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I have myself a couple projects... seems I've just progressively gone from gnarly body to semi-gnarly body to semit-decent body. When I was 15 (in '97) I paid $450 for an '80 Malibu with an Olds 455/TH400. Of course I was like "YES, A BIG BLOCK!" My dad & I got it started a couple times, and it moved a grand total of 50 feet I think during the time I had it. Stalled one day and just wouldn't start back up... didn't know squat about Olds engines back then, still don't :
Fast forward about 4 years... I spotted an '81 Malibu sitting out for sale for $600, said it had a 350 with a bad cam & bad TH350. No biggie, I was planning on building an old 350 I had, & could probably get the trans rebuilt cheap. I was working at a junkyard at the time and came across a '78 'Bu with a v6/3-speed Saginaw combo. Got everything (for $85 no less) but the sheetmetal hump for the shifter boot : Managed to get that all in & figured out after a lot of cussin' & realizing I was a dolt for trying a large bellhousing/168t flywheel as opposed to the original bellhousing + 153t flywheel & the correct starter (which caused the whole issue from the start, for me anyway... I was still learning... still am). One night I'm sitting in the garage reading some info in the Haynes manual I had (WTF where'd that thing go????? ???), and I had the distributor out 'cause I was putting on my $45 Holley intake/Edelbrock 1405 combo (yep, from the junkyard). Saw the casting number on the side, so I thought I'd look it up... long story short I discovered via that & the block casting it's actually a 305 :-\ Also discovered via RPM/speed/tire size calculation it has a set of 2.29s... ok because the Saginaw has a 3.50 1st gear & it only turns about 2200 at 70mph with the tires on it right now. I built a mild 350 (GMPP intake, same Edelbrock carb, Vortec heads, Comp XE268H cam) from an '88 block I had, and averaged 17mpg highway last summer. I think I've found a Saginaw 4-speed to swap in for next summer, it's just not that much fun after 55-60mph since I have to upshift (70mph it's at about 4100rpm). Also while I had the motor out I swapped in a set of Hotchkis G-Body springs I scored for $75 at a swap meet, some stiffer sway bars (the 2nd largest 3rd gen F-Body sway bar & a stock G-Body rear bar) and a pair of F-41 frame horn braces at the front. It handles night & day compared to the rolly-polly boat-like ride it had before! I actually had a guy in a GT500 Mustang want to play because I caught him somewhat off guard at a light & held him off through 1st gear (hit 2nd & it was over >
). I didn't try after that because I knew he'd just blow me away since my gearing sucked.
Just after Christmas '07 my dad & I headed down to Missouri to pick up a '78 Malibu that had already been disassembled. It's already had some body work done on it (that I hope wasn't half-@$#), but still needs some repair, mainly bottom of one/both a-pillars, firewall over the a/c box, in the door jamb & some minor stuff on the floor. The frame was also sandblasted already which was a plus, but the body mount holes need some repair. I'm still up in the air on the drivetrain for starters, but I'll probably just swap in what's in the '81. My ultimate goal is a force-inducted 6.0 (s/c being more size-friendly, but turbo has its attractiveness too), along with a T56 and probably a set of 3.73s or 4.10s.
Far as a daily driver goes, I had an '88 2wd half ton Chevy (350/700R4) that already had been done... shaved handles, blow-through from the bed for subs, etc. But alas... it wasn't meant to be. Started rotting in the typical places, and in '03 I was rearended & the insurance company totaled it (minor body damage really). This past fall I picked up a '92 2wd Sierra (4.3/700R4) that runs/shifts/looks extremely well for having over 210,000 miles on it. One day I'll probably put a mild Vortec-headed motor in it for a little more motorvation... I've come to the realization that this thing doesn't get any better mileage than my '88 did, even with almost 90ci. less!
On to the pics...
'80
'81
'78
This...
to this...
to home!
'88
'92
So... there's my long-winded story (sort of)... I also have a little boy that's currently 3? and his mom hasn't let me see for the past 2 months, but that's another story...
Fast forward about 4 years... I spotted an '81 Malibu sitting out for sale for $600, said it had a 350 with a bad cam & bad TH350. No biggie, I was planning on building an old 350 I had, & could probably get the trans rebuilt cheap. I was working at a junkyard at the time and came across a '78 'Bu with a v6/3-speed Saginaw combo. Got everything (for $85 no less) but the sheetmetal hump for the shifter boot :
Managed to get that all in & figured out after a lot of cussin' & realizing I was a dolt for trying a large bellhousing/168t flywheel as opposed to the original bellhousing + 153t flywheel & the correct starter (which caused the whole issue from the start, for me anyway... I was still learning... still am). One night I'm sitting in the garage reading some info in the Haynes manual I had (WTF where'd that thing go????? ???), and I had the distributor out 'cause I was putting on my $45 Holley intake/Edelbrock 1405 combo (yep, from the junkyard). Saw the casting number on the side, so I thought I'd look it up... long story short I discovered via that & the block casting it's actually a 305 :-\ Also discovered via RPM/speed/tire size calculation it has a set of 2.29s... ok because the Saginaw has a 3.50 1st gear & it only turns about 2200 at 70mph with the tires on it right now. I built a mild 350 (GMPP intake, same Edelbrock carb, Vortec heads, Comp XE268H cam) from an '88 block I had, and averaged 17mpg highway last summer. I think I've found a Saginaw 4-speed to swap in for next summer, it's just not that much fun after 55-60mph since I have to upshift (70mph it's at about 4100rpm). Also while I had the motor out I swapped in a set of Hotchkis G-Body springs I scored for $75 at a swap meet, some stiffer sway bars (the 2nd largest 3rd gen F-Body sway bar & a stock G-Body rear bar) and a pair of F-41 frame horn braces at the front. It handles night & day compared to the rolly-polly boat-like ride it had before! I actually had a guy in a GT500 Mustang want to play because I caught him somewhat off guard at a light & held him off through 1st gear (hit 2nd & it was over >). I didn't try after that because I knew he'd just blow me away since my gearing sucked.Just after Christmas '07 my dad & I headed down to Missouri to pick up a '78 Malibu that had already been disassembled. It's already had some body work done on it (that I hope wasn't half-@$#), but still needs some repair, mainly bottom of one/both a-pillars, firewall over the a/c box, in the door jamb & some minor stuff on the floor. The frame was also sandblasted already which was a plus, but the body mount holes need some repair. I'm still up in the air on the drivetrain for starters, but I'll probably just swap in what's in the '81. My ultimate goal is a force-inducted 6.0 (s/c being more size-friendly, but turbo has its attractiveness too), along with a T56 and probably a set of 3.73s or 4.10s.
Far as a daily driver goes, I had an '88 2wd half ton Chevy (350/700R4) that already had been done... shaved handles, blow-through from the bed for subs, etc. But alas... it wasn't meant to be. Started rotting in the typical places, and in '03 I was rearended & the insurance company totaled it (minor body damage really). This past fall I picked up a '92 2wd Sierra (4.3/700R4) that runs/shifts/looks extremely well for having over 210,000 miles on it. One day I'll probably put a mild Vortec-headed motor in it for a little more motorvation... I've come to the realization that this thing doesn't get any better mileage than my '88 did, even with almost 90ci. less!
On to the pics...
'80
'81
'78
This...
to this...
to home!
'88
'92
So... there's my long-winded story (sort of)... I also have a little boy that's currently 3? and his mom hasn't let me see for the past 2 months, but that's another story...
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