Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

I've written about donked and modified Monte Carlo SS' quite a bit, because that's all I seem to find. Every so often, I see an example too clean to resist shooting. It's not everyday one comes across a clean, uncut SS in fantastic shape, much less one with such storied background as this one. This car belongs to a friend of mine, so I am able to dish out the correct story on how this car came to be.
The owner's grandmother was a Chevrolet nut to the fullest. When the owner was growing up, her grandma told her stories of her Chevrolet Laguna; it was silver with pink trim where the usual trim would be maroon. It also had a redyed pink interior in place of the maroon interior. An additional feature that made the Laguna stand out among its peers was the pink-painted Chevrolet Rallye wheels, for sure a rare option.














In the winter of 1985, with the Laguna being eaten by road salt, a replacement was due. Since the owner's grandma preferred her cars with a dash of sport instead of all-out luxury, the SS seemed like a suitable candidate. With the 305 untouched, this car oozes pure 1980s factory freshness, right down to the original build sheet. The pink you see on the car is dealer paint applied when new. Because of the dealer repaint when new, this car is likely a one of one. The flower was etched into the glass in the fall of 1987 when the car was barely a year old, and there is no plan on replacing it. While the car is 100% original except for audio and future tint/club/alarm, the little things are starting to need replacing. Like all GMs, the dash is peeling/cracking, but that's just considered normal wear and tear. Another thing is...it seems to have bad weatherstripping, as it leaks through the T-Tops during a minor drizzles, not to mention any heavy rain. It's got fewer than 80k original two-owner miles, and since it's a summer toy, it's going in storage in the winter.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

I usually stay far away from posting modified cars on my blog, but this week is different; I chose to focus on modified (for better or for worse) examples of some of Chevrolet's most popular nameplates; we saw the Impala, we saw the Chevelle, and we saw an example of a typical Chevrolet station wagon. Now it's the Monte Carlo's turn. Often turned into donks and other automotive atrocities, the Monte Carlo lives out a rather played-out life in the car customizing scene. But, since so many have been customized, it's almost a guarantee that no two look exactly alike. Although the modifications shown on this example would earn a "D" or "F" on my automotive coolness scale, I have to give the owner credit for definitely thinking outside the box.
Outside, the stock exterior has given way to rather unique silver metalfake paint job, which has further been slathered with dark cherry red flames; while the said color combination looks decidedly tasteful on paper, the real world tells an entirely different story. The 15" rally wheels have been replaced, too, with items much bigger (and wider) than the stock rollers. Gone are any notions of the former muscle car this Monte Carlo SS was, because the only thing muscle about this set of wheels is the amount of muscles the owner will have to use if he ever decides to rotate his tires.
Inside is where the biggest change took place; velour and vinyl there is not. Instead, the whole interior has been redone in a way that more or less screams "Seward area car customizing shop"; it's the complete opposite of the word "classy". While I understand that the owner of the Monte Carlo has a set theme going on (red and silver, I presume), the execution leaves quite a lot to be desired. First off, painting the dash is a definite no-no unless its done correctly. Second of all.. the door panels-- we already know this is a Chevrolet product, and I would hope the owner does too; it is his car after all. The last thing (and the easiest to make right) is that cheap little steering wheel. I do realize most "donk" owners often replace the steering wheel for style points I assume, but good lord.. can we choose something a little less toy-like? Retract that; this whole car looks like a caricature of its former self, so I think that little steering wheel does have a place.
While I am definitely no fan of this particular Monte Carlo, I do have to applaud the owner for sticking with a normal color scheme; the colors chosen could've been alot worse. Now, if only this could be said for the execution of the rest of the customization. Granted, I have seen quite a few donked-out Monte Carlos in my days of shooting, but honestly this one takes the cake. I'm almost ashamed to be writing so negatively about it because the owner seemed to be a pretty nice guy. Shame his taste in people skills are better than his taste in automotive modifications.