[kennyt]

ran into a 1976 Malibu Classic 2 dr original 350 AC car today for sale has been sitting for a while and body is kinda rusty on trunk lid, few holes in roof, main thing is the metal between rear glass and trunk lid is real bad all quarters look decent the hood springs are shot or just need some love grease oil or replaced what do you think is a fair price ballpark? interior will need redone carpet seats etc all parts seems to be there i found a replacement trunk lid for $150 ish but mainly how hard is it to find parts for this year and what is interchangeable? my plans would be a ls swap for engine i bought a 74 Pontiac Lemans and could find nothing for this car except quarter panels from Canada so i gave up and sold it so before I buy this i don't want another nightmare any info would be appreciated Thanks

 

[71350SS]

Pictures would be easier to give a price estimate but anywhere from $1K to 2K should be if it doesn't run and has rear glass and roof rust.
Sherman used to make body panels here in the US but it looks like they are owned by Speedway Motors now.Anyway all I see are floor pans for 76 Malibu.
1st : Do a google search on 76 chevy malibu sheet metal and see what you can find.One of TC's members always comes up with old chevy sheet metal in Arizona maybe he can help.
Also check the classifieds here.

 

[kennyt]

Not actual car but same model and body style

 

[kennyt]

Pictures would be easier to give a price estimate but anywhere from $1K to 2K should be if it doesn't run and has rear glass and roof rust.
Sherman used to make body panels here in the US but it looks like they are owned by Speedway Motors now.Anyway all I see are floor pans for 76 Malibu.

I plan on going to take a closer look at the interior and bring a magnet to really check quarters and I’ll take a few Picts too and post them tomorrow. Thanks for the reply

 

[catzodellamarina]

Mom & dad bought us a teen car and it was a 1975 Malibu Classic with Cragars. It was so cool back then! It had a bench seat with a flip down arm rest. A buddy liked mine so much he bought a 76' with the swivel buckets. In college I had a 77' 442 with buckets, auto, console. My first decent bodywork car. I had it painted and real duals and turbos installed. It was sharp but so slow. Got my ass handed to me one day by a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

 

[kennyt]

Mom & dad bought us a teen car and it was a 1975 Malibu Classic with Cragars. It was so cool back then! It had a bench seat with a flip down arm rest. A buddy liked mine so much he bought a 76' with the swivel buckets. In college I had a 77' 442 with buckets, auto, console. My first decent bodywork car. I had it painted and real duals and turbos installed. It was sharp but so slow. Got my ass handed to me one day by a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

That’s why I want a LS swap in there. Put one in my 84 c10 and it runs like a beast with just a cam change headers and good time

 

[71350SS]

An LS engine would work great in a Collenade type Chevelle (1973-77 A-bodies) They have great chassis and decent brakes.Plus its really easy to get over 3-4 positive degree caster in those year's chassis.Ex GM design engineer Herb Adams ran a modified stock chassis under his Olds Cutlass in the IMSA Kelly Challenge race series.(same chassis as your cars except yours ain't modded)

Herb Adams' Olds Cutlass in the Kelly American Challenge race.

This is the car but at a different race track.

 

[Dean]

Don't see hardly any of those body styles around here that aren't real rust buckets.

 

[71350SS]

Not actual car but same model and body style View attachment 705424

If it looks anywhere close to the pictured car grab it but people need pics or a link to the sale to give you more accurate advice.

 

[kennyt]

An LS engine would work great in a Collenade type Chevelle (1973-77 A-bodies) They have great chassis and decent brakes.Plus its really easy to get over 3-4 positive degree caster in those year's chassis.Ex GM design engineer Herb Adams ran a modified stock chassis under his Olds Cutlass in the IMSA Kelly Challenge race series.(same chassis as your cars except yours ain't modded)

Herb Adams' Olds Cutlass in the Kelly American Challenge race.

This is the car but at a different race track.

