Thread: 1965 Chevelle Malibu - The new "family" hot rod.

New project time!

I made the decision a while ago that I needed to build a "family" hotrod. My 3 trucks are cool, but I want to roll with my whole crew. This new potential hotrod had to meet 3 criteria;
1.) Seat 5
2.) Be older than a 1967
3.) Be a GM product

I have been looking on and off for a while when just yesterday this thing popped up on Craigslist. I jumped on it. The car was listed for exactly 38 minutes when I contacted the guy and I was on my way to his house within the hour. We talked for a good 45 minutes about anything and everything. Eventually settled on a price and I handed him crisp $100 bills. The guy was nice enough to deliver it for me today. Here it is, as it sits:



That vintage 60's color!


50k original miles?


For sure the original 283 / Poweglide setup


Always a southwest car. It's insane how solid this car is


It needs a little maintenance. Been sitting for probably a decade. The left rear wheel cylinder leaks, but that's the only immediate issue. Short term plan is to convert the front brakes to disk. Drum brakes SUCK! Apparently factory '67 or '68 disks are a nearly direct bolt on swap. I'll get that stuff coming soon. Also probably switch to an HEI distributor and ditch the points. Maybe drop on a 4 bbl intake and carb. Depends on if I find something cheap at the swap meet. Beyond that, I plan to drive it just as it is and address any issues as they pop up.

Long term plan is LS swap and turboooooooo! This is the reason I wanted Pre 1967. No emissions!

Congrats on old car!

That should provide ample honest retro vibe for sanity preservation. I'm happy for you so will spare you the rambling opinionated, former low mileage 283PG user input. I tend to just kinda check out when I see all four doors.

From where I sit, the miles are believable. Garaged it just in time, looks like to me. In certain circles, theres a heap of bragging rights in contact points. Whatever you do, just don't think you'll be able to make the PG give up the ghost as an excuse.

Originally Posted by SgtMarshal

I am kinda surprised that Arizona has emissions for 1967 and newer because I thought it was 1974 when they started adding catalytic converters.

'75 I guess. I'm not sure why they start in '67 (or '68?). I have to believe anything BEFORE '75 gets a lot of leeway though. Can't say for sure. Anyway, not my problem!

Does it have power steering? the '67 Caprice I had drove like a dream because it was so smooth. I'm really excited for you that you got this. Are those wheels 14" or 15"?

Yes, and it is butter smooth. Early GM power steering was/is effortless! Factory 14's. The seller said they are some special factory option though. Supposed to be the only 14 that will fit over disk brakes. We will see.

Originally Posted by idrivejunk

Congrats on old car!

That should provide ample honest retro vibe for sanity preservation. I'm happy for you so will spare you the rambling opinionated, former low mileage 283PG user input. I tend to just kinda check out when I see all four doors.

Thanks! Hey now, don't be hating on my more door Malibu. I have to have SOME amount of practicality. It may hurt the cool factor, but it will be way more convenient with the kids. Still better than a minivan!

From where I sit, the miles are believable. Garaged it just in time, looks like to me. In certain circles, theres a heap of bragging rights in contact points. Whatever you do, just don't think you'll be able to make the PG give up the ghost as an excuse.

Haha! No, probably not. Yeah, I think the patina is perfect right where it is.


So it looks like this thing might come together quicker than I had planned. I sold my V8 S10 for near asking price yesterday, so this build is already funded. Earlier in the day I got my title, tags and insurance for the Malibu. My custom plate was even available. I stumbled into a 5.3 for dirt cheap, and I already had an 80e on the shelf from a trade I had done a while ago. I'm going to start squirreling away parts and pieces as they become available. Things are just falling into place.

Been putting in some time on this thing. In the last few days I've replaced;

All 4 wheel cylinders
Battery hold down
Both battery cables
Fuel pump
Driveshaft seal
And rebuilt the carb.

I ordered a full front power disk brake conversion kit from CPP through Summit, but that wasn't supposed to ship till 2-2022. This is why I even bothered to replace the front wheel cylinders. I also ordered a new master cylinder since it leaks like a sieve. A day after I ordered the master, I got a shipping notification for the brake kit. That should be here tomorrow. Shrug. Anyhow, that will be the next project. Then maybe I can start driving this thing.

Oh, I got my custom plate the other day too:

Originally Posted by SgtMarshal

I like it. some people might get tricked by your license plate and think you are an environmentalist, but that's ok. we know the truth.

Maybe I can get an "Alternative Fuel Vehicle" tax credit if I run it on E-85. Haha!

Found out today that the car does for sure fit in the garage. Barely, but it does.



Just in time too. First major project got dropped off today. Early Christmas! Let's see how long it takes for this instal...

Disk brake kit is on. Instal was pretty straight forward. The only things not in the kit that I purchased separately were the prop valve bleeder tool and the brass distribution tee. Shipping on that took FOREVER. Anyway, the brakes work, but the pedal is soft. I think there's still air in there somewhere. Going to try the vacuum bleeder and hope for the best.

This is normal, right? This is fine.



Probably not, but it does explain the loud bang and immediate wheel lock up last time I drove it. I put new rear shoes and hardware on today. Now every consumable part of the brake system is new. The only original parts are the pedal and hard lines.

Originally Posted by BrandonHall10

This is normal, right? This is fine.



Probably not, but it does explain the loud bang and immediate wheel lock up last time I drove it. I put new rear shoes and hardware on today. Now every consumable part of the brake system is new. The only original parts are the pedal and hard lines.

^^^ LOL.

So, not much going on with this lately. Put a couple miles on it here and there. I trust it a lot more since doing the rear brakes. Still not ready to take it on a road trip though. I've been mostly focused on getting the motor built for and the AC installed on my K10.

The headlights that I ordered in November showed up today. I should be able to get them in this afternoon. They are supposed to be plug and play.

Headlights are in. I took a night drive to properly aim them. I'm happy to say that they are absolutely amazing! Easily the best headlights I have personally experienced. Granted, I have been limited to crappy sealed beams and barely better 9005/9006 halogen bulbs, but they are leaps and bounds above either of those. My phone camera is garbage so you'll have to take my word. Plenty of pictures on the Holley website. Anyhow, clean white light, great beam pattern and clean cutoff. I can't say how these compare to any of the eBay LED's, but I love the stock look. Well worth what I paid. I'll probably buy a set of the 4x6's (?) for my K10.

And I put a new alternator on. Old one was still charging fine, but made an awful whining noise at certain RPM's. Like, loud as a tornado siren. LOL Pretty sure the bearings were shot.

We got tunes!







It's going to take me a minute to figure out how to operate this thing, and it's probably/definitely more than I need. Especially right now with that little 4x10. However, it has all the bells and whistles if/when I decide to put a real system in this car. I'm not a super big stereo guy, but AM only was not going to cut it. Now I got AM, FM, USB, Bluetooth, and AUX.

Did you get that head unit from Classic Industries? I've been eyeballing it for awhile. My 66 needs a stock looking stereo for sure. I bought the dash speaker also.

Does your back seat have a center speaker? Mine is supposed to but it doesn't for some reason

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Originally Posted by wowitsfast

Did you get that head unit from Classic Industries?

This one came from classiccarstereos.com. Only took like 5 day to receive after ordering. Not bad considering they have to put together a package specific to your vehicle.

Does your back seat have a center speaker? Mine is supposed to but it doesn't for some reason

Nope. All I have is the dinky 4x10 above the glove box. I'd like to add a pair of 6x9's when I replace the package tray. Someday.

My package tray is hacked up already more like 8x10 speaker holes! Maybe the seat speaker is a "curse of the more door" situation. Lol

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