Carlo SS 454 cars, one white with a white halo vinyl top, blue bench seat, the other was autumn gold, no vinyl top, black bucket seat interior, loaded, power windows, etc. My buddy had a 402 big block Monte Carlo, it was Mulsanne blue with black bucket seat interior.

Never heard that front wheel drive rumor.

THANK YOU. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BAD ASS CHEVY! MUSEUM PIECE! BEAUTIFUL

This car is over-the-top with options. What a beaut! Never knew about the 71 in Roman numerals either interesting. My friend's dad back in the day had a 71 Caprice with a 454. Too bad he traded it in before my buddy was able to drive😣😣.

What a beauty you see to many of them love the colour thank lou

Beautiful car!

I had a 1971 Monte I bought from the dealer in 1973 with a 402 Big Block. Very good solid road car. In car test articles the Monte was often referred to as the poor man's Eldo.

Had that exact car in HS, same color and everything...big regret letting that go.

lou, what the man mentions: that is was originally intended to be an eldorado/toronado front driver and front drive beast: as was michael douglas and karl malden's ford LTD from the same time period. interesting. this happens to be the ONLY vehicle, in my estimation, that deserves the nameplate: montecarlo.. (by GM.) magnificent. isn't it? wow. i always thought they were 350's! an SS 454? oh my goodness. what a survivor. thank god you bring these things to us here in RU-vid, lou.. you have just made my day. my favorite car of that era: which i never aspired to own, myself: for one reason or another. but inspiring stuff, fellow!!

My good friend's mother had a '70 SS 454 Monte Carlo like this one of that year that was a lighter medium green(like a lime green) with an even lighter green interior. His mother Mickey alone had the Chevrolet dealership in DeQuincy, LA(Jameson Chevrolet) back around that time after her husband, Frank Jameson, accidentally shot himself and she had her "pick of the litter" in the '69-'70 model year. My friend Craig of course had access to that car and shut down a few cars in street races from stoplights against the muscle cars that were still around town from the late '60's.This was back in around '75. I'm 68 now but remember those days well. I don't know whatever happened to that car when she sold the dealership, her house in DeQuincy and the remaining family dispersed and moved to Houston toward the end of the decade. Whoever had the good fortune of getting that car had both a nice, well kept car and a very fast one at that. Remember, 1970 was the last year before they had to cut horsepower and lower compression ratios due to government mandated emissions controls and smog equipment. Enjoy your channel, Lou. Keep up the good work!

I learned to drive in one of those. My mom called it avocado green. Matching cloth interior, black vinyl top. Horseshoe shifter. Ours a was a 350. I long to own one.

I was born in 71 and that is my favorite color of all time ... Beautiful Monte Carlo.. Hamburger Heaven used to be owned by my Aunt in Elmhurst were my Mom was Born. I grew up on the NW side of Chicago I Left in 95 after the Navy I Bought a cattle ranch in central Missouri in 2008. I am still searching for a Beautiful Monte Carlo and that Brother is Gorgeous

I had a 1971 Monte Carlos SS and had to sell it do to going into USAF . I would love to get it back

Beautiful Monte carlo. Very rare SS454.

I didn't really like the dark colors at the time, but I think now they look good on the cars. What a great car! Thanks, Lou!

Nice job on the video of a beautiful and rare car. It's great to see that it retains so many of the factory installed parts. The G67 automatic load leveling compressor and tank assembly are so often missing from these SS454s, and Gary even has the inlet air filter on his. The filters were foam rubber and disintegrated over time. He must have found a replacement for it. A couple of things to note are that the G67 option was an available option on all '70 - '72 Montes and Chevelles. I've not seen a Chevelle with it, but an online friend in Canada had one. I have a copy of a '70 build sheet from a '70 MC non-SS that has it. The steering wheel on this car is not original for a '71. That's not the standard '71 steering wheel and the optional one is the NK4 4 spoke steering wheel. Also, the Roman numerals were used on the '70 grille badge, not just the '71. I have a '70 SS454 that I've restored, and a '71 factory 4 speed 402 awaiting restoration. I hope to start on it soon. Thanks for this video and congratulations to Gary!

