Hi again, its the newcomer again. One more question for you guys: What kind of things (or problems) shoould I be looking for when checking out a Chevelle? What are the common areas to check and things to look for on these cars? Thats all, remember...I dont know much on Chevelles..Thanks.
-Timmy

I suppose it depends on what your good at fixing. Your not going to find a perfect car for cheap unless devine intervention is involved, but for instance my Malibu is a total project. I hate body work and am not good at it (probably because I haven't done any) so this car was good for me even though the engine was screwed, because thats where my area is and I can fix those types of problems.... So, relating back to my case, if your good at mechanics but bad at body work and you find a car with a straight body but a stock motor with a cam running flat, get a good price and it should be a fun deal. Personally, and like most of the Chevell-o-holics on-line here it's better to find a project to work on and have the pride of finishing and driving then a car thats already had it's rebirth. Thought I'd put my two bits in since it was only a week ago when I was asking the same questions.

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IrateN8
Northern California
1970 Malibu 307 Sport Coupe

Here we go

RUST

Check the back window especially the corners. look underneath as well. if there is rust here usually there is rust under the rear seat and floor pans (it drains Down).look under the 1/4 panel if there is rust under there usually its because of a rusty rear window. look and see if the package tray is wrinkled or warped if so it might be because of a leaky rear window. LOOK IN THIS WHOLE AREA VERY WELL

Pull up a little of the trunk weather striping if you can check for rust

Check around the front window well

Check the lower part of the front fenders (behind the wheels) push in this area to make sure its solid

Check the lowers of both 1/4 panels (behind the wheels)

Check the floor pans IF U CAN. If you cant see the floor pans from up top go under the car and look. especially around the drain plug areas. poke around with a screw driver if you have doughs.

check the bottoms of the doors. you have to have the doors open to see this area.

BONDO CHECK

Look and FEEL around on the insides of the 1/4 panels (though the trunk). look for any bondo "spiting bondo" places where they drilled to pull out cave IN’s and filled with bondo and spits through. MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AND FELL EXTRA GOOD ON THE PASSENGER SIDE 1/4

If you see in any ripples or waves in the paint expect these areas, they may be bad bondo jobs.

check the lines of all 4 wheel wells. often if panels were hit and filled the lip was not repaired (because its not noticeable) but this is something to look for.

GLASS

look at all the glass inspect it for any scratches especially the windshield. look real close at the windshield for any "sand pitting" you finger nail helps. if the windshield has sand pitting it will make a bad glare in the sun count on replacing it.

Undercarriage

Look under to see if the car was bottomed out. check for any holes in exhaust piping of mufflers. look for rust. take a look at the shocks springs control arms (for bending) check the condition of the bushings. look at the u joints on the drive shaft. take a look at the fuel like, break lines. look at the gas tank see if its OK. Check out the rear end. 10 bolt? 12 bolt? posi? what gearing?

INTERIOR

Take a look at the dash. look at all the chrome on it and see if it meets your standards. look for any cutting for a after market radio. look at the paint on it make a decision if you would need to pull the dash out. also take a look at the dash pad. if this is a SS your looking at (66-67) check for gauges, tach, wood wheel, and for the black accessories strip.

Upholstery

look at all the seems on the seats (buckets if equipped). spread them a bit and look for separating of tearing. take a look at the piping on the side. back seat. same for the back seat, also look under the front lip of the back seat for any foam fragments. if you see any of this count on a redo.

CONSOLE

look at the chrome around the shifter for pitting (auto). open the storage compartment and see what shape the "fuzzies" are in. the rest is obvious.

carpet

check for normal ware. if the carpet has been replaced look closely and see if it looks like the carpet looks like is molded to every little curve in the floor board (I don't mean like shifter hump) if it looks kind of stuck to the floor board it probably means they did not replace the sound deadner and it was wet at some point.

DOOR PANELS

Look for ware on the door panels. look for any speaker cut outs. look at the paint above the door panels (66-67). look at the window cranks and door handles for pitting.

Look at all the weather striping. see if its been replaced. it can get expensive

Try the windshield wipers, heater (ac?) etc. and see if they all work well.

ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS

the rest should be obvious.

I'll let someone else cover the drive line.etc.


GOOD LUCK



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Hot66ss

66 ss
67 malibu
Aces Member 2380
Team Chevelle member #262
GEN X Member #15
Http://members.aol.com/chvellss

If you can, have it put on a lift even if you have to pay to do this it is worth it. Once raised you can get under it and look real good. As hot66ss said check all the floor and trunk areas for rust or damage. Repaired panels are not usually done properly where they roll under and looking up at it makes it easier to spot. Check for major leaking of engine, trans and rear end. Look for signs of abuse, check the frame carefully some areas of the country are prone to rusting of the frame, look at the tires and check for uneven wear. Spin the wheels to see if they are true. If you are paying top dollar for a clean car spend the time to check it thourghly. I paid $50 for my 64 so I made all of these checks after I got it home. If I were spending thousands it would have been different.

