As you can see by my username, I've been Ford pretty much my whole life. Had an '80 malibu sbc(sounded wicked, weaker n my wifes 250k v6 Celebrity for some reason),'78 Cutlass sbc, '77 Impala 2dr fastback sbc,'78 Olds Delta88-bbo, and an '84 Cutlass(vsik). Other than those it's been mostly Mavericks/Comets and '70s Ford trucks. My current projects are a '72 Comet w/roller cam 302, a '77 F150 w/460, and a '75 F100 w 300 six(for now). And now I have a Malibu.
I've always admired the simple, clean lines of the '78-83 Malibus, I think they make killer street cars. They are also about the only GM cars I like that I can afford too. I don't want to deal with the rust on '67-72 trucks(love that body truck), and '66 Malibus are WAAAY outta my tax bracket. I let the '80 go because I had too much in it and it was an absolute slug. I had a '79 roller a few years back, sold it and regretted it pretty quick as the body was arrow straight & had a nice set of Prostars/BFG drag radials on it. Oh well.
Ok, so my wife gets this fetish for Pontiac Fieros. We buy an '87 v6/5spd car. And later trade a couple of my projects for an '86 v6/auto car(this one supposedly had a 3.4 swapped in instead of the 2.8). The '86 turns out to be a late model version of a "junk hot rod". A/C bypassed, no horn, wipers worked sometimes, it died for no apparent reason, just needing stuff I couldn't put my heart into. She couldn't either, told me to do whatever with it. You know, there isn't many people in east TN who like Fieros. No luck on CL, it bid up to $760 on Ebay(not enough). Sooo....
I see this pretty good looking '78 Malibu appear about 5-6 miles from the house on the side of the road with a home made for sale sign. I figure there's no way I can afford it, but I stop anyway. Turns out she(owner was a single mom)wanted $1200 for it, the engine was knocking. I called to see about the possibility of a trade on the '86 Fiero. She says she'd like to look at it. I drive it over, her male companion & me take it out the road & back, I tell them all the stuff it needs and we ended up trading even.
Normally, when you trade a running driving car for one you gotta haul you're going in the hole. But I think I did ok;
A '78 malibu 2dr Landau
Carmine w/nice red interior
61k (looks to be original)
no rust(even the vinyl top looks good)
'85-87 Monte SS aluminum wheels
all the original manuals/spare tire info/warranty papers,bla,bla
the build sheet
3.3 (200) chevy v6-it wants out, I hear it knocking
2.73 gears(hey, all the others I had came with 2.29s)
Originally, I had planned on a '70 truck 350/t350 combo. This motor/trans I've known since they were new.. my grandfather's '70 pickup has this still in it. But it's got close to 200k on it and I haven't started it in 5-6 years. It needs an overhaul. To do it right will require some bucks/time sooo......
I'm going to do something that most Chevy guys probably won't like. I got a killer(I think)deal on an olds 455/t400. They're out of a '75-76 98 Regency with about 75k on it. Got the motor/trans complete(even got a new alternator on it and the A/C compressor's still there too)from quadrajet to oilpan for $200. I'm thinking new transmission seals, maybe a shift kit, and a fresh tune up on the motor and it should be ready to rock. Not wanting a race car, but the 455 and 2.73s should still be entertaining. And the car will not sound too mean, 'cause the motors stock. My old Delta 88 ran 9.60s with a junk 455/t350 and 2.41 rear. I'd hope the little Malibu will turn some 9.40s or so since it's a bit lighter.1/8 mile times of course. Hey, when times are better I'd like to find an '81-87 Cutlass to put this in & put the 350 in the Malibu and then things would be "correct"(to me) but for now I just want the Malibu up & running. Sorry for the long post, it's late, I'm rambling,goodnite!
I've always admired the simple, clean lines of the '78-83 Malibus, I think they make killer street cars. They are also about the only GM cars I like that I can afford too. I don't want to deal with the rust on '67-72 trucks(love that body truck), and '66 Malibus are WAAAY outta my tax bracket. I let the '80 go because I had too much in it and it was an absolute slug. I had a '79 roller a few years back, sold it and regretted it pretty quick as the body was arrow straight & had a nice set of Prostars/BFG drag radials on it. Oh well.
Ok, so my wife gets this fetish for Pontiac Fieros. We buy an '87 v6/5spd car. And later trade a couple of my projects for an '86 v6/auto car(this one supposedly had a 3.4 swapped in instead of the 2.8). The '86 turns out to be a late model version of a "junk hot rod". A/C bypassed, no horn, wipers worked sometimes, it died for no apparent reason, just needing stuff I couldn't put my heart into. She couldn't either, told me to do whatever with it. You know, there isn't many people in east TN who like Fieros. No luck on CL, it bid up to $760 on Ebay(not enough). Sooo....
I see this pretty good looking '78 Malibu appear about 5-6 miles from the house on the side of the road with a home made for sale sign. I figure there's no way I can afford it, but I stop anyway. Turns out she(owner was a single mom)wanted $1200 for it, the engine was knocking. I called to see about the possibility of a trade on the '86 Fiero. She says she'd like to look at it. I drive it over, her male companion & me take it out the road & back, I tell them all the stuff it needs and we ended up trading even.
Normally, when you trade a running driving car for one you gotta haul you're going in the hole. But I think I did ok;
A '78 malibu 2dr Landau
Carmine w/nice red interior
61k (looks to be original)
no rust(even the vinyl top looks good)
'85-87 Monte SS aluminum wheels
all the original manuals/spare tire info/warranty papers,bla,bla
the build sheet
3.3 (200) chevy v6-it wants out, I hear it knocking
2.73 gears(hey, all the others I had came with 2.29s)
Originally, I had planned on a '70 truck 350/t350 combo. This motor/trans I've known since they were new.. my grandfather's '70 pickup has this still in it. But it's got close to 200k on it and I haven't started it in 5-6 years. It needs an overhaul. To do it right will require some bucks/time sooo......
I'm going to do something that most Chevy guys probably won't like. I got a killer(I think)deal on an olds 455/t400. They're out of a '75-76 98 Regency with about 75k on it. Got the motor/trans complete(even got a new alternator on it and the A/C compressor's still there too)from quadrajet to oilpan for $200. I'm thinking new transmission seals, maybe a shift kit, and a fresh tune up on the motor and it should be ready to rock. Not wanting a race car, but the 455 and 2.73s should still be entertaining. And the car will not sound too mean, 'cause the motors stock. My old Delta 88 ran 9.60s with a junk 455/t350 and 2.41 rear. I'd hope the little Malibu will turn some 9.40s or so since it's a bit lighter.1/8 mile times of course. Hey, when times are better I'd like to find an '81-87 Cutlass to put this in & put the 350 in the Malibu and then things would be "correct"(to me) but for now I just want the Malibu up & running. Sorry for the long post, it's late, I'm rambling,goodnite!
