Car: 1968 Malibu
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A few years ago I made the decision to purchase a Malibu. In July 2000 I did just that; buying a ’68 Malibu for $5300.00. I knew that the car required some attention and four years and about $20,000 later my Malibu was ready for the road and car shows. The Malibu was originally sold at Taylor Chev/Olds in Whitehorse Yukon in early 1968 and my research found it to be first registered in Alberta in October of ’84 and then again in March of ’88. It was obviously off the road for many years because it wasn’t until July of ’97 that it was re-registered in Edmonton Alberta.
After purchasing the Malibu, I soon realized that I had a lot of work ahead of me. This was going to be a real test for my first restoration project. The original 307 was replaced with a 350 that I rebuilt myself. The 350 received the “full treatment”; 30 over, 9.5:1 pistons, balanced, cam, roller rockers, Weiand intake and Edelbrock carb. The heads were ported by a local shop and it was finished off with a pair of ceramic headers. In order to stop all this new power a set of disc brakes were installed up front; and to get the power to the road a 3.55 posi unit was installed.
The body work proved to be the real challenge. I ended up installing a new big block hood, new fenders, one rocker was repaired and the other replaced. A previous owner had done new quarters, however, they had glassed in the wheel wells so this needed much attention. The front grille was replaced with a new GM one that I was lucky to locate. I also had all the trim polished and the bumpers rechromed. The body, originally Matador Red (Code R) was finished in Cardova Maroon (Code N).
To complete the restoration all of the interior except the door panels and dash pad were replaced. Once this was done the Chevelle was ready for the road and car shows. The first show for the Chevelle was this spring (2004) in Edmonton.
Shawn’s ’68 Malibu is equipped with the following
- Option Codes Description
- A39 Deluxe Seat Belts
- A51 Front Bucket Seats
- C50 Rear Window Defogger-Blower Type
- D55 Floor Console
- F40 HD Front and Rear Suspension
- M35 Powerglide Transmission
- N40 Power Steering
- P01 Wheel trim covers
- P61 W/Wall 7.75x14 tires
- U25 Luggage Compartment Light
- U29 Instrument Panel Courtesy Light
- U35 Electric Clock
- U46 Lamp Monitoring System
- U63 Radio Pushbutton AM
- U73 Manual Antenna
- U80 Rear Speaker
- V31 Front Bumper Guard
- V32 Rear Bumper Guard