My idea to save a bucket load of money on bringing my Chevelle back to her glory days is the find a nice/mostly rust free donor car, which in fact I have found a nice one. However, What I would need off of the car would cripple the donor car and it would end up being crushed.

So, how do you guys feel about cutting up a solid malibu to save an SS?

I'd look for a good deal on replacement parts

save the donor.

just swap vins and all from the ss to the malibu (even tho it is illegal).

or buy the donor, and fix it up, drive it, and sell it possibly, and then use that money to build the ss up. or just fix both of them up, and have a his and hers cars :)

i wouldnt cuz up a perfectly good malibu for a rotted ss. but thats just me.


aaron

Well Here is a short list of what I will need

Both Quarters $1100 or more
Both Inner Wheel Wells $200
Both Outter Wheel Wells $175
R. Window Filler Panel $60
Both Fenders $750
Cowl Area Parts $n/a
Both Frt. Fender Wells $300
Rear Glass Channel $n/a
Full Floors $300
Rear Seat Pan $100
Toe Boards $70

For a grand total of $3055. And that is going with the cheapest/but still some quality parts..

As for Restoring Both, No Chance.. I am on a very strict/limited budget, I almost got hanged (or is it hung?) for paying as much as I did for the SS..

Also, I will not rebody a car... It just makes me feel that a car has lost its... "Soul"

i might have one 1/4 for sale. its a pass side skin. i need a full 1/4 for that side. but we will see. if u want it/or i dont need it, we'll get in contact. i plan on doign the work this winter, so it wont be to long, before i get a new one. its in good shape and an NOS one i think, but dont hold me to it.

aaron

I need Fulls all the way around... Thanks for the offer though..

You can't argue with money.... sometimes you do what you have to. That said, I wouldn't cut up a perfectly good Malibu, I wouldn't feel right. They aren't making any more of these cars, so it just seems wrong to eliminate a perfectly good one on purpose. They dissapear fast enough on their own :(

Chris

no problem. i need full son each side as well, i have one im using, but i need another.

aaron

build a clone with the malibu, and scrimp and save until the money is there for the SS. :thumbsup:

Buy replacement panels for the SS, but thats just me :)

Jeff

My idea to save a bucket load of money on bringing my Chevelle back to her glory days is the find a nice/mostly rust free donor car, which in fact I have found a nice one. However, What I would need off of the car would cripple the donor car and it would end up being crushed.

So, how do you guys feel about cutting up a solid malibu to save an SS?

Well,

Is the SS documented? Matching Numbers engine? Sentimental value (your old car/parents old car?)? I believe the "U' in the Vin was not SOLELY SS cars, so thats not really proof (I have heard alot of BB Malibus got cloned too)...
Its your choice, but if the answer to all of these is "No", them IMO I'd think about cloning the Malibu. The extra time/money needed to bring the SS back wouldn't really be worth it, even if I "thought" it was a true SS... They would both perform the same, and come sales time, the non-documented "SS" shouldn't be more than the clone...

I think it might be alot easier and financially wiser to put any good SS parts on that Malibu...

I also wouldn't cut up a nice car... I'd even have trouble parting out a nice 4-door, but a 2-door... no way...

Also, would selling the nice Malibu be close to the same as buying the new parts? If the Malibu has a solid body, then it should sell pretty well...

[QUOTE=LateNight72]Well Here is a short list of what I will need

Both Quarters $1100 or more
Both Inner Wheel Wells $200
Both Outter Wheel Wells $175
R. Window Filler Panel $60
Both Fenders $750
Cowl Area Parts $n/a
Both Frt. Fender Wells $300
Rear Glass Channel $n/a
Full Floors $300
Rear Seat Pan $100
Toe Boards $70

QUOTE]

Looks to me like you would be vin swapping. I highly doubt that you will cut the 1/4's, wheel wells, filler panel, and the rest of the stuff that you mentioned to put it on your SS. I believe that you would probabally remove two rivits as opposed to swapping all of that sheet metal. Basically putting the SS stuff on the malibu and then presenting it as a true SS car.
I don't agree with any of this but if you feel fine with it go ahead, No one on these boards wil make you see it otherwise.
I would take the good stuff from the SS and put it on the Malibu and then if the SS is too far gone scrap it.. period!

Just my $0.02

LK

I can at least understand your problem. I needed a frame & front cap to rebuild my '71 Malibu after an accident. I found a bare frame after alot of looking around for $250 then a week later found a whole '72 Chevelle with a SS hood and nonrunning 454 for $1500. My first plan was to strip the usable parts and junk the rest but it's really to good of a body. Now I'm going to put it in the shop and see what happens on down the road.

... or buy the donor, and fix it up, drive it, and sell it possibly, and then use that money to build the ss up. or just fix both of them up, and have a his and hers cars :)

i wouldnt cuz up a perfectly good malibu for a rotted ss. but thats just me.

Amen.

Is the Malibu in good shape? How about I buy your $3K parts for you and you give me the Malibu? Send Pictures of the Malibu and some details and let's see if we can make a deal.

Chevysrus@hotmail.com

Its not worth cutting up a good car to make another car when both can be made into nice cars. I would try to get the Malibu into a nice condition that allows you to sell it for some good money you can put towards the SS. Then the Malibu still lives on the streets and the SS is brought back to life too.

