(first posted 5/28/2012) My green Monte Carlo. After 13 years, it’s become my mascot. In 1999, it was advertised in a local paper here in the Los Angeles area. We went to go check it out, and found, literally, an old-lady car. Turns out it had belonged to Ida May Moore, who bought it when she was 76 years old in 1976, and never bought another car.
When she saw that lime green “demonstrator” at the local Chevy dealer in Redlands, CA, she just couldn’t resist. You see, green was her favorite color, as told to me by her old friends who ended up handling her estate and selling the car a few years after she passed on.
She even left a green tire gauge in the glove compartment. It didn’t hurt that GM happened to use a matching green for the Monte Carlo owners manuals that year. It was meant to be!
The Monte Carlo was a runaway hit when it was introduced as a popular-priced personal luxury coupe in 1970, sort of a bargain mini-Eldorado or Riviera, one year after Pontiac’s Grand Prix was downsized with great success. Both the GP and Monte Carlo were stretched from GM’s mid-size A-body platform.
Like the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix, which used the Tempest/LeMans sedan’s 118″ wheelbase, the Monte Carlo rode the Chevelle/Malibu sedan’s 116″ wheelbase instead of the coupe’s 112 inch span. All of that extra space was for the hood.
From the beginning, Monte Carlo shared a lot with the Chevelle it was based on, but offered more – more style, more hood, more luxury, but for not a lot more money. For 1973, it was restyled in the latest “neoclassical” retro-1930s look filtered through a ‘70s eye, with huge round single headlamps, aggressively sculptured sides, and narrow opera windows. It was no longer a hardtop but technically now a 2-door sedan, and those opera windows didn’t roll down.
Fast forward to 1976, and the formula was still the same, with the addition of stacked rectangular headlamps, huge 5mph bumpers in back (the 1973 had them only in front) and a few trim changes, including a new grille. As had been the case since 1973, you could get your personal luxury Chevy in plain Monte Carlo and fancier Landau versions. Several different interiors were available, and bucket seats with a console and floor shift were a popular option.
A 305 CID V8 was new, and the standard powerplant. You could also get 2- and 4-barrel 350s and a 4-barrel 400. The 454 CID V8 had been discontinued on Montes after 1975. Regardless of engine, all ’76 Montes had the proven three speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission.
Being a demonstrator, Ida’s Monte was loaded. For starters, it was the Landau model, with standard half vinyl roof, upgraded 50/50 split seating up front, special Turbine II wheels, and upgraded trim all around. It also had cruise control, power windows and locks, tilt, 8-track stereo and a lot of other gadgets that weren’t really all that common on a Chevy in the mid-70s.
Best of all, it was color-coordinated, so its white interior was complimented by green “environment” (that would be the dash and carpets) to coordinate with the lime green exterior. All in all, a nice combination. And with 22,000 miles on it, it drove pretty well. The air conditioner even worked! After checking out the car, I woke up the next morning and all I could see was GREEN. I had to have that car!
She’s not perfect. You’ll see plenty of little dents and flaws on Monte. That’s original paint you see. Original vinyl top. Original interior. Pretty much original everything! You only get that once, and I enjoy preserving it.
When driving the Monte, the first thing that might surprise you is that its 350-cubic-inch V8 actually motivates the car pretty well, and it handles nicely for its 3700-lb. weight. For her size, she’s amazingly agile.
This car has presence, from its mile-long doors (yes, they’re heavy but they aren’t sagging too much yet), to its even-longer hood, to its tiny back seat with “private” opera windows.
The 3-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission has no trouble at all bringing Monte up to a nice freeway velocity, pretty much devoid of wind noise. And really, although this car is not driven daily, it’s honestly been very reliable over the last 13 years and about 15,000 miles that I’ve driven it. The style may be baroque, but underneath, it’s just a solid Chevy drivetrain and body-on-frame construction that has held together pretty well. Of course, having a first owner who took pretty meticulous care of it and hardly drove it didn’t hurt.
