Photos from the Cohort by Jerome Solberg.
Here’s a ’66 Chevelle Malibu 2-door hardtop, beat up and worn, the way they used to be found around my high school grounds back in the ’80s. A once gleaming belonging, now reduced to second rate transportation.
Undeniably, “The way it used to be” is a subjective phrase. And some may recall a different period for these, as when they used to be new. But those youthful days are long gone, and mine are too. So this find by Jerome Solberg in California is a reminder of days past, in one way or another.
And this is no mere Chevelle, but rather a Malibu model in 2-door sport coupe form. Chevrolet’s upper trim line in the midsize market. Of course, it was the ’60s, and if you preferred your Chevelles as full-time muscle cars, you had other choices too.
When going around the car, one can see that it embodies different timelines. Those hubcaps move the proceedings to the mid-’80s. Who told this Chevelle to have Caprice dreams?
Leaving those hubcaps aside, a hint of the original timeline is in the front fender. And if I’m not mistaken, that bit of pot metal indicates this sports coupe carries a V8. A 283 most likely?
Talking about “the way it used to be”, here’s the car’s no longer “as it used to be” side. But as can be seen, someone went through the trouble of rebuilding the past for this angle.
And yet one more timeline appears, thanks to another Chevrolet hubcap. At least this Malibu’s owner is remaining faithful to the bowtie division, right?
On to the interior, with the top shot showing a pretty well-kept instrument panel. Just the way it used… Oh, heck. You know where I’m going with this.
Meanwhile, that front bench seat has clearly been reupholstered. With the kind of vinyl covering that reminds me of Puerto Rican taxis. Very sticky and sweaty under the heat.
Despite all the time shuffling, I assume the strangest timeline this Malibu has lived through is the current one. A 2-door hardtop from the ’60s, not rusted to pieces and yet, not snatched up by some restomoder?
In our CC world, I guess it’s all for the better. After all, how else to be reminded of the way it used to be?
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Sedan – The American Opel
Chevelle SS Or Malibu SS – An Overview Of Chevrolet’s Intermediate Super Sport
I love this, easy to make into a daily driver .
The pot metal not plastic fender call out badges indeed are for the 282 .
-Nate
Install buckets from a ’64.
For me, two doors means two front bucke seats.
Ah yes, I forgot, plastics didn’t use to be so common. Not until after The Graduate at least. “Plastics… There’s a great future in plastics…” Mr. McGuire knew what he was talking about.
Ah, back when turquoise was a popular choice for both the outside and the inside of your car!
I have never warmed to the 1964-65 Chevelle/Malibu, but the 66-67 was a lovely car.
Even after all these years I cannot decide if it is better to go with three matching wheel covers and a bare wheel, or three matching wheel covers and a fourth of a different design. Either one would drive me nuts.
…..and a steering wheel locking bar.
Ah yes,”The Club” steering wheel lock. My parents had one of those on their car for years. Haven’t seen one of those in quite a while.
A friend in Berkeley had a similar ‘66 or ‘67 Chevelle, though it was a 4 door. 283, Powerglide. If the featured car had been a 4 door I’d think maybe it’s the same car. Certainly everything else about the neighborhood with this OSH store has changed almost unrecognizably in the 45-50 years since I last saw that Chevelle.
Terrific find. Reminds me of how 25 year old cars all looked in about 1990.
“Here’s a ’66 Chevelle Malibu 2-door hardtop, beat up and worn, the way they used to be found around my high school grounds back in the ’80s”
I was in high school in the 90’s, always curious, what did a typical high school parking lot look like in the 80’s? Were there a lot of cars from the 60’s (or even 50’s) back then that served as a “starter” car?
In the 90’s, almost no teenagers had cars from this era, unless they were a gear head (like me).
i was in “HS” in the late “70’s”. In “rust belt, western PA”, they’re were almost no “60’s”, rides in the lot I can recall.
They’re were a number of “70-73”, era cars though.
I started high school in 1980, and the parking lot was full of late-’60s to mid-’70s cars. GM mid-sized coupes were especially common, something like a ’70 LeMans was a typical HS student ride. The hot muscle-car versions of these were already escalating in price, but the more typically-equipped workaday models? They were $800 used cars.
