Just Shoot me....Please...

My father purchased a car in 1988 that my mother has detested from day one. Guys, never buy a car that your wife hates... He bought the car because he loved the lines, loved the color and a "powerful" V8 engine. Dad is not mechanically inclined, in fact, he's borderline dangerous with hand tools. Twice now over the last 15 years, Steve and I have gotten this car running when it has quit from being just plain ignored.

The car is a 1987 Monte Carlo SS Aero Window. These are actually pretty rare, as Chevrolet built them for two years only to homologate them for NASCAR racing. 200 built in 86 and about 6,000 built in 87, then they killed production. This is the last of the V8 rear wheel drive Montes. Black with maroon interior and factory maroon/orange/grey stripes. Remember that in the context of the 80's this was a BITCHIN car! And with 180 hp it was "powerful".

Anyway the car has been sitting for more than 15 years. It was only occasionally driven before that, the odometer reads 9,200 miles. We're still confirming that because both Dad and I thought it had closer to 20,000 but either number is uncommonly low miles. Dad's having some health issues and needs to sell it. Mom wants to dump it as is, I intervened and said "let me get it running - it will sell for quite a bit more if it drives...."

This is the just shoot me part. I opened the door on the car and there were SIX dead mice on the carpet. The filthy things had crawled under the front seats and taken all the stuffing out of the seats to build their nests which seem to be mostly in the dashboard. Can't wait to see the wiring. Took a couple of pics. I'll head back out with the trailer in a few days.

angela

Clean it, post it on ebay (you'd be amazed at what people buy), and whatever it brings put in an extra 1k and give it to your Dad. I'd much rather pay the 1k extra out of pocket at the end then spend your time and money at the front end.

P.S.---BANG!-you're shot

Angela,
As I posted elsewhere, I haul iron like this to the NJ Exporters headed for Europe, mostly sold through ebay.
Just sweep it out and hose it down, these nuts don't care and pay well.
Not to compare what you have as I am sure it will bring decent money. I just winched a clapped out rusted 1960 Chrysler Imperial onto the trailer, a Grerman guy paid $4500 via ebay something that I would have given $100 as scrap.

I suspect you guys are right, there are collectors of most anything. Hopefully this car will find a home for a decent price (dad needs the money).

The fuel tank will need to be dropped first as what is in the tank is 15 years old... Here's a couple of mouse pics for you guys lest you think I'm getting off too easy on this one!
angela

Angela,

Don't you love surprises like that. My outside cat drags a mouse to our door most every day, at the rate she is going our neighborhood should be mouse free by 2020, lol.
I remember when those Monte Carlos came out and they were distinctive looking to be sure, think only a chevy nut would love one but I think everyone is right, get it running halfway decent and try it locally for a couple of weeks and then E Bay. I had good luck with the Craig list, price was right, free!

The SOT is looking good, think we just picked up a few from the Portland area, will be driving P cars too.

Bruce

Angela; That looks like its the same car my poor son-inlaw bought and was stolen. We felt we would never see it again because they are very rare. It turned up in a shopping center in Modesto, blown engine no tread on the car,guess they had a burnout contest. They stripped the manifold and carbs also rare. The car had no other damage. He contacted a tow outfir to put it on a flatbed to get it home. Now the car towing out fit was told repedately the engine was stripped of the carbs and manifold. Long story cut short. The used the starter to put the car on the truck. Now the car ingites and burns on the flat bed. Still waiting for money for thier stupidity. Its has been over a year now with a judgement and no money and a burned out car. He really loved that car. Its nice to know they'er a few left out there. You are right the value would be very much higher if you get it running. His car was pristine and valued a little over 30,000. That would make your mom smile, I'm not sure in that condition it would bring that much but with only 9000 miles it should comand a pretty good price to the right colector. I would'nt shoot you, I know you can get it running. and put a smile on your mothers face.

As much as I hate the way ebay drives up the price of our hobby. I would never sell a car I was looking to get max $$ for without it. Worldwide exposure!!!!!!

Thats the same body style as my SS el camino that is white.

That just sickins me to see a classic musule car even of newer vintage be necglected that bad.

My mom is the same way She calls the mino junk .the D a wash tub . and the bug a pregant rollerscate. She has no Idea of the value But my Brother does and stands up for me when he s around. otherwise its not discussed EVER!!

I keep the D locked up.

I do beleive you could give her a Brand new Cadilac and she would still find faults in it or would keep lookin untill she find fault in it.

I love her But sometimes , I wish I was a orphen.

At least they died on the floor mat.

Angela - at least it was mice and not squirrels!!

Those are only the mice you can see . . .

My mom has a '64 Buick Wildcat 2-door sitting in her garage, where it has been for many years, waiting for my brother and I to restore it. Has a huge 450-something V-8 that as I recall really made it scoot. Maybe someday . . .

