C'mon... that Is a Gem!
Everything is out of whack these days, from Doctor fees to our own damn Government and Oblamo-care... that said, these cars, along with others of the era are coming into their prime now... Im gonna be 37 this year, (wtf!?!)... I bought my first car, a 71 Chevelle Malibu 307 2dr for $500. The engine block was bare, but included with the deal was a milk crate of mis-matched engine pieces and a TH350 in the trunk, and it had a title... discovered it was a masterpiece of incredibly talented bondo-work... only the firewall and doors were solid steel. Bought a 1970 Chevelle Malibu 307 2dr shortly after from a buddy for $200. He had stuffed a 350 hap-hazardly into it which refused to start, and no title... later that year I bought a relatively solid '72 Chevelle Malibu 2dr hardtop with a 350/TH350/10 bolt posi, running, drivable, and paid the high sum of $800 for a car that many people told me would never be worth that in scrap... I drove that car all through high school and until 1998... had I not succumbed to the idea that I would just buy another, Id still own it.. (never did get another, I moved into '78-88 A/G Bodies and 3rd Gen Firebirds). These cars were still all over the place in the 90's... Why did I get rid of it? there was rust starting in the floors, trunk, and rockers.... yup, it was a gonner by all accounts (1998) because no one made full repop panels or anything else... "Mint" SS cars were typically $5k all day long. So I did the logical thing, I stripped it and paid the boneyard $50 to haul it away... ah those were the days...
Again, these cars are at the just about to POP now... the only thing holding them back is the very soft economy (which wont improve for years)... Mint '78-'88 A/G Body's are getting scarce, few unmolested ones exist, many are trashed/rotted heaps, many original parts are worth decent coin, and some parts are getting repopped now... 3-5 years ago, I was making a killing in G-body parts, then as scrap prices went nuts, the economy tanked... the number of G-Body's in both the classifieds and in the boneyards is barely noticable... As said, These cars got hammered in Oblamo's "Cash 4 Clunkers"... scrap prices caused the people to cash them in and the boneyards raced to crush every one that came is because of their high steel content... they dont last long even today... Yards that were loaded with dozens of them now have nothing but Japanese and Korean ecoboxes and hoards of dead Detroit front drive throwaways...
