Holy Cow! Has it really been over two months since I have posted something to the blog? I am really really really sorry about that! Well, last post was on 12/05, which is the beginning of the holiday season so, yeah I guess I can believe that. Well a lot has happened since I last posted, some good, some bad. But such is life.
If you are a follower of my Facebook or Instagram pages, you may have already seen pictures of the 1974 Monaco coupe I recently purchased.
I have affectionately named the car “Son Of A Bluesmobile”
I know I know. Once you name them you end up keeping them.
But what I want to write about today is my adventure of going out to see the car from Chicago to Iowa, purchasing the car, and then driving it back to Chicago.
Well, I should say attempted to drive it back!
It all started back in December when a buddy of mine sent a few pictures of two ’74 sedans he had that were available. Apparently they were sold in the October time frame and were scheduled to be picked up when the buyer could no longer take them.
I was intrigued! I reviewed the pictures and I was on and off the fence about buying them. One was complete, but rusted out. The second was stripped, but solid. The good ‘ole two into one deals! The problem was how to get them to Chicago and where to store them once here. So as I was thinking about them, he sent me a picture of a ’74 Monaco coupe that he was planning on picking up after the holidays once the weather was a little better.
From the initial pics, it looked decent. He accurately described the car, it’s flaws, the amount of rust, etc.
Now while I am always on the lookout for 1974 specific Monaco parts, I wasn’t in the market for a whole car. But something about this car caught my attention, and I can’t explain what it was.
Then he sent me pictures of the car once he picked it up.
I think I was hooked even more on the car after seeing fresh pics without a pile of snow on top of it!
So I made arrangements to go see the car in person 330 miles away from home. I packed up the wife, boy, and dog and we set off for our adventure early on a Saturday morning!
Other than taking about 5 hours give or take, the trip from Chicago to Iowa is pretty uneventful. Lots of fields.
We arrived at the house around 1pm and quickly I looked over the car. It started right up and we let it run while we were looking at the car. After talking with the owner about where the car was, how he found it, etc. I decided I had to have the car.
I went over to our car, gave my wife the unfortunate news that I was dragging another car home and the first thing she said was – “Aren’t you going to drive it?”
Me: “Nah, it started right up, stayed running while we talked and I confirmed the soft break pedal that he told me about. We’re good.”
We exchanged cash for car and title, shook hands, and we were off! I was in a hurry to get back to Illinois before dark, I figured once there we’ll be okay.
I get in the Monaco, put her in drive and pull away heading to the closest gas station to fill ‘er up! I come upon the gas station, touch the brakes and she dies. I coast next to the pump. Figuring she was on fumes, I didn’t think anything of it, filled ‘er up and it started right back up. Pull away from the gas station, reach the stop sign, and it dies again. WTF?
Start her up and we get on the road. By this time I already know what my wife is thinking.
But, now that we are actually moving the car is driving like a dream! Cruising at 50 no issues, stomp on it and she quickly went up to 70mph no issues. I’m digging the ride! We approach a stop sign again, I start pumping the brakes to build up pressure, and when I come to a stop, she dies. AGAIN??? Son of a B****!!!
Starts back up and continue on my way. I wasn’t sure what was going on here, but it was getting annoying. The one thing I kept thinking was that I would be okay if I could just get back on the expressway!
Now might be a good time to give you a little back story on the Monaco. It was purchased new and spent all of its life in Kansas were it racked up a total of 57k original miles on the 400 big block. The one caveat is that is sat for at LEAST 10 years in a field before being found by a friend of my buddy. So other than going to pick it up and throwing in a battery, checking the oil to make sure it wasn’t foamy, nothing was done to the car to ensure reliability.
I think what drew me to the car the most is the fact that you never see ’74-75 Monaco Coupes. You come across the later years with the fixed rear windows. I like that this is a crew hardtop coupe, front and rear side glass rolls down. In fact my buddy that I purchased it from has been purchasing ’74-77 C-Bodies for over 20 years and this was the first coupe he’s had.
As I mentioned before ’74 Monaco’s were not popular when they came out, and that held true for the coupes. Sources differ, but between 67,000-78,000 1974 Monaco’s were built across all trim levels. Out of that 14,859 were coupes, again across all trim lines (base, custom, brougham).
Anyway back to the story!
