My 1970 Chevelle Malibu restoration
I have a list of 5 top five cars that I'm going to own before I die. There is no real order, I just want to own them all at some point. I made this up when I was about 14 and in 15 years it hasn't changed.
The list is as follows:
The Malibu was the first car that I bought. Up till then I was driving the Bronco that I permanently borrowed from my father. I bought the car in September of '96 for $300 with the promise that I would restore it. I was going to "SS" clone it at first, but there are too many of them out there now and I want to be different, which is why I've started to refer to the car as a Malibu and not a Chevelle.
The car needed fenders, quarters, trunk parts, and a couple floor patches. It wouldn't pass PA inspection so I drove it illegally for a few months then parked it in the garage in February of '97. I started to put half quarters on it and I was going to butcher it into a race car. I didn't get to far as the car kept getting used as a storage shelf. By the time I cleaned the car off I didn't want to work on it. I just started collecting parts because I knew that I'd get to it some day.
My friends and family kept asking me when I was going to get rid of "that old junk car". I'd protest to it being called a "Junk" car and they'd say "well it doesn't even run"... Weren't they surprised when after 7 years of sitting I charged the battery, turned the key and drove the car out of the garage under it's own power... So much for a "junk car that doesn't run"
So far I've done the following:
I've got a DNE Super T10 4speed that I'm going to be installing, later to be replaced with a 5 speed. I've installed a 3.73 Posi 12 Bolt rear with boxed control arms. I was going to built a 350 engine, but I just bought a 454 so it may just become 454 car. With a Mini-Blower under the cowl hood... :-)
Actually I may build a phantom. In 1970 you could get a Malibu 400 witch was a 402 BB car, but not an SS. This was because of the insurance costs on a SS. I may build a Malibu 454. It will be what Chevy could have done if they took it one step further...
It's in paint!!
This is after the basecoat was sprayed on. I still have to clear it, wait for it to cure then I'm painting the stripes on it and then re-clear it. (Update: 1st clear is on plus the strips. Unfortunately there was a small mishap with the right front fender and we rushed to fix it... bad idea. Now it's back in primer... :( Make a note: DO NOT RUSH THE PAINT WORK!) )