I am a classic car aficionado, to be sure, and I’d owned a couple of classic cars before this one and several afterward, but the only real keeper so far is this Monte. Some like the GM colonnades and some don’t, but for me, the combination of color, condition, originality and ‘70s style made it a must-buy. 13 years later and counting, I can’t imagine letting her go!
I had the same exact car 25 years ago. The only difference was I had the white swivel seats and green console. Most people didn’t know the floor shifter had a Hurst linkage. When you had it in low and slapped the shifter up and to the right it would stop in 2nd gear. One more time put it in 3rd. Instead of flipping the seats forward to get in the back, my bucket seats rotated. Never seen that feature since. When you want to sell??? 🙂
Breathtaking! What a car Chris!! Congratulations! As mentioned above – Never, ever sell that car!! My father actually had a Chevelle Malibu Classic Coupe with exactly the same dashboard and it had swivel seats and floor shifter. I tried to find it back some years ago without any luck :-(. Last Friday though, I managed to find another one of his old cars….a 1976 Cutlass Supreme with T-top, the 455 engine and much more. Sold new in Stockholm, Sweden to an Ericsson Director who had it only for a short time. My Father was the second owner. The car is said to be in good condition with only 160.000 km and in total five owners. I’m picking it up in September, will share some more info and pictures then!
I’ve seen your car in the wild when I lived in Southern California….at an architecture tour of a Welton Beckett building on Wilshire Blvd., “The House of Tommorow” I think. As if the color was not memorable enough- I immediately recognized the license plate frame- my folks bought their 73′ Monte brand new from Lange and Runkel in Redlands, CA! It’s now “Tom Bell Chevrolet”.
Beautiful! superb lines & color.
1973-77 Montes had style & a typical US look…majestic!
Today’s GM designs are so “anonymus”… no style & boring!
Bill Mitchell, would surely be desapointed!!!
My brother bought the same car used back in ’80 or ’81, but in red. I remember those long heavy doors that would sag when you tried with all your might to close them!
The color of your car is amazing, I got one metalime green Firebird myself.
Read this thread, lots of lime green ’76 Firebirds and Camaros.
http://www.78ta.com/HTAF/index.php?topic=34786.0
My own thread (in swedish)
http://test.tacs.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23771
Best regards,
Stefan Westlund, Stockholm, Sweden
Thank you, Stefan, and thanks for sharing your green Firebird. It looks amazing in that color combo! I’ve seen a couple of 1976 Grand Prixs in that color combo over the years, as well.
Beautiful MC! I’ve longed for a monte ever since high school, but for a really strange reason (especially after almost 30 years) I’ve yet to own one. I remember this ’76 color for the MC and the full size chevys, and they were amazing to look at.
Great example. Let me know if you ever decide to sell!
I love this Monte. I have seen pictures of your car throughout the web in the past. A friend of mine owns a twin to this car, with around 30K miles, and oddly enough it originated in California. The difference is that it has the Chevy “Corvette” slotted steel Rally wheels and white letter BFGs. Personally, I like yours better with the Polycast wheels and whitewalls.
There are people out there who might take offense to the color but I’m glad to see so many people have chimed in here saying they love it, because I do! I think it’s a refreshing color personally.
I used to own a ’74 Impala Sport Coupe that was pretty much this same color…it was called “Bright Green Metallic”. The paint code for the body plate was “46”…I don’t know if this color was 100 percent exactly the same as your car, but it was close. It had been repainted a long time ago, but it was the original color and that was still in the door jambs. There was one in the 1974 Chevrolet (passenger) brochure in that color too. The interior was all bright green, instead of with white seats or contrasting door panels.
I really miss that car, but unfortunately it was getting very rusty, sold to a friend, who then sold it to a guy who demo derbied it. I did manage to get all the hard to find parts off of it to save as spares for the much nicer ’74 Sport Coupe that I own now. Such a fun vehicle, everyone commented on the color whereever it went.
