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05 Monte Carlo LT Build

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#1 ·
Intro! If you just want pretty pictures, keep scrolling, there’s a ton. If you have 3 minutes to spare, read on.

Finally starting a build log for my 05 Monte Carlo LT. A little bit about the car: I decided to go with the red/black/chrome theme, and began adding little accents soon after I got the car.



Red stripe:



Seat/steering wheel covers:



Carbon fiber Di-Noc /vent trim:





Brake calipers. While working on painting the front two calipers, I did a stupid thing and jacked up both wheels. The tire jacks caved as I was taking off one of the front wheels and the weight of the car was resting on one corner of the jacks and the tire. See here :eek: :D:





But it all turned out alright:

 
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#574 ·
I would probably say buy an aftermarket kit and cut them to what length you need rather than extending them...or buy one from something like a Suburban and cut them since you might have the same style brake cable ends.

See what the 4WD guys are doing when they lift their vehicles. Could get some ideas from them.
 
#576 ·
The funny thing about the e-brakes that pull straight out from under the dash is if someone with a gorilla arm sets it someone that's dainty has a hard time releasing it. Just ask my grandma:pShe drove a '66 4 door Nova (the ugly Chevy II) for a couple decades. The brake I'm referring to was a common design back in the 20th century.
 
#577 · (Edited)
So here we are again at trunk rebuild #3 or as I like to call it, the r3build. This time I did the work, with help from my assistant Lt Get-it-yourself Strakele.

The goals this time around consist of the following:

  • Easily accessible spare tire (for real this time)
  • Little to nothing obscuring the plexi baffle
  • All equipment and panels easily removable yet sturdy (Winslow...:D you know what that means, buddy?)
  • Fans to cool the amps
  • Actually finish it, for once

I also tried my hand at a couple of new things: all panels in vinyl, and totally yet successfully BSing my way through fabricating the rear panels from scratch. I improvised the entire thing as it went, using a concoction of materials that some of the old-timey guys might scoff at and say that wasn't the right way to do it, or what have you. And to them I say, joke's on you, it worked. Na na na na boo boo.

So anyway I needed the back panels to curve at the top, and flex and bend without breaking (for removal and aesthetic purposes) and provide a relatively smooth surface for vinyl later on. I decided that chicken wire* was a logical starting point, obviously.

* I've been informed that I can't differentiate between chicken wire and a thing that looks just like it called metal plaster lath. But it's easier to just say chicken wire.




Chicken wire acts as a frame here.



Next I needed something, also flexible, to cover the frame. So I picked up some fleece blanket to wrap it in, naturally.



Looks like the next step is glassing. This marks my second solo attempt at it, and, predictably, it sucked. Originally I thought I was going to have to glass it in the trunk in order to retain its shape, so I spent some (wasted) time taping things up.



Then in the middle of glassing, gravity intervened, and I quickly had to change plans and glass it on the ground, which unfortunately made for a wild first layer.



Then after about three layers, it was time for a lot of sanding.

Then came the layers of Bondo-jelly, and more sanding. Repeat until this happened:



Now it's kind of starting to look like a thing that might be useful for something someday. Then more sanding.



Then ALL OF THE SANDING.

Et voila. A smooth panel that bends.



Also in this picture is some stuff I cut while waiting for my experiment to dry. Note the panels retained (but rebuilt) from my previous installation for the 6to8 and the D-block, and a primitive version of what is going to be the floor for the Z's.

Here's where things start to take shape. The big piece in the middle is my main floorpiece. It rests on the amp floors and fits perfectly inside the trunk. Toward the front I cut an opening to lift the piece up and off in the event of a flat tire.

Now you see it...



Now you don't!




cont...
 
#582 ·
I also tried my hand at a couple of new things: all panels in vinyl, and totally yet successfully BSing my way through fabricating the rear panels from scratch. I improvised the entire thing as it went, using a concoction of materials that some of the old-timey guys might scoff at and say that wasn't the right way to do it, or what have you. And to them I say, joke's on you, it worked. Na na na na boo boo.

I don't care what anyone says, the way we did this was smart :)




But first, safety is always of the utmost importance...


