I had a '75 bult in September of 74 and bought it right off the truck as it pulled into the dealership. With a 262 V8 automatic and aluminum rims. I had a lot of fun with that car. If one shows up in the Mitchem Auto Auction I may not be able to control myself and buy it.
Nice car guys glad his father-in-law is keeping another h-body alive. But to let you know . 1975 is the only year they ran the 350cid, and California only. And the other states they ran the 262cid v8, in 1975/76. In 1977-78 and 1979 they ran the 305cid v8. And 1980 the v8 wasn't available only the v6 and 4cid. And the story about not running the v8 because of out running the State Trooper's is someone pulling someone's leg . The monza was a small and light car , but in 1975 that small block 350cid was detuned and chocked down to 110-125 horses.
It would be nice if the guy knew factual info about the car. There were no 4sp 350 cars made. They were only available in California in high elevation areas and had 125hp. They weren't limited in numbers because they could outrun the state patrol. And no, the shifter isn't stock
The production number for the California 5.7 was 3630. I’ve been collecting and building Monza’s for over 30 years. Google h-body registry for 5.7 thread. You’ll find me , my cars, and my knowledge about these cars. “All” 5.7 Monza’s only had the turbo 350 automatic. According to registration records across the United States, there appears to only be less than 50 “original” 5.7 1975 Monza’s left. Most have been either crushed, turned into drag cars, or sitting in a garage somewhere not being registered or driven. I currently have an all original, unmodified 1975 5.7 Towne Coupe. 108,000 original miles. A/C and smog pump still work. Even has a radio shack external 8 track. Hagerty did a story on my car. Google it, nice story, nice pictures
The difference in alternator location depends on if it is factory air conditioning or not, this car did not look like it had factory air however it has air alternator location.
The rest of the 49 states got the 262 v8 instead of the 350 California got. It is my understanding California got the 350 for emissions reasons. The headliner was hanging on my 80 Town Coupe. I believe I got some headliner material with the foam backing from Jo Ann Fabrics. They sell it in gray, tan and black if I recall. I used spray glue to attach it to the factory cardboard backer.
Somewhere I have the exact production number for 5.7 liter 350 powered Monzas, it was around 2,400 Town Coupes, 2+2s and S models combined. The full length console was standard on the 2+2 model. All 5.7s had a 2 barrel carb and they all had single exhaust with very restrictive exhaust manifolds. 125 hp in a 3000 pound car... OK for 1975 but that was an awful year for performance, at least for GM. I have a 75 2+2 5.7 with 89,000 miles and completely original except for 1 repaint.
That high mounted alternator was that way on only air conditioning equipped cars to make room for the compressor. These cars were originally designed for the Wankel and GM couldn't solve oil usage problems or get the engine to pass emission standards so they scrapped that. That's the reason the 75 has a bigger transmission tunnel.
Jim Lawson ..I was going to inform them also. You would think that they would do a little research before making this vid ..That way they could inform the people out there that need answers. I've owned six h-bodies over the years . Currently own a 1978 monza 2+2 hatchback factory 305 . Now running a 355/350 .
I had a 1975 2+2 red 4 speed. It had plenty of torque but it really missed on the HP. Fortunatly it could be corrected with the right cam shaft. However it was always nose heavy and would bottom out the oil pan in certain situations. If memory serves me correctly the body design was originally a high tunnel to except a Wankel rotary engine but there were some problems with the Wankel that forced the project to switch over to more reliable piston engines at the last minute. this left the high tunnel in the car which gave you the feeling of sitting into a jet fighter cockpit. it over all needed some exterior changes to make it more attractive IMHO but the interior and the stock sterio were magnificent.
Hey Bro I owned a V8 2+2 and it was a 77 I think it was old man light blue with an auto it came with a 267 inch I think or was it a 262 ? and NO the BS T handle is NOT factory sorry
I had a 1979 Monza Spyder with a 305ci 4 speed manual and also had a 1976 Buick Skyhawk with 231ci and the 5 speed loved both and unfortunately wrecked both
The 350 cu. in. (5.7 liter) with the Turbo 350 automatic transmission version of this car was built due to the other V-8 available in the remaining 47 states was the 262 cu. in. (4.3 liter) with a 4 speed not passing the emissions requirements of California. There were approximately 1200 2+2s built in 1975 ONLY. In 1976 Chevrolet brought out the 305 (5.0 liter) as the only available V-8. These guys are totally full of $hit!!
It's a shame they never released a model with a 4 barrel carb on the 5.7 and a 4 speed, because that would have been a fast car with potential only scratching the surface. I think they were afraid to compete with the Camaro or Corvette, so purposefully toned down the performance on these - I would have thought they would have done a 'secret' homologation hotrod version kinda under the counter at the showroom like the 1LE camaros in the 80s even just to do 500 units to get the 4 barrel engine certified but no dice sadly.. The 4 speed 305 was actually 1 second faster on the standing 400 than the auto only 5.7 as you can believe or not
i got a 77 2+2 monza with the 4 speed manual transmission and 2.3l what do i need to put a 350v8 in it ? can't find any Information on this I guess these cars are getting rare or something.
You're probably right about the reasoning , but he was right about the 350 as a California only option with low numbers. The majority of these cars were sold as grocery Getters so they probably were slugs but the rest of them you never saw cuz the tail lights are hard to keep up with in any Ford
Oh and thanks for NOT giving us a look at the engine compartment. Who dose that??? That's the most important shot of the whole video. You guys really screwed the pooch on this video 👎👎👎👎
I had a 78 buick skyhawk(same car) with the 3 .5 liter v6. 4 speed standard. It was slow and threw a rod through the oil pan. Good looking car but it was garbage that didnt last 65,00 miles.
