[just_a_goodoboy]

Hello Everyone,

May I please request your review of the car below? My goal is spend up to $50K on a near original 1970, 1971, or 1972 Chevy Chevelle Malibu in decent condition.

Cost of this car is $54K

My take:

1. It is one of my favorite color grey I was seeking. I have also fell deeply in love with the Mojave gold, tan seats Chevy Malibu. See below a video of it. Also have bench seats I like. Really did not want the bigger rims right now, kinda of want to enjoy driving anywhere around town with cracking the rims. I can always put the rallies rims on it.
2. The seller did say this is not a real SS, the previous owner modified it with all the SS stuff.
3. I never drove a 454, just 350 and 305. Not sure what the Cam does.
4. A bit over my budget, as my budget was maxed at $50K, but car looks good, maybe its worth $54,000 with big engine and other stuff. I believe this car is just a upgrade Chevy Malibu.
5. I like the suspension work was done to support the big rims and for better modern drive.

I appreciate your review.

Here are the specs the dealer provided me via email.

454 with a cam and full exhaust
Turbo 400 transmission with manual valve body (Question is this an automatic transmission?)
Qa1 front and rear upgraded control arms
Qa1 double adjustable coil overs
Upgraded sway bars
22” Velano wheels
Wilwood disc brakes on all 4 corners

Illinois Motors | Used Vehicle Dealership Chicago IL

Illinois Motors is a pre-owned vehicle dealership located near Chicago IL. We're here to help with any automotive needs you may have.

www.ilmotors.com

1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Big Block | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Big Block at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[FORDvsCHEVY]

1st one seemed to be what you were looking for originally minus the LS which is now not. It is silver which in video looks like nice paint. I would want to see undercarriage and trunk closer.

You will have some come in and say it’s overpriced based of it being a Malibu. IF paint was done right and no rust i feel it’s worth it.

You could not buy and build a nice survivor with these mods for that price. Buying and paying someone to add parts.

If you were to buy a nice survivor for 35k and than have someone add a cam, long tube headers, exhaust, new front and rear control arms, will wood brakes with coil overs you would add another 20k. If you eventually wanted to upgrade suvivor paint job. Another 10-20k. Then those wheels would also cost you another 3-4k.

If you want these things eventually, better to buy on the car now.

Go or have someone look at it and start at 47k.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[123pugsy]

Manual valve body is full time manual.
I probably have the parts you need to convert it back which you are welcome to for the cost of shipping.
But add another G note for the tranny shop to hose you.

 

[123pugsy]

A cammed 454 will burn a lot more fuel than a 307 or 350.
Would the smile on your face every time you stomp on it be worth it?
Do you plan to go long distance cruising, often?

 

[lookback]

Nice car for sure. Full manual valve body in automatic transmission means YOU SHIFT thru gears all the time. So when you come to stop light or stop sign you shift it back down to first, you can leave in 3 gear but engine will struggle when you pull out even with a 454. To me full manual valve body is a 4 speed without the clutch. Its a reverse pattern shifting to. Means 3 gear is where 1 gear is on regular stock VB. Then column shift will not be easy constant shifting. You can convert back to full automatic shifting. Take it for a drive and see if your okay with it. Most full manual VB are a modify stock one. There probably is but I don't remember if there were auto/manual VB kits with a shift kit.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

Nice car for sure. Full manual valve body in automatic transmission means YOU SHIFT thru gears all the time. So when you come to stop light or stop sign you shift it back down to first, you can leave in 3 gear but engine will struggle when you pull out even with a 454. To me full manual valve body is a 4 speed without the clutch. Its a reverse pattern shifting to. Means 3 gear is where 1 gear is on regular stock VB. Then column shift will not be easy constant shifting. You can convert back to full automatic shifting. Take it for a drive and see if your okay with it. Most full manual VB are a modify stock one. There probably is but I don't remember if there were auto/manual VB kits with a shift kit.

Thank you lookback,

I appreciate the response. Yes nice car, but I really prefer automatic transmission.

I have not driving a manual shifting car since 25 years ago.

I do not know how shift through the manual gears as you stated above.

Would I do all this shifting with the column shifter? Does not seem very exciting to me.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

A cammed 454 will burn a lot more fuel than a 307 or 350.
Would the smile on your face every time you stomp on it be worth it?
Do you plan to go long distance cruising, often?