Another view of the color:
This is the replacement that I bought when I still had the green Impala…it made it easy to let go of the other rusted out one since they were so similar. I’ve seen two Sport Coupes in person since at least the 90s (I got the green one in 2001 as essentially my first car), and have never seen another, I owned both!
Lastly, this is the color combination of the interior in this car, matching light beige headliner, headliner trim, door panels, seats (there are seat covers hiding the uncomfortable factory upholstery that have been there since around 1980), brown dashboard, carpet, package tray, and A-pillar metal trim pieces. The metal trim around the inside of the windows is all beige except for those A pillar pieces. Kind of strange!
I enjoyed seeing your green 1976 monte Carlo. I bought the same car new in Dec 1975. In fact I special ordered it from the dealer. Like Mrs. Moore, I was influenced by selecting that color when I drove up to the dealership and saw a demo on the lot. I had a bench seat in the front however but I had all the options. Everyone told me that mg car was slime lime but I didn’t care, I loved it. It had 96,000 miles on it in Nov 1981 when it was stolen in Houston. It was not recovered until March of the next year when if was recovered in Dallas. Someone had busted the column and drove it there and parked it and it wasn’t discovered for months. By that time, I had settled with the insurance co. I still think about that car that I pampered and it was taken away so suddenly. The car was smooth and ran like a top. I had a problem with people steeling the center caps from the rally wheels. On my honeymoon a few months before it got stolen, we were driving down to Padre Island and the AC went out. If was so hot that the 8 track tape melted in the tape player. I thought the cad had such beautiful lines and an awesome ride. I still have a lime colored jacket that I bought that matched the car. I smile every time I look at my old photos of the car. Enjoy the car. Your lucky to have it. If you want my 70s lime jacket let me know, I’ll sent it to you!
For some reason, I’m just now seeing these more recent posts! I would love to see your lime green jacket! Great story, but I’m sorry you had theft problems. I’ve been lucky so far (knock on wood), but I think these cars are much less targeted for theft than they were back in their heyday. If you’re ever in the Los Angeles area, let me know and I’ll show you the car for old times’ sake. I’m from Texas myself, but I have lived in California since I bought the car and it’s always been here.
Even though both the 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo and 1976 Oldsmobile Toronado belonged to the same Personal Luxury Size Car categories, there is a significant size between these two similar looking cars as shown from this photo comparisons which I have created. The 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo was about 15 inches shorter (a little over a foot) than the 1976 Oldsmobile Toronado – 212.7″ for the former and 227.6″ for the latter. As a matter of fact, these Oldsmobile Toronados were even almost 5 inches longer than the pre-Downsized 1976 Chevrolet Impala/Caprice Classic 2 & 4 Door Sedans. On the average, the 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlos were even almost 1,000 pounds lighter than the comparable 1976 Oldsmobile Toronado – 3,900 pounds for the former and 4,850 pounds for the latter hence both the 1976 Chevrolet Impala and Caprice Classic Coupes and Sedans weigh in between 4,300 to 4,400 pounds.
not a big fan of the vehicles that were popular during this period but I’ve always loved the big Monte Carlo’s (I prefer the 1976-77 stacked headlights over the 1973-75 rounded headlights) and the 1976-77 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme’s, my mother used to own a ’76 Chevy Monte Carlo and it was a really good car, if I were to own a car built in the 1973-77 time frame I would choose a Chevy Monte Carlo or Olds Cutlass Supreme 2 door.
