(please welcome our newest COAL series contributor, Chris M. This is a wonderful start. PN) I have a confession to make. I’m one of those people. The kind that some other car people disdain. You see, I have a non-running car. I’ve had this car for a long time, and it hasn’t run in a long time. I keep saying I’ll fix it up one day, but that day hasn’t come yet. And, no, I won’t sell it. So it sits quietly under a car cover, awaiting resurrection. Fifteen years since it last moved under its own power. But the ties that bind me to this car are strong, forged over 35 years. So this is my confession, and the story of my 1979 Malibu.
It started out in 1979 when Dan Violante needed a new car. I wasn’t around yet, then. But my grandfather Dan was, and his search took him to Traders Chevrolet in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. He was doing well financially, but having grown up poor in the Great Depression, he was thrifty. So a Chevrolet was quite good enough. And not a Caprice or the fancier Malibu Classic, but a base Malibu 4-door sedan. But the standard specs were solid, plus he specified an automatic transmission (though finding one with the ostensibly standard 3-speed column shift wasn’t common). Air conditioning, an essential in North Carolina summers. Perhaps most importantly the V6 engines were passed over for a proper V8. This being the malaise era, the 4.4 Liter (267 cubic inch) V8 delivered all of 125 horsepower. Maybe proper is an overstatement, but I digress. This Malibu, in yellow beige over camel sport cloth, came home to take up residence in Grandpa’s driveway. I came along a year later, in 1980.
Me, Grandpa, and the Malibu, circa 1982.
And for the next 6 years, it lived an uneventful life in Grandpa Dan’s care. Sometime in early ’86, however, he decided it was again time for a new car, and a smaller one. And so, the Malibu was replaced by an ’86 Plymouth Reliant in almost the same yellow beige. To be traded in on a K-car would have been a slap in the face to any good RWD Detroit sedan…but it wasn’t traded. Instead, typical to his character, Grandpa decided on generosity instead over profit, and gave the Malibu to Mom. We weren’t in the best financial situation at that point, and the ’68 Impala Mom had been driving had expired in early 1984. So it gave us a second car again, and the Malibu passed down a generation, from Grandpa to Mom, and became our family car of the rest of my childhood.
Probably 75% of my childhood memories involving a car involve this Malibu. Dad had several other cars, but Mom drove the Malibu for 10 years as our workhorse. It took us to New Jersey and Virginia to visit family, to Myrtle Beach every summer for vacation, and everywhere else. And with more hours of rear seat time in that car than I could possibly count, I believe I’m qualified to offer a word about the A/G-body sedans’ most infamous feature–the fixed rear windows. Two words, actually: Air Conditioning. Despite the car’s prodigious appetite for compressors (it went through one every couple years) my folks kept the A/C functional. And, it made the fixed windows a total non-issue. The flip-out rear quarter lights helped draw hot air out when starting, and then the A/C took over. If someone was to order one of these cars without A/C, then being trapped back there in summer would be a special kind of hell. But luckily ours had it, and I was a happy kid.
The car changed colors, several times. In winter 1989, Dad had been in a minor accident involving a Rambler (of all things). When that was repaired, it was decided the paint could use a refresh. Showing a lack of judgment, Mom simply declared “blue” and let me pick which shade. Note to parents–giving a 9 year-old control of color choice may result in unintended consequences. The Malibu was duly repainted a shade of blue (“Electric Blue” to be exact) better suited to a compact. But it certainly suited the times.
Dad with the Malibu, 1989. One of the few pictures which survives from the “Electric Blue Era.”
That paint job looked like crap a few years later, so the car was repainted again in 1992, a more dignified dark metallic blue. Also my call, but I had evidently developed a sense of taste by that time. And again in 1995, dark blue but going to a specific shade, 1992 Cadillac “Black Sapphire”. In 1997, Dad had taken the car for the day, and someone hit him exiting a parking lot, damaging the front fender. The insurance company wanted to total the car and pay us all of $250. Um…no. It was worth more than that and we weren’t giving it up.
A battle with the insurance company ensued, and finally they agreed to give us $900 and we kept the car. While in the shop, it was repainted. Same color, or so I thought, until I saw the car afterward. It was dark blue, but the wrong dark blue. Back to the paint shop, argue, compare color chip to finished product, check original order, their mistake. So it was resprayed for the second time in a month. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s five repaints. And the underside of the trunk is still yellow beige to this day.
