BUILD THREAD 1979 Malibu Wagon

[Fatboy]

Alright, I feel like I have to post an update of some sort. So I picked up a 79 Malibu Wagon, v6 3.3 (massive horsepower numbers) LOL, my favorite part is that it's a 3 speed manual on the floor. I am the second owner, it has 76k+- original miles. Car sat for about 13 years before I got it. Owner said the car ran just fine before it was parked as a shop sign. So this weekend I got to looking over it and seeing what it is I am really going to do with it. I am fixed on an LS swap, simple 5.3 build and some tasteful mods and a 5 speed TKX with the G body relocation shifter kit. My goal is not a race car, tho the wagon will have more than enough power to move and maybe put a car or 3 to shame, lol, my goal is to have a nice reliable cruiser with AC that I can drive across the country with no issues. I am certain that is what I will be building.

Now to the nitty gritty, this weekend I looked over a few things, hoses, belts, wires etc. I first wanted to see if the car was even going to crank before I even started to change a bunch of parts. I added a new battery, disconnected the fuel pump and this SOB cranked. Sweet. I then got a new fuel pump, replaced a few dried up fuel hoses, added a few gallons of fresh 91 fuel and some additives just for my sanity and let her rip! oh my! this thing started right up on the first crank! No smoke, no shaking and no funny noises except the squealing from the old belts, but that went away quickly. I drove it around the block and shifted through all gears with no pop-outs, grinding or any sort of issues. I think I am going to rock it just how it is for a bit before I rip into it and do the LS swap. Now I will be changing all hoses, belts, filters, plugs and wires, cap and rotor, oil change, trans flush, brake flush, coolant flush and some new blinker fluid. Everything else looks good just need a real deeeeeeeeeeeep clean. I need to remove the shop decals that were added to the sides of the car, cut and polish and some tint and I will be set, oh yeah and I will need to replace the square tires on it.... then I will be road ready!

I need to get some progress pictures soon.

 

[Bonnewagon]

My 1981 Malibu wagon came with the 229 V-6 and 3 speed manual on the floor. I did like you say, and fixed/cleaned it up for a work car. It was not long before I started upgrading. I know you will feel the same pretty soon. I agree, get it nice, then contemplate what to do later on. Planning is key to success.

 

[Fatboy]

My 1981 Malibu wagon came with the 229 V-6 and 3 speed manual on the floor. I did like you say, and fixed/cleaned it up for a work car. It was not long before I started upgrading. I know you will feel the same pretty soon. I agree, get it nice, then contemplate what to do later on. Planning is key to success.

Yes’ir… there seems to be nothing wrong with it now so why not just drive it… get all the parts and hardware I’ll need for what I want the outcome to be, then later down the line do the whole swap.

 

[Fatboy]

She runs and drives. I’m gonna drive it like this for a bit till I have all the parts needed for an LS TKX swap. Red to remove the decals, deep, deeeeeeep clean and a wax and polish should do it. Oh and window tint, I’m in Arizona and it is necessary.. lol. Also will have the AC working soon. I also need to replace all the window and door seals. Just put new 225/70/14 Hankook tires. Need to change the shocks this week. Tomorrow I’ll be doing belts, hoses, plugs and wires, coolant flush, oil change, I’ll have a brake flush, trans flush and diff fluids done next week also.

 

[Fatboy]

Here is a little update. Nothing too crazy has been done, just took the decals that were put on by the previous owner as best I could. Wet sanded the car a bit. As it sits, it is just wet sanded, cleaned up some of the stains on the seats. The next thing is polish the whole car. Clean the interior some more, make a headliner, since it’s next to impossible to find one for these, and tint. Then I’ll drive it in its original configuration for a bit. I already have an engine for it and I know what trans is going in it also. So down the line it’ll be a nice cruiser.

 

[Longroof79]

Great lookin' ride. She cleaned up nicely.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Oh, and good luck finding a headliner board. As you said, you may have to actually make one.

 

[Fatboy]

Great lookin' ride. She cleaned up nicely.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Oh, and good luck finding a headliner board. As you said, you may have to actually make one.

Thank you Sir! Your G Wagon is freakin' beautiful.

I had another member here give me ideas on the headliner so I guess I now do fiberglass stuff also... lol... I have to take out the remaining pieces and somehow make them stay in place just right before I fiberglass the whole thing, sweet. I think I also need to find all the insulation rubber, I know the ones on the glass in the back are crap so need to replace all of them.

 

[Fatboy]

Great lookin' ride. She cleaned up nicely.
Thanks for sharing the pics.
Oh, and good luck finding a headliner board. As you said, you may have to actually make one.

One more thing, how did you black out all the chrome around the windows. I want to do it to mine but I am not sure how to go about it... did you paint them in place or remove them all?

 

[Longroof79]

One more thing, how did you black out all the chrome around the windows. I want to do it to mine but I am not sure how to go about it... did you paint them in place or remove them all?

I painted the window frames and the trim using SEM Trim black. The trim had been removed prior to painting the car. They were scuffed up well and I used an etching primer. When doing the pillars and window frame areas, I just scuffed up everything, cleaned the surfaces and used the Trim Black.
I highly recommend it for that purpose. It bonds well and the color is a nice semi-gloss black, not glossy,
I suppose if you're careful enough, you could probably mask off the areas around the trim and pillars before painting.

 

[Longroof79]

Thank you Sir! Your G Wagon is freakin' beautiful.

I had another member here give me ideas on the headliner so I guess I now do fiberglass stuff also... lol... I have to take out the remaining pieces and somehow make them stay in place just right before I fiberglass the whole thing, sweet. I think I also need to find all the insulation rubber, I know the ones on the glass in the back are crap so need to replace all of them.

Thank you very much for your compliment. It looks like you're off to a great start with your wagon. I like what I see so far. Keep up the good work.