Loved reading about your Monte Carlo. Even though I’m a Ford guy first & foremost, I always held huge affection for the Gen-2 Montes. I’ve owned 2 in my lifetime; a ’77 in gold with the full on Laundau treatment just like yours, fully loaded, only cloth seats & 305 2bbl; & a ’74 with the more sporting swivel buckets, console & floor shift, Rallye wheels & a 400 2bbl, finished in pewter with black top & interior. The ’74 had factory duals, but I did convert the ’77 to duals. Both cars got converted to Quadra Jet 4bbl carbs for more spirit. I really dig the shade of green on yours. Seems like there was a LOT of green cars in the ’70’s; some shades were nice like this & others were vomit-inducing. Same with the many shades of brown, too! I regret selling both of my Montes; so stylish & great riding, great handling cars to boot. The fuel consumption was respectable, too. I could get about 18 on the freeway with the ’74 & manage an honest 20 with the groovy gold ’77. These are great cars but hard to find nice like this, & when you do, boy is the cost of entry steep. Thanks for sharing; brought back fond memories.
These Monte Carlo Landau coupes are amongst the best looking Chevy’s of the 1970’s and not to mention amongst the most popular selling even during the oil embargo. I’ve seen a couple of these bright green ’76 models in person and this has to be the nicest. What sets this one apart is the special custom interior (first available on the ’75 models). It’s also not common to see the special custom trim in white vinyl as typically it was velour cloth. These cars looked best with white landau roofs and matching white interiors. I’m guessing most ’76 models were equipped with the 350-2 but also pretty sure the 305-2 was growing in popularity. And yes the turbo hydramatic 350 and 400 transmissions in these were reliable performers.
Here is one that I saw this past spring at a car show. It’s was primarily original with the exception of the aftermarket wheels. The interior was swivel bucketed in showroom condition. It was optioned with cruise control, an 8 track player and the econominder gauge but curiously enough it wasn’t equipped with air conditioning.
My Brother and I both have a Factory Lime 76…His Just Had A New Roof Welded on due to Rusting From Water Pooling In The Landau
Whoa, amazing! I would love to get all three of these lime Montes together!
My 1976 21k Miles
Picked this one up last year. One owner and brought back some memories.
Picture taken at recent car show
I find it amazing to believe that for the next model year, 1977, both a
full- and mid-size car would share the platform under that Monte/
Cutlass/Regal/etc.!
That is the truth. GM’s downsized B-body full-sized(Caprice, Bonneville,
88, etc) was pinned to the 73-77 A-body platform(with minor mods, of
course!), and the downsized A-body itself was cooked from scratch
for the ’78-onwards.
I also heard tell that the A-body used underneath the 73-77 Colonnades
also under-pinned Chevelles, Skylarks, and GTOS back to 1964.
If so, that would make the A-body the longest continuously used
platform(1964-96 model years) in domestic automotive history!
No, Not much interchanges between a 64-72 car and a 73-77 car.
The 73-77 cars have more in common with the 77-96 B/C/D cars than earlier.
I’ve got a 77 Malibu Classic sedan, and the only suspension/frame parts that interchange are the body mounts and shocks.
Mine was a 1977 Landau I bought used in 1979 with only 17000 miles. Beige Landau roof and interior with all the trimmings, including the swivel bucket seats, which all my friends thought was the coolest. I loved that car, but I wore it out prematurely because it drove so well with its 350 4bbl and factory Super Sport wheels, the slotted ones (Corvette wheels, but they were available on the MC as 7-inch instead of 8). That remains my favorite car of all.
I finally get to comment on Chris Green’s Monte Carlo! This is perhaps one of my favorite Monte Carlos from the 70’s – ever!
Beautiful condition, loaded, white vinyl interior – LANDAU!! 350 V-8!! Be still my heart!!
I had no idea this was going to get posted again. Thank you for the compliment!
You’re welcome! Your car deserves all the accolades it gets and then some!
Never liked this generation of Monte Carlo. But the colour combo on your survivor Chris put a smile on my face. Good for you to buy the Monte, would anybody else have appreciated the car as much as you?
A most “period correct” color.
What an appropriate vehicle for you, Mr. Green. I love matching exterior / interior themes particularly in this combo. I see that it has the instrument package primed and ready for a factory tach. But then it is a virgin original so . . .
