“I will leave the garage unlocked for you. You’re welcome to back it out for better photos.” That is what Andy Warren texted me as I was driving to his house to check up on Project Malibuuhoo, the cream-colored Chevy that Warren Racing, Ben Snodgrass, Steve and Jacob Weigl and many others have been preparing for Christian Damgaard. Last year the Malibu would up running exhibition and had experienced some issues, like a driveline shake and overheating problems. It made the journey, if only just, but over the course of the year the guys had some work to get done for Drag Week 2018. But at the moment, I wasn’t thinking about that. I was staring at the garage that was hiding a turbocharged Drag Week car. That had the key in the ignition. “You’re welcome to back it out for better photos…”

I’m not saying that I would have taken the car onto the street to experience the power. But I am saying that I certainly thought about it…right up until I found out what a turbocharged LS-powered Chevy is like when it hasn’t been tuned. I backed the car out, fluttering the gas like the ’77 Impala I had in junior high, got out into the yard, and as soon as I got out of the car and was ready to take photos…the sky opened up as a torrential summer rainstorm unloaded with both barrels. I got a handful of shots off and did the mad dash to get the Malibu back into the garage without ripping up Andy’s backyard…or worse. Not nearly enough time with the car before I had to put it back up, but enough time to know that once Issac Preston at Next Motorsports works his magic on the car, that it will properly scare the holy hell out of the inexperienced driver. As I’m writing, that’s where Project Malibuuhoo is now, getting tweaked and tuned up. But that is the final section of the work that has been done over the past few months.

The driveline vibration traced to a used driveshaft that was a touch too short. A new three-inch chrome moly drive shaft from Fast Shafts took care of that, plugged into the TH400 automatic that Bilbrey Automotive and Transmission went through. The column shifter has finally been ditched in favor of a B&M ratchet shifter, an LS-swap radiator from Flex-a-lite was installed to help with the cooling issues, and Ron Francis Wiring helped with the wiring and the relocation of the shut off switch and battery relocation to the trunk.

We aren’t saying that last year was a waste of a time. Even with the car not at 100%, the Malibu took the Exhibition class, running 11.30s. The shifter had proven to be a pain in the ass and a lack of tune due to an engine that was slapped together in a last-minute thrash after the previous mill turned two pistons into dust didn’t help matters, and the car was only using five PSI of boost on average. The plan for 2018 is to ramp the boost up to 15-20 PSI, and if all goes well, to see the Malibu run low tens while completing the event.

While it wasn’t the test drive story I’d hoped it would turn into (hey, I can dream, ok?) it is cool to see the Malibu ready to rumble for Drag Week 2018. We’re wishing this international team-up the best of luck!