From a Police Auction to 9-Second Passes, This Monte Carlo Has Been Through a Lot of Firsts
Randy Miller was hoping to get a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo as his first car, but when his dad instead brought this ’78 model home instead, Randy wasn’t on board at first.
“It wasn’t my favorite when we got it,” Randy admitted. “But it’s totally grown on me. My dad found it at a police auction and we brought it home.”
At the age of 15 when Randy got the Monte Carlo, it was already considered a classic, and although he grew to like the car, he wasn’t a fan of the original 305 cubic inch small block.
So, the Monte was hitched to the LS-swap bandwagon, getting a 5.3-liter based combination with a single 88-millimeter turbocharger for extra atmosphere. An overdrive 4L80E transmission and 9-inch rear end complete the driveline.
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Randy is a fan of racing, and has been for a while. “I love nothing more than going to the track, meeting people, talking cars, talking shit, and racing against friends,” he said. “Win lights and personal-best passes are awesome too.”
It didn’t take long to get Randy interested in drag-and-drive events. “The drag-and-drives really appeal to me, because I have old fashioned uncles that race their small block and big block old Chevies which is cool,” said Randy. “But I like to show them the LS goes faster, cheaper, and I drive my car thousands of miles a year.”
His first drag-and-drive outing would be Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 in 2021, where he completed the week with minor issues. “My first year, I averaged 10.36 and really only dealt with a throttle position sensor that was a little intermittent,” Randy said. “Not at all a big deal.”
His second year was a roller coaster of an experience, running the Outlaw class. “My second year, I destroyed a trailer axle on Sunday night, about 80 miles into the first drive,” said Randy.
“I slept in a truck stop parking lot, and got a new, way too wide axle for it the next morning. But I had a fuel cell crack on day four, but we had the welding truck at the track, so thankfully that wasn’t a huge deal either.”
He went into day four, the last day of averages, in fourth place a mere .003 of-a-second behind the third place car.
“On the final day, I ran good enough to take third place,” Randy admitted. “Then first and second place broke, so I went into the day in fourth place, and left in first in the Outlaw class.”
“I’m really hoping to average something in the 9-second range for Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes,” said Randy. I’ve been actively hunting for nines for the last few years.”
And Randy will make the week a little better with his girlfriend as his co-pilot. “She’s the only one crazy enough to take a week off and sweat in a car for five days,” Randy admitted. “Plus, she’s supper supportive, and loves taking videos and pictures.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Randy Miller.
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