Absolutely phenomenally stunningly beautiful. I love the styling of these, and lets face it, they’re basically ALL about the styling, as the sculpted fenders, stylized front end, opera windows and landua top are about all that distinguishes this car from the workaday mid sized Chevies they share a platform with. My mother had a ’77, in chocolate brown metallic over tan. It was the first car we ever owned with power windows and locks. The only “updates” they made to the car for ’77 was a stand-up hood ornament and horizontal trimwork on the taillight lenses. The first though I had upon seeing the pics was how amazing it was to see all of the center caps in place on those turbine wheels. I remember being sent off into the brush on more than one roadside to retrieve one of those for Mom. It’s extremely rare to see a Monte of this vintage with all the wheel trim in place. Those center caps were designed to kamakaze at every opportunity.
I’ve never had that problem with the center caps flying off, and I hope I don’t, but I do have spares because I found nicer ones not long after I bought the car and put them on. I absolutely agree with you, it’s all about the styling, but the *secret”* of why I’ve kept this car so long is that it’s also been a great driving, comfortable, and reliable car. It could almost be a daily driver if not for the huge doors and gas mileage, but I wouldn’t do that to it.
I always thought that these were ugly compared to the first gen montes,but go to the
parking lot of the small factory I worked at in St Louis there must have been ten
monte carlos I have to say I liked the looks better as time went on and this green
one is a dandy
I’ve always been a Monte Carlo fan, and we had a 1980 (terrible quality of a car, but great styling). I’ve only liked the 2nd gen Montes, when done right–bigger tires on the back, customized, but there’s something about this over the top shade of green that really works. And a fuel economy gauge? That’s cool! Did they all have that gauge, or just some of them? I’ve never driven a 2nd gen nor have ever looked too closely inside.
I have an aunt who had a 76 Monte Carlo when I was a boy. At the time, I found the vertically placed headlamps to be hideous looking.
Kermit the frog once sang a song called “It’s not easy being green.” I think he said all that needs to be said.
Despite what others say I personally thought the stacked headlights looked better on these cars than the rounded headlights, I’m probably biased because my mother owned a ’76 Monte Carlo and I absolutely loved that car.
I actually like the round lights and other details of the ’73-’75s as much or maybe better than the stacked rectangles, but this particular car in this color made it all worth it. It’s a keeper!
Wow, so much love for this car, I don’t really get it. Between the elevated stance and the wings/bulges (?) over the wheels, it looks like the body is trying to leap free of the chassis.
The 1st generation Montes are almost classics, and yet they very closely resemble the “everyday” Chevelles. The 2nd generation Montes look like the stylists were trying VERY hard to distinguish them from Chevelles.
But this car in particular? WAY too much green, and not even an attractive shade of green. And green on the instrument surround AND the steering wheel….not to mention the carpeting. It looks a massive case of pond scum/mold inside this car.
I think I’ve said it on here before: when it comes to these 70s mid-sized 2 doors from GM, make mine a Buick Regal….or maybe an Olds Cutlass. And any color but this green…..or at least (a lot) less of it. Black carpets and black steering column and wheel, at least.
I love this car.
The whole two-tone interior thing is sorely missed. The white half-roof, body side trim and white stripe tires are sharp as well.
It’s unfortunate that cars aren’t styled to work with two-tone schemes anymore.
I lament the days of two tone paint schemes. I wonder if the demise wasn’t out of the expensiveness of it……I’m not sure how much more it cost at the factory, but speaking for aftermarket paint jobs, any time you get anything involved that is more than one colour usually costs lots of extra $$$.
Awesome Monte! And Grasshopper green! Love that interior! The mid 70’s were awesome for styling and color combos, in my opinion!
Just a beautiful example of a survivor ’76 Monte. Love the color combo, it is simply stunning in pics. I am sure it’s like lime green fire in the sunlight. Love the green dash trim and color coordinated seatbelts. If I were ever to own a colonnade coupe – and that is on my bucket list – I’ll have to seek out a lime green car, too.
I think that it’s also the turbine rims on your car here, that make it look so good.