Alright, Just trying to get opinions..

I doubt I will buy and cut up the Malibu. I guess I should just bite the bullet and let them both live on...

As for it being as SS or not, it's either a Malibu 400 or a SS400(402).. It has everything needed to be an SS. There is really no doubt in my mind that is in fact an SS. Also, I got a hold of a previous owner... So we'll see where this goes as far as engine/documentation goes..

Thanks for the help guy... :)

Buy the Malibu and fix it up. Sell it to fund the SS buildup. OR....Sell the SS to help fund a Malibu/SS Clone. Either way, it's still a Chevelle and unless you feel the need to 'impress' all of those 'experts' at car shows/cruise ins, just have fun in what fits your budget.

PS: Money saved on 'SS' material translates into more money available for 'engine mods' :D

As I read on, my opinion remained "Spare the pair", both should live on, but my suggestions multiplied. You likely would have a body shop do the panels(unless you are a very accomplished body man, this is alot of metal work). If presented the donor and the project, the most SS that would return would be the firewall/dash/jam up to the top of the pillar. Thats if they are conscious of legalities, otherwise just tags.
Sole: Bottom of shoe; Being singular; Flat fish
Soul: Human inner spirit; Gospel/R&B music
Seoul: Capital of South Korea
Nope, nothin' about cars.

Towards the end, it sounds as though the donor's sentence had been commuted. Maybe someone on this site has a more suitable donor, possibly a totalled front end, and would very much like the oppurtunity to acquire the previously mentioned solid car. Depending on the incidentals, it might be in your best interest to purchase the solid '72. Whatever you decide, this is the part where you spill the beans on the donor.
Is it a functioning vehicle?
Drive train? Exists/absent?
Where?
How much?
It's better to give than to receive....worth a try
Rowdy
PS; I have no personal interest, not a '66, too far away, just seemed sensible.

Neither car is getting scrapped..... So don't worry..

I am just going to fix up the SS with patch panels.. Yea, it will cost more and take longer to do. But both will have the chance to live..

-Todd

LateNight72,
I think you missed my point, tell us about the donor car.
1. Does it run?
2. What drivetrain is/was in it originally?
3. How much do they want for it?
4. Where is it located?
Maybe a member, within a reasonable distance, has a daily driver, parts car, project or salvageable wrecked car, that has the majority of the parts that you need, but for one reason or another, has shortcomings. A solid car would be appreciated by that member, generating motivation for a project that was simply overwhelming previously. Many different scenarios similar to the aforementioned are possible, each could be benificial to all parties concerned, especially you. No more indecision or guilt, just getting on with your rebuild.

It would certainly help if another member would chime in, is there somebody out there that would be interested in trading a suitable '72 donor for the oppurtunity to acquire a solid '72.

Now do you understand where I was going with this.

LateNight72, since there hasn't been much activity on this thread recently, you might think about starting a new thread if you are interested in pursuing this angle. I'm sure there are members interested in the Malibu even if you decide on an alternative avenue.

Here's to more Chevelles.

Yea, I guess I did.. ;)

1. No Engine/Trans.. So No.. Needs a good bit of fix up first anyhow if it were to be able to run..
2. Pretty sure a 2-bbl 350 with AT (Don't know, probably TH350??)
3. $750
4. Mid-West (Tx.)

As far as the solid donor I know of, I haven't bought it yet/probably won't. But if someone had a more sutiable donor I'd be open to it.

-Todd

Check this place out for ALL your sheetmetal needs. He's been absolutely the best place I've dealt with.
http://stores.ebay.com/Genes-General-Store

He sells package deals of panels, floor panels, you name it.

Don't think the link works....anyway, go to E-Bay, do a search for the Store called Gene's General Store....Trust me, it's worth it.

The price of these cars keep going up. A nice Malibu will bring a lot of money. Way more than you would be saving by cutting it up. I'd save up for replacement panels and save the malibu.

should have just looked in the classified I was giving a 72 shell away, If you were willing to go through all that work I figured you could have figured a way to ship the shell or have another team member take a look at it for you, unfortunately the shell was cut up last weekend after being posted for awhile, Jim

I would buy the doner car, fix it up, sell it... Buy the body parts for the SS and go at it. Now this is if the SS is a numbers matching, and has a build sheet, docs to prove it. Anyone without proper docs can clone a SS not hard to do with all the info out there. I have replaced qtrs, floor pans, trunk pans, ect ect and you are looking at hours and hours of labor, the point is if it is a # car with docs, it is worth it. IMHO.

Don't you dare cut up a perfectly good Malibu to fix up a rust bucket SS. I don't place anymore value on a SS than a Malibu, and if I ever good a knock on the head and that numbers matching, anal retentive sickness infects me I would go for a Heavy Chevy. Much rarer, and interesting than the 5 billion cookie cutter real, near real, and so faked that most can't tell the difference anyway.

Keep the Malibu and cut up the rust bucket, sell off the parts to the guys that are only in this hobby to make money, screw someone out of money, or be able to prove there SS is bigger than your SS.

I was in Houston last week and looked at this really nice 72 Malibu.

Just food for thought.

http://www.corvettesandclassics.net/72malibu/1972_chevy.htm