1971 Monte Carlo SS 454 Urgently Needs V8 Surgery; Won't Cost a Kidney To Get It Done

GM had such an offer in its portfolio in the late sixties and early seventies – but not from Chevrolet. Buick was the name of the game for people who wanted lush and muscle in the same package. But Chevrolet had something exceptional to show in 1975 – the famous 454-cubic-inch big-block mastodont.

It wreaked havoc on competition – and that didn’t come in short numbers, not in 1970. Everyone had something big in the chamber, from the double-blow Mopar E-body Challenger and ‘Cuda, armed with the 426 HEMIs, to the Boss 429 from Ford’s Mustang. And the list can go on for many contenders, but Chevrolet was the apex predator that year.

The 454-cubic-inch V8 (7.4 liters) gave it all the right to sit on the throne alone and undisputed. With the LS6 option, the engine was a raging mammoth, at 450 hp and 510 lb-ft (456 PS, 691 Nm). But not everyone wearing a bow tie would deserve the special treatment; except the Chevelle SS and the El Camino, all other Chevrolet models (Corvette included) had to make do with the LS5 variant of the motor.

Monte Carlo was among the losers who didn’t get the full beans. Still, at 360 hp and 500 lb-ft (365 PS, 678 Nm), it wasn’t exactly the shy figure at the back of the muscle class. However, out of the 146,000 Monte Carlos assembled in its problematic inaugural year, only 3,823 wore the SS badge. It should be noted that the 454 V8 was an SS-exclusive option, and it stayed that way for 1971.

However, production fell drastically for the Super Sport package, with 1,919 examples riding the high horse among the total production of the Chevrolet Personal Luxury car of just under 127,000. With that in mind, the white collars up top ditched the package for 1972, leaving us with a very rare automobile that gets attention when it shows up at parties.

Or, in our case, at online sales, where one special 1971 Monte Carlo SS 454 is available. What’s so special about it? It wasn’t a regular production average-Joe-ordered automobile, but a "Brass Hat" car built for a GM factory executive.

The current owner has had it for more than ten years and takes pride in having added ‘a few hard-to-get restoration parts such as pre-sewn cloth seat covers’ or a correct instruments cluster. Although this was a GM-official’s personal car, it didn’t come with the optional instrument package.

Another SS 454 feature was the ride-leveling air suspension on the rear axle (it came standard). Still, the sad news is that the car doesn’t run (for reasons that will be discussed personally with the owner). Additionally, the seller notes that his Monte Carlo needs a complete restoration but doesn’t delve deeper into more details.

The worrying part is that this survivor has been involved in an accident – under one of the two previous owners (excluding the GM boss) – and the left rear quarter now suffers the consequences, with rust settling in. However, the seller notes that a replacement patch panel is included in the sale, which is $12,500 away from a deal-closing handshake.