Weekend Edition – A 1975 Chevrolet Monza Town Coupe V-8 with only 17,500 miles on eBay…

Jim Brennan

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Chevrolet Other Town Coupe eBay - Google Chrome 1302015 73146 PM.bmp
Welcome to another Hooniverse Weekend, and I thought I would start out with this… It os a 1975 Chevrolet Monza Town Coupe with the V-8 under the hood. The seller claims that this car only covered around 17,500 miles… Oh God, why is this car calling my name? It is the poster child for all that was wrong during this time period… Chevrolet Vega Chassis, Cramped and underpowered V-8, Velour Upholstery, Vinyl Top with Opera Windows, painted in earth tones… I’m sorry, but you will have to excuse me for a few moments…

Chevrolet Other Town Coupe eBay - Google Chrome 1302015 73043 PM.bmp
According to the eBay Listing:

1975 Chevy Monza Town Coupe with only 17421 original miles. 4.3l V8, automatic, power steering and brakes, cold AC converted to 134a, tilt steering wheel. This baby is all factory original unmolested. Very hard car to find in this condition. That car sat for many years until I came along. I went through it from one end to the other. Car still has the original belts and hoses. I removed them for safe keeping. New tire, shocks, Brake system totally gone through, fuel system gone through, all new spark plugs and wires. Cooling system flushed. It came with the original am radio but I install a Retro Sound radio with Iphone, SD card and thumb drive for better enjoyment (orig radio comes with car as do all other parts).
Chevrolet Other Town Coupe eBay - Google Chrome 1302015 73103 PM.bmp-001
Interior is flawless, no rip, tears or stains. Paint is a 7 or 8. It sat in a garage with a window by the right rear quarter and the sun made the paint crack and flake somewhat. I just preserved it because it’s only original once. It has won many awards, never seen another at any shows. See very few on Ebay, none in this condition. Have the original window sticker, sunvisor sleeve starting instructions, owners manual and dealer inspection sheet. This car was ziebarted so it has no rust ever. Car has a few dings and chips but to be expected for it’s age. Keep in mind this is a 40 year old car not a new one.

Chevrolet Other Town Coupe eBay - Google Chrome 1302015 73119 PM.bmp
Currently the top bid for this car is $8,900 with no reserve. That is a lot of money for such a car that is generally thought of as crappy. It is nice to see one of these in this condition though, as I can’t remember when the last time I can remember spotting one. Tell me what you think of this car after taking a look at the listing here: [sc:ebay itemid=”201272078980″ linktext=”1975 Chevrolet Monza Town Coupe V-8 ” ]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmJWGoYzIL0[/youtube]

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Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

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  1. stigshift Avatar
    stigshift

    If it were a hatchback with a stick, it would be fun to have (and look at). It makes me happy to see that at least one of these has survived, and I hope it is preserved, but that is still one dull car…

    Reply
  2. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    "This baby is all factory original unmolested." – > "This baby is all original factory molested."
    I think my version is closer to the truth.
    Honestly I think this car has to be preserved for future reference, similar to cars such as the Morris Marina, Opel Ascona, or VW K70. There are only a few out there in good condition, because everyone prefers to preserve a more not – bread-and-butter car (including me), turning the preservation project of a lowly car like this into a financial challenge.
    Hat tip to the next owner – keep her on the road!

    Reply
    1. wunno sev Avatar
      wunno sev

      i think the appropriate quote here, to justify preservation, is, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

      Reply
  3. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    Isn't 17,000 miles about 98% of the useful life of a Monza?

    Reply
  4. salguod Avatar
    salguod

    I had an Iron Duke Monza. Swapping in a V8 only fixes one of the many issues with these cars.
    Still, I love them, well, I love the hatchbacks. The Town Coupe, especially these early ones, just don't quite look finished. Something about the grille & tail lights don't seem that well integrated with the rest of the car, and the smaller quarter windows just don't seem to work well on this car. I much prefer the later quad headlight hatchbacks.

    Reply
  5. mac350 Avatar
    mac350

    Who bought these when they were new? I cringed when I saw the first one of these – the atrocity that evolved from the very pretty Vega coupe. Ford had the equally ugly Mustang II Ghia Coupe with the padded roof. Did people really want these? Couldn't GM just given us the Opel Manta?

    Reply
    1. Jim Brennan Avatar
      Jim Brennan

      They did right up to 1975 (with the last year being Fuel Injected) but the Dollar to German Mark conversion rate meant that the Opel Manta would have been just as expensive as a V-8 equipped Chevrolet Nova (or even the new for 1975 Buick Skylark that was sold in the exact same showroom…) Remember, GM thought small cars equaled Cheap Cars, and with the popularity of the Datsun B210, and Toyota Corolla, they simply turned to their Japanese Partner Isuzu, and the New, Cheaper Opel was introduced… The quite unloved Opel by Isuzu…
      <img src="http://www.isuzugeek.org/forumpics/misc/sct01.jpg&quot; width="500">

      Reply
  6. Fuhrman16 Avatar
    Fuhrman16

    So…much…red…
    I like it, it looks like a three quarter sized Monte Carlo.

    Reply
    1. JayP2112 Avatar
      JayP2112

      "Crap. I left the Monte in the drier too long."

