This is the story of Chevy Monza. Though most have forgotten the name, Monza has an interesting place in automotive history as it was intended to right the many wrongs of GM's doomed Vega. Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoy.
Very interesting video. I own a 1972 V8 Vega and a very rare 1978 "Monza S". As the video accurately states, these were allegedly "leftover" Vega hatchback bodies with Monza badges. Most very produced with the L4 Iron Duke engine. A few were ordered with a Buick 231 V6, one of which was mine - essentially the V6 Vega that was never "officially produced". Less than 2.7K of these "Monza S" (Vega-bodied Monzas) were produced. Just some additional information.
While in college during the winter of '75-'76, a classmate brought his mothers new '75 Monza Town Coupe up for a week. It had a small block V8 with a 4 speed stick. Black over Red. A few years later while living in Alabama, another friend was driving a '76 2+2 with the 262 small block and a 4 speed. I remember a car magazine around 1979 buying a 2+2 as a project car. The 305 couldn't meet California emissions so the 350 2bbl was the only V8 offered. They tested it stock first and it ran 16.3 in the quarter with an automatic and 2.29 axle ratio. Over time the car got much faster as improvements were made.
Oh yes, the monza! In 1979 I was going to buy one but glad I bought the ‘79 RS Camaro instead! I love cars, I have 8 cars 5 show cars. And yes I have a Camaro. No monzas in my collection. Thank you for the memories tofer!
I am never disappointed with a 'Tofer's Car Tales' video! Although no one in my family ever owned a Chevy Monza, you also mentioned Mustang II, my brother owned a 1976 Mustang II. Although he liked the car, he traded in a 1967 Ford XL convertible on it; which had the vaunted 429ci with 475-HP! My brother really missed that awesomely powerful XL convertible. Thank you for these unique videos, I really look forward to them!
My friend across the street from me when I was in Middle School had a brand new Monza Sport Hatchback in 79.. I fell in love with that car. She was in High School and would give me rides sometimes, as I was not of driving age yet. Years later in 83 I was a short order cook at a restaurant and one of the Crew members had a 77 that was pretty beat that he let me borrow one time when I had car trouble. That beat up Monza kinda wore the Luster off my whole previous love affair with Monzas!! I did have a used Vega for a Hot Minute.. and I mean Hot Minute for sure because that horrible Aluminum Engine blew and I ended up just leaving the car on the side of the road and never looked back!! Lol!!
Don't take this wrong because I LOVE the vids/channel - These are my preferred "go to sleep" vids to play at night. Calming, well-VO'd, and long enough to not have to swap to another one. Can have my eyes closed and still enjoy. Keep it going!
I own a 1979 Monza hatchback absolutely love it I love the way transferring these cars just badass old school mine has a hopped up 350 with twin turbos
Wow, whatever filter or process you used to treat the source brochure images, it's fantastic. Never seen Monza images come to life like that before, hell the actual brochures aren't half as nice as what you've done here. Magnificent!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed! I do invest a great deal off time into meticulously restoring the brochure images so that all of the blemishes, color issue, etc. are corrected as much as possible. I do use a few tricks I've used over the years to also remove film grain which really helps the images pop.
You nailed it (as always)... my first car was a hand me down 78 Monza wagon from dear old dad w. the Buick 231 CI V6 & 4 speed stick - it was fun. Glad to see someone telling the whole Monza story and giving props to my first 'underdog of the automotive world.'
Thanks for the memories. I owned a pre-owned 1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder. It was red, white interior, 305 cu in, with front and rear spoiler and the side and hood decals. I replaced the 2 barrel carb with a 4 barrel and removed the catalytic converter. The car had supplemental electric radiator fans that were a problem sometimes. I did get the car going so fast, the windshield wipers started to move up the windshield. Was not the best build quality but I always wanted a V8 Vega. I traded the car in 1985.
Great one Tofer, always liked these. It's unfortunate these weren't a bigger success. Always thought the Monza and it's siblings and Vega for that matter where handsome well proportioned cars.
My dad had the Oldsmobile version, the Starfire GT, 1979 edition. Although cute, it was a mechanical nightmare. Spent most of its time at either Kmart Auto Center or the Oldsmobile dealership getting some kind of repair.
Thank you for another awesome car tale! I love all types of cars . But the cars from the mid 70’s to the early 80’s was just different! The lacked in some area but really shine is other areas! One simply just has to view them in the period that they came from ! Oh how I wish time travel was really possible ! The closest one can get is slip in behind the wheel and turn on the radio to music of the same era and just drive a relive those times ! Thanks again !
