1976 (or 1977) Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The Best of Intentions.

My wife and I have owned four homes and have made many changes to each of them. More often than not the changes we've made to our homes came out so good that it looked like the changes were part of the original design. Much like a nice pin stripe job or well done tape job can accent an already nice automobile; when it's good it looks like it was part of the original design of the car. Like the Starsky and Hutch Ford Gran Torino. That big white Nike stripe thing made the car.  You remove it and it looks like something is missing.

Huggie Bear, this Monte Carlo ain't Hutch's Gran Torino.

 

I want this nightmarish custom paint and tape off this Monte Carlo in the worst way. These BIG Montes are one of my favorite cars of all time and she deserves better. Much better. The original (?) owner of this Monte Carlo either did it themselves or had it done because I can't find any indication Chevrolet offered this as a factory option back then. Perhaps it was a dealer promo car to help promote the Monte Carlo's then growing legend as a NASCAR tour de force? Who knows. All I know is I want to scrape this junk off this car.

 

Let's be nice and say "they"...whoever they are or were...had the best of intentions. 

 

When I first saw this car from a distance I thought that it was a horrible. Then, as I got closer, I noticed that the detailing on this car was actually, dare I saw, exquisite. The person who did this knew what they were doing. However, great execution of a bad idea, yes, subjective as that may be, is still in my very humble opinion, bad.

 

This is either a 1976 or 1977 Monte. I'm not sure. The stacked headlamps in front say 1976 or 1977. The hood ornament missing on the replacement header panel say 1977. I wasn't about to take a picture of the VIN number plate and do more research off those numbers. If it's a 1976, there might be a torque feast of a Chevy 400 with a Rocherster quadrajet in there. But don't hold yer breath, son. Chances are it's a 350 two barrel making a pot whoopin' 145 horsepower. Yee haaaa...
 

 

I just want to get that paint scraper out now and help this old girl but looking at her, I notice she has more issues than that to contend with. Blame her age and spending her life exposed to the shockingly effective brine they put on the roads up here in Cleveland to make them safe in winter time.

 

Got to be careful, though because after all these years this tape job might be the only thing holding her together. Hardeeharhar. Only partially joking. Then again, after all these years, taking the tape off her is kind of like an oldster removing a tattoo they got long ago.

 That ink has been with them for so long that it has become part of their DNA.