G-Body Dreams: 1988 Monte Carlo SS

A cautionary tale of a young car enthusiast and lost love. The young car enthusiast was me (Ron Kidd). The year was 1994. The car was a 1988 Monte Carlo Super Sport. It was silver with black stripes and it caught my eye at a dealership in north Alabama. I was working as a parts delivery driver and I spotted the car a few times grazing on a lot of average modes of transportation. The SS was the oldest car there. So one day I stopped. It seemed like it was meant to be. My horoscope* even read, “Sagittarius: Ron Kidd, yes, you. Buy this beautiful silver Super Sport Monte Carlo today!” But at the time, the horoscope was too vague.

The stars aligned! 
  There was something different about this particular car. Was it in great shape? Yes, but that wasn’t the hook. It was a little different from other Super Sport Monte Carlos I had seen on GM's famous G-Body platform offered from 1983-1988. This one had the distinctive front fascia. It had the expected rear spoiler. It had the aluminum alloy wheels that looked perfect on the Monte Carlo. It had the full array of gauges including the tachometer that we love so much. This SS benefited from a prior owner taking excellent care plus it was a low-mile example. 
  This is so happening even without the hook.

My famed bench seat and column shifter! This one was in Code CQQ3 Gray. The one I fell in love with was CFF3 Maroon.

What could be so different?
  Silver paint was a common color for the Monte Carlo SS and black stripes were a natural compliment to that exterior. This one had the stripes around the middle of the car BUT it had tiny “SS” decal lettering. They were subtle and not very noticeable from a distance. The letters were incorporated in the stripes making them far less distinguished from the bold Super Sport decals common to most. This sleeper also had they key ingredient that made the SS competitive on the street. Despite only having 305 V8 power, the Super Sport Montes also had a massive 3:73 rear gear that gave it a lot of unsuspected push.

Is that all? We need more.
  Here is the thing I loved most… the car had a power, bench seat and a column shifter! I have since learned that 1988 was the easiest year to find such a combo. The maroon, cloth interior flowed in harmony with the exterior. I know Chevrolet and GM did that a lot with those colors, but this was the first time I had been struck by their beauty. I wanted that car. Yes! I will take it.

The code PD7 aluminum alloy wheels. My Waterloo had these same wheels. I always thought GM did a great job of picking wheel and tire combinations over the years with very few exceptions. This one is perfect.

If you don’t buy your Monte Carlo SS someone else will
  And so they did. I went home to Birmingham and spoke with credit unions and all my other possible financial options. I spoke with my best friend, who had a beautiful black 1986 model. I communicated with everyone necessary to buy this car – except the people actually selling the car. When I went back to buy the Super Sport on a Saturday, yes, it was gone. 

The one that got away
  We all have them. The car we never owned that we would have/should have bought. This is mine. I still look for the bench seat and column shifter combination to this day when I run across one. Recently, Junkyard Life staffer Keith Lively and I were doing a photo shoot when we ran across the one used in the photos with this story. When I saw that it was in my color with a bench seat, the memories came back. 
  “Didn’t you lose one of these?,” said Keith.
  I immediately checked the trunk lid and bumper for the remains of a ‘Kilpatrick Chevrolet - Boaz, Alabama’ emblem. There was not one. It is not professional to end a story with a sad face emoticon. ** If I could I would place one here but my editor won't do it.

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

*Editor’s Note: We should add a disclaimer about using horoscopes for information about buying a car, but I feel like Ron may have made that part up. 

**Editor’s Note: Never before have we mentioned “sad face emoticon” in a Junkyard Life article. Instead of disciplining Ron for unconventional methods of journalism, we are actually impressed that he knows what an emoticon is. He usually lives in technology denial.

The bold and confident lettering you usually find. My lost love had a small “SS” decal incorporated into the stripes and a tiny “SS” on the rear deck lid.

This Monte Carlo SS front end is timeless. Classy and powerful – in the 1980s and now.

Chevy targeted NASCAR fans with "Unwind after the Race" tagline on their advertising.

Special thanks to MonteCarloSS.com for a wealth of information and enthusiasm about these special cars.

Did you chase a dream car that got away? Send us details!  Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com and Ron Kidd at Kidd403@bellsouth.net.