Indy or Montreal?

The Montreal is indeed a jewel with one of the nicest gearbox I've experienced. Styling is eye catching and has aged well. The interior gauge design is unique and very attractive. On the negative side the interior materials are mostly plastic and look very cheap compared to the Indy. The Indy build quality is much better than the Alfa.
I found the Montreal engine compartment very cramped, especially if the car has AC. In comparison the Indy engine and components are more accessible.
You probably know that the achilles heel of the Montreal engine is the water pump seal which is integrated in the engine making it an engine out job.
There are more people that can tune the Weber carbs on the Indy than the double Spica used on the Montreal.

Ivan

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Indy hands down!
Much more of a luxurious car than the Montreal, a very nice V8 with Webers also, forget the Spica troublesome injecton!
And wrt design, a better choice also imho...

 

Compared to the Montreal, the Indy is a piece of cake to access components. When I purchased my Montreal the prior owner had to cut the AC belt as the alternator belt had failed during a road trip and he had to make a roadside repair. I thought, "no problem, I'll just buy a belt and put it on". Top get to the AC compressor half the engine had to first be removed. I started taking things off and gave up. That is also when I noticed that removing the radiator would also be a pain.
On the Indy, if the Webers need to be serviced you simply drain the coolant and then the intake manifold with the four carbs still attached comes out as a complete assembly. As a DYI mechanic the Indy is hands down the better choice.

Note: The Montreal photos is of the car I use to own, which was rather nice, while the photos of the early Indy 4.2 were taken of a car that was rather rough. The Indy engine compartment looks much better when it is properly detailed.

Ivan
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Just a detail, for the price of a new Indy you could buy two Montreal

 

The Indy is easier to work on and a more torquey faster machine in general. Anyone else think of an Indy as just a little bit larger and heavier Ghibli?

 

More roomy certainly.
Heavier, not that sure, difficult to find reliable figures.
Maybe less nimble in steering because of the more frontwards and higher engine compared to the Guibli, if both have power steering. But an Idy with PS is certainly more agreeable than a Guibli without!

 

Most recent Bring a Trailer auctions have Montreals selling between $50K-$60K, while Indys were $40K - $50K. Of course condition is everything with either car as restoration costs will quickly exceed value.

Ivan

 

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