I make it as far as Oskaloosa when the first serious sign of trouble occurred. Come to a stop sign, the car dies, and this time it doesn’t want to start back up! Son Of A B****! I try to pop the hood (it doesn’t want to), finally get the hood open and then go about checking out the main things that come to mind when a car doesn’t want to start. Make sure battery cables are connected, make sure there is ground, make sure alternator connections were secure, etc.
Everything looked like it was in place, other than obviously the car wasn’t run in a long long time.
After about 10 or 15 minutes the car starts back up. Hmm, starting to think that it was vapor locked.
I get the car out of Oskaloosa and eventually we make our way up 63 onto I-80. We’re making progress now!
As long as we were on the highway, the car purred like a kitten. That’s what was making it so frustrating!!! Son Of A B****!!!
Before I continue with the story, I’d like to take a moment to address the pictures above. Unfortunately when any car stays out in the elements for any length of time, the cars will start to deteriorate. But when poor build quality is also involved it can wreck havoc.
The passenger side quarter panel / roof seam was poorly sealed from the factory due to having a vinyl top. That’s typical, I witnessed it firsthand with mine. The problems start when that vinyl top wastes away! And when someone leaves rags in the trunk pocket, well things get much worse!
I guess most people don’t think of that when they buy a car and decide it no longer has a purpose to them. It wouldn’t matter if the car was a 1 of 1 built model, some people would treat it the same.
Off my soapbox!
From Montezuma all the way to Rock Island it was uneventful. We decided to stop at a friends house for a visit in Rock Island since we were in the area and that’s when it went all down hill.
From the moment I left the highway to our friends house the car kept dying. It wouldn’t start back up, the battery was drained. I jumped the car off several times from my wife’s truck ( I came fully prepared with tools and cables!)
I limp the car over to our friends house, drop the wife and family off (including dog) and head for the nearest Autozone for a fresh battery and a can of carb cleaner.
Get back to the car, do my work in the dark (yes, missed the goal of getting home before dark by a mile, or 170 to be exact). Car starts up, we say our goodbyes and I make it to the end of the block when it done clonks out again. SON OF A B****!
At this point I’m done messing with it for the night, I get it back to our friends house, leave the keys and title and we go home leaving the Monaco in their driveway and I’m back in the comfort of my truck.
It was a long a brutal day and I just didn’t have it in me to keep going.
The next day I woke up still exhausted from the day before. I have to decide if I am going to go back and attempt to drive it back the rest of the way home or just have it towed.
After several calls to tow companies and getting the sticker shock of a lifetime I am almost getting ready to head out the door, until I am told about uShip. If you haven’t heard about them and you need something shipped, try them out. It’s like the eBay of shipping. You put in the destinations, what you want shipped, and companies bid on your business.
After doing the math and figuring out what it would cost for me to rent a truck/trailer and the gas to go get the car, it would cost more than what a shipper would charge who is passing through the area and has space on their truck.
After a day I agreed on the shipper and price and waited for the car to be delivered to me.
BOY AM I GLAD I DID THAT!!! That Saturday was the last time the car would run on it’s own until after it was dropped off to my house. I change the fuel filter and cleaned the carb and actually got her to run on her own enough to get in the back yard, but something isn’t right. Good thing I’m not planning on driving her anytime soon.
In the daylight I took the opportunity to vacuum out the car. Critters made a home of it at some point, because I found my new friend George laying in the cowl area.
There was some evidence of droppings in some spots of the interior and surprisingly enough multiple small wasp / hornets nests under the hood. Before I can bring the car into the garage, I had to clean it out and make sure anything living in there would leave.
Now that I got the car home, what’s next?
Well that I don’t know. Ultimately I would like to make it a restomod if time and finances allow.
I am taking my Bluesmobile out across the Midwest this year for multiple conventions, so that makes me nervous. In it’s current state, I have a front clip, frame, engine, etc. that I could move over to my car in case anything happened to it.
BUT what I really am thinking about doing is pulling all of the one year only parts off the front end and making fiberglass molds of the pieces. That way I can make fiberglass repops of all the hard to find pieces while keeping the originals with the car and either restore it or sell it when demand comes around. We’ll have to wait and see. I have a busy summer, so it will be some time before I get to doing anything like that!
Where did the name Son Of A Bluesmobile come from?
The name came about because I said “Son of a B****” so many times on the way home that one I got it there finally and saw it behind The Bluesmobile, it just clicked! The car will be for ever known as Son Of A Bluesmobile for as long as I own it!
BONUS PICTURES
Below are some pictures of the “neat” things I found in the car while cleaning it out.
