In the mid-Seventies I was a typical college student, balancing classes at Ohio State, a part-time job, and ROTC drills. But thankfully the job and ROTC stipend allowed me to build up a little cash that would help with a down-payment on something I had long lusted for – a “brand new” versus a “used” car. So in the summer of 1976 I went looking for my first new car—and trying to make every dollar count. The oil crisis had other ideas, but a Chevy Monza and a tempting Corvette made the search a lot more interesting.
Up until that point, my automotive journey had consisted of a line of slightly to “veeeery” used models; a 64 Ford Fairlane, a 68 Plymouth Valiant, a 69 Olds Delta 88, a 72 Pontiac Firebird, and a 74 Dodge Charger. My young, immature brain at the time failed to recognize that two of those; the Delta 88 and the Valiant, would later be among my favorite and most cherished steeds. I just had that irrational urge for something with that new car smell—hopefully slightly sporty.
I had to set my sights pretty low—I couldn’t afford much of a monthly payment. My first inclination took me to the Toyota dealer up the street—still naively thinking that “import” meant inexpensive. Was I ever shell-shocked—the 1972-74 oil embargo and subsequent oil crisis had made fuel efficient cars, mostly Japanese, a must-have. In turn, dealers were gouging every cent out of customers they could. I remember this was the first time I saw the term “adjusted market value” as a line item on the dealer addendum attached to the Monroney. While I was looking for a Celica, even a base Corolla was way over my budget.
Camaros and Firebirds were way too expensive and no way I’d even look at a Mustang II. But I did read something that intrigued me—Chevy was offering a version of its small-block V8 in the new Monza—the LV1 (4.3 liters/262 cu. in.). Even at that small size and strangled with emissions gear, I thought it still ought to make that little Monza scoot pretty well. So I headed out to “Bill Swad Chevrolet” to take a test drive. I don’t know whether the salesman took pity on me or actually believed I had the cash to buy, but we conversed for a while then went on a test drive. The car wasn’t the fastback I actually wanted—they only had a “Towne Coupe” with the V8 in stock. But that was fine, as I really just wanted to know how much “get up and go” it had.
And surprisingly it did. Though it only made 110 hp and 200 ft lbs of torque, it still had that “revvy” Chevy small block feel. Road and Track tested this model and got a 0-60 time in a pretty lackadaisical 13.4 seconds. The one I test drove felt considerably stronger than that. What wasn’t impressive were the materials and the fit and finish; cheap plastic, thin seats, misaligned trim, and large panel gaps. I was left with the impression that if the things you could see were that bad, what about all the things you couldn’t?
As we came back from the test drive, I noticed a nice-looking dark burgundy Corvette on the used lot. I knew it was probably beyond my means, but wanted to give it a whirl. It was a low mile ‘74 model with the L82 210 hp engine and an automatic. The 70’s post high-compression era Corvettes struck me as “poseur” cars, but I wanted to see how much sauce the L82 had. It was quick – Car and Driver tests showed 0-60 in 7.4 seconds, which was indeed fast for the times. This one felt every bit that strong, if not more. Too bad I couldn’t afford it, let alone the insurance.
So what “new car” did I end up with? Well, something Japanese without the outrageous “adjusted market value” mark up – if interested, you can read about it here.
Fun Fact: The engine bay in the Monza with the 4.3 V8 was so tight that the No. 3 spark plug was right against the steering column. GM’s official service procedure to change that plug required loosening the engine mounts and raising the motor with a hoist.
Related Post:
1975 Mustang II V8 vs. Chevy Monza 2+2 V8 – The V8 Shetland Pony Car Shootout by PN
I’m glad you put “Bill Swad Chevrolet” in quotes. I believe I was in that dealership once, and they had a Cosworth Vega on the showroom floor. My Columbus Chevrolets were bought at “Bobby Layman, Bobby Layman” (1977) and Jack Maxton (1982). Columbus was a lot smaller then and you could hit up all of the competing dealers pretty easily, but I didn’t get out to the Eastside much.
