How To Perform A Basic Tune-Up

This car belongs to Art Director... 

   

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This car belongs to Art Director Edwin Alpanian. It was purchased new by his parents and handed down to him when they stopped commuting in it. Since then, it has sat in Edwin's driveway-in the wonderful San Fernando Valley-collecting bird poo.

Hey! You want cheap-o fun and burnouts? Buy a mid-'80s G-body. So what if they don't have chrome bumpers and the lust of the old dudes at the '50s revival show-these are American cars that came with V-8s, 10-bolts, and overdrive transmissions. What more could you want? Well, you should say you want a little more power 'cause let's face it, mid-'80s cars weren't exactly the best-performing things, even when they were new. But that is fixable.

Our staff-owned '85 Monte Carlo SS is the ultimate hot rod stocker. It has a factory 3.73:1 rear gear, a floor-shifted automatic, buckets seats, and tons of extra SS-badged widgets. With the good, there are also problems. It shakes at idle, and when you stab the throttle, nothing happens in the smoky burnout department. We even tried a brake stand and some full-throttle donuts . . . nothing.

To find out where all the horsepower is hiding, we are going to start at the beginning with a basic tune-up. We are going to show you the tools you need and try to cover what usually goes wrong under the hood of these cars. In future issues, we are going to uncap the stock exhaust for a little more flow, tune up the rearend so it will get sideways, and fix all the goofball parts that cause factory slowness.

The Monte Carlo was redesigned...        read full caption The Monte Carlo was redesigned in 1981, and the SS package was introduced in 1983. It included the SS graphics, rear spoiler, and the H.O. V-8. This car was optioned with stock Chevy rallys that we will restore with the original colors and trim.

The Monte is as original as...        read full caption The Monte is as original as it gets, and we plan to keep it that way. It has an L-69 305-inch V-8 with a computer-controlled Q-jet that should make 190 hp. Note that there are no SS decals on the car. It has been repainted once, and we're not sure if the glue-on trim is original. It is going in the trash either way.

All '85 Monte Carlo SSs had...        read full caption All '85 Monte Carlo SSs had the RPO GT4 3.73:1 axle ratio. What's weird is they did not all have the RPO G80 limited slip to go with it. When we popped the rear differential cover, we were greeted with an open differential. If this were a limited slip, you would see a set of springs and plates in between the spider gears. The Monte also has a 7.5-inch ring gear instead of the stronger 8.5.

We are also going to clear the sticky goo out of the interior and give the whole thing a refresh with new carpet and seat covers. We want it to be a quick street cruiser that looks factory, so we will be replacing the warped plastic body parts, resquirting the factory black, and reinstalling the original SS sticker kit that someone painted over.

To be accurate, we are going to keep track of all the trinkets we throw at this car, along with the prices. If we find a cool part at the swap meet, we'll tell you about it. If we are forced to buy new, we'll whine about it. Either way, you'll get to follow along as we go from crap to cool. Tell us if you likey at CarCraft@CarCraft.com.

The good news is this Monte...        read full caption The good news is this Monte has a 200-4R four-speed overdrive. Check the buildup story elsewhere in this issue to see just how good this transmission can be.

Sadly, this version of the...        read full caption Sadly, this version of the Monte Carlo never received a 5.7 engine. That means we are stuck with the 5.0L 305 with a 3.74 bore and 3.48 stroke. The big cork in horsepower production is the stock exhaust, so after we perform a basic tune-up, we are going to get a new muffler and a Y-pipe and try to pick up some power.

Replacing the spark plugs...        read full caption Replacing the spark plugs is a no-brainer, but why? As the plugs age, the gap between the center electrode and the ground electrode gets larger and the resistance increases, causing a strain on the ignition system as it tries to fire the plug. Plugs also crack and short to ground, lose the ground electrode completely, or get choked with oil and carbon, indicating there are oil control problems such as bad rings or worn valveguides.