No, it hasn’t just fallen apart and no, he hasn’t stopped working on it. Vice Grip Garage’s 1970 Malibu known as Independence is still coming together from it’s haggard, frightening state that he drove it home in, and it’s in-process towards becoming the tire-frying burnout machine that Derek is hoping it will be. 1970 Chevelle ripping a fat burnout, good. But before the good times come to be, some details still have to be worked out. And on Independence, there were plenty…remember, this is a car that would’ve been a hard pass if this was an episode of Roadkill.

Today the focus is on the interior. There’s a floor in there now, and some tubes that will be a great place to locate some harnesses. That’s a pretty good start, because if a guy is going to be swinging a car around like a deviant teenager on an iced-over parking lot, he’d best be strapped into a seat that will keep his mass in place regardless of what will happen. It’s at least a nod to safety, and if nothing else, it’s the one piece of safety gear the car needs to have above all other extra gear. (Don’t yell at me about brakes or structural integrity, those were implied!)

Work continues as Derek gets the car ready for Cleetus and Cars Indy, which is his goal last I checked. Seeing safety gear before the powerplant helps a feller feel better about the build. But we are curious as to what the teeth-rattler is going to be.