Did you eat the mice, or were they too dry?

Thats a 455 or a 458 engine I think and at all cost try to keep it in the car it came with. Did they put Oldsmobile engines in wildcats?

It will almost double the value of the finished car. A lot meckanics would try to swipe a rare engine from you and give you a cracked block or head story. just to get it.

It will have to be a hands on type restoration with something like that. a real do it your-self-er.

I have seen some realy dirty tricks pulled in Siler Sity NC.

They finially closed one of the shops over that kind of mess.

If you have any machine work done Demand to be shown any dammge and make sure it understood up front all parts go home with you good or bad.

I saw a friend lose a set of Gm double hump heads that we latter found out. had beene sold at a nice profit, to someone else.

The mice on the floor are the only ones I've found so far - because I REFUSE to look anywhere else until I have a mask and gloves. The field mice around here are carriers (occasionally) of bubonic plague and very regularly of Hanta Virus. The glove box is going to yield a couple, I suspect there are some in the headliner and inside the dashboard should be absolutely delightful...

They have taken all the stuffing out of the drivers seat, you can actually feel the frame of the seat... Looks like they stayed out of the engine bay (at least the air cleaner assembly is mouse-free). Maybe they were afraid of the spyders that are in the engine bay. Oops, I mean "spiders" not spyders!

angela

Did you ever wonder what killed the mice?

I have an old '84 F-150 that is the third vehicle at a two slot garage, so stays outside. Also, does not get driven much, serving mostly as a motorized wheel barrow around the "ranch", w/ occasional forays to the local dump. Anyway, the local field mice have discovered it and have now effectively moved all of the cushioning material that is under the rubber floor covering into the heater box. Also some of the seat padding, as you mention. It is very interesting when I turn on the heater/defroster -- sort of like snow. Stinks pretty bad. They like to take the nuts that fall (acorns and hickory) into the air filter housing and eat them there -?-. And also the squirrels. They apparently can't resist the neoprene fuel lines, and have chowed down on these in several places at different times. My habit now is to turn the truck on (I have fit it w/ an electric fuel pump) and then look underneath for any drips/squirts. My neighbor informs me that squirrels also like to gnaw on brake lines - ouch!! - but so far I have no trouble there. I guess when all is said and done, my house and I are just a visitors in THEIR house.

Uhh, Ray?
Do you think your son-in-law might be interested in Angela's car?
It just seems..................

Buick actually ran a 425 CI engine in the '64 Wildcats. Extremely good motor with lots of power, about 340 hp. Wildcats are extremely nice cars. Restored, they fetch a pretty penny with collectors.

If you don't mind the smell..get some old pantyhose or the like and knot up some small bags of moth balls. Hang 'em in the wheel wells, engine compartment or anywhere the little devils want to congregate.
Learned that one in an RV park at a Pocono Nascar race. It behooved me to ask the neighbor why he was scattering mothballs under his RV like chicken feed.
Turns out he had to get towed ($$$) to the shop to get part of his RV's wiring harness replaced on a previous foray.

Bought an old mgb, funny smell in the interior whicj got worse with speed. while driving this "prize" home something fell onto my foot(scared the hell out of me), Luckily he was dead. Found a whole nest on top of the heater core.--What a smell.

You are right to be careful with the gloves. Also air the car out
while you are in it. It's not only the contact that can make you sick.

Angela; I see one window partly rolled down in one of the photos; is that how the mice got into the car?

I haven't investigated their entry point, the window is certainly plausible. The fresh air vents are another possibility. I'll find out on Tuesday when I drag it into the sunshine and commence with the cleaning.

Mom "bug-bombed" the car and the building itself some time recently (she can't remember when). I suspect that killed a bunch of them and the ones on the floor boards demised from that incident.

angela

I thought "bubonic plague" was eradicated a century ago.....

Not even close... This is from WIKIPEDIA

In the U.S., about half of all food cases of plague since 1970 have occurred in New Mexico. There were 2 plague deaths in the state in 2006, the first fatalities in 12 years.[9]
On 19 April 2006, CNN News and others reported a case of plague in Los Angeles, California, lab technician Nirvana Kowlessar, the first reported case in that city since 1984.[10]
In May 2006, KSL Newsradio reported a case of plague found in dead field mice and chipmunks at Natural Bridges about 40 miles west of Blanding in San Juan County, Utah.[11]
In May 2006, AZ Central reported a case of plague found in a cat.[12]
One hundred deaths resulting from pneumonic plague were reported in Ituri district of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in June 2006. Control of the plague was proving difficult due to the ongoing conflict.[13]
It was reported in September 2006 that three mice infected with Yersinia pestis apparently disappeared from a laboratory belonging to the Public Health Research Institute, located on the campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which conducts anti-bioterrorism research for the United States government.[14]
On 16 May 2007, an 8-year-old hooded capuchin monkey in Denver Zoo died of the bubonic plague. Five squirrels and a rabbit were also found dead on zoo grounds and tested positive for the disease.[15]
On 5 June 2007 in Torrance County, New Mexico a 58 year old woman developed bubonic plague, which progressed to plague pneumonia [16]


Out here, we assume that all rodents carry bubonic plague. Its not something that really freaks me out, the symptoms are specific and I would not mistake them for anything else. But Hanta Virus scares the snot out of me...

angela

Having mice or having cats If the cats don't scratch uopthe paintwork it would be a good solution but youed have to keep it under a car cover.

