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1970 Monte Carlo 402 4 speed

28K views 36 replies 26 participants last post by  Second_chance_SS 
#1 ·
http://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/3887415609.html


This only the second big block 4 speed Monte Carlo I've seen. I had heard rumors of 4 speed 454 Monte Carlos, but have never seen one. I also knew of a 71 Monte Carlo that had a three speed column shift. The owner converted it to a floor shift. It had to be a pretty rare Monte Carlo.

Wonder where he got the production figures? It's pretty rough car.
 
#2 ·
Seems like a pretty cool car.

Seems like it needs a lot of work for 10k though....

I had a 70 MC with that same color combo mine was triple green- yuck.
 
#3 ·
my Dan C. poster/chart shows 493 as a derived/known quantity for the 400[402]engine w/M20 trans in -70-
it also shows 123 as a projected quantity for the sb400 engine w/M20 trans...
appears all of the 454SS cars were T400 units.

while rare not many people wanted 4-speeds in their lux-o-cruisers :(
 
#4 ·
I test drove a'70 402/ 4 speed MC in mid'-72. A friend of mine bought it in '76. Just saw him and the MC last night at the Dairy Queen Sat. cruise. He has all the original pieces except the AM/ 8-Track radio. He met one of the original MC engineers. The engineer said NO 454 4-speeds were ever produced. The engineer said a Muncie wouldn't take the torque and weight combo. But there could be Dealer installed 4-speeds out there....

Steve O.

P.S. If I was close on that price, I'd check the numbers,and if it was legit, I'd be all over that...It is truely a rare combo....
 
#6 ·
...... He met one of the original MC engineers. The engineer said NO 454 4-speeds were ever produced. The engineer said a Muncie wouldn't take the torque and weight combo. But there could be Dealer installed 4-speeds out there....QUOTE]


I guess that the original MC engineer wasn't aware of the M22's behind all 454 manual appplications, including the LS6, in '70-'72. "couldn't take the torque & weight"???? WHat was he smoking?
 
#5 ·
Im with Steve above, I would be pullin the numbers off of every piece in that drive train, block, heads, tranny, rearend. Wierd a "70" Monte w/ a 4spd. Hmmm. I've only seen the big block, TH, CLB cars from 71' and on. I do like the 70 Monte, this car looks like it's seen some weather tho, a good check on the sheet metal and maybe a reduced offer is worthwhile. Ten $ -seems hot to me.
 
#7 ·
I can verify a 71 350 3 on the tree 10 bolt monte carlo. We stripped it for parts in 05 when I was building my chevelle. I have the dash out of it in my chevelle as a matter of fact. jim
 
#8 ·
Not the exact car you guys are talking about, but I just stripped a 72 big block 402 matching numbers Monte to build a Chevelle, its a shame it was all rusted or I would of kept it, oh ya I was gonna use the steering shaft but it was to long. this car had everything a SS would have!
 
#9 ·
according to FGMCC the were 589 402 4 speed cars built in 70 and 80 built in 71...some say those numbers are reversed...no 454 4 speed cars were ever produced....3 speed were produced in all three Gen one cars 70-72...no 4 speed cars were produced in 72...just like Chevelle's they need a build sheet to prove their heritage....smaller group but a coveted car...;)
 
#10 ·
Back in the mid 80's I ran across a '70 with a 3 on the column and a radio delete plate(woodgrain matched the dash so it was factory)....kinda odd though...it had a vinyl top and cloth interior with that combo.

I used to have a super nice '70 back in the late 80's....triple dark green.... SB400 (automatic)....buckets... console.... I loved that car...
 
#11 ·
It is funny how they generally seemed to be green / green cars. The first factory 4-speed 1970 Monte Carlo I ever saw in person was back in 1979. It originally was Forest Green with dark green buckets, a 300-horse 350 and a Muncie M20. It had recently been repainted a 1974 Chevrolet dark green, was running 15x8 Corvette Rally Wheels, plus had a rosewood wheel added.

I remember hearing of a Placer Gold 1971 Monte Carlo with an LS3 402 / M20 plus manual steering. As a running change, power steering was made standard in March of 1971 on Montes, and they very well may have dropped the 4-speeds at that time as well.