So yall need to hide ya kids, hide ya wives, and hide ya husbands... :alien:

Terrifying, isn't it?




And some wiring and stuff.

And by "stuff," I mean dark chocolate fudge heart brownies and the Dark Knight soundtrack.


That, right there, is our life in a nutshell.

And this is why I love her.



Anyone who's seen the inside of my car knows I'm no expert at vinyl. :blush: So what better way to improve than to use even more vinyl? ... right, guys?

No comment :p
With a few more tweaks this will be looking pretty top-notch. She can be very proud, especially since she did the majority of it herself (willingly or not ;))
 
#578 ·
Then came the amp covers. They are a three layer piece consisting of two half inch MDF boards sandwiching a half inch of frosted plexi.





But first, safety is always of the utmost importance...


So yall need to hide ya kids, hide ya wives, and hide ya husbands... :alien:

Boards #1 and #2 (didn't get a pic of them alone so whatever this was supposed to be will have to suffice):



Plexi, half finished:



Side pieces to hold the 6to8 and D-block, respectively:



Trim pieces wrapped in old red vinyl (temporary cause it's all the red I had at the time):



And it starts to come together...



Then it was time for some LEDs! This time around I went with RGB and picked up one of these babies to make them dance. Couldn't help myself...



Had to make my own plug for the controller:



And some wiring and stuff.



And by "stuff," I mean dark chocolate fudge heart brownies and the Dark Knight soundtrack.


That, right there, is our life in a nutshell.
 
#579 ·
Then came time for vinyl.



Anyone who's seen the inside of my car knows I'm no expert at vinyl. :blush: So what better way to improve than to use even more vinyl? ... right, guys?

Fortunately, it turned out better than I was expecting. Not perfect by any means (still need some more practice on corners), but I'm making progress.

Meanwhile, we finished the angled center pieces and hooked up the LEDs this evening, just about completing the install. The only sections that need completing have yet to be figured out. ;)













And just for ****s n giggles:






To be continued when I actually finish it 100%.
 
#603 ·
Maybe it's just the quality of the vinyl I got (ordered it from an online store called ball2ufall), but this stuff tore pretty easily. I've purchased vinyl from that place several times and haven't seen it rip so easily like that before. Some corners were nearly perfect, others were a disaster up close. It's just a matter of perfecting it.

I thought G was going to come back with a multi-tasking theme - "I'm getting some PT in while I 'help' you with your install - doing some bear crawlin' and sandin'"

The 'do-it-yourself' sounds like throwing someone in to the deep end and telling them to learn to swim, but we all know Ms. Ally will find a way.....then improve it......then improve it.....usually at a G2G :p:)

Sometimes that's how you learn best is just by being thrown into it. Not so much, though, when you have a deadline to meet. But it got done.

That is a bit terrifying, but it looks like Ally has integrated nicely into Texas society;)

Touche! ;)

I really like what you have done. I think it looks fantastic, and I'm proud of your work! Question though....did I miss it, but did you get a close up of the 'emblem' that is in the center panel (over the spare).

The place I had do the vinyl decals actually made the knights crest an inch smaller overall than I'd asked. :rolleyes: Gotta get it remade, but it was all I had at the time.
The dancing LEDs are awesome!

The rest of the system ain't bad neither ;)
Gracias. Thinking I want a better remote that wasn't made by Chinese children last week. It doesn't quite have the response time I was hoping for, but it'll do for a while. Can't be that hard to find a better quality remote than the $10 one I have now.

I had to laugh when I saw that picture. I've done the same with brake pads (don't ask) and concrete is very effective at quickly sanding a material and doing so relatively evenly.
Could have done without that mental image ;)


Thanks for all the kind words gentlemen. I'd also like some more constructive criticism, though, and I know that's not hard to come by on this site.

Also taking suggestions on online vinyl stores other than ball2ufall. Nothing in particular wrong with them but I'm thinking when I redo my vinyl next I'll want to try somewhere new.
 
#601 ·
damn thats a nice setup ! :O makes me miss my monte :p thats pracicly exactly what i had been trying to do setup wise in my monte. damnit when they making a new monte i would so trade in an impala if they had a new one XD what ever came of the 2013 monte carlo?
 
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