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.
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