1979 Chevrolet Monza Spyder from North America - Comments

My Chevy Monza Spyder has had only a few problems that still need to be fixed. The carb. needs to be rebuilt so I can get better performance and it has a very stiff clutch.

I have really enjoyed owning this car. I'd say it has been the funnest to drive around town and it's acceleration in amazing. I'm trying to restore it right now. If I could own another Chevy Monza Spyder I'd gladly take it. I received this Monza from my great Uncle and until he gave it to me it had sat outside for about five years not doing anything. Someday I hope to drop a 427 Chevy engine into it, but until I get the money all I've got is my good old 305 V8.

I've always thought that the Chevrolet Monza would be the perfect low-budget platform for installing a high-performance small-block V8. The car is small and light enough that you'd only need about 360 horsepower at the flywheel to turn it into a real street screamer!

Sure, go the big-block route if it's what floats your boat, but it would seem that you'd need a heavier-duty suspension to be able to handle the extra torque.

I agree, small block chevy is the way to go... anything bigger will twist your unibody with all that torque. I've heard of Vega's with their doors welded shut b/c of that. Keep it simple friend...besides, a big block is much heavier than a small block, that increases your weight without adding that much more power... see if you can find a 400 small block if you need that big number on your fender.

As a former owner of a V-8 305 Monza, I can attest that the extra torque of a big block would be much more than the uni-body could stand, since I personally had to pull the small block out to get the uni-body re-welded. But if you must increase horsepower, I agree with another's comment about looking for a small block 400. But you would probably still want to look towards a frame connector application to stiffen things up.

I would like to own another one of these great little cars, as I ordered mine from the factory in 1979, and was only able to enjoy it for about 4 years until life happened. I can still remember picking it up from the dealership, looking on the odometer and seeing that .2 miles on it; I can only guess this came from driving the car from the assembly line to the delivery truck.

I am now almost 48 years old, but still think of some of the fun I had in this great American built car from Chevrolet.

I have a 77 Spider 2+2. Awesome car!

When my clutch got stiff, I found that the fire wall was trying to tear out around the cable mounting. Straightened it out and reinforced it, and now it's smooth as silk.

I have a 1979 Monza that originally had the 305 in it. I love the car and wouldn't trade it for anything else. It handles like a go kart and since I put the 375 HP 350 in it, it goes like stink. I now race it at the drag strip. Monzas and Vegas had to be the best cars to buy for playing with and hot rodding.

Me and my dad just bought a 1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder 2+2 hatchback that originally came out with a 305, but now has 4.3 V6.

The car has a lot of power and is very fast.

It probably one of the prettiest cars I've seen.

The car has the typical rust on the lower quarter panels and floor pans. We hope to have it fixed by next year.

We're going to have it painted orange with a black spider stripe.

I just bought a 1978 chevy Monza spyder 2+2. Just recently had it painted candy apple red. Have done several repairs to it, runs great. It has a 4.3 V6 has great power, had considered selling it but haven't decided, can't get over the power this car has. I think it's an awesome car..