Junkyard 81 Malibu Wagon (Judy)

[nkula]

Welcome to the saved from the crusher Judy. hope one day Judy and Sarah Will Meet. Their fates were almost the Same. . . . And then they were saved 🤟 😎 .

View attachment 159043

That would be excellent. Happy to have saved her. Glad you saved yours too! Fun times workin on these beasts

 

[nkula]

Here’s the start to my project! Saved her from a local junkyard. Name's Judy. She was taking on water from the bad weatherstripping. There was mold on everything and even moss growing out of the passenger side. Glad I got her when I did Somehow I can still see her as beautiful.

She’s got a clapped out transmission. But I do have a fresh built sbc 350 to put in there when I do get a trans.

Spent the weekend removing the interior and carpet. About an inch of water in the passenger side front and back. All looking up from here!

Well a rental carpet cleaner did a whole bunch of good. The seats and carpet are in very good shape considering they now don’t smell like mildew and rust.

 

[nkula]

Well a rental carpet cleaner did a whole bunch of good. The seats and carpet are in very good shape considering they now don’t smell like mildew and rust. View attachment 159367 View attachment 159368 View attachment 159369

 

[64nailhead]

Is the drive train salvageable?

 

[nkula]

Is the drive train salvageable?

Needs a transmission as the dodo who owned it before ran it low on fluid then kept driving. I been scouting the areas trans shops for a TH350 to eventually mate w the new small block I built. Currently it has a 305 and I was hoping she’s a runner temporarily so I can get the VIN inspection I need with the stock engine in it so they don’t ask questions

I have yet to turn it over. The battery is on the charger now so I can give it a whirl later today. Will update soon!

 

[pagrunt]

Like the interior color. The cloth pattern even matches my Monte.

 

[gdouaire]

Nice car, great save! Why not a 200-4R instead of a TH-350? Overdrive makes a great difference on the fun-o-meter...

 

[nkula]

This weekend was all about interior rust removal. Took many hours of grinding away the surface rust and underneath found a few minor holes in the passenger floorboard. Welded em up (good enough) and put on a coat of POR15 metal prep to convert the rust and then POR15 Rust coating. That stuff came highly recommended by a few people and it seems to be excellent stuff. It is HIGHY toxic so I devised a snorkel system using a garden hose so I wasn’t breathing it in.

Hope it works for the long term. Anyone else used it???

then came the generic dynamat sound deadening which seems to work very well. Then back went the interior.

Also huge thanks to Longroof79 for suggesting the Blazer tailgate latch in a previous thread. It worked great.

Also got some of the Metro weatherstrip for the rear hatch/tailgate seal and doors as mine are-toast.

 

[MalibuDavyou5]

This weekend was all about interior rust removal. Took many hours of grinding away the surface rust and underneath found a few minor holes in the passenger floorboard. Welded em up (good enough) and put on a coat of POR15 metal prep to convert the rust and then POR15 Rust coating. That stuff came highly recommended by a few people and it seems to be excellent stuff. It is HIGHY toxic so I devised a snorkel system using a garden hose so I wasn’t breathing it in.

Hope it works for the long term. Anyone else used it???

then came the generic dynamat sound deadening which seems to work very well. Then back went the interior.

Also huge thanks to Longroof79 for suggesting the Blazer tailgate latch in a previous thread. It worked great.

Also got some of the Metro weatherstrip for the rear hatch/tailgate seal and doors as mine are-toast.

Never used it. When I went removing surface rust from the bottom of the floor pans underneath the coupe I used an O'reilly's sold Rust converter and a Truck Bed Liner which was the cheapest alternative. Like you I have seen many many people on Youtube who highly recommend Por 15. I myself still have yet to get to the interior of the car, that won't be until next summer as I am out in the elements. Keep up the good work you're coming along just fine. 😎

 

[nkula]

Sorry it’s been a min but it’s been a lot of engine work Here’s a pic of the 357! (Bored out to .040 over) TPI heads for now. Edelbrock carb/Holley intake. Was blue I hated it now she red.

Other than that the weatherstripping I got for the rear tailgate/window 'Metro MW00101 Trunk Lid Weather Strip’ worked superbly well. It fits well and was easy enough to install. It also avoids the rust problem with the upper corner rubber skirt that we know causes rust

the Blazer tailgate latch works, but I can’t get it to open the window, I have to manually open the window from the inside then it works to open the tailgate no problem. Did I install it wrong? Is the latch busted? I PB BLASTED the heck out of it to loosen it up just in case but we will see.