“Your kind of features. Your kind of fun.”
1980 was the Chevrolet Monza’s final year. Available in base coupe, 2+2 hatchback coupe, and Sport 2+2 hatchback coupe, the Monza received few changes for 1980. The biggest news that wasn’t about deleted models and options (there was no more wagon or V8) was probably the integration of 1979’s Spyder Appearance Package and Spyder Equipment Group into a single Spyder Equipment Package.
The Monza’s standard engine was the LX8 Iron Duke 86 bhp 2.5 liter/151 ci inline four with a Rochester 2SE two-barrel carburetor. The only engine option for 1980 was the LD5 110 bhp 3.8 liter/231 ci V6 with a Rochester M2ME two-barrel carburetor ($225). A four-speed manual was standard, with an optional three-speed automatic ($320) available.
Mileage with the inline four and four-speed manual was pretty impressive in 1980: 22 city/35 highway by the standards of the day (around 17/27 by today’s standards). Spending $545 for the automatic and the V6 combination took mileage down to 20 city/27 highway. With the V6/automatic transmission pairing and the 18.5-gallon gas tank, a Monza owner could expect a range of 300 to 390 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Exterior and mechanical equipment for the $4,921 Monza Sport 2+2 Hatchback Coupe (approximately $16,700 in today’s dollars) included tinted windows, a Delco Freedom battery, front disc/rear drum brakes, white-stripe tires, and full wheel covers. Inside, the Monza Sport 2+2 included a Sport steering wheel with a cushioned rim, high-back Sport front bucket seats in cloth/vinyl or all-vinyl, a console, color-keyed seat and shoulder belts, and a Delco AM radio (which could be deleted for a $52 credit).
Featured on the cover of the 1980 Monza brochure, the expensive ($521, or about $1,800 in today’s dollars) Spyder Equipment Package added a Spyder hood decal, a body color front air dam and rear spoiler, black Sport mirrors, a sport suspension, and BR70-13 blackwall radial tires (nearly equivalent 195/70R13 tires are available from BF Goodrich) on 13-inch black-painted Rally II wheels with bright trim rings. About 37% of Sport 2+2 Hatchback Coupe buyers chose the Spyder Equipment Package.
Exterior and mechanical options included a Sky Roof manual sunroof ($193), variable-ratio power steering ($158), and power brakes ($76). Inside, you could add air conditioning ($531), a Comfortilt steering wheel ($73), and an AM/FM stereo cassette player ($188).
The Monza sold quite well in its final year—in fact, 1980 was the Monza’s best year out of its six years of production. Chevrolet produced over 169,000, with more than 95,000 being the base coupe. There is some club support for the Monza, and they occasionally come up for sale in Hemmings Motor News and eBay Motors, though many are highly-modified drag-racing cars. As I write this blog entry in August 2020, there were no stock examples for sale.
Make mine Dark Blue Metallic, please.
Other 1980 model year Chevrolets I have written about include the Camaro Rally Sport coupe, the Camaro Z28 coupe, the Citation hatchback sedan, and the Corvette coupe. I also wrote about the 1980 Pontiac Sunbird Sport Hatch a few years ago.
Eighties Cars 