This was my first car I turned 17 in the early 90s and purchased a two-door trunk notchback red Chevy Monza with the matching red wheel covers. It was the 3.8 V6 3 speed automatic with air conditioning. And it had the red vinyl interior. LOL I took that vehicle everywhere I purchased it for $500 with 100,000 miles on it. It was super clean garage kept vehicle 1ownercar no dents no scratches no rust. When the vehicle reached 138000 I sold it for a grand. The vehicle was extremely reliable and gave me no trouble whatsoever! It was actually quite a joy to drive.
Another excellent Tofer production. So well done and showing love for an unappreciated automotive era that I have very fond memories of. This one hits all the notes spot on 🙏🏻
I had a 1980 trunk model. It was actually in really good shape it was red with the red interior and the red wheel covers. I bought it in 1992 for $500 as a first car. It had the 3.8 Buick V6 three speed automatic. It was an AC car and the air conditioning actually worked lol. If I remember correctly had approximately 102,000 miles on it when I purchased it. When I wash and wax the car the paint would shine so well you can see the clouds in it driving down the street. This is going to sound really dated I replace the AM radio when AM FM cassette deck stereo system that you were able to pull out of the dashboard so no one would steal it when you left it overnight LOL. I added some decals to it threw some mud flaps on it tinted it out it was a great car for a 17 year old LOL. I kept it for 2 years got it to 138,000 miles on it and sold it for a Grand. The car was a runner never disappointed and I used to beat the crap out of it being a teenager racing all over town.
Great 👍 review Mr. Tofer ! I remember these Chevrolet Monza and Pontiac Sunbird from the 70s , my teacher in grade school had one of these compact cars back in the early 80s
My first car was a 75 Monza Town Coupe with the 262 V8 and TH250 auto. I never looked up the rear axle gear ratio. Gift from my Pap in 1982. I swapped in a Quadrajet 4 barrel on a cast iron intake from a swap meet. It was quick enough to beat a new GTI in a street race. I had a chance to get a 327 from an old Impala SS but my parents said NO. It woulda ripped!
I currently own a 75" Towne Coupe that' body has been modified dramatically. It originally came with a 5.7 liter V8 which is overlooked in this video. About 5k of these were California only cars.
I actually really liked the Monza and the Buick/Olds versions. I remember going down to the local Buick dealer when I was in high school to look at the new Skyhawk. I really wanted to own one.
Only one mistake noticed in this tale. The 1975 Spyder only was actually available with a 350 and 4-speed, 1 year only. I have personally seen only one.
My first car was a 1980 Chevy Monza - gray with blue stripes. The thing had like an 18 gallon gas tank, which was huge for such a small car. I drove from the middle of Ohio to Myrtle Beach SC on one tank of gas. The highway mileage was phenomenal. By the time I got rid of it in 1992, the undercarriage was rusting pretty bad.
I HAD A 1975 CHEVY MONZA I BOUGHT IN 83 IT WAS A SEDAN WITH 5.7 CALI EMISSIONS AND I KEPT ABOVE 100 ALL THE TIME WITH PIRELLI TIRES 14 INCH TIRES COULDNT HANG BACK THEN. I RAN WITH 2 SPARES.
We had a monza coupe with the formal grill. It was an ok car. But it went through clutches every 25k miles. Found out after a few, the trans was not perfectly lined up with the crank and the clutch was doing a watoose with the fly wheel.
The first car I ever owned was a 78 Monza 2+2 I bought it used in 83 with 70k the Iron Duke 2.5 failed, a real love/hate relationship. My 79 Pinto was more reliable, but the Monza looked cooler. Mine had a white interior with turned metal around gauges and a cool black tinted panel over the glove box. Damn Iron Duke was the weak point. Always like your videos.
I had a 1980 Pontiac sunbird with the iron duke ! Ran great but was a cold natured thing! Have the same engine in my daily beater s10 with fuel injection and it’s amazing !
My older brother had a monza spyder with the v8…. Hot little car once it lost most of the smog control garbage….. 8 year old me thought it was the coolest thing a guy could have.
Thamks Tofer for amother memorable video! Teenager when the the Chevy Monza came out. I wanted the Camaro and the Corvette but I would have settled for a Monza in the two plus two hatchback style with a 6 cylinder and automatic. Alas it was not to be. The skating footage brought back a lot of memories LOL!
