1974 Monte Carlo: Still as curvaceous and cozy as ever
Backbreaking work calls for an equally robust rig. Enter one rough 'n' ready 1966 Ford pickup.
It was perfect for a young Ralph Caliendo working in his dad's concrete business. Despite constant abuse from the rigors of daily duty, the hauler kept delivering.
A massive part of the vehicle's strains weren't the result of maxed-out payloads. See, Ralph's dad owned the pickup and let him use it on weekends, too. But Ralph, now a Schaumburg resident, wasn't joy riding around town.
“I'd leave early Sunday mornings and drive to Union Grove or Bryon Dragway to race,” Caliendo said of two well-known, Wisconsin tracks. He'd get back late at night and spend hours washing the truck. The goal was to erase any sign of straight-lane speed.
Soon, the mischievous son wanted to go faster. A buddy helped him swap the three-speed transmission out for a four-speed manual. When his dad asked about it, Ralph fibbed and said the trans broke on a job site.
More shenanigans played out in the years leading up to Ralph's deployment to Vietnam in 1969. But by the time Caliendo returned home in 1971, he was ready to slow down a bit.
In October of 1973, he received a call from a cousin who worked for GM Financial. The cousin promised “quite the deal,” instructing Ralph to check out a Golden Brown Metallic 1974 Monte Carlo.
“I took one look at the sticker and knew I couldn't afford it,” Caliendo said. However, his relative's industry connections paid off. Ralph scored the cushy coupe for a discounted price.
Truth be told, it wasn't just the rock bottom bill that attracted Ralph. “I loved the big, roomy trunk and the body style; there's some fine curves,” he said.
The once-reckless teen had grown up quite a bit and downright babied his new car. Ralph swore he'd never return to the concrete trade but within a few years he was right back in it. His cozy Monte Carlo was a nice change of pace after jostling around all day in another tough work truck.
“The only time the Chevy went out was on vacation road trips or on nice weekends,” Caliendo said. It certainly stayed parked all winter long.
Ralph attests that it has never been through a car wash, opting to clean it himself for the last 40 years. Maintenance items have been few, too. The last major work was a set of tires installed in 1975 at Suburban Tire in Melrose Park.
Caliendo always changes the oil himself in his driveway.
“I had no idea I would keep it this long,” he said. “It just seemed to always be around.”
As for the escapades in that Ford truck? Ralph's dad wised up long ago. Ralph finally came clean as an adult but his confession wasn't a surprise.
“Dad laughed and said he already knew. He noticed race damage when he got underneath to grease it.”