In September 1995, I turned 15, and acquired my learner’s permit. Most of my learning came behind the wheel of the Malibu. And as my 16th birthday approached, discussion turned to my future ride. While a large Malaise sedan wasn’t what most kids imagined as their first set of wheels, my choice was made. One small problem—I didn’t have the money to purchase it from Mom and Dad. However Mom didn’t work at that point, so it was decided that the car would become mine, with the caveat that if she needed it, she could use it. Fair enough, I could tell my friends that I had my own car, key to maintaining one’s status in High School. I even played up the fact that it had a V8, glossing over the lackluster power ratings.
So on September 1, 1996, the Malibu passed down another generation, and the car became mine. Did I proceed to have great adventures? Not really. I wasn’t lucky with the ladies, and while I did spend plenty of time with friends, rather than road trips and shenanigans my main focus was school. I wanted to get out of Greensboro, which meant getting a scholarship so I could afford to live away from home. So I spent a significant amount of time buried in the books. Nonetheless, driving was still a feeling of freedom, and I’d take any excuse to go for a spin.
The car-sharing setup wasn’t a burden, and the next summer, another car was purchased for Mom. I did do my share of irresponsible teenage driving; got pulled over a few times but avoided tickets by dumb luck…one minor accident, no damage. I had planned a number of upgrades—engine work, dual exhaust, bigger wheels/tires, stereo, the usual stuff. Problem is, most of my money paid for guitar equipment (my other passion at the time) and for gas. So the only one that ever happened was the stereo. My parents had gifted me a Pioneer cassette deck and speakers when they gave me the car, and as an early graduation gift, I upgraded to an Alpine CD unit. However, I’m getting a little ahead of myself as that almost didn’t happen.
Very nearly my second COAL.
Once it was clear that I was going away to school in Raleigh, 90 miles away, we decided I should seek more reliable transportation. The Malibu never once left me stranded on the road, but it had on more than a few occasions failed to start in the morning, and it was getting rather old. I had no intention of giving the car up, but Dad agreed to drive it while I was away at school since he could drive Mom’s car to work if it decided not to start. I saved up $900, the parents matched, and went shopping. We ended up with an ’84 Honda Accord LX sedan, white over blue, 4-speed. So begins, and ends, my career with a manual-equipped car. I got good enough where I wasn’t a danger to other motorists, but I never loved the car. The Honda was fun to drive despite its small displacement, but I was used to a big V8 cruiser. So the Honda became Dad’s car and the Malibu stayed with me. My contribution properly bought me the Malibu in the end.
That summer I had a full-circle moment. Grandpa Dan still lived nearby, but had started to show signs of cognitive decline and had surrendered his driver’s license the previous year. We went to play golf several times that summer and I drove. I asked him if he remembered his old car, and while he had some trouble finding the words, it was clear that he did. I wonder if, back when the car was new, he imagined being a passenger in the car 19 years later with his grandson at the wheel? Probably not. But it’s funny how life works out sometimes.
It turned out I wasn’t allowed to have a car on campus as a freshman, so the Malibu stayed back home. I did drive the car to the beach for Spring Break, picking it up in Greensboro and collecting some friends on the way back through Raleigh headed for the beach. Late at night on Highway 17 in Eastern North Carolina, I ended up in what was my only top-speed run and maybe the world’s slowest race–my Malibu versus a 3.0-equipped ’95 Taurus. I had the speedometer needle pegged at the 85 MPH limiter, but sadly I lost. To this day I claim wind resistance played a part.
That summer, I discovered an Interesting Fact: a 267 -powered Malibu will do 75 MPH in second gear flat out. The transmission inexplicably stopped shifting into 3rd for a while, but it actually didn’t seem to mind 55 in second. Enough to get me to work. Towards the end of the summer, it started picking up 3rd again. Weird problem, never did figure it out, but perhaps it presaged future problems?
Surprisingly, the only interior image I can find.
I moved off campus for sophomore year, so I brought the Malibu along. And before too long the car acquired a nickname from my friends. They called it Fireball–not because it went like a ball of fire, but because they were sure that I would die in a ball of fire after driving off the road and over a cliff. Maybe I was a bit of a scary driver? My wife might still claim that I am. Oh well…not like there are many cliffs in central NC anyway. Plus I only had one working seat belt in back… As the car passed 21 years, minor problems did occur with some regularity. But I’d decided I was in it for the long haul, and would drive it until I couldn’t anymore, then set it aside for restoration.
