Vietnam Vet Rides in His Kitchen-Stored 1985 Monte Carlo SS for the First Time Since 2004

Not too many Chevrolet Monte Carlos received the honor of wearing the Super Sport emblems, and the performance moniker made random appearances on the stage. It was produced between 1970 and 1971 and then took a 12-year pause. Gearheads waited a long time, but in 1983, when the SS returned, it was a sensation.

Let’s look at the numbers: in 1970, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS sold just over 3,800 copies, and then sales plummeted to half that number in the following year. That’s 5,700-odd SS cars out of a total Monte Carlo production of almost 260,000 in the two years combined.

In ’83, the SS was ordered by 4,700 customers out of the 96,300 produced. Then the moniker simply erupted: 24,000 in 1984 (the peak year for the Monte Carlo production – almost 136,800), just under 35,500 in 1985, 41,300 in 1986, 39,200 in ’87, and 16,200 in the final year of this generation, 1988.

In 1985 and 1986, the Monte Carlo had almost identical assembly numbers (119,057 and 119,010, respectively). Production started to wane, stopping at 73,000 units in 1987 and only reaching below 30,200 in 1988. Now you better understand how popular the SS was in the 80s despite heavy competition from the Buick GNX corporate sibling.

The vast appreciation might have something to do with the fact that the 80s Monte Carlo was the last full-frame rear-wheel-drive carbureted V8 car made by GM, and that hit a string in the hearts of those for whom the catchphrase ‘muscle car’ was not a bygone memory.

Especially for those who had to leave their beloved behind and sail over to the other part of the world just as the muscle car movement was getting axed. Many never made it back, but those who did were left with little performance car offerings.

The Vietnam War claimed too much from too many, but those who came back and rebuilt a peaceful life knew best how to appreciate the numerous precious gifts of life. One such veteran is the gentleman in the video below; his story is heart-melting. After returning home, he got married, had children, and carried on living the American Dream.

In 1985, that dream became a reality—the man and his wife bought their first new car since they had been together—a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, of course. They drove it until 2004, when their son passed away. His sister—the woman telling the story in the video—drove it during the funeral procession, after which the Chevy was parked and never touched again.

Some details set this ‘untouched in twenty years’ story apart. First, the car was stored in a building, but it’s not a barn, garage, or anything remotely close to the usual. No, this very special Monte Carlo was parked in a kitchen. That’s right; instead of white goods and other family meal-related inventory, the room protected the car from the elements.

Before we proceed, it’s not the kitchen where the family cooked and served the food, but an empty kitchen in a property the couple bought but didn’t get to attend to afterward. The Chevy collected dust, but that’s about it. Even the rodents have been kind to it, perhaps knowing that the car will come back to life one day.

Enter WD Detailing, the Cleveland, Ohio car cosmeticians called by the owner’s daughter – the woman who drove the car last two decades ago. It wasn’t even a difficult detailing job, as the car had been protected with wax and properly cared for its entire active life – just look at the color of the transmission fluid. Not to mention the underside – it’s downright impeccable.

The detailers cleaned it to perfection, then took it to a mechanic to have it sorted. That’s where the car came into its own – the only thing it needed to get back to life was (drumroll, please!) fuel.

Besides mice chewing the window seals on the door frames, everything else is intact and bright. The five-liter High-Output V8 starts as if it’s 1985, and not a forty-year-young four-barrel motor that delivered 180 hp and 235 lb-ft (183 PS, 319 Nm) through a four-speed automatic with overdrive down to the 3.73 performance axle.

The official claims for the Monte Carlo SS were that it could do zero-to-sixty in 8.4 seconds and cover the quarter-mile in 16.1. For this example, the first drive-in twenty years is a tear-shedding trip down memory lane, with the Vietnam veteran now riding shotgun next to his daughter.