Back in the fall of 1974 I was a high School sophomore. And thought the new Monza 2+2 Hatchback was drop dead gorgeous, and still do! Owning a Red 262 5- speed example was on my bucket list for years! I never did own a Monza but my first new car was a Red ‘ 84 Z-28 H.O. 5-speed. Its styling was definitely Monza inspired. I ordered that car from Best Chevrolet in Hingham, Massachusetts where I was a service advisor at the time. I kept that car for 26 years and wish I still had it now!
I test drove a new V8 Monza in 1977 or ‘78, with the 5.0. It was quick for those days, and somehow the plasticky low-quality interior didn’t really bother me … since I was driving a 1973 Vega GT at the time. Automatic only in California though; if it had been available here with a 4 speed I might have scratched an itch that I finally did in 1981 when I bought a 5.0 4 speed Firebird.
Thanks for busting the “had to pull the engine” myth, they certainly looked good but Malaise Era performance, and penny pinching, made them not so good to live with. A Japanese car was your best bet at the time since VW was still working the bugs out of the Rabbit and Scirocco. I’ve never driven a Monza but I have some experience in the J body and FWD X body cars and was not impressed. My experience of cars from this era was all imports I drove in the 80s.
A Monza fastback restomodded with an Ectotec turbo four and decent seats would be interesting.
By 1974, after attending Chicago Auto Shows for years, I already knew that imported cars were better than American cars at that time. While I ended up with a wonderful Valiant as my first car, my college buddies were driving old Beetles, Hondas, Datsuns and Toyotas. One guy had a BMW 2002 – and yes, he was an odious jerk.
The Valiants, (I had two), lasted until I started getting new company cars during the 1980s. It was then that I discovered that Ford was making new small cars that didn’t carry over the bad old early 1970s Pinto/Vega/Gremlin days. The only bad company car I got was a Citation. That had killed GM for me until Saturn. I rode the Ford Aero-boom 1980s right up to now.
The two Monzas I knew being driven didn’t promote GM. Lots of typical Chevy substandard problems. Both Monza drivers trade them in on Civics.
It makes me wonder about an alternate timeline in which Chevy put a not-half-baked engine in the Vega, and then sent that much better engine to Cosworth for a 16-valve head and other power mods. The 262 V-8 in the Monza had the same HP as a Cosworth Vega, although I’m sure the V-8 had significantly more torque.
On the balance, I’d rather have a free-revving 16 valve 2.0 I-4 than a slug of a V-8 in a Monza. The Cosworth engine was a lot lighter too, which would have fixed the weight imbalance that a V-8 Monza had.
I’ve driven, albeit only briefly, the V8 Monza and a Cosworth Vega. And an early carbureted Fox Mustang 2.3 Turbo. The Cosworth was by far the most fun but the V8 Monza felt punchier even with an automatic.
As a kid, I was a total car nut and followed GM particularly closely, as my Dad and brother were basically GM fanatics. I eagerly awaited the V-8 Monza. When it came out, it was a dud. A 0-60 time of 13+ seconds was a joke. My Dad’s 1974 Toyota Corolla 1600 was faster and got 30 MPG to boot.
It’s a”publicity, still”. Love that silver/burgundy, “76”, though.
Bill Swad? Surely he was teased. The jokes write themselves.
Talk about a coincidence, the October 2026 issue of Collectible Automobile did an article on the Monza.
I liked the coupe Monza and Sunbird over any of the hatchback versions.
I was young (of course) then. Getting to/from the back seat of the coupe was hard. Being there, though wasn’t so tight as one might expect.
And to think in 1978, the Monza inherited the wagon from the Vega.
https://oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/Chevrolet/1978-Chevrolet/1978%20Chevrolet%20Wagons%20-%20Original/slides/1978%20Chevrolet%20Wagons%20Brochure%2014-15.html
IIRC the 1975 Buick Skyhawk I had was a derivative of this car (?) .
It had a V6 and one of the spark plugs on the driver’s side was impossible to get to .
I was told to get a hole saw and carefully hole the inner fender .
-Nate
1976 was a tough time for someone looking for a small American car.