When Dennis Rosa was just a lad, his dad worked for Chevrolet, on the line at the Linden, New Jersey assembly plant. That solidified Dennis’ loyalty to the Bow Tie brand while growing up. According to Dennis, “I have always loved the first-generation Monte Carlo. When I was a kid, a neighbor had a white one, and he would drive me around town in it. I never lost the love for them.”  Dennis feels that they are truly an overlooked musclecar.

Dennis’ love of the Monte Carlo never waned, and that is why he made sure that when he found this first edition of the first gen, he brought it home. He told us, “I was rummaging through online sales ads trying to find something that I could work on. I found this one in Jacksonville, Florida. It was actually an impulse buy, but I had been looking for years.” Although he cannot confirm it, Dennis feels that his Monte is quite possibly a Super Sport, but again, he is not 100-percent sure.

Under the hood is a rebuilt 454 cubic-inch engine that has received a cylinder-opening .030-inch overbore. A set of forged pistons builds the compression, and a Comp Cams’ Thumper camshaft controls the breathing. Speaking of breathing, the air and fuel comes in through an Edelbrock carburetor and RPM intake. Exhaling is via a set of Hooker long-tube headers and a 3-inch exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. Behind that is a Turbo 400 that has been rebuilt, and benefits from the addition of a shift-improver kit, and a deeper-than-stock transmission pan. Finally, a 3.90-geared 12-bolt rearend surely makes the car a blast to drive.

The car was a project when Dennis purchased it, and he told us. “It’s got a new trunk pan and lower front fender extensions, fuel tank, and sending unit. The paint is a Mercedes Benz color called Brilliant Diamond Silver. Dennis continued, I also replaced the front and rear bumpers, exterior mirrors, door handles, rocker trim, and installed a fiberglass hood with a 4-inch cowl made by Tamraz’s Parts.”

As great as the car looks, Dennis says he is not finished working on it yet. As he put it, “I am still working on it to get it where I want it to be. With kids and work as a primary responsibility, it’s a slow process.” We know exactly what you mean Dennis.

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