Ever have one of those spooky coincidences? Back home for Christmas in 2000, opening presents, I found one tucked into the branches at the back of the tree. It was a Hot Wheels Corvette, and taped to the back of the package was a $500 check with the memo line “New Car Fund”. Evidently the parents wanted me to start saving for something newer and more reliable before it became immediately necessary. A very nice gift, and it seemed like a good idea. So on the 2nd of January 2001, I went out to start the Malibu, and it caught briefly and then immediately died with a rattle. After that, nothing. Had it towed to our longtime mechanic, and he reported that the timing chain had broken. 174,000 miles, 21 years. Game over. Maybe the car knew that it was going to be replaced? I have a way of personifying inanimate objects, and it almost seemed like it was giving me a reproachful look as I left to return to Raleigh.
The beginning of retirement…
The last day of 2000 was the last day the Malibu ever ran under its own power. But I had always planned to restore it, so it was a temporary setback rather than an end. Just leave it in the driveway of my parents’ house, drop a car cover on it, and come back and fetch it in a few years when I had time and space to work on it. Then, life happened. Years passed. I graduated and found work, but had no space as I lived in a series of apartments with one parking spot. More years passed. I met my future wife, and in time she accepted that the car and I were a package deal. We moved into a rental house with a garage, and I had the space. Then budget cuts claimed my job, and I took a substantial pay cut. There went the budget. More years passed. We moved to Richmond, into an apartment that had no parking whatsoever except for street spaces. Finally this summer, we bought a house. And while it doesn’t have a garage, it does have a long driveway, a fence, and no HOA. I have the space, and once we get done furnishing the house, I should have the funds as well.
Circa 2011, the most recent photos I have.
Plans? Oh, I still have those. Given the reputation of the 267, it’ll be going—a 350 will bolt right up. Depending on what the transmission is (not sure if it’s a TH200 or a TH350) that might need replacing too. Otherwise? Replace wear items, and see what else it needs to run again. Paint can wait. The interior is a mess with the GM Vari-Fade™ plastics, plus worn seat fabric. It can wait too. I just want to get it running, get behind the wheel again, get it back on the road. And prove wrong all the doubters.
My biggest concern, on the other hand? Rust. There is damage around the rear windshield, which is troubling. The rear passenger door is in bad shape internally; it took in water through bad weatherstripping for years, and under cornering, you could sometimes hear it sloshing as the drain holes would fill with crud. But otherwise there’s nothing visible. North Carolina doesn’t use a lot of salt on the roads due to mild winters, so I’m hoping the frame isn’t hiding advanced cancer. Every time I’m back in Greensboro, I run my hand along the car’s fender as I pass it in the driveway. Reassuring to me, and maybe to the car too? 36 years and still here.
The once and future Malibu.
And so ends my confession, the object of great and neglect still under a car cover in Greensboro, 214 miles away. But there is more hope now than there has been in some time; hope to atone for my sins. Hope to finish what I started. Hope to put Grandpa’s car, my first car, back on the road again. Penance will be served with a wrench in my hand.
Great story…! Reminds me of myself and my 1980 Monte Carlo. Same powertrain, drove it for 300 000 kms, I just LOVED that car… Sadly, the frame rails in the rear rotted out, thanks to Ontario’s salty roads and it was game over…
Sorry, but I think I prefer that light yellow this car originally came in. And would the 84 Accord have a 5 speed? I’m assuming (perhaps incorrectly) you meant manual transmission.
These Malibus are 1 of my favorite “vintage” Chevys, so I can understand your keeping it “in the family”, even though it’s currently not running. My sister has a very nice 70 Malibu that she no longer drives. A car very much like yours and her COAL. Her Malibu gets a cozy garage while her Subaru must sit outside year round.
The yellow beige wasn’t bad in retrospect, but it didn’t seem fashionable back in ’89. And the Accord was a manual, and probably was a 5 speed. I think 4 was a confusion with the other manual car Dad drove, a 4-speed ’83 Escort.
Nice story. I hope you eventually treat it to a repaint in the yellow beige color. It deserves to be its original color after surviving all these years!
Nice story and nice car.
Those 85 mph speedometers were super annoying. With a tach, you could still make the calculation, but without, and most cars were without then, just bad guesses. I think a 3.0 Vulcan Taurus topped out around 106. A while back curbside classic reprinted a C/D article comparing the 81 Malibu to the FWD Omega. It had a 4.4 as well, but that engine lost some horsepower every year it seemed.
