The Almost Muscle Car: Chevy Monza, 1975-1980

The ’70s (and early ’80s) were Weird Years for the car industry. The muscle car era of the ’60s was fading fast, but the fumes still lingered… what would come next? What would be in between?

Chevy’s answer – well, one of them – was the Monza 2+2.

Though small, it was still rear-wheel-drive. And while it came standard with a Briggs & Stratton-esque (and Vega-sourced) 2.3 liter four, you could order it with a V8.

Imagine that.

Now, it wasn’t much of a V8. It was actually the smallest V8 Chevy ever put into a production car. Just 4.3 liters (262 cubes, in pre-metric ’70s car jargon). It sipped gas – remember, it was 1975 – through a tiny two-barrel Rochester carburetor and the result was 110 hp at 3,600 RPM. About what a 2015 VW Jetta’s base 2.0 liter four manages, but without the 16-18 MPG consumption of the little engine that couldn’t. Paired with Armor All 44983 Protec... Buy New $12.58 (as of 08:55 UTC - Details) a three-speed automatic (only; if you wanted a manual, you had to accept the even smaller four cylinder engine) and feeding its limited thrust through the optionally available 2.93 rear axle ratio (which was more “sporty” than the standard 2.56 cogs) a ’75 Monza V8 just about reached the speed limit at the end of a quarter mile run: 75.4 MPH. This took 18.5 seconds, according to an early spring, 1975 Car & Driver instrumented road test.

Top speed was not published but given the gearing, the power  – and the weight (a V8-equipped Monza was startlingly heavy for such a small car; about 3,200 lbs. fully dressed) it was likely just over 100 MPH. If you kind of pushed your body forward in the seat, to add momentum.

As miserable as this may have been, it was competitive with the Monza’s targeted competition – Ford’s then-new Mustang II. The Pinto-based Mustang’s 289 V8 was larger and slightly stronger and so, the Ford was slightly quicker. But it was also much thirstier.C&D’s testers had to check underneath their Mustang test car to make sure the gas tank wasn’t leaking – because what other explanation could there possibly be for a 129 hp V8 that averaged 13 MPG?

Some Monzas actually got the better-known (but not much better performing, in this instance) 5.7 liter (350 cubic inch) Chevy small block V8, which upped the underhood ante to 125 hp. This engine set the record for the least powerful 350 Chevy ever put into a production car – and its Chemical Guys MIC_506_... Best Price: $18.00 Buy New $18.95 (as of 11:25 UTC - Details) performance was not much of an improvement over the 4.3-equipped Monza.

However, both V8s were small block Chevys. Which meant that, crippled as they were in factory trim, both had enormous potential locked up within their cast iron selves. The 350, especially, but even the little 262. Because unlike the later (and not much lamented) “small” Pontiac 301 that powered the final run of ’80-81 Trans-Ams, the 262 accepted the same hop-up parts as other small blocks Chevys, including pre-’75 (and thus, pre-catalytic converter) high-performance small blocks.

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