Remember the days when you could get a cool car off a used-car dealer lot? Whether you remember those days, or are too young to remember, believe it or not, occasionally, you can still find cars like this ’72 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at a used car lot. Need proof? That’s exactly where Roger Barr of Lakeland, Florida, found this one. “I actually drove by the Chevrolet dealership just about every day, and it was sitting on the used car lot of all places,” Roger told us. “The guy that owned it died, and his daughter got it. She got it running and and traded it in for a Kia.” Could you imagine trading this ’72 Monte Carlo into a dealership for a Kia?

When Roger bought the car, it was stock and only had 51,000 original miles on it. “It ran okay, but it failed a compression test,” Roger explained. “So I decided that I was going to swap the engine out.” Roger purchased a 340-horsepower, four-barrel carbureted crate-engine from Chevrolet, but didn’t like the way that it ran with the carburetor. That’ when he bought the Ram-Jet fuel injection and wiring harness from Chevrolet and put that on in place of the carburetor.

The computer didn’t really like the lopey camshaft that was in the engine, so Roger found a company in Iowa that would help him get it running better. EFI Solutions offered a kit with a crankshaft sensor, and uses the computer from a late-model Camaro. It uses the computer and coils like what would be on an LS engine. “It looks like a Ram Jet, but then you look at the coils and it looks like and LS,” Roger said. “It’s really a mixture.”

From the side, the coils definitely give the engine a look that is characteristic of an LS engine. It’s an interesting addition that was required for the new computer setup. It’s a perfect mixture of classic Chevrolet iron and modern electronic technology melded together to power Roger’s Monte Carlo.

The transmission linked to the small-block V8 is a 4L65, that’s followed up by a 3.25-geared rearend. The wheels are 17-inch American Racing five spoke with Michelin tires all the way around. It also features headers and power brakes.

The interior was originally blue when Roger bought the car, but he changed it to black. It also came with a bench seat. As the pictures show, Roger replaced that with bucket seats and a console from a Ford Fusion. He also added Vintage Air A/C and a set of Dakota Digital VHX gauges. The seats are the same fabric material that they were from the Ford Fusion, but Roger is planning on having all the upholstery redone in a vinyl or leather material sometime in the future to upgrade the look of the interior and help the upholstery match better.

We don’t see these Monte Carlos get the love they deserve. They are really cool cars and were definitely some of the best looking vehicles to come out of the early ’70s. We couldn’t imagine trading something like this into a car dealership for something like a Kia! We are glad that Roger found it, bought it, and rebuilt it into the show-worthy Ram-Jet fueled car that you see today!