I think back to an article written on Junkyard Life (great site, full of fixer uppers and various cars in varying states of decay; they are also huge fans of the mid 70’s Colonnades), about an olive green 1973 Grand Am that I normally probably might not like either the colour or the car. When done right, the two door G body Colonnades, with their huge proportions and bulky styling really, really work.
http://www.junkyardlife.com/2015/02/junkyard-adventures-1973-pontiac-grand.html
I just found a 77 Monte on my local Craigslist. For $6500 you get a “mint green” example that is advertised as having 58,000 miles but I STRONGLY suspect it has 158,000 miles on it. Mint green looks like a light jade color and while the WHOLE interior was mint green, unlike this car’s white and green, it looks okay. The only jarring note is a medium green landau top.
My Uncle had a 1976 Monte Landau, it was white with a black vinyl top and black cloth interior. I always loved that car. It rode great and looked great too. When he gave it to my cousins to drive they literally destroyed it. And then it was involved in a front end collision and totaled. Sad.
Beautiful car Mr Green. At the risk of being bias l own a 76 Monte Carlo Landau also. The back story is very similar to yours. I bought it from a 92yr old widower in 2008 with 14,000 miles on it. She rarely drove. They lived in town with everything they needed within a few blocks.He stated that she passed away in 1992. He said he just kept it, didn’t need the money and rightfully knew it certainly was worth more than he paid for it. He said his wife spotted it on display at the downtown Chevrolet/ Buick in Troy, Mo. and traded in their 73 Caprice. When he got home that day she said “we have to go pick up my new car” My car is white with maroon interior and vinyl top. 350 2brl. It does not have the deluxe interior/convenience pkg. as yours. It has a few nicks and dings l never saw on deal day viewed through rose colored glasses of the moment and a little respray spot from a shopping cart attack. The unused spare has the blue protectant on the whitewall. It now has 24,000 miles . I put on reproduction 8in deep rally wheels per my own taste. The center caps are simulated 3 spoke knock off spinners . I think they ad a touch of elegance to the overall look of the car more so than the usual derby hat centers. I enjoy taking it to few local shows and cruise nights and will not modify it in anyway. It’s quiet and reliable just the way l like it. It does get much attention from the over 50 crowd. I enjoy conversing with them and thank them for their stories. I can always sit in a lawn chair at home, well up to a point. Chris l am very glad your fine car from the mid 70s received so many positive comments here. Sometimes I think the comments regarding this era of cars tends to be to the derisive side, perhaps viewed from what was before and what came after it rather than the context in time when these sold new. The 76 and 77 MC record sales speaks exactly of that time.
Your car sounds great, Rich. I would love to see photos! These cars have been underdogs for a long time, but now they seem to be getting more respect, finally, and it’s nice to see.
I have a 1976 Pontiac Bonneville coupe in that exact color green with a white vinyl top. Runs and drive beautifully with the Pontiac 400 V8. I saved it from the scrap yard, its amazing to think someone would junk such a nice car.
Wow! I would love to see pictures of this Bonneville!
Now this is a cool way to end a work day. Such a neat car with that striking color combo. Brings memories flooding back of a college friend with a 1975 Monte in a shade of medium blue with swivel bucket seats, gauges and the 350 4BBL and THM 350 transmission. We used to go out for lunch and break between classes in his car back in 1990 and I was always amazed at how well it still went down the road and how quiet it was despite having well over 150K miles on the clock. He was the 3rd owner passed down from his mom passed down from his grandmother. Thankfully they all took really good care of the car and I remember seeing it well into the 90’s before we went our separate ways after college. I sure wouldn’t mind finding a mint low miles grandma car like this or in Grand Prix SJ trim for a fun Summer cruiser.
What a FANTASTIC color green, and an amazingly well-kept car. Hard to believe that it’s all original, and it’s a testament to both the original owner’s care and to your careful stewardship of this time warp original. I also love the white-on-green interior, and lament that we can’t have such things anymore.
