Malibu Classic 1979

[MariaMalibu]

Hi I'm Maria and I'm from Sweden. I don't have any big plans with my Malibu but it's still interesting (maybe mostly for me) to write what's happening with the car

Story behind it is that a friend's uncle died and my friend asked me if I wanted to buy his Malibu. I just sold my El Camino 1968 so I thought why not.

The car entered Sweden 1982 as moving goods, don't know by who. 1999 my friend's uncle bought the car, he died suddenly so I have no further information about it.

First thing I did was removing a bunch of tags they added in the grille.
The VIN says it was produced with a V6 but it was said to have a 305 engine.
We found the cast number and it's a 267. A bit disappointing.
We also build a simple, cheap new exhaust system because the old one was leaking in several places.

 

[MariaMalibu]

You have to love the solution he used for having double exhaust pipes 😅

 

[MariaMalibu]

My plan was to reuse some old Audi wheels I had laying around but it didn't work due to the long centre in the front. I knew that the Malibu had bigger centre bore than my wheels but with a "normal" center this wouldn't be a problem when I'm using adapters. So now I'm trying to decide what to do.. if I should just buy new tires for the ralley wheels mounted on it now.

 

[airboatgreg]

Welcome from SW Georgia. Lots of knowledge and experience here. Plus a few smarta**es

 

[Turbo Zach]

Neat project. I have an idea on how to make your wheels work. Look into the blazer brake upgrade. The Blazers use a hub bearing instead of a spindle. I am guessing the spindle part of the rotor is the problem? Better brakes and your wheels might work. Worth looking into.

 

[ssn696]

**I was still typing when Turbo Zach hit 'post'**🙄

If your front suspension and brakes are ready for replacement, consider changing to a 2-wheel-drive S10 Blazer front spindle. GM saved effort and used the G-body suspension design in these trucks. In 1998, the Blazer got an upgrade to the packaged hub/wheel bearing assembly. In order to stay with the existing control arms and steering parts, GM engineered a 'knuckle' that back-fit to the existing design - which means us G-body folks have an easy solution (other than shipping iron to Sweden). The ball joints are the same, and the steering arms tie into the Malibu exactly the same. The hub is smaller and will probably now fit your rims. The extra benefit is that you get the 12" Blazer rotors and 2-piston calipers instead of the Malibu 10.5" rotors and single-piston calipers. Search the Forum for 'Blazer brake upgrade'. If you have to spend money anyway, let us help you spend it wisely.

98~05 Blazer brake upgrade! DONE!

This upgrade made a HUGE difference for me. My old hardware was only 2 years old on the calipers, rotators, and pads. i am going to have my alignment looked at in a few weeks. But for now it is parked till it gets nicer out. I just wanted to post an easy to do, bolt-on upgrade for our g-bodies...

gbodyforum.com

Great job removing the previous owner's 'customizations'. I hope Swedish government rules let you go with a real dual exhaust.

 

[Gwarren79]

Welcome!!

 

[Ribbedroof]

I'm thinking that there probably are not a lot of Blazers laying around in Swedish salvage yards, guys....what is simple here becomes much more involved overseas.

Welcome Maria. You'll find most people here will prefer to modify rather than repair to original. Not that that is a bad thing, but it isn't always the most cost-effective or simplest solution. I will say that if you choose to modify, you have come to a good source for information to do so.

You may have noticed I didn't say upgrade, as I don't feel a sealed ball bearing hub assembly is an upgrade from the original tapered roller bearing.

 

[clean8485]

Welcome to the site. There are lots of good people here. That car has an interesting exhaust system for sure. Is there a muffler on it? I didn't see one in your photos. Also, I'm kind of curious. Why do cars in that part of the world have the front license plate attached below the front bumper? The photos of your Malibu show the front license plate below the bumper, and I've seen photos of another Malibu in Norway, and the front license plate on that car is mounted below the front bumper. Any particular reason for this? Does the shape and size of the license plate not match the North American license plate bracket?

 

[pagrunt]

Not the biggest fan of large diameter wheels but that design works. Hope you can get them to fit properly.