I had a 71 Grand Prix as the first car that was registered to me. (Not my first car but was the first car registered to me) LOVED it and had a LOT of good times in it. It was the same body as the MC. It had the Pontiac 400 big block in it and when I got on it, you could watch the aftermarket tach go up and you could literally see the gas gauge go down LOL. It had no problem laying down a 30 foot patch of rubber and I have to admit I went through some rear tires LOL. It was also the first year that they had to start lowering the compression ratio's partly because of the government strangulation laws (emissions laws) and the insurance companies cracking down on the muscle cars with their ridiculous rates that they wanted to charge. It was green on green with a black vinyl top which was also put on like this MC's was. Here's a tidbit of info for ya. The center console shifter in these cars were cable operated to the steering column. The cars that didn't have the center console were column shifted so instead of having a separate shift linkage for the center console cars they ran a cable from the center console to the steering column. I know this because the cable in mine snapped and I had to grab the collar at the bottom of the column ( where the column shift rod would be) and turn it to get to the gear that I wanted (Park, reverse, drive). Great video again Lou. I'm TRYING to catch up on all of them LOL

Nice 1971 SS 454. Everything looked great except for one thing that hit me. The small block tachometer redlines at 5,000. All big blocks in the A-bodies in 1971 red lined at 5500.

One of the best Cars I had ever owned it gave the 5.0 mustang 🐎 a run for it's money in 1981

Beyond Great condition Gary freakin awesome Car

Very cool, I had a dark green 70 SS Monte. There's an old MuscleCar TV profile of another green SS Monte in my cars playlist too!

Beautiful Monte Carlo I sure miss my 72 402

I'm not a GM fan but I've always loved the looks of these cars. I've always wanted one, but never had any luck finding one when I had the money to buy one. Very nice car and I hope I can get one, one of these days.

I still want that car

Hey Lou great video! The 70,71,and 72 Monte Carlo’s are one of my all time favorite cars! Hey man I just subbed to your channel too! Keep grinding my brother!😎

A high school teacher had a tan one with Keystones on it. There was also a guy in the '80s at Nellis Air Force Base who raced a white/black top SS454 every Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

My favorite model of that car was the first one.

👍 Very underrated Chevy right there. Sweet 454 but super heavy. 400 small block is ideal for these classic Chevys married w/ proper tranny & rear-end. Nice Monte Carlo indeed! Thx Lou for the view 😁👍🇺🇸

I remember these cars when I was a little boy Lou fantastic video once again… where do you find these unique cars unbelievable blast in the past !!

PMG, what a beautiful car!

The vinyl top he is refering to is called the halo and was early 70s cars only. Later models had this style in the vid. And in 1970 the emblem in the grille had roman numerals too.

I hate to break your heart but I owned the Last 1971 SS 454 Monte Carlo according to GM. They went out on strike at the Leeds Plant in Kansa City, sometime in June, mine was held up in production. The 72-year models were already in the showroom when mine was built. It is a number matching car but the engine code is for a 72. After more research, I found out it was wrecked at the factory further delaying the car. The serial number of the car K 238168 Mine how rear window defogger, Am 8 track Custom Steering Wheel. power door locks and windows. 373 posi trac rear end. Antique Green and Saddle Interior. Strato Bucket Seats and floor console. Power brakes and power steering. On the build sheets that I found special order was stamped on all of the build sheets. So there you have it. The last 71 SS ever built. 7998 regular Monte Carlos came after it.

What a great car! Believe it or not, a friend of mine's MOTHER had a SS454 Monte Carlo. I think hers was a '70, Monte Carlo's first year. Their family owned the Chevrolet dealership in Dequincy, LA. Last name was Jameson. It was a almost this color combo except, if I remember right, hers was a lighter green, but nonetheless triple green. In 1970, it still had high compression cylinders and I think was factory rated at 360 hp. For a full sized personalized luxury car, it had very impressive performance and he street raced many of the muscle cars of the day. Won some, lost some. This was around '73-'75 era, just after the oil crunch and before unleaded gasoline was the norm.

With that engine a 140 mph speedometer would be more like it

The lock bezel on my 1972 MC reads, "MCMLXXI" - evidently a holdover from the factory the previous year!

Good Evening everyone, I just love the monte CARLO ,I had 2 some years back and I wish I could get another b4 it's all said and done, theres not one car ever produced that I love like the 70 to 72 monte CARLOS, awesome car handling was great speed should have been a couple seconds faster ,mine ran 13 s with a 350 no juice stall shift kit rear end , bored 30 over I love these cars ,whenever my time comes I would love to be placed in a Mc

I so miss that car

Loved this car ever since Tokyo drift

Beautiful

rawr! sweet car

beautiful car.