Chris, the story of your Malibu is strangely reminiscent of one I have about a ’63 Ford Galaxie. Yours will indeed have a happy ending.
The upshot is with your Malibu being a GM product, you have a lot of leeway for getting creative when you revive her. The parts interchangeability of many GM cars is a true wonder of the mechanical world.
Please keep us updated. Once you do get her going again, it will be one of the most natural yet surreal experiences of your life.
Are you sure the Accord was a 4-speed? Car and Driver says ’84s were 5-speed manuals or 4-speed automatics. I don’t recall any 4-speed manual Accords either. There were some 4-speed manual Civic DXs back in the day, but that’s about it for 4-speed manual Hondas.
You’re right, I was confusing it with Dad’s other manual shift car, an Escort with a 4-speed. The Honda was indeed 5.
Great story about a car I don’t have much, if any, experience with and welcome to COAL. I look forward to reading more…Thank you.
Great story, Chris!
I remember seeing so many of these around when I was small, I’m just a few years younger than you.
Enjoyable read Chris.
Better start hunting around for parts as you have quite the challenge in restoring that sedan. But with time, talent and money the old Malibu could look great again and you would have a car that would be unique.
Well, now you have gone and accomplished what many said was impossible – you have given me warm and fuzzy feelings about a 79 Malibu. 🙂 Great story, and we look forward to its eventual conclusion.
These cars have good proportions and good looks. Classic GM mid-size car. Powertrain parts are cheap and plentiful for Chevys, but time is not! One day time and money will come together and your Malibu will be back on the road!
Great story! I’m looking forward to seeing you get that car back on the road and giving us a follow-up COAL.
I remember your Malibu’s original color well. That yellow beige from GM was hugely popular, especially in the South. My grandmother had a 1979 Pontiac Grand LeMans painted that exact color (Pontiac called it Montego Cream), and hers had a tan interior as well.
As is well known at CC, cars are more than steel, glass, and rubber. Love the photos. The way your Grandpa has a firm grip on you with both hands. I like the electric blue – it did fit the era. The Christmas check for a better car fund – you have great parents. Paul is right and we need more stories from your keyboard. Update that drivetrain, put in some new seatbelts, and create more memories for us…
A friend of mines grandfather also had a cheapo Malibu like this, except bright blue, and interestingly enough, he also replaced it with a K-car, though he got an 89 last K-car “America” as his last ride.
I remember seeing a few in an almost sky blue color, if that’s the one you’re talking about. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one that color though.
Welcome back, BTW!
Yesterday’s Malibu had a 125 HP V8. Today’s Malibu has a 250 HP turbo four. Tomorrow we will be condemned to emasculating, self-driving Google pods. Pinch yourselves, we are living in a Golden Age that will soon be gone.
Oh my, the future is sooooo terrible. ….
Obviously, you’ve never driven a Tesla.
Good Insight !!
In 1970, the future for American cars was terrible indeed. You can choose to look at the point where regulations made demands that technology couldn’t practically meet as your starting point for comparison, or you can look at that point from the perspective of people driving high compression, reasonably well assembled cars of a decade earlier. To someone stepping out of a car made in 1969, a 1979 car was a retrograde piece of Obama. To someone stepping out of a 1979 car, a 2015 car is a masterpiece. Regulations are being made by people that make Richard Nixon look like a humanitarian now, and we will go through an adjustment period during which cars of the past decade are as desirable as cars of the late ’60s were during the early ’80s.
Driving a Tesla may be fun, but paying for one isn’t. It’s a burden that no Tesla owner has ever accepted, preferring to pass the cost of their folly to the working class.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a27567/two-thirds-of-early-tesla-model-s/
Is there any actual evidence for this? I know it’s something people like to say, but while emissions and safety standards have gotten stricter and stricter over the last 40 years, cars have done nothing but get more powerful, faster and more reliable. There is a 700HP Dodge sedan right now. Seven hundred horsepower! Who would have imagined that a decade ago?
We’re already 5 years deep into the doomsday CAFE regulations that were supposed to have everyone driving around in sub-Prius transportation pods. What happened?