      Reply
  7. Scoff Law Avatar
    Scoff Law

    Looks just as fresh as it did the day they took it out of it's "Not So Hot Wheels" blister pack, it should be preserved and exhibited frequently so that future generations of car designers can learn from the previous generation's mistakes.

    Reply
  8. Night Traveller Avatar
    Night Traveller

    Sold for $8,900.00 What a Deal . Take that money to your local car lot and see what they show you.

    Reply
  9. boxdin Avatar
    boxdin

    The 4.3 is a V6, not a V8.

    Reply
    1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
      smalleyxb122

      The Monza was available with a 262 (4.3) V8.
      The 4.3 V6 wasn't introduced until 10 years later (1985)

      Reply
      1. dukeisduke Avatar
        dukeisduke

        1975 was the first year for the 262, and it was offered in the Monza and the Nova, and was then replaced by the ubiquitous 305.

        Reply
  10. MattC Avatar
    MattC

    Nice to see a time capsule, that being said NO THANKS. I am old enough to remember these monstrosities when they were first unleashed until the unsuspecting public. (childhood neighbor's parents had one). So we have GM at its nadir, smog choked V8, exceptionally poor build quality, no redeemable value. Just because a car is old (and in this case well preserved) doesn't mean that a collector should overlook the inherent crappiness of the car. I could find a plethora of other cars to spend my imaginary $9k fun car money.

    Reply
  11. El_Martillo Avatar
    El_Martillo

    Was this car a turd in 1975? Yes. What wasn't though? This wasn't built with a 40+ year life in mind. That said, appreciate it for what it is now – a well preserved old car. Even though the story it tells is one of malaise, it does represent a period of history.

    Reply
  12. Van_Sarockin Avatar
    Van_Sarockin

    MInty fresh. And still a piece of shit.

    Reply
  13. 7FIAT's Later Avatar
    7FIAT's Later

    Nothing here a couple weekends, a credit card and the Summit website can't fix.

    Reply
  14. mallthus Avatar
    mallthus

    My dad had one of these with the four cylinder. It wasn't the worst car my parents ever owned, but it was close. I recall that we visited one of the New Mexico pueblos on a road trip the year they bought it. It was so underpowered that it wasn't able to make it to the top of the mesa, even with my mother and I on foot and the AC turned off.

    Reply
  15. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    They're not terrible cars, if you live where cars don't rust. It has the A-6 compressor, which is good, and the then-new EEVIR receiver in the a/c system. The biggest hassle on the V8 cars is changing some of the plugs, which means jacking up the engine, or cutting holes in the fenderwells.

    Reply
  16. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar
    Rust-MyEnemy

    You could rebadge it and try to convince people that you were driving a Bitter SC..
    <img src="http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7575/bitterscsedan6.jpg&quot; width="400/">
    Monza was one of the nicer looking US compacts, IMO. Doesn't make it good, though.

    Reply
  17. zetep Avatar
    zetep

    My guess is that most people here only repeat what they read on the internet….these are not half as bad as the reputation the carry around, specially the V8 is a nice driver, and this one looks amazing. I would drive it for sure, cars today are boring and dull looking.

    Reply
    1. MattC Avatar
      MattC

      Mine is based entirely on empirical evidence, as these were foisted on friends of my parents when I was a kid. I remember distinctly being driven in these and overhearing the endless complaints of the owners about the abysmal build quality. (Oh, and to add insult to injury, the used market did not even want to have these in there fleet. The GM Vega damage was verboten for most used car buyers of the time). If you like it, bid on it by all means. Let me know how that works out for you…….

      Reply
  18. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    What a boring life you must have been leading in those days…. And you obviously never had to change the rear plugs on the V-8 or had the door pins (which were inserted from the bottom) fall out on you. These things were better than the Vega which is what they were based on, which is a lot like saying, "doesn't sweat much for a fat girl" and they were better than the Mustang II for which fact I leave you to write your own epitaph of the Mustang II. These cars were slapped together clumps built in the darkest days of Detroit labor relations.
    The bitterest thing though is well, scroll up and take along look at that car… And now scroll back and look at the car it was intended to replace, built just 4 model years earlier.
    Lo, how the might fell, and then flopped and wallowed around.
    <img src="http://www.nocarnofun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/1970-Chevy-Camaro.jpg"&gt;
    Now in a spirit of objectivity (a little late perhaps but still) – here is a contemporary review of the V-8 Monza compared to the Mustang II.
    <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/1975-chevrolet-monza-2+2-vs-ford-mustang-ii-archived-comparison” target=”_blank”>http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/1975-chevrolet-monza-2+2-vs-ford-mustang-ii-archived-comparison

    Reply
  19. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    Slightly off topic, but I stumbled across this archived article at Car & Driver while grabbing the Monza/Mustang article
    http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/1968-tunn…
    Interesting reading on a Sunday while waiting for thecSuper Bowl party to gear up. I'll try to tie it to my previous post by noting that that 1968 was well within the living memory of anyone old enough to buy a Monza in 1975…. How quickly the automotive world changed between those two dates. I leave it to you to decide if it was a change for the better.

    Reply
  20. Schm Avatar
    Schm

    Nothing says class like red on red

    Reply