Hello 123pugsy,

Thank you for the response.

Yes, I do plan on cruising long distance across town about 2 days a week.

What is the purpose of the CAM for?

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

You can convert back to full automatic shifting.

Hello lookback,

How much would cost for this you reckon?

I am in Houston Texas, so I would have to fly out there just to test drive.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

Manual valve body is full time manual.
I probably have the parts you need to convert it back which you are welcome to for the cost of shipping.
But add another G note for the tranny shop to hose you.

Thank you 123pugsy,

Thank you for the response.

 

[lookback]

Hard to say how much would it cost with today prices. You can drive it just have to remember to shift it all the time from 1 to 2 to 3. Call and ask dealer if its a FULL Manual Valve Body Installed. Some of those valve bodies were Automatic and Manual but you still have the full automatic shifting of transmission from drive.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

1st one seemed to be what you were looking for originally minus the LS which is now not. It is silver which in video looks like nice paint. I would want to see undercarriage and trunk closer.

You will have some come in and say it’s overpriced based of it being a Malibu. IF paint was done right and no rust i feel it’s worth it.

You could not buy and build a nice survivor with these mods for that price. Buying and paying someone to add parts.

If you were to buy a nice survivor for 35k and than have someone add a cam, long tube headers, exhaust, new front and rear control arms, will wood brakes with coil overs you would add another 20k. If you eventually wanted to upgrade suvivor paint job. Another 10-20k. Then those wheels would also cost you another 3-4k.

If you want these things eventually, better to buy on the car now.

Go or have someone look at it and start at 47k.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good Morning FORDvsCHEVY,

Thanks for the response.

1st one seemed to be what you were looking for originally minus the LS which is now not. It is silver which in video looks like nice paint. I would want to see undercarriage and trunk closer.

Yes, the silver was my first love, I have expanded my color requirements to black, Mojave gold , black, and light blue to get a more variety of cars to look for. What I am noticing is the chevy Malibu do not go on sale very often.

IF paint was done right and no rust i feel it’s worth it..

Yes, I feel its worth it as well, but I do not like the manual transmission. Automatic transmission fits me better.

You could not buy and build a nice survivor with these mods for that price. Buying and paying someone to add parts.

Agree 100%, In addition, alot of custom classic shops have very slow turnaround times. A poplular classic shop in Houston, have 5 months wait time. It will cost more to buy a survivor and add all the mods for highway driving like this car.

If you were to buy a nice survivor for 35k and than have someone add a cam, long tube headers, exhaust, new front and rear control arms, will wood brakes with coil overs you would add another 20k. If you eventually wanted to upgrade suvivor paint job. Another 10-20k. Then those wheels would also cost you another 3-4k.

If you want these things eventually, better to buy on the car now.

I agree, I agree.

 

[123pugsy]

Hello 123pugsy,

Thank you for the response.

Yes, I do plan on cruising long distance across town about 2 days a week.

What is the purpose of the CAM for?

All engines have a cam, short for camshaft.
When one "has a cam", it means it has a high performance camshaft. This generally means that the engine will idle with a "lope" (rough to some), provide less vacuum for your power brakes, have more power *, and burn more fuel.

When the cam is quite large, then a higher stall torque converter is installed at the front of the transmission. This device allows the engine to rev up more before moving so the RPM's get up to the "power band" of the engine. The power band on a HP "cammed" engine is up there about 3 to 4000 RPM's or more depending on cam size. This is usually for racing. With the manual valve body, that tells me going to the strip was on the current owner's mind.

* more power to some is different than more power to me. A big cam has the HP up higher in the RPM band.
My kind of power comes from a mild cam, and gives more low end torque. Low end torque is power starting off. Low end torque gives quick acceleration, (without the use of the high stall cam mentioned above), smoother idle, better mileage, but less top end power when driving down the drag strip. Don't matter to me. I always plan to drive hundreds or even thousands of miles with my cars.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

Hard to say how much would it cost with today prices. You can drive it just have to remember to shift it all the time from 1 to 2 to 3. Call and ask dealer if its a FULL Manual Valve Body Installed. Some of those valve bodies were Automatic and Manual but you still have the full automatic shifting of transmission from drive.

Hello Loopback,

I will email the salesman now. They close today.

Just to confirm, are you saying that the transmission may be manual and automatic drive option?

