Well, since I brag about my beloved old bomber every chance I get...
My '79 Malibu wagon (267 2bbl V8/TH350) had 225K on it when I parted it out in the fall of '09.
Still ran like a top and got 20 mpg. I loved that ****in car.
I bought it in December of '05 with 164K on it for $500. It was originally purchased in Iowa and came to MN in '98.
When the gentleman I bought it from asked if I was going to part the car out, I replied "no, I'm going to drive it". To which he looked upwards and made the sign of the cross as I walked out the door... :lol:
The exhaust had rotted off behind the converter, and I had to drive home with the windows down. It was about 25* out...
I had some duals made up and used the old Flowmasters that were originally on my 442 when I bought it.
He had swapped on the 2GC carb, grille, and set of blue six-hole rallye wheels from his previous '78 Malibu coupe.
I swapped the wheels the next day for the wheels/hubcaps from my '81 Monte because the front tires were almost new and the rears were good snow tires.
I drove it until April '06 when the rear brake line rusted out. It sat until August while I drove my
Caprice the rest of the summer because it had A/C. I also put new pads, rotors and new front tires on it at that time.
Summer of '07 I had to replace the inner and outer tie-rods on both sides, and the front tires again (worn front end wore out the insides of the tires). I also had to rig up some ratchet straps to hold up the rear bumper, since the rear frame rails were so rotten. They had actually cracked at the top of the arch over the axle, been repaired with a large plate over the crack, and started to rust and crack around the repair...
In December '07, a loose parking brake cable (rusted free from backing plate) caused one of the rear drums to come apart, and I ended up replacing all the rear brakes.
Around this time the exhaust rusted apart where the Y-pipe had been fashioned to split after the cat.
I secured the loose pipe and covered the hole with a tin can and hose clamps, thus making the car a single exhaust.
The pitman arm seal leaked so badly that it would drain the PS resevoir in 3 days. You can see it on my driveway...
Finally, with the steering and suspension needing rebuilding, all four tires needing replacement, and very little left of the rear frame, rockers and door bottoms, I parked the car in August of '08. It sat until it's cannibalization the next fall.
I used, kept or sold all of what could be salvaged. The tailgate was the only rust-free panel on the car.
I sold what was left for $100 to a fellow who cut the front frame off to use under his '52 International pick-up street rod.