G3 Monte Carlos were theoretically offered with 3-speed manuals 1973-75, but only on a specially stripped version with bias ply tires. None were built... Now Montes were offered again with 3 & 4-speed manuals in 1978 & 3-speeds only in '79.
 
#12 ·
I remembering sitting in a new white MC at the local chevy dealer, black buckets, console, 4 speed, small block. I don't remember all the options. Not sure of the year but probably a 1970.
 
#13 ·
Six months ago I won a bid on a 71 402-4 speed numbers matching???? He said it was...I doubt it! I didn't care it was all done & it was freaking beautiful!!!! Even had working factory ac...Triple black.Tight as could be...I walked away from it...Top end had a knock. 17,900 was my bid.

Now you got me thinking....Do I hear a RUT Ro..........:clonk:
 
#36 ·
Six months ago I won a bid on a 71 402-4 speed numbers matching???? He said it was...I doubt it! I didn't care it was all done & it was freaking beautiful!!!! Even had working factory ac...Triple black.Tight as could be...I walked away from it...Top end had a knock. 17,900 was my bid.

Now you got me thinking....Do I hear a RUT Ro..........:clonk:
I owned a 70 402 4 speed, Triple Black in the 70s. It was not a SS. It had station Wagon springs installed. Set about 3 inches higher than a normal MC
 
#14 ·
Good Lord, I had forgotten how long that fan shroud was on those Montes!

And check out that upper radiator hose... Dang thing's longer than a Burmese python!
 
#15 ·
There was a blue on black '70 350/300 4 speed running around Concord back in the 90's.....it was a really nice well kept car...

on a side note.... I own a '67 Grand prix that's a factory 4 speed with manual steering and brakes....garage kept original paint car too....
 
#16 ·
Looks like the floor is rotted by the kick panel, could be a LOT of rust in the lower cowl area so check it out good down there.
It's a tough area to look at, as well as to fix.

My GOD that fan shroud is something to behold! Looks like half of a 55-Gal drum was used.
The nose of those Monte's are long enough, I bet if you went with an electric fan you could mount a second engine in front of that one and link their cranks together!
I think I heard it was a COPO option, the LS3-X2?
 
#17 ·
It is funny listening to you Poor Mans Monte Carlo owners comments on the fan shrouds and hoses. That would be a forgone conclusion for Monte guys like me and Davey.

The 402 4 speeds were very cool cars. Bonesey over at FirstGenMC has a 70 350 4 gear car. Rarer than hens teeth. The buyers pool for those cars are pretty shallow, but if the car docs out the seller will see $10k all day long.
 
#20 ·
I had a chance to buy a big block 4-speed '71 MC car in the early 80's that was sorta beat but all there. One thing for certain was it was an original 4-speed car. The second; I would almost swear it was a 454 car too. all there with lots of options - just tired.

I had three other cars then and just could not work the $$ out as I was young and broke but knew it was a really rare piece then.
 
#21 ·
Davey,and others,I must relate how things were here in Baltimore back "in the day".Baltimore was a GM town.At one time,the GM plant was the second largest employer here.You either worked at GM,had a relative that worked there,or you knew lots of people that worked there,neighbors,etc.,it's just how it was.Anything and everything went on,on the assembly lines there.One of the perks of working for GM after ordering a new car was personally "walking" your car down the assembly line as it was being built,and adding options.My friends tell me that when a bosses car went down the line,EVERY option was added to it.Dealers got "special" orders.I still drink beer and bench race every weekend with my old car friends,whom lots worked on the line and can tell everything you need to know what went on at GM.If you click on my showroom and go to pic 010 of the back of my Chevelle,you will see a guy on the right walking towards my car.He's one of my best friends,went to school with him,and he went to work on the line starting in the late 60's.Always joke with him about the crummy job he did building my Chevelle,lol.
When some one in town got an LS-6,L-78 Camaro,etc.,all us hot rodders knew it.We'd go down to Capitol Raceway on Sat. nites,and all the new GM performance cars sold that week were making passes,lots with the window stickers still proudly in place.One of our hangouts was Marsden Chevrolet,in Towson,Md,a Baltimore suburb.Old mom and pop dealership,with a small showroom.One of my friends was a mechanic there and one night he took me in the showroom and showed me a new delivery.In the star location was a new 70 Monte Carlo,Gobi Beige,Tan top,tan interior,SS454,4 speed with console.Now I know everyone says these don't exist,but I saw it and sat in it.We were all 18 year old Chevy gearheads and were blown away at what we considered an "old mans car" with a 4 speed.Was a beautiful car,and I drooled over it for several weeks till it was sold,never saw it again.In my slightly older age I can't remember what I had for dinner last night,but back in those days I was pretty lucid,esp. when it came to GM muscle.
OK,all the experts now can come on here and tell me I'm full of it,it never existed,etc.,etc.Doesn't matter to me,I know what it was.I lived through these times in GM town,and it was pretty cool.
 