I've always wanted to buy a 1971 or 72 Monte Carlo, especially with the console and bucket seats. I hope to do that soon. I have a 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Convertible now, but not too many mechanics around now that work on them and I want a more conventional car.

gorgeous!! Thanks Lou

My favorite car of all time! Thank you so much!

My dad had a 71 Mc 454 ss 4 speed I think he got it for like 2800 bucks back in the 80s

Gorgeous Car

I love this car and a 58 Impala.

Remarkably clean inside and out for a daily driver. That registration would draw unwanted attention from the traffic police here in Germany, though.

Lou, like you, I love that unique sound of GM V8 engines when starting and tuned exhaust....

Awesome car ! Plus my favorite color green !

Wow!! What a classic beautiful car

Sweet sweet car. That's art on wheels.

Love the Monte Carlos. 454 engine is really big! Did you know the Monte Carlo had the longest hoods in Chevy history

I want one!!! Damn, I had a 72 that I am still kicking myself for selling!

Thanks for the link to #2.

Odd that the trunk emblem doesn't have the Roman Numerals on it as well as the 71's definitely had those-this car has a 72 rear trunk emblem. But those were the days when sometimes if the car was a "late 71" built near the tail end of the production year and the factory ran out of one part, sometimes you'd get an emblem from the upcoming year. My '72 Canadian built Monte was an early production unit and actually came with 1971 emblems.

Pretty green, I love it! Really nice style. Great lookin from back end but pretty all over. Tilt wheel is always cool. I very much enjoyed seein this car n vid... nice! Thank you

For that car to be an everyday driver, in that condition with the Chicagoland winters is a tribute to how well the car is kept and maintained. What a gorgeous piece ....Lou - what's the fuel consumption on that puppy with the big 454 in there? Single digits?

I am from europe , Amsterdam i am 35 to now and I wanted to have a Monte since I was 17.....insted I started with a 2 door 78 Malibu....wich was a greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat greaaaaaaaat car......ang after that I had a 75 GMC sprint...or El camino...and now so many years later....I want to have a U.S car back.....I have a harley sportster , bud I realy miss a U.S car...and the last car I want to own is a 70s Monte with a 454 same as this one......dreams....right? or perhaps not....well see! realy realy nise car in the vid BIG PLUS always a fan!!!!!!!!!

Far and away the nicest and most originally restored Monte SS I've ever seen. Kudos to the owner for keeping it stock - including the exhaust system! NO Flowmasters - YAY! Regards, Lloyd

8:56 Hell, I never thought of that and I owned one. You might even say it's a front mid engine! Before there was the Ferrari 812 Superfast there was the first gen Monte, lol. Very nice.

Hi Lou! How are you? Wow! Excellent Monte Carlo! The last of the SS! Antique Green is beautiful. Badge, model year MCMLXXI is cool! Thank you, Lou, for the review of this Muscle!

Awesome...

1971 Monte Carlo is a beauty . Very cool. classic Monte Carlo . I think it's much better than the next Monte Carlos simply because they are bilt to last. Als the engineering of the car is just fantastic. Thanks LOU for sharing this wonderful video . Appreciate your concern and efforts showing all varieties of beautiful awesome amazing classic cars. Please LOU enjoy your weekend . LOU wish you all the best in your business. Thanks again LOU . Cheers Kind Regards HISHAM ELFIKI

41 years uh huh had mine for 32 years and yes she is a member if the family.

that is a rare puppy! first to third gen monte carlo were awsome ...but the grand prix get all the love for those year, its only with the 4th gen (the little squarry ones wich personally i dont like) that the monte carlo got the success they deserved

Gary Beautiful car 😊👍

Cool car. Fairly rare! I learned a little from you guys thanks!

Beautiful thanks

Now that is a beautiful car...The early Monte's had great styling that is timeless for sure...Love everything about that car and learned a lot from this video...Very interesting about the year on the hood emblem, never saw one of those rear bumper pads either. I have never seen a steering wheel with a pad like that one either, am used to the one with the horn buttons on either side. Perhaps that was an SS steering wheel, but figured SS would have been called out on the steering wheel. That 454 is such a great engine, my life would be complete if I could drive that car across country!Great color also, my 73 Caprice coupe was "forest green", a touch darker.

I had a 71 Camaro that color. But the color was called a British racing green.

awesome car ! thanks for sharing ! Beach boys endless summer ! I have that LP I bought as a kid

Hey Lou. Awesome looking 1971 Monte Carlo! I've always loved this generation Monte. I grew up with the Collonade style Monte Carlo, but I've always liked this look the best. :)