I’m one of the perhaps few who actually prefer the stacked headlamps on this generation Monte as well. The dual rounds looked like they were trying a little too hard to be neoclassical, not to mention giving the car a perpetually surprised look. The rectangles work much better.
How many miles are on yours these days? Here’s to many more, albeit accumulated slowly through cruising for the sheer joy of it.
Thank you. It turned over 40,000 miles recently. It continues to be a great driving car. As far as I know it’s mostly original. If anything was repainted it was long ago when the original owner had a fender-bender, maybe. It has plenty of dents and dings, and I’m slowly collecting parts that it could use better versions of (door opening moldings, wheel moldings and the like). So, yes, original and definitely not really “show” quality, but that has never seemed to matter in the 16.5 years I’ve had it, because it has kind of a special “something” that transcends that.
I must ask: How good, really, was the handling in
these Colonnade-era Montes, and in the downsized
ones to follow for 1978? I have it impressed in my
poor brain that ALL AMERICAN cars have mushy,
numb steering with no build-up in the turns(except
Corvette and maybe the F-bodies). The last ten
years I’ve grown used to the snappy return, 2.5
lock to lock steering of imports, with wheels that
stay straight ahead unless you put some actual
effort into steering them.
Am I just disillusioned?
I can’t comment on the handling in the Collonade era Montes, nor in the ’78-’80 ones, but I can tell you that the 1980 Monte that we had was by far, the worst quality control that I’ve ever seen on any car that myself or my family has owned. I was too young to drive our ’80 Monte, but within a few years, the floorboards were completely rotted out, and we were continually doing repairs on it with the transmission/ cam/ etc. It had also suffered the typical moulding problems where the aluminum foil inside of it would crinkle/ get moisture in it and look terrible within a couple of years.
Such a perfect color combo, a true inspiration for how I will paint my car. But I may use a more modern color, like the VW Viper Green used on Scirrocos.
That color was also available on ’76 Firebirds, and also with the extremely rare green interior. Seriously, it’s that rare.
Here’s a ’76 Formula that popped up on eBay last year
And the interior
For some reason, the 2nd Gen Firebird steering column that had the Formula steering wheel remained black up until 1978.
Notice the color matching seat belts as well. I’ve been looking for a set of these for several years, they’re too damn rare. Not many people even know this color was available on ’76 F-Bodies. Camaros had it too.
Thanks for sharing. I love the Firebird in that green! That’s interesting about the steering wheel. It would look a lot better in matching green. I wonder why they did that?
I guess they thought it looked sportier in black. Someone made a custom interior in that color and wrapped the steering wheel in green, it looks a lot better :
That is a great color combo, on both cars. It’s loud! The dashboard is fantastic, so 1970s (in a good way).
So Chevelle was the ‘mother’ car of that line, and
Malibu and Monte were trim levels. Got it.
Now if someone could straighten me out on
which Pontiac F-coupe was the mother car
and which was an upscale trim level: Trans
Am or Firebird? Drives me cuckoo!!
lol
Here’s how the 2nd Gen Firebird line was divided :
– Firebird = base model, standard interior and base engines
– Firebird Esprit = a base model with more chromes and plushiness, the “brougham” Firebird
– Firebird Formula = base model available with the Trans Am engines and better drivetrain options, and a specific twin snorkle hood.
– Firebird Trans Am = upscale model with all the options available and only the better engines, and off course the specific shaker and wheel flares.
Each variation had its own VIN letter.
Perfectly clear, thanks!
So Chevy sold the Camaro and Pontiac
the Firebird. Guess I just heard too many
folks talking about the “Trans Am” they
either owned or wanted to own, be it
a ’75 or a ’83.
Ditto Chevelles bought from the mid-60s
into the early ’80s: all were Chevelles,
and Malibus and Monte Carlos were
just different trim levels/power plants,
etc? Chevelles were strictly two-door,
like the MC, and Bu’s were two or
four or wagon, if I recall. Gets confusing!
