'79 V8 H-Body Project

[Letsrace]

This is the '79 Monza I'm working on. I was planning on putting the stock 305 engine and 200r4 trans. that are currently in my '87 Monte SS, into the Monza. But, I would have to modify the crossmember and relocate the mounts for the trans. and torque arm. And shorten the Torque Arm itself. Then, if in the future I wanted to go back to a TH350 I would have to find a new/used Torque Arm. So now I'm thinking about just sticking with a TH350 since that is what it came with. I also know where a 350 engine is for very little money considering what it is. I'm not sure of all of the details yet but I know it is disassembled but ready and it has been bored 30 over and has new heads. Updates soon, I hope!

[72Chero]

MY opinion....you would be much happier with the 350 vs the 305....back in the day...they were not good motors. Now build up that 350 that can be a fun motor especially in a car that size.

[Letsrace]

Yep, you're right. 350's are better than 305's. I've owned more than my share of each, in various cars.
The problem is money.
I already have the 305, it's currently in my Monte SS. The body on the Monte SS is junk, very rusty. But the engine and trans are both good. So, it wouldn't cost hardly anything to put the 305 in the Monza. The 200r4 is another story. My long term plan is to rebuild a 350 4 bolt main engine that has 1.94 heads on it now. And put that in the Monza. But right now I can't afford the rebuild.
Putting the 305 in the Monza is just my way of having something to play with until I get the 350 rebuilt.
Best case for me would be, If I get the other 350 engine that I referred to in my first post, it just needs assembled. All the parts are there. So if that happens I'll just go with that 350 and sell the one that I was going to rebuild. That way I can also just buy a TH350 trans. and put it in with the 350 engine. And I can sell the Monte SS as a whole car! And have what I really want in the Monza!
If I end up not getting the disassembled 350, then I'll be putting the 305 in and selling the 200r4 trans so that I can buy a TH350. :)

[Letsrace]

I've finally made up my mind on which engine and trans combo that I'm going to use. If I can get the engine mounts that I need.
I'm going to use the 350 engine that used to be in a 74 Monte Carlo. It's a 350 4bolt with alot of miles on it and a worn cam. I pulled the oil pan and checked the bearings and all that and had a friend of mine who knows engines very well have a look at it also. He says that the bottom end looks great and that there isn't any obvious wear. He seems to think that if I just have the heads reworked and install a new cam, lifters, timing chain and gear it should be good to go. So, that's what I'm going to do. This is a very low budget project.
I'll also be rebuilding the TH350 trans. that came out of the same car as the 350 engine. It's starting to come together now, except for the mounts! :rolleyes:

[Letsrace]

I doubt that anyone here gives a sh*t, but I had the POS Monza crushed! Engine mounts are no longer needed!

[72Chero]

Why did you give up on it.... bummer... you would have had the fastest Monza on the planet....:confused:

[Letsrace]

Why did you give up on it.... bummer... you would have had the fastest Monza on the planet....:confused:
Fastest Monza on the planet? Hardly. There are alot of Monzas out there with huge V8's in them. Mine would have just been a 12 second 1/4 mile car.

I had never owned an H-body before, so I needed help with the V8 swap and parts are very hard to find. And when I did find USED parts, they were junk and not worth having. Any new parts were way too expensive, new front engine mount setup from Summit $259.00!! For engine mounts! New oil pan from Summit another $200.00!! Then I was looking at needing a shorty starter, Monza specific altenator brackets, water pump etc.
This was intended to be a low budget sleeper project.
As for help, I was trying to get help with info and finding parts but I was getting conflicting stories, lies, promises that were not met etc.
Got old fast. I'm not a fabricator, I have just enough tools to get by. No welders, cutting tools or anything else that one might need to fabricate their own parts. So, it just wasn't worth the effort. In my opinion, if I can't get parts for a 1979 car, then it is junk. What else is junk good for? SCRAP!