Another great episode 👍🤘 I can’t wait to see what 2023 brings on this channel. Don’t see many monza’s around. 🤔 in fact I think it’s been around 11 years since I saw one driving on the road. Thanks Tofer always making the trip down memory lane a great one. Happy new year 👍
Very much worth the wait! I found myself nodding and saying "amen" to your comment about how we take so much for granted today and have modern "jaded eyes"; very well put, Tofer. I have a light blue Dealer Promo model of a Monza; remember those?
Interesting specs for Monza, funny we Australians some how got away with great cars during 70’s even Datsun 120Y makes me smile great in winter but hot in summer LOL. Great vid👍
It was just an improved Vega. I liked my Vega, but I acknowledge it's faults. The four cylinder engine was terrible. I overhauled my head so I needed to deal with the sliding water pump being the timing belt tensioner. Horrible design. But a V6 Monza is an ideal car.
Another excellent video! It's just wonderful to see some appreciation for more than just muscle cars. Ironically, in my experience, it's the very young people that seem to appreciate the style, luxury and especially the comfort of the cars of the malaise (I hate that term) era. As you explain, there were so many factors affecting the auto industry at the time. I was one of those who bought a Mustang II (1975 with all the luxury of the Ghia model, but without the opera windows) and having traded a 1968 Mercury Cougar, I found it comfortable enough, but grossly underpowered. Had I bought the V-8 or even the V-6, I would have been much more satisfied. Nevertheless, despite the derogatory comments, even today, at car shows, I found it very attractive and with the optional interior, very comfortable. I really appreciate Tofer's Car Tales!
I wish more Monzas had survived as they are good engine swap candidates. Instead of the v8 swap, the 3800 v6 would be ideal in a daily driver Monza from a Camaro or Firebird
That's because the Monza wagon _was_ the Vega wagon carried over from the 1971-77 Vega line. After the Vega hatchback was discontinued after the '77 model year, Chevrolet kept the Vega wagon and shifted it over to the Monza line for its two final years, 1978 and 1979. (The Monza coupe and hatchback were carried over for 1980, but the wagon was not.). Monza was dropped after 1980, replaced with the Cavalier in May 1981 as an early 1982 model. _(12/31/2022)_
Yes, the Vega was a MASSIVE failure. But, other than it’s limey engine, that tended to blowup & its propensity to CATASTROPHICALLY rust into dust…but as a car?? It was actually (unless it blew up) pretty EFFING great. My folks had a 73 “Estate Wagon” and to this day claim that that car handled better than ANY car they’ve ever owned. And I’m 55.
Great video as always, Tofer. Loved all the 'Airplane!' references, that was my favorite movie for a long time! also, could you tell us the name of the song starting at 19:50? Pure late '70s gold!
So glad you enjoyed! That song is a heavily sampled version I did a while back of a piece by the group Chromeo. I'm unsure of the exact song title. I'll try to go back and look it up.
At 1:58 when referring to the Wankel engine, was it by chance the same engine originally intended for the pacer? Or is that a different GM rotary engine?
Never liked any monza or derivative. The VEGA was at least a beautiful car. My dad bought one brand new and is still complaining about it to this day. He says 4 to 3 3 to 4 4to 3 3 to 4 4 to 3 All day. Even on flat land!
I remember the Monza as a neat car. I knew a senior back in high school who had a light blue notchback with manual transmission. I knew a couple of families on my street who bought brand new 79 Monza wagons, both V6 automatics. One of them traded theirs after a year for a blue Datsun wagon with manual transmission. Perhaps the V6 mileage wasn't impressive.
While yes, a malaise era vehicle and of poor quality, you do have to admit they were not a bad looking vehicle for their day, a day when most vehicles were rolling boxes.
Well I do remember seing the Monza at the retro exhibition back in the days. Nothing special - big outside, small inside, ugly design trying too hard to be sporty. And where in the hell are 4/5 door versions? That's why Japanese won back in the 70's - they just were more practical. P. S. The body style GM referred to as a "hatchback" isn't it for any reasons. It's just another coupe.
In the 1970s we were stuck with Jimmy Carter. Now during the 2020s we are once again stuck with Jimmy Carter 's protege Joseph R. Biden. 😡 Will we EVER learn?
Intro is far too long 1:30 minutes, really. We now have to put up with so many ad’s from RU-vid making harder by the day to watch actual content. Otherwise a good and interesting vid 👍