Over the next decade, fleet averages are supposed to go from 34.5 mpg today to 54.5 mpg in 2025. Already, most mass market cars have small displacement turbocharged engines that have no hope of being as dependable and inexpensive to run over their lifetimes as the engines they replaced. Meeting the goals going forward will only make cars more expensive and shorter-lived. Eventually technology will catch up if western civilization doesn’t collapse under the cultivated stupidity that gave us an electorate that voted for someone to tell them what to drive, but that technology isn’t affordable yet.
You mean that 120K plus wonder sedan that locked CR out of it’s test vehicle due to failed door handles. No thanks!
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/slippery-slope
The problem with the slippery slope fallacy is that there are some people so ignorant of reality that they can be convinced it is a fallacy no matter how many times it has played out.
It might survive better without the cover the wind blowing over it will keep it dry and prevent rust from sweating, just a thought.
I had a 1980 Base Malibu V6 in puke green. It had no options except for auto trans, PS and A/C.
It was bought new by my Grandfather and was used as a second/backup car to a 1979 Lesabre and then a 1986 Park Ave. It was given to my folks in 1990 since my grandfather never used it over his other car. I got it in 1998 and drove it for a few years before it got to be a pain in the butt to keep running
It had the same interior as yours but in my Bu the sun caused the passenger front door panel to turn pinkish and the other door panel’s plastic got brittle.
The A/C never worked right and by the time I got it, the A/C was dead and I sweated it out through several hot summers.
That’s a great story. It’s amazing what cars can come to mean to us. especially first cars.
I love your caption “The Once and Future Malibu”. 🙂
That is Chicken Soup for the Car-Nut Soul right there, man. Holy jeez!
When you got to the part about your grandfather having cognitive decline reuniting with his old car and him having trouble finding the words about remembering his car but knowing that he did, I would be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear. You should crowd fund that thing back to life for your grandfather alone!!
Thanks again for the great write-up!
Yup. I had similar thoughts. I’ve recently struck a deal with my mother to purchase my grandmother’s car next month, as my recent move out of New York City makes a car a necessity rather than an extravagance now. It was the last car my grandfather bought, after trading up to a new Chrysler every 3-5 years since before I was born (we’re a staunch multi-generational Chrysler family, for better or worse). My grandmother is 92 and also has some cognitive loss nowadays. She stopped driving 2 years ago and her candy apple red 99 300M has been used as a spare since then. The mileage is low, but it was in 2 accidents over its lifetime (all damage professionally repaired) and has a few reliability quirks. Still, it represents the last in a long line to me. It may not be the wisest purchase of a 16 year old used car, but I’ve known it all its life, I chauffeured my grandmother to the hospital in it daily while her husband of 65+ years was declining rapidly and she felt too shaky to drive herself, and there’s no way I could stand to see it sold off to some stranger. Maybe when life slows down for me a bit I’ll throw my hat into the ring with a COAL entry of my own.
Yes, grab onto that 300M they were a highly rated car back then. Hopefully you won’t have to replace too many parts. The more the vehicle is whole and running well the less damage to your wallet. There are many new cars from the late twentieth century worth restoring although I wouldn’t want to tackle ones loaded with the electronic gadgets.
As a former Chrysler service advisor, I have the following info:
-The 3.5 is a great motor but if you are not EXACTLY sure about when the timing belt was done, if ever, DO IT NOW! They break right on schedule.
-The brakes on these cars are terrible. They rotors and pads are undersized, and the hubs rather fragile. When you get the oil done, check them EVERY TIME. When the linings need replacement, (less than 20,000 km around here) do the rotors, too. They are thin and cannot be cut. Get aftermarket cheapies and treat them as toss-aways.
-The a/c evap coils fail like clockwork at four years. It is sixteen hours’s labour re and re the dash, plus a $1000 part. The compressors are no great shakes, either.
-If the tranny starts doing ANYTHING weird, rebuild it at the dealer. I know, dealers have a bad rep, but tranny shops are even worse. The dealer will install all new parts, not just what failed.
-The front end stuff is weak, thanks to Renault DNA in tie-rod location, and general cheapness.
Now that said, if it costs you less than $2000 a year in wrenching to drive your baby, it is a fine deal for such a nice car.
