The 1981-to-1979 malibu rebuild

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t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 8, 2011

• #1

im starting a thread on the progress of the car. the plan is to fix the body first and have the frame blasted and powder coated. interior comes next, then im going to build a 355 or 383, 4 speed swap and a 12 bolt rear. suspension will most likely come last. i plan to get the bodywork done and have the car painted, then use the original drivetrain wile i save for a motor build.

today i got the car in the garage with the help of a friend. i used the truck and an old tire to push it. my friend was steering the malibu.

we took the rear bumper off first because the fiberglass mount inside the bumper was broken on the driver side and the bumper was sagging. this was caused from a previous "accident" and not from using the truck to push the car. i had hooked the corner of the bumper on my trailer once and almost pulled the whole bumper off the car :shock:

i also test fitted some 15x10" wheels that i used to run on the camaro 8)

looks good.

 

T

t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 8, 2011

• #2

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

the car hasnt been running for the last 1/3 of its life.

we started to gut the interior because i was most interest in the condition of the floors. the pics speak for themselves and it looks like i have my work cut out for me.

driver side floor pan. im glad the seat never fell through the floor wile i was driving. :shock:

 

T

t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 8, 2011

• #3

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

luckily the passenger side floor pan is in a lot nicer condition.

the trunk floor isnt that bad in the center from what i can see so far, but the corners are rotting where it meets the quaters and wheel wells. also the dip for the spare tire has some rot and a small hole.

i can see right to the garage floor in the driver rear corner.

driver side door jam

the northeast winters are not gentle on G bodys.

 

T

t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 8, 2011

• #4

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

and the old 229

tomorrow i got to work on the truck, but during the week id like to get the rest of the interior and headliner down, also remove the dash and steering column.

 

85GPLef41

Royal Smart Person

Nov 14, 2008

2,210

160

63

44

Colorado

• Oct 8, 2011

• #5

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

glad to see you putting it back on the road 8) The floorboards do need some work though, you plan on patching them or putting in new floor pans?

 

T

t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 8, 2011

• #6

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

new floor pans. im cutting out the driver side. the brace is salvageable. the passenger side should be patchable. i can see no holes on the passenger side, but i havent looked underneath the car yet, and that kinda scares me. i know that one body mounts is completely rotted away in the driver side, just forward and above the rear axle. it is in that bad corner where the trunk floor, quarter and wheel well meet. there is nothing there but a hole 😢

 

T

t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 8, 2011

• #7

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

i need to fully strip the car first so i know what i am working with and then start ordering parts. i need to determine what i can do myself and what a real professional body man should do. the car is getting sent out for paint anyway, so if im not comfortable with some repairs they can do them too.

 

M

MalibuMandy

n00b

Oct 12, 2011

1

0

0

• Oct 12, 2011

• #8

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

I built a 78 with my dad when I was 18, and believe me when I tell you it was way worse. I got it for $200 and got an El Camino with it for spare parts. Blood, sweat, and tears... Good times. Just got my second. It's the exact opposite. She's got less that 100K original miles, one owner, and looks 3 years old instead of 30. I am still pinching myself on this find. Here's to the bu.

 

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T

t01blaze

Master Mechanic

Oct 4, 2011

281

11

18

South New Jersey

• Oct 17, 2011

• #9

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

i still have the original hub caps too. the same ones posted in your picture. they might go back on later...

i havent had time for the car, but the dash should be out soon and then the engine and trans are coming next.

 

kuruption109

Comic Book Super Hero

Jun 28, 2008

2,886

17

38

40

highland, CA

• Oct 17, 2011

• #10

Re: 1981 malibu rebuild

t01blaze said:

i still have the original hub caps too. the same ones posted in your picture. they might go back on later...

i havent had time for the car, but the dash should be out soon and then the engine and trans are coming next.

Click to expand...

alot of work ahead of u but thats the beauuty of a project. im also goin wit the stock hubcaps on my 81