This 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Is a One-Owner Time Capsule

The low-mileage, one-owner 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS currently for sale on eBay is a slice of G-body heaven. One look takes us back to the days of Dale Earnhardt’s yellow and blue Wrangler-sponsored Monte.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Muscle Returns

After years of battling stricter emissions requirements and rising fuel prices, Detroit entered the mid-1980s on an upswing. Driving fun was back. By 1987, dealer lots brimmed with Mustang GTs, Camaro Z28s, and IROC-Zs. For those who wanted more refinement, Buick offered the Grand National and Chevrolet the Monte Carlo SS.

Both the GN and the Monte played the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” marketing game. GM counted on NASCAR success to drive showroom foot traffic. Earnhardt accelerated Chevrolet’s program by switching to the brand in 1984 and winning back-to-back NASCAR championships in his Monte Carlo in 1986 and ’87.

The strategy worked. Monte Carlo sales jumped fivefold in the first year Earnhardt drove the Chevrolet for Richard Childress.

NASCAR-Influenced Styling

The Monte Carlo SS you could buy in 1987 looked something like Earnhardt’s thanks to its sloped nose and front and rear spoilers. Its boxy shape might not look particularly ready for the wind tunnel today, but GM designers did have aerodynamics in mind. The top powertrain choice was a 5.0-liter (307-cubic-inch), 180-horsepower High-Output V-8 paired with a four-speed overdrive automatic transmission and 3.73-geared rear end. The F41 Sport Suspension and fat Goodyear Eagle GTs stuck the Monte to the pavement.

The highly original ’87 Monte Carlo SS for sale on eBay shows just over 13,000 miles. The odometer reading in the listing photos will rise, the seller notes, as the car is still being driven. Despite being nearly 30 years old, the Monte starts, runs, and drives like day-one new, says the seller.

The seller maintained the car with an eye toward future collectability. They made no modifications to the car. In fact, it’s being sold with its original tires mounted on the OEM Chevrolet aluminum wheels. (If you plan on driving this thing, putting some new rubber at each corner would be wise.) The original Dark Maroon Metallic paint shows its age but still gleams. The factory body panels are straight, and the engine compartment is clean. The trunk even retains its original spare, tire cover, and jack.

Mint Interior

Collectors gravitate to 1985 and later Monte Carlos for their bucket-seat interiors. The maroon cloth upholstery in this car looks barely used, as do the carpets and door panels. The seller describes the headliner as mint and the original glass as like-new clear.

A long list of options adds to this Monte Carlo’s desirability. They include:

• Factory air conditioner
• Power steering and brakes
• Power windows and door locks
• Power seat
• AM/FM/cassette stereo

This Monte Carlo SS presents an opportunity to acquire a lovingly kept example in nearly off-the-showroom-floor condition. Then the question becomes: Drive it for the ’80s nostalgia rush? Or preserve it to show how Detroit found its way out of a dark era? Either way, be sure to load the center console with plenty of U2, Madonna, Huey Lewis, and Bruce Springsteen cassette tapes.