Dryer sheets also work. Apparently, mice hate them. As I'm researching how to bring this back to life, I ran across this tidbit. I cross-referenced it in a couple of places to confirm it was correct.

Dryer sheets - no mice.

angela

Yep, lots of plague still around. It's also endemic in eastern Colorado and is currently found in squirrels in the City Park in Denver and in almost any prairie dog colony you would like to test. The last real epidemic was in L.A. in the 1920's, but there are still about 10 to 15 cases a year in the U.S. As far as I know, it hasn't been found in the wild in the U.S. east of the 100th parallel (about the western boundary of Oklahoma). There were a couple of cases in NYC a few years ago, but in people from New Mexico who were traveling. Fortunately, it responds readily to tetracycline and streptomycin. Just have to be careful with the dosage, as the bugs carry a powerful toxin which is released when they are killed. No, I didn't write the book on bubonic plague. It was only a booklet, for CDC, way back in another life....

Gene,

Looking for a little part-time contractor-type work? My company has a project that may be to your liking. My company is based in Fairfax VA. Give me an off-line shout if you're interested.

angela

Dragged the Monte into the light today. Spent about 3 hours cleaning it out at my parents place because I didn't want to bring it home so filthy. Found another half dozen dead mice. The shed is so oppressively hot that I think that's what killed them. There is no smell in the car. So far I have found no damaged wiring. Cross your fingers on that one...

Took over two hours to drag the car on the trailer. Next time, I'll make sure the parking brake is off.... GAH!!

angela

And tied to the trailer heading home. The car is now parked in front of our house because I'm too tired to unload it. Next time I drag home a car, its going to be something that WEIGHS LESS!!!

This picture also shows the unique rear window for the Aero Monte.
angela

Well, she cleaned up pretty good. Hopefully it won't take too much to tick 'er over and see what's what. Good luck. I'm betting you have a winner here, that will look and go real nice, maybe soon -?-

WOW . . . is it just me, or is that one REALLY ugly ride . . .

A weird collection of mismatched styling all balled up into one big mess. I heard that GM tried to buy all of those things back and had 'em crushed in order to hide their mistake.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevrolet-Monte-Carlo-SS-AEROCOUPE-RARE-1987-MonteCarlo-SS-Aerocoupe-70K-Original-Miles_W0QQitemZ150145109699QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have to agree with tC on the styling. "Different strokes" really doesn't cover the Classic Detroit OldsmoBuiChevroTiac lines.
But hey, free AND profitable? You'll make out.
You gonna put the proceeds into the 2WD Blazer project?

The car is my Dad's, Cory, so any money that will be made on it goes to him. Right now, I figure it has almost no value as it is so rough and not running. Should be more after the big stuff is cleaned up and it runs.

TC - you gotta think about what was cool in the 80's. When this car came out it was the BOMB DIGGITY!! Believe it or not, they are quite collectable. Not by me, 180 hp from a V8 is completely unacceptble even in a daily driver. My chevy V8 jag was 300...

It will find a home and my Dad a little money. I on the other hand, will suffer like a dog for this... Probably deserve. Its my penance for never getting a speeding ticket.

angela

Angela wrote "Probably deserve. Its my penance for never getting a speeding ticket"

You mean, never getting caught LOL

I always thought they looked like they had the front end of a Ford Fairmont, the rear end of a 76 Monte Carlo and a rear window from a pre 1970 Barracuda but, it their day, they were considered by the Chevy crowd to be a real looker. NO go, just looks

Angela, my red-headed-stepchild-Aero-fixing-mouse-eradicating-trailer-hauling TorqueWench!

Good luck in your endeavor. I'm sure your pop is appreciative of your hurculean-efforts (or should I say Wonder-womanish effort) to turn that car into something good for your dad!

If we had bought that house next door to you and saw you roll that heap onto the lawn, we would have thought that you finally went over the edge!!LOL!

Peace - Out!

That house next door is still available, Jim! I decided that since the bank owns it (repo) they won't mind me parking the crew cab and trailer with the Monte in front of it!

Yeah. Sure they don't mind...
angela

...the only thing missing with that picture is some cinder blocks propped under the Aero!