Mine will never see a track but on the street look out

Don't see hardly any of those body styles around here that aren't real rust buckets.

yep. I could easily spend 10 grand on just the body work and have a 6 grand car when I’m done but but I love that body style

 

[blm]

Don't see hardly any of those body styles around here that aren't real rust buckets.

X2 and to add to that I dont see many of the 73-77 A bodies period. I would give strong consideration to buying one that needed body panels as most likely they will be hard to find. I have seen some from time to time for sale but IIRC they were NOS parts.

 

[Dean]

My friend's son has a pretty decent 75
Jakes Malibu (chevelles.net)
My friend had a pretty nice big block 74

 

[blm]

It seems to me that back in the day in this A body generation the Cutlass was the more popular over the Chevy,Pontiac and Buick.
also IMO bumper modifications do wonders for these A bodies.

 

[kennyt]

My friend's son has a pretty decent 75
Jakes Malibu (chevelles.net)
My friend had a pretty nice big block 74


View attachment 705447

Now that is nice

 

[cv67]

That 74 is sharp. Laguna?
Only thing that bothers me is on a car that old where theres visible rust theres a whole lot more where you cant see it
Inner panels for example. Were spoiled in Ca plenty of cars get rust but usually not that bad unless they are left out for yrs or parked near the coats. 1000 would be pushing it, youre goign to need the strip the entire car.
If that doesnt bother you then go for it. Someones always got parts for any yr car just have to look.
Youll need some gears with that LS to get that thing moving they are heavy

 

[454chevSS]

ran into a 1976 Malibu Classic 2 dr original 350 AC car today for sale has been sitting for a while and body is kinda rusty on trunk lid, few holes in roof, main thing is the metal between rear glass and trunk lid is real bad all quarters look decent the hood springs are shot or just need some love grease oil or replaced what do you think is a fair price ballpark? interior will need redone carpet seats etc all parts seems to be there i found a replacement trunk lid for $150 ish but mainly how hard is it to find parts for this year and what is interchangeable? my plans would be a ls swap for engine i bought a 74 Pontiac Lemans and could find nothing for this car except quarter panels from Canada so i gave up and sold it so before I buy this i don't want another nightmare any info would be appreciated Thanks

 

[454chevSS]

I had a 75 Classic in high school, did cam,intake and rear end gears. etc They ride like a dream but its a heavy car. I remember doing door pin bushings brutal I would imagine you could get any body pieces from local wreckers especially in rust free area's. Wheel well area and around the small side windows I recall bad if rust starts

 

[blm]

I would imagine you could get any body pieces from local wreckers especially in rust free area's.

Im not so sure about that. These A bodies are 45 + years old. Local auto wreckers inventory mostly goes back about twenty years and down as that is where the market is. I would think specialty only and ill bet pickings are slim.

 

[catzodellamarina]

Those GM bodies rusted so badly. I knew two girls whose first cars were both really nice 73' Chevelle SS at 16. Sadly, by the time they graduated, their doors and quarters were completely rusted. Salty winter roads and driving them all year round did them in. I used to notice that several 73-77 Cutlass bumpers were missing or nearly rusted off. I was lucky that my 442 bumper survived. I need to dig up a pic of that car.

 

[71350SS]

Those GM bodies rusted so badly. I knew two girls whose first cars were both really nice 73' Chevelle SS at 16. Sadly, by the time they graduated, their doors and quarters were completely rusted. Salty winter roads and driving them all year round did them in. I used to notice that several 73-77 Cutlass bumpers were missing or nearly rusted off. I was lucky that my 442 bumper survived. I need to dig up a pic of that car.

The insides of those bumpers were hollow like scoop's and would hold leaves and road dirt would pile up in there then after awhile you'd see the bumper rust right through.

That 74 is sharp. Laguna?
Youll need some gears with that LS to get that thing moving they are heavy

Yeah but so is the pickup truck that LS probably came from.
A while back those years were going for low dollars but now anything built before 1998 the owners think they have really great classics and now they're asking way too much. To the OP, I hope the deal works out for you.