I recently purchased a 71 Malibu Convertible with a 307. We have verified the numbers and the engine and transmission are original to the car. Once this car is restored, will it be anymore valuable restoring it back to original condition with the original 307 rather than doing a resto mod? ie 350, overdrive transmission, disc brakes, aftermarket wheels, upgraded suspension, etc?

Bart

My thoughts are this... Resto Mods. are currently bringing good money.. buyers in the mode of, I am buying what I like, what makes me happy... and recent auctions have shown this. In a world of having to scrutinize every build sheet, every deck stamp and protecto Plate.. some guys are leaning towards cars that do not require this stress or possible buyers Remorse ( not me, I still love me a Documented Original Restored car ) OR cars will always be valuable IMO, but one has to balance that with what the car is itself.. some cars are just never going to valuable, with or without their original components and other cars are ALWAYS going to be more valuable with an OR restoration... wheter a 71 Convert. Malibu 307 is in the camp of always valuable or not, I will not comment...:noway::yes:

That all said, I would say, sure go ahead and do the Resto Mod Restoration., KEEP all original parts though.. that is KEY... will it be worth more as a Resto Mod.? hard to say, but doubtful it will be worth less or much less... at the end of the day, unless you are restoring the car purely for making money ( Good Luck ) then build it to your own taste and deal with the Value later if and when you need to/want to sell it.

Ok, back to your regular programing already in progress...

Mike

I'm sorry but a 307 in my opion just does not add value to to the car. In fact I would not be afraid to bet money that it will hold your vert back in actual value. Ask yourself if you where buying a car 307 or a stroker motor car, which one?:yes:

Ihave a 72 malibu 350 convertible .The original motor was tired and using a lot of oil and had a 2 barrel carb.I wanted to rebuild the original motor but I could buy a new 290 hp crate motor with warranty for less than the cost of stock rebuild . I also opted for a 700r4 overdrive while I was at it .The previous owner had already put in bucket seats and console shift .I also put ss hood on it just because I liked it better.I am not cloning mine,as I like the sweep dash better.I did keep my original motor.I personally dont care what its value is to anyone else as it was built for my wife and is not for resale. WE bought and built this car for our driving pleasure and we have had a blast. I have not driven it yet with the new motor and overdrive trans as it is not quite complete,but is very near.I hope you build your car and get as much enjoyment from it as we have ours.

I have a 71 malibu convertible its got 86K miles on it, 307 2bbl, th350, am radio, 14x7 ralley wheels, bench and column and 2.73s. Its originally from maine, I have the build sheet, protecto plate owners manual, dealer invoice/ bill of sale, original colors also. Its got new paint and a new top, looks like someone recovered the front bench and put a carpet in it. Its a driver but it runs and looks great. I've owned it for 8 and a half years.

In october I put a pretty stout 402 in it with headers and dual exhaust.

The 402 is by far the best thing I ever did. Cant wait to find a rear end with performance gears and a posi.

I'll keep the 307 but I doubt anyone would ever want it.

I have a 1 owner 70 conv 350 2bbl it had buckets and console.It has orig paint and I drove it a while before starting a restoration.I chose to clone an ss396, That is how I would have ordered it had I been able to.

sorry didnt realize this was an old post ( I never check the dates before responding!)