1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Landau review from North America
"Beautiful and very reliable. A real car"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
When my grandfather owned it:
Alternator replaced
A/C unit replaced (I think)
Quit only once while driving
Under my ownership:
Windshield washer pump
Right rear wheel cylinder
Master cylinder (after having the brake fluid flushed)
Replaced plastic flywheel dust cover with a chrome one
The carburetor probably needs a tune up
Needs new carpeting
Needs a tear in the interior fixed and head liner re-glued
Needs new weather stripping
Needs new spark plug wires (same one's been on since
General comments?
This is an excellent car. Very reliable. A real head turner. Since my grandfather bought it used in 1978 (had 23K miles on the odometer), this car has been very dependable. He's driven down to Vegas and back in this car a couple times. In 1999 it quit on the road, but that was because something needed to be adjusted (I forget what). That was the only time that the car has ever died.
He gave me the car in June, 2000 for my high school graduation present and I still have the car. After the odometer rolled over to 100K miles it developed a slight knock in the engine that isn't a major problem. I changed out the spark plugs recently and the knock quieted down. I still need to replace the spark plug wires which have been on the car since ‘76.
This is a very well built car. It was in a wreck in August, 2001. After making a few minor repairs to the body and suspension, the car is better than ever and the 350cid, 2bbl, 145hp V8 still runs strong with over 122K miles. I have had no real major problems with the car. It has seen its share of rough roads and fierce Oregon weather and performs admirably.
The white vinyl interior bench seats are comfortable and relaxing on a long drive.
The only thing I don't like about the motor is the 145 horsepower. If it weren't for the oil embargo in 1974, the 350 would have much more horsepower than it does now. So in the future, I plan on having dual exhaust installed and the engine and carburetor rebuilt to get more horsepower out of that 350.
To see pictures of this beauty, go to my web site at dustins76montecarlo.8m.net
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1976 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | 350cid V8 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 100000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 122657 miles |
| Date of Entry | 25th February, 2002 |