I’m not sure but I don’t think the Monte Carlo was a trim level of the Chevelle, it was an entirely different car from what I can tell but based on the same chassis.
The Malibu was the upscale Chevelle. The original brochures give a good bit of information on the variations :
The reason I made the “Chevelle Monte
Carlo” connection was based on the cover
of the owners manual posted in #3 photo.
Unless that was just to save having to
print separate manuals for each model.
Alas, all upscale and nothing else is the
norm today, as there is no more Chevelle,
only Malibu. Wish everyone in general
could just be a degree or two more humble.
Not everything needs shiny trim.
I can only assume they were trying to save printing costs since the cars were mechanically identical. Any pertinent model-specific differences could be explained by extra photos/diagrams.
And I don’t think the disappearance of the Chevelle nameplate really equates to everything being upscale. The Chevelle name went away in 1978 when the whole line was renamed Malibu, but that was really more “GM name debasement” than anything else, much like the Biscayne nameplate being replaced by Bel Air being replaced by Impala… I own a 1979 Malibu in the base trim level (there were only base and Classic) and, while mine has a nice selection of options, you could order it as a true stripper if you so desired. You can’t really do that with the 2016 models, but that has nothing to do with the name and everything to do with the fact that the market demands items formerly perceived as “luxury” even on the lowest-line models. And that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.
We’ve become spoiled.
End of “whole ‘nother discussion”. LOL
I suppose that this brings up another point of the discussion in which we can probably understand why GM nuked the Chevelle name, in the confusion of various similar lines of the same car. Maybe the Chevelle nameplate in itself, conjured up a more muscular car image than GM had wanted to still continue on with and offer?
Oh that lime green! Sorry, I’m from the Detroit area and rarely, if ever, saw that. I remember that light green olive-ish non-metallic was popular within a certain demographic though. I do appreciate the color-keyed dashes/steering wheels though. We had a ’77 MC Buckskin Metallic (gold) with tan interior and even the cheaper cars looked much more expensive with the color keyed interiors. I remember a cheap daily driver I bought new for work, a Dodge Intrepid (sister worked for Chrysler) and first time I really noticed all dashes were black or gray now and thinking how lazy. First time I noticed those interior parts come from various suppliers as there were about 8 mismatched shades if light gray in there. Loved the Landau MC as a kid. The subtle differences really stood out – door panels, seats and my neighbors had power windows and the swivel buckets and I was so jealous. I noticed yours has the blower type rear defog too before the electric grid lines. .
And the turbine wheels I hated but in hindsite they were kinda classy and fitting for the Landau. I had to have those rally wheels on our MC but those 8 parts were stolen twice. I remember we found one of those center caps near the railroad tracks and used it as an ashtray. And no hood ornament! I liked the hood ornament in place of the emblem in the grill on the 77s. And I was floored when the downsized ’78 MC didn’t have the chrome strip down the center of the hood like the GPs or Cutlass – how cheap! Boy was I discerning as a kid telling my mother what type of car to buy!
Chris, got the exact same car with low mileage here in Ohio. Visited California in it around 1982, a few years after Mt. St. Helens eruption. Then drove it up to Seattle and Puget Sound area up the Pacific coast and then the scenic way back to Ohio. Drove comfy like a hot-rodded Cadillac.
I tried to buy a set of two turbine wheels and eventually did. (It had two snows on black steel rims.) Only two match. Are they grey with light color trim or darker grey with a slightly different turbine slot design with no trim (for 1976). I have the opportunity to switch two wheels either way.
Chris Green or anybody else, could you send me a sharp close-up picture of one of your matching1976 wheels? Also, somebody stole two of four center hubs when I parked it at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn years ago. Can one still get the centers somewhere? Also my wide side bumper strips fell off. I have them in the trunk. What do you reglue them with? Thanks.
Essentially, the car has been garaged since about 1980. Never in snow by me.
Richard