One more thing, if you think you are going to purchase the car leave a small deposit, I went and looked at a 66 SS 396, 4 speed convertable last Sat. It was advertised as a # matching car. It looked real good. I left to go get my book to check the #'s and when I returned it was gone. Someone walked up with 12k cash and drove it away.

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Philip Valentine
Team Chevelle Member #42 GOLD
philip@chevelles.com

Check out the Big Purchase article on this site.
http://chevelles.com/shop/buying.html

I used it when I bought my Chevelle.


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DG
Springfield, Ohio
70 Chevelle Malibu

www.wright.edu/~adams.6/chevy.htm (http://www.wright.edu/~adams.6/chevy.htm)

TEAM Chevelle Member #0086

Watch out for clones, and people claiming #'s matching cars. There are allot of cloned SS's, and others that people are trying to pass off as origionals. I believe there is a section on this page that you can look at to help identify an SS. Check the VIN#, and decode it as best you can.

Read all you can on these cars. Don't be to hasty as this may result in a purchase you may regret.

You should print out the reply of Hot66ss and take it every time you go look at a car. I discovered that I had a problem area under my windshield trim the hard way; I was driving in the rain. This area can be so bad that you need a donor car to replace the entire area or need expertice in metal fabrication. Quarters are important but are becoming cheaper to replace along with floors and trunk floors. I wouldn't worry much about doors, fenders, hood, or trunk (unless you pay quite a bit for the car) because these are all RELATIVELY (compared to welding on a new 1/4 panel) easy bolt-ons. My far from expert recommendation, buy a body without engine and tranny. You can get a very nice body this way for far less than a trashed body with engine and tranny (even if it's an L6 with powerglide). What are the chances you want the powertrain as the previous owner did anyway?

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Mike
formerly known as gotapileof70Malibu (so add 80 to my number of posts)
'70 Malibu
'70 Malibu convertible

Ditto to what RagTop70 said, Make a list and bring it with you when you are looking at the car.Then you can make notes next to each item on your list so you can think about it after you leave. Don't be afraid to pull out the list while looking at the car. There are a lot of things to check and its easy to forget a few areas <unless you have a list.>

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–Joe454–
"67 Malibu"

Forgot to say this earlier: take a magnet to check for bondo. The seller may not like it, but he'd probably feel better about that than if you go around tapping every panel. Of course if it's a dark color with lots of bondo you'd probably think you took a wrong turn and ended up at the ocean.

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Mike
formerly known as gotapileof70Malibu (so add 80 to my number of posts)
'70 Malibu
'70 Malibu convertible

Check out the problem areas common to pre-1980 classics. This means the common rust areas. Everything that have been posted earlier has been answered, but there is one rule of warning:

Be weary about classics that sell for glass ceiling bargains. This means a $7500 or $10,000 Malibu coupe is suspect, and most of the sellers want the $$$. This territory is no place for anyone with a $2000 budget, and this can afford a total beater.

The ultra-cheap route of the $500 - $1000 will not get you a complete car, but a parts car that does not run. This make good project vehicles if one is experienced in parting out vehicles, but is not recommended for first-time car buyers. (From my personal experience, I have been a frequent visitor of salvage yards and have stripped vehicles.)

1964-72s are becoming glass ceiling classics, and the later years (1973-77 and 1978-88) are still out there, however, the later years were not the glory years of the Chevelle. The Chevelle marque was mud with the public after 1978, since everyone associated the name with the SS. The body styling was overlooked when the 1973-77 generation was introduced, and look at the October 1999 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.

1978-83 Malibus are a $.10 a dozen; plenty of them are out there, especially the 2-door. THe 2-door is a throwback to the 1964 Chevelle hardtop, but smaller. The performance years have faded, and the only thing useful for these later Malibus is law enforcement and/or taxicab use. None of these cars will have a 350, unless it is a 1978/79 station wagon or a 1979-83 9C1 police option.

This is a skeptical issue here, since the later years are becoming viable projects for street machines. This might not be the way to get into the Chevelle fraternity from purchasing either a 1973-77 or 1978-88 as a viable project. Save your money and purchase the 1964-72 generation.

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Weyoun X (the tenth clone)
descendant of a former Chevelle owner

http://www.angelfire.com/tx/lonestarclassics/acar.html

1969 Chevelle Memories Page
http://members.tripod.com/~seributra_d/time_and_memories.htm

Chevelles (and A-cars) On Screen
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/5196/a_car.html

Disco-Era Classics
http://homepages.go.com/~55498/hooptie.htm