Jim and Gayle toured scenic Colorado on the return trip, driving by the United States Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, visiting the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs City Park and enjoying the natural beauty of the mountains and rock pinnacles en route, before heading south into New Mexico, and crossing the state line near Texline, Texas, into the Monza's new home state. 

Offing-loading the Monza at home, Jim cleaned it up, had it inspected and licensed, and drove it! Other than some minor parking lot damage in a couple of areas, the body and trim were in excellent shape. The power train was also in fine condition, but he noticed the year old battery would run down and that the alternator fan was turning in the wrong direction, a clue that the device was probably not correct for the car. Confirming his suspicions, Jim ordered from a Corvair parts vendor, the correct alternator for a '65 with air-conditioning.

The Monza interior is all original with the exception of the carpet. The headliner, seats and door panels are in terrific shape, as is the rear surface of the folding rear seat, seen at right. Only the air-conditioning vents need some attention, as the the plating on the plastic components has discolored and worn from years of use.

While the Monza sport sedan sits on the same 108-inch wheelbase as the sport coupe or convertible, the rear seat bottom is wider, and there is more headroom than in the coupe because of the contour of the sedan's roofline. The late model sedan, unlike the early model, is a "pillar-less" hardtop design as can be appreciated in the shots above and below. With the air-conditioning option, Jim can run with all the windows closed, or on cooler days, opt for the hardtop convertible experience!

Reflecting on his choice of models, Jim says, "Although the more formal roofline differs from the 2-door coupes, it’s styling is still very tasteful and sporty-looking, even today. But because they share many body panels and other parts with the coupe and convertible, the 4-doors are more likely to end up as parts donor cars to keep their more desirable 2-door brethren on the road than to be restored themselves, and they are becoming rare sights these days."

Jim says he's surprised that some of his fellow citizens haven't had accidents while straining for a better look at the car. It's a real head turner!

Here we see the classic roofline of the late model sedan. The previous owners installed small aluminum mud guards to the wheel arches, the only departure from stock. A small dent in the rear bumper distorted the bumper slightly just the the left of center. Don't you hate it when the damage is so slight that you have to wrestle with the idea of replacement, straightening and re-chroming?