I’ll never forget a guy in the HS parking lot leading a girl to his car for what I assume was the first time, apologizing to her for having such a run-down ride. His car? a decent-condition ’69 Mustang. ’60s Mustangs were commonplace back then and just old used cars, still way too common to be collectible yet.
I went to HS in the early 80’s and out here in the PNW there were quite a few 60’s era cars. Some from people I knew were hand me downs from grand parents, parents or older sibling. Those included a 4dr 68 Lemans, a 69 Caprice 4dr, a 67 Baracuda, a 67 Fury 4dr. The girl that lived down the block had a 67 Lemans with the 326 that was in mint condition with new paint and vinyl top. Her dad was definitely projecting what he wanted not that she wasn’t happy to have such a nice car. Some that bought a car that they wanted were yeah the gear heads with pony or muscle cars. Lots of early to mid 70’s cars too.
Nice find, but the two tone paint combination seems somewhat unusual to my eyes. I know it was still available, but black vinyl roofs were the hot thing at the time. This combination looks a bit odd to me, just because it was quite uncommon at the time.
Thanks for posting these pictures!
This was driven by a very proper elderly lady who was not at all interested in talking to me, probably thought I was another in a long line of gear heads offering to buy it off her.
JM:
Probably a suffragette type who views anyone that ‘hangs out’ as a threat!
Here’s another ’66 Chevelle, a 4-door in the same color and exterior condition. This was found along US Route 6 in California between Bishop and the Nevada border in December 2005. It appears to be a base model.
I routinely drove a 66 SS396 powerglide 325 hp chevelle belonging to good friend(R.I.P. Jim) back in 1969 and 1970. It was quite quick and handled well also. When gettinto the four barrel it really sounded great. We all lived in rural Illinois and plenty of opportunities to open her up out in the back roads of farm country. She would 120mph like a clock! I sure miss those commuture friendly muscle cars, it was super reliable and looked good too in marina blue. What a great time we all had at 17 years old! I miss those times!
I routinely drove a 66 SS396 powerglide 325 hp chevelle belonging to good friend(R.I.P. Jim) back in 1969 and 1970. It was quite quick and handled well also. When gettinto the four barrel it really sounded great. We all lived in rural Illinois and plenty of opportunities to open her up out in the back roads of farm country. She would 120mph like a clock! I sure miss those commuture friendly muscle cars, it was super reliable and looked good too in marina blue. What a great time we all had at 17 years old! I miss those times!
Yes,those hubcaps or “full wheel discs” as the anal retentive bunch call them,have got to go……Surely the guy can score a set of correct model year hubcaps at a swap meet or flea market.If he is mechanically inclined to keep this Chevy running I’m sure he or she knows what a swap meet is.
I would like to buy this car
Darrel phone number 925-270-7873
Thanks
I don’t see a For Sale sign on it. Do you?
I think the reason the proper elderly lady who was driving this car shooed me away when I approached her, was because people kept trying to either buy the car or tell her what she should do with it. It doesn’t look like she wants to sell, and she knows exactly what she’s doing.
In high school 68 -72 on the west coast was a common car, too new for a high school kids car at that time. Most kids didn’t have there own car, they were lucky to borrow there moms car if she even had one. If a kid had a car it was mostly a fifties car unless there family had money. Two tones were common and vinyl tops were still a new thing that no one really wanted and still don’t.
Joe Barber ; my same years for high school. Where I attended, it was a medium sized community that was rather affluent. Before anyone starts typing, it was my Dad’s money, not mine. The young people I went to school with were from families with at least two vehicles, oftentimes three. Aside from the instructors vehicles, the kids would drive one of the ‘extra’ cars : Lincoln Marks, Cadillac Sedan de Ville, Buick Electra, Oldsmobile Delta Royale, a Jaguar sedan (what my Dad let me use), LTD, a Caprice or two and young lady I liked very much drove a Citroen sedan. The guy who lived behind me with whom I graduated from high school with was given (!) a Mercury Caliente by one of his older brothers. We were all green with envy.
Up until about 2006 I was still driving cars like this one as daily drivers. 57 Chevy 210 4dr wagon and a 64 Lemans convertible. Both needed a lot of work, but they were cheap at around $2000. each. I sold the wagon for a better 56 Chevy 4dr Belair and still have the Pontiac.
In HS (78) I drove a Rambler Rebel Classic 2dr hardtop with a V8 and a 4speed. It was my brothers hand me down that he didn’t want a more.