Kirk Martell's 1987 Chevy Monte Carlo SS - The Full (10-Second) Monte

With the wheezer 305 in the dumpity doo dah, Kirk gathered the 502, TCI trans, and many other major mechanical items together in his driveway for a group shot with the car. He says: "This is the day I thought I had all the parts. Wow was I wrong. But technology today is so great-you can mail order complete motors, rearends, ported and assembled heads, and all kinds of other stuff. This car could be duplicated by any CC reader. I made sure to keep things simple and basic and matched and maximized the combo for the intended rpm range."

Bought new by his late uncle, Kirk Martell's '87 Monte Carlo SS is a tribute to no-nonsense car crafting. At first, Kirk did the usual late-model bolt-ons: exhaust, a chip, and underdrive pulleys. He got tired, though, of still getting spanked by stock turbo Buicks and decided enough was enough-especially when the new GM 502 short-block had just hit the market.

A Glastek fiberglass hood rises 4 inches in front of Kirk and his significant other, Kristen Lombardy. Kirk and Kristen reside in Sandusky, Ohio, just a stone's throw from Norwalk Raceway Park where the Monte has generated a fistful of 10-second timeslips. Shall we talk rock-solid consistency? Check these numbers from one evening of racing: 10.87 at 123.7, 10.87 at 123.8, and 10.84 at 124.0. His 60-foot times were 1.567, 1.569, and 1.567, respectively. The front suspension is stock except for one coil removed from the springs and the addition of Chassis Engineering three-way adjustable shocks. The front antisway bar was also tossed. The Monte rolls on Weld Pro Stars (15x5 front and 15x8 rear) and Dunlop P205/70R15 touring radials up front. On the back are Mickey Thompson ET Streets in a 28x13.50-15 size.

The building block for Kirk's 10-second ride is a GM Performance Parts 502 short-block (PN 10185059). Kirk added a Crane solid roller cam (PN 138511) with 0.595/0.615 lift and 238/246 duration at 0.050. The lobe separation is 112 degrees. Other Crane bits include a double-roller timing chain and roller lifters with vertical link bars. This combo breathes through ported World Products aluminum heads filled with 2.30/1.88 Manley stainless valves, Bill Mitchell 1.550 valvesprings, 10-degree titanium retainers, GM Performance Parts 1.7:1 roller rockers (PN 1236132), and Comp Cams pushrods. The trick valvecovers are GM PN 12371244. On top are a World Products single-plane, oval-port intake and a Bill Mitchell Holley 950-cfm carb. Spark is lit with MSD stuff including a 6AL box and Blaster 3 coil.

Out back is a Moser 9-inch Ford that bolts into G-body cars. It has Moser 31-spline axles, a Detroit Locker diff, and Richmond 3.90:1 gears. The Torque Tech 3-inch exhaust system connects Flowmaster mufflers and Hooker Super Comp headers with 2-inch main pipes. Also here are Chassis Engineering shocks, Hotchkis springs, Southside Machine upper and lower control arms, and Air Lift air bags. Kirk runs the passenger side bag at 10 pounds and the driver side at 27.

The maroon cloth interior is basically untouched and the power door locks and windows still work. Auto Meter Phantom gauges keep Kirk informed while controling the TCI TH400 trans with a B&M Pro Ratchet shifter. The trans has a reverse manual valvebody and a 10-inch converter with a 4,000 rpm stall. Dig the factory bench seat.