Thanks for that. The car is running and behaving quite well currently, with just under 56K on the odometer. The a/C just had a recharge and is working properly with no issues at the moment. The system did quit working a couple years back and was gone through and repaired, but I’ll have to check the service records to see exactly what was done. (Fortunately I have complete service records from new available to me). There is a slight clunk in the left front, which I suspected was a tie rod end, but a trusted mechanic found nothing of concern. The car is wearing new tires all around, tracks straight is tires show no uneven wear, so for now I’ll keep an eye on that issue. The one point of concern is an infrequent tendency to run rough of refuse to start after a couple!e of short stops and restarts. Research seems to show that it may be a speed sensor or some kind or fuel sensor. Shifting between park and drive slowly seems to ‘reset’ this issue and cause it to behave correctly. The car basically runs like new, and is in phenomenal shape, but I have no rose colored glasses. Coming from a Chrysler family (Dad’s best friend owned a dealership, so we we’re “locked in” to driving Chrysler products for 30+ years), I’ve been around long enough to know that this is no Camry or Accord. But then I’ve also owned those appliances, and in addition to having an emotional tie to the 300M I feel like its got a lot more “soul” than those, so it’ll most certainly require a little more attention than they would.
Great story .
i hope you put this old nail back on the road , it’ll be cheap and easy if you just fix it instead of going whole hog with big engine etc. .
-Nate
Great story — and if anyone can relate to personifying inanimate objects, I can, so I wish the best of luck with your Malibu plans. I particularly like this line:
“…drop a car cover on it, and come back and fetch it in a few years when I had time and space to work on it. Then, life happened.”
Wow, I can relate… I’ve done the same thing two times. Neither time worked out — the first time because I lost interest, and the second time because I got engaged and sold the car to buy a ring. Like you said, life happens.
Many of us dream of owning a car of which we have a lifetime of memories; you’re fortunate to actually be there. Good luck, and I hope you keep us up-to-date as your work progresses!
Got engaged and sold the car to buy a ring…stay tuned for a future COAL entry where that factors in.
A great story, Chris! If my Grandad’s 1966 Chrysler Windsor and mine were the same car, my story would read a lot like yours.
I think it’s safe to say we’re all rooting for you. As Nate said, if you need to get it mobile again on a tight budget, just put in a new timing chain for now.
Maybe a little crazy, but I think most of us would kill to have our first cars back. I know I would, and mine was terrible – not half as cool as this Malibu.
Once you get it running again, everything else will fall into place! Just grab a junkyard engine/transmission and go from there. The first lap around the block will be priceless nostalgia.
If I had this car, I think I’d actually want to keep the 267. Those neutered Detroit V8s have now achieved “novelty status” and I’d feel a little bad about contributing to their extinction. But that’s admittedly stupid. I’d keep the Caddy dark blue color, too – looks great in that first pic when it was still shiny.
Curious about that 267 C.I. V8 , I know nothing about them but most older cars I work on , have plenty of hidden power in them if you do some careful tuning and uncork the exhaust etc.
Is the ignition timing fixed on these ? that’s the # 1 thing , then disable the EGR valve or at least make it speed controlled so it only comes on above 40 MPH or so , finally adding dual exhaust with a cross over as close to the engine as is practical (I run the cross over between the sump and flywheel cover plate) really helps the mid range power where you use it most in daily driving .
This is a pleasant looking car but the first one I ever rode in was almost new and in the dead of Summer , not AC equipped , I thought I was going to pass out in that airless back seat .
It should be able to make this into a decent daily driver and then Gramps would be riding shotgun with you every where you drove .
-Nate
The often maligned 267 Small Block is hardly the bad motor it is made out to be. It was never a powerhouse but in the pre 1981 cars it could be made relatively peppy with some simple modifications. Note that in 1979 this motor made 125 horse which is a full 20 more than the Olds 260 V8 made in the same year. It is also 15 more than the older odd sized small block from 1975 in the Monza the 4.3/262 V8 which made 110 HP. Added power comes courtesy of proper base timing which is adjustable in all years with timing advance that can be tuned to as much as 35 degrees full advance with an adjustable distributor. Note that 1981-82 267’s are computer controlled so no alterations on timing advance can easily be made without changes to the factory prom. Disabling the EGR will cause detonation, especially with any timing advance in play so be careful with that. There are also many of these produced with the silly spark delay valves which are inline with the vacuum advance circuit. Pulling this little valve out will let you take advantage of full timing advance which noticeably increases both power and response in these engines. You could also take advantage of more power by simply bolting on a 305 4BBl intake replacing the restrictive 2BBL Vara-jet carb. The other big power killer in these late 70’s to early 80’s cars were rear end gearing due to the 3 speed automatic transmissions with no overdrive highway gearing. The G-bodies all came with pathetic 2.29 rear gears when ordered with one of these small V8 such as the 4.3 Olds V8, the Pontiac 4.3 or this Chevy 4.4 engine. That was okay for highway cruising but killed power big time.
