I bought a 79 Malibu about 7 years ago from a guy in South Carolina. I live in Louisiana about 70 miles from New Orleans, so it's not like I could just cruise over to his place to see the car. I called him every couple of days for weeks to ask questions about he car and have him send me more pics. Knowing that pics don't always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I was hesitant to pull the trigger and buy the car. Also, the guy was super honest and some of what he told me left me wondering if I was going to find myself with buyers remorse.
The man told me that the car was a put together from three cars that his buddy had accumulated. But he also told me that the main donor car was solid and that only bolt on and interior parts had been used to come up with a really straight body/ chassis combo. The car was painted black and all the reveals looked dead on. The windows went up all the way and fit in the door/ roof line perfectly. The frame looked straight and I could find no signs of the frame having been tweaked. The body panels all looked super straight and he swore up and down there was no bondo in the car. (He sent me a LOT of pics). The floor of the trunk was original and solid. But still, I'm nervous about the car.
What convinced me to go look at the car was the list of what had been done to the car. I won't go into listing it all but it was extensive, from a completely new interior (except the dash pad) to about $4000 worth of rear end, to a moderately hot roller 350 with new 1 5/8" long tube headers, new tires, new rims and a new paint job.
So anyway, my wife finally slaps me on the back of the head and tells me to stop drooling on my monitor and go look at the car. The deciding factor was that I couldn't find anything even close to that nice for the money I had available to spend. So I call the guy and tell him I'm gonna smash my piggy bank, buy a ticket to the nearest airport and come to see the car. He agrees to meet me at the airport. I tell him that if I don't like the car, no money changes hands. He's good with it and the deal is on.
So I go there and everything he had told was according to Luke. I drive the car and it tracks straight as an arrow, has solid suspension and a good ride. I smack it a little and it gets up and runs. It has 4" drag wheels on the front so a couple of corners are a little scary but it's a traction thing. There are some minor things that aren't what I was hoping for but then I remember how much he wants for the car and I figure I am really, finally get what I pay for.
I offer him two hundred less than he's asking and he gives me a funny smile and says, "I'm the same way. I can't buy anything without it's a deal. Sure I'll take two hundred off." We go to his bank and they do the paperwork to put the car in my name. I call my insurance thief, I mean agent and have her cover the car and send me paper so stating. We leave the bank and the guy says, "How long before someone comes to pick it up?" Now I give him a funny smile and I tell him, "I'm gonna drive it home." He makes a rude comment about the size of some of my personal parts and laughs. We shake hands and say "Nice to meet you." He goes inside and I drive to the gas station, fill it with premo and drive from South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in one very, very long shot.
So I'm real happy with my purchase and I put about 120 miles, local, on the car. then summer gets hot and I stop driving the car. (No air conditioning.) I wash it on weekends and a couple of times my son gets a ticket in it. Then I won't let him drive it and I get transferred to South America for three years for work. I build a 28" by 30' shop just before I leave and put the car in the shop, I put a trickle charge on the battery and start the car every six months when I get home for a visit.
Fast forward to now. I am retired and have some time on my hands. I start reading G-Body posts and I want my baby back in top shape. The last three years haven't been kind to how she looks but she is still solid. I did an assessment on the car and made a list of what needs to be done and in what order. While it's not at the top of the list, finding new trim parts is going to take a while, so I figured I would start looking now. Mostly what I need are headlight bezels. I'm not sure why but 79 Malibu trim parts are very hard to find and at least the last time I looked (couple of years ago) the repop shops didn't stock them. Anyone with any ideas, or parts?
Below are a couple of pics.
The man told me that the car was a put together from three cars that his buddy had accumulated. But he also told me that the main donor car was solid and that only bolt on and interior parts had been used to come up with a really straight body/ chassis combo. The car was painted black and all the reveals looked dead on. The windows went up all the way and fit in the door/ roof line perfectly. The frame looked straight and I could find no signs of the frame having been tweaked. The body panels all looked super straight and he swore up and down there was no bondo in the car. (He sent me a LOT of pics). The floor of the trunk was original and solid. But still, I'm nervous about the car.
What convinced me to go look at the car was the list of what had been done to the car. I won't go into listing it all but it was extensive, from a completely new interior (except the dash pad) to about $4000 worth of rear end, to a moderately hot roller 350 with new 1 5/8" long tube headers, new tires, new rims and a new paint job.
So anyway, my wife finally slaps me on the back of the head and tells me to stop drooling on my monitor and go look at the car. The deciding factor was that I couldn't find anything even close to that nice for the money I had available to spend. So I call the guy and tell him I'm gonna smash my piggy bank, buy a ticket to the nearest airport and come to see the car. He agrees to meet me at the airport. I tell him that if I don't like the car, no money changes hands. He's good with it and the deal is on.
So I go there and everything he had told was according to Luke. I drive the car and it tracks straight as an arrow, has solid suspension and a good ride. I smack it a little and it gets up and runs. It has 4" drag wheels on the front so a couple of corners are a little scary but it's a traction thing. There are some minor things that aren't what I was hoping for but then I remember how much he wants for the car and I figure I am really, finally get what I pay for.
I offer him two hundred less than he's asking and he gives me a funny smile and says, "I'm the same way. I can't buy anything without it's a deal. Sure I'll take two hundred off." We go to his bank and they do the paperwork to put the car in my name. I call my insurance thief, I mean agent and have her cover the car and send me paper so stating. We leave the bank and the guy says, "How long before someone comes to pick it up?" Now I give him a funny smile and I tell him, "I'm gonna drive it home." He makes a rude comment about the size of some of my personal parts and laughs. We shake hands and say "Nice to meet you." He goes inside and I drive to the gas station, fill it with premo and drive from South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in one very, very long shot.
So I'm real happy with my purchase and I put about 120 miles, local, on the car. then summer gets hot and I stop driving the car. (No air conditioning.) I wash it on weekends and a couple of times my son gets a ticket in it. Then I won't let him drive it and I get transferred to South America for three years for work. I build a 28" by 30' shop just before I leave and put the car in the shop, I put a trickle charge on the battery and start the car every six months when I get home for a visit.
Fast forward to now. I am retired and have some time on my hands. I start reading G-Body posts and I want my baby back in top shape. The last three years haven't been kind to how she looks but she is still solid. I did an assessment on the car and made a list of what needs to be done and in what order. While it's not at the top of the list, finding new trim parts is going to take a while, so I figured I would start looking now. Mostly what I need are headlight bezels. I'm not sure why but 79 Malibu trim parts are very hard to find and at least the last time I looked (couple of years ago) the repop shops didn't stock them. Anyone with any ideas, or parts?
Below are a couple of pics.