1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Hardtop When a car makes you feel good about its looks, that's style.  When it makes you feel good about yourself, that's character.  From the point of view of style there can be little question in your mind.  Monte Carlo has it.  It is genuine.  Honest.  Original.  And given that, we dare say it won't surprise you to hear that Monte Carlo is, far and away, the most popular car in its specialty class.  And has been each year since its introduction. From the 1976 Monte Carlo sales brochure  For consignment, a 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo hardtop with an astounding, title verified 19,419 actual miles.  353,272 Monte Carlo's were built in 1976 which was an increase of nearly 100,000 units over the previous year.  Popular?  Yes.  Ubiquitous?  If you grew up in the 70's, you know the answer.   Exterior Resprayed in 1982, Firethorn Red Metallic covers the flowing lines of the Monte in single stage period goodness.  This is a handsome car with stacked headlights flanking a three tiered eggcrate grille and intakes in the chrome bumper that borrow the design.  The undulating horizontal surface of the hood creates graceful body bends that allow air and water to find their way over.  In profile, the curves flow back and down creating forward movement even as the car is parked, and the forward canted colonnade roof, covered in maroon vinyl, adds a bit of formality to this touring coupe.  Out back, the decklid is bone straight coming off the sloped rear window, and flows into distinctive tail lights that protrude slightly from the latch panel positioned wide over a sizable chrome bumper.  15-inch Chevrolet Rally wheels with polished rims are just the right look, complemented by the white line tires.  Imperfections include some bubbling down low, the plastic bumper fillers are gone, and some pitting in the chrome and polished rocker panel.  Interior We keep the red theme with the maroon based Dark Mahogany interior option with stitch embossed vinyl or the upper door panels and formed plastic on the lower.  The split bench vinyl seat might never be an option in 2024, but back then, it was standard and along with the back bench, appears to be in great condition.  More nostalgia can be felt as we peer at the simple steering wheel, classed up a bit with some faux wood trim which immediately pulls in the plastic wood surround on the instrument panel, and the wood trim on the face of the knobs, including those on the AM radio.  There's some rub on a plastic vent that mars the metallic paint, but the rest of the dash is a time capsule in near flawless condition.  The same goes for the plush maroon carpet and tight headliner above.  The trunk is covered in a black cloth mat and retains a spare tire.  Drivetrain Other than some dust, the 350ci V8 under the hood appears factory and is fueled by a 2-barrel carburetor and rated at 145 horsepower.  Out back, a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission set the car in motion by sending those ponies to the 10 bolt rear axle with 2.73 gears.  Power brakes are onboard with front disc and rear drum. Undercarriage Time tempered conditions result in surface rust underneath and some evidence that some seals may need attention.  There's fluid on the rear differential and some residual oil or drops on the oil pan, flywheel cover, and transmission pan.  There's some flaky rust on the catalytic converter and some grime on the knuckles, but beyond that, the underside is solid.  The single exhaust continues past the cat to find a stock style muffler before exiting via a single steel pipe.  Suspension consists of coil springs in front and a 4 link with coil springs out back.   Drive-Ability Interiors like this bring out the 11 year old in many of us who spent plenty of time in the aunt's or grandparent's car, and in many cases it was the backseat of an A-body GM car like this one.  While the materials and instrumentation are dated, it s