#23 ·
^ This is one of the main reasons I joined Team Chevelle. "Priceless"
 
#25 ·
Thanks Davey,we were all really in awe of this car,because a 454 was such a huge announcement for GM in 70.We were all gearheads that grew up with hi-revving smallblocks and the occasional 396.It was the first SS Monte we had all ever seen,remember the callouts on the rockers.I still remember the chrome ball and the Muncie shifter,because we all joked about how crappy they were.The speed shops made a fortune in Baltimore selling Hurst/Chevelle shifters as everyone ditched the Muncies in the first week or two.I just know from all my friends,that a lot of things happened on the line,that don't always show up on a paper trail,build sheet mean't nothing on a car that was "walked" down the line.Marsden was a local,popular dealer,he might have made a call or two to someone at the plant,and I'm sure he knew some bigwigs there,as it was less than 10 miles away,I don't know.My friends don't remember specifically building any SS 4 speed Montes,as it was just a job at the time,and we've talked about this,but they all agree that they could have,as it would just a simple task,as they put them in the 402's.Remember these were the days before computers as we all know of them today.
 
#26 ·
I know it's nothing to do with this car, but I believe what Doug is saying, even though at the time, I was only a year old! I only say this as my father ran a radiator shop all though the 70's into the 80's and I grew up working on alot of things with him and my uncle. They have a friend who had purchased a 1970 barracuda grand coupe 383/4 speed convertible car from the original owners parents for the paultry sum of $250.00 back in the mid 70's. I grew up in, around, and all over this car. In the mid 80's with the ripe mileage of 65,000, it needed a new radiator, and upon reading the number from it, it was discovered that the radiator in question did not exist in any factory book. Upon further digging, it was discovered that the radiator support came from another car, but yet the car had never been in any accident, and modine was able to break down the number as a 1968 nascar piece (4 row). Never did find out what the support came from. That, combined with the hemi 4 speed in the car, electronic ignition with no serial number on it, or any markings on it for that matter, and a pile of other very strange options, including massive truck brakes on the car too. The owner decided to do some homework on the car and it was discovered that it was a chrysler exec's car that was walked down the line and things were added to it as it went. Seems the guy had a taste for weird options including power windows, power driver seat, leather interior, am/fm stereo, hemi 4 speed, dual chrome mirrors, fender top signal's, and the gill rocker chrome, electronic igntion that didn't come out for a few more years, and that crazy radiator in there, but no a/c, and then the car was never titled, it was sold a year later as a demo to the "original owner".. Mopar performance came to do an article on the car, however not sure if it ever went into print, as they were pretty upset that the car had been changed from it's original yellow paint to red (even though the red chosen was also a factory 1970 color). Car as since been sold, I ebayed it for him and is somewhere in the mid west now, hopefully getting the restoration it deserves. Seems almost anything was possible back then!
 
#27 ·
Yup 589. I have one of them. 1970 402 Muncie M20 4 speed built in Van Nuys CA, for a Dr.
He ordered it without tilt/cruise, but with PB and AC. Cortez silver, no console (did they even offer one for the stick?), Black interior, low-back buckets, etc.
Mine needs restored and I am interested in any OE quarter-panels that might be for sale, a good '70 front bumper, and other misc. parts. I bought it from an 18 y.o. guy in KCMO.
All the major numbers match, but don't know about heads, intake, etc.
 
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