Thanx Joe ;
I’m of the age where I remember the 1955 Chevy 265 V8 was easily uncorked and made good power .
283’s were good solid engines too ~ you could whip them mercilessly in trucks or race them and they hardly ever broke .
I hate those thermal timing retard devises , easy enough to bypass with vacuum t’s , most of the smog guys don’t even notice when testing .
-Nate
The idea of keeping the 267 has crossed my mind, to be sure. Seeing as how it’s already there, I suppose I could replace the timing chain, rebuild the carb, and see if it fires up. If not, I’d only be out the parts cost and the experience might come in handy! As much of a lifelong car nut as I am, I don’t have a lot of hands-on experience in major repair work. So it will be a learning process.
Timing chain is a very simple if dirty DIY job…..
Only special tool is the lower timing gear puller , cheap new or free rental from most FLAPS if you order the chain, gears and gaskets from them .
Unless the engine is stuck from sitting it should roar back to life .
-Nate
Awesome story, and I agree with Nate. A timing chain on a cam-in-block engine generally isn’t a difficult job, though it can take a bit of time depending on how much stuff you have to remove to get to it. I’d highly recommend pressure-washing the front of the engine before attempting it however (which is to say I wish I’d done so when I changed out the timing chain on a Jeep recently). It’s worth a try before spending the money and effort to swap in an entire new engine!
Great read. Thanks Chris.
Man, that’s a great story, and I mean everything about it. You’ve got to get that old Chevy running again! Cars really become part of the family, if you keep them long enough. To me, they’re more like pets than machines. Maybe even people. I know darn well when I hear that “bing bing bing” sound when I open the door with my headlights on, it’s not just a machine making a noise. It’s Betsy saying, “My Battery! My Battery! Mike, you idiot, turn off my headlights!”
Great story! My first car was 79 Malibu. It started as my grandparent’s car, who sold it to family friends, who let all their children use it at college. When I got it in 1996, it was running okay but faded to a murky brown. I drove it from Fairfax, VA to Nashville. I thought it was a pleasant car to drive, but it was ignored for a few years, so my broke butt (and my family) had to have the carb rebuilt, exhaust hangers replaced, brake lines replaced and I never got around to having the oil pan gaskets replaced so you could judge my distance by the cloud of smoke.
In the end the transmission was not shifting into reverse. The car had a good, long life but I was ready for something with air conditioning and better gas mileage.
That car had personality, though. You had to know to tap on the gas pedal twice to start it. The steering was tremendously tight, which spoiled forever after. People were very affectionate toward it, buying fuzzy dice and spending time tacking up the headliner.
Ah, you know the secret Malibu starting method. Two pumps of the gas pedal, no more, no less. If it doesn’t fire on the first attempt, give it one more. Works every time, and probably would have served as a half-decent theft deterrent (had anyone ever wanted to steal it)!
This great story had everything. Chris, thanks for both the great read and accompanying pictures. Very much looking forward to your next installment.
Great story thanks so much and keep that Malibu running.
I finally got the time to get around to reading this COAL. Great story and great old car! I too am lucky enough to own a car that I grew up with and that my dad purchased new. I know the feeling of getting attached to these inanimate objects and can understand that you’d never get rid of it. I hope that one day you’ll be able to get this car back on the road.
Your car reminds me of my brother’s late great ’86 Cutlass Supreme 4-door as it was even that same yellow/beige colour. His car, being a Canadian market car, had the LG4 305 Chevy along with the TH200-4R OD transmission, and F41 suspension. I helped him modify the transmission cross member to add true dual exhaust (sans cats), tweaked the ignition and carb and did some minor upgrades to the suspension. The old Cutlass ran pretty strong for a smog era 305, handled well and got great MPG’s on the highway (for a V8 car with a carb). After 7+ years of ownership his wife said it had to go and he sold it off. To this day I still see the car driving around. Although now it sports a black paint job with red strips and some add on hood scoop clearly done by the new owner. It looks like a bit of a heap, but it’s apparent the new owner takes pride in his old ride, so I guess I can’t fault him. After 30 years its over 200K miles, it a testament that it’s still on the road.
This was great to read! Very neat to still have your first car. I remember hearing about this car in comments in the past. Nice to finally see it and get the whole story.