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

1st one seemed to be what you were looking for originally minus the LS which is now not. It is silver which in video looks like nice paint. I would want to see undercarriage and trunk closer.

You will have some come in and say it’s overpriced based of it being a Malibu. IF paint was done right and no rust i feel it’s worth it.

You could not buy and build a nice survivor with these mods for that price. Buying and paying someone to add parts.

If you were to buy a nice survivor for 35k and than have someone add a cam, long tube headers, exhaust, new front and rear control arms, will wood brakes with coil overs you would add another 20k. If you eventually wanted to upgrade suvivor paint job. Another 10-20k. Then those wheels would also cost you another 3-4k.

If you want these things eventually, better to buy on the car now.

Go or have someone look at it and start at 47k.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello FORDvsCHEVY,

Here is pictures of below the car.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

All engines have a cam, short for camshaft.
When one "has a cam", it means it has a high performance camshaft. This generally means that the engine will idle with a "lope" (rough to some), provide less vacuum for your power brakes, have more power *, and burn more fuel.

When the cam is quite large, then a higher stall torque converter is installed at the front of the transmission. This device allows the engine to rev up more before moving so the RPM's get up to the "power band" of the engine. The power band on a HP "cammed" engine is up there about 3 to 4000 RPM's or more depending on cam size. This is usually for racing. With the manual valve body, that tells me going to the strip was on the current owner's mind.

* more power to some is different than more power to me. A big cam has the HP up higher in the RPM band.
My kind of power comes from a mild cam, and gives more low end torque. Low end torque is power starting off. Low end torque gives quick acceleration, (without the use of the high stall cam mentioned above), smoother idle, better mileage, but less top end power when driving down the drag strip. Don't matter to me. I always plan to drive hundreds or even thousands of miles with my cars.

Thank you so much for the explanation 123pugsy,

Very nicely stated. My personality at this stage is just a cruiser with light taste of power. 305, 350 or mild LS. I am not interested in power right now nor racing or burning rubber.

Does this engine setup fit me and what I just stated?

 

[Pat_McNeil]

Hi buddy. I don't think this would be a very good first classic car for you. MOST important is no air conditioning!! Also very important is the Full Manual trans. especially when the shifter is still on the steering column. Having that transmission usually means it was used in a racing application. That transmission and a "performance" camshaft usually means a very loose converter is being used ( not at all what you want at this point in your car choice). I didn't notice what the rear gear ratio was. Quite possibly a very deep gear, Again, not too street friendly.

Just in my humble opinion, the folks who put this particular combination of parts together didn't have a good plan.
Don't get me wrong, they put a boat-load of cash into it, but that will not get them 50K from the sale.

Take care

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

Hi buddy. I don't think this would be a very good first classic car for you. MOST important is no air conditioning!! Also very important is the Full Manual trans. especially when the shifter is still on the steering column. Having that transmission usually means it was used in a racing application. That transmission and a "performance" camshaft usually means a very loose converter is being used ( not at all what you want at this point in your car choice). I didn't notice what the rear gear ratio was. Quite possibly a very deep gear, Again, not too street friendly.

Just in my humble opinion, the folks who put this particular combination of parts together didn't have a good plan.
Don't get me wrong, they put a boat-load of cash into it, but that will not get them 50K from the sale.

Take care

Good Morning Pat_McNeil,

Thank you my buddy.

I appreciate you for considering me and know what match my personality. I agree with you fully. I appreciate your review.

I agree and I was thinking the same thing from @123pugsy post about the cam discussion. This is not for me. I do not want anything at all to do with high performance how powered engines as my first classic. I even think 454 is big for me.

I do like how they change the suspensions and brakes for a better drive. But the motor engine modifications and transmission stuff modifications, that is out of my league of experience.

I will change my search to SBC or original engine, no modifications to drive train or engine. As close to original as possible so I can drive in peace. Proceed to high powerful engine stuff later in life.

Thank you so much

 

[lookback]

Just to confirm, are you saying that the transmission may be manual and automatic drive option?
Yes Transgo shift kits make it where you can stay in drive and be full automatic shifting on its own, but you can also shift it manually thru gears.
Again if its a Full Blown Manual Valve Body along with reverse shift pattern your stuck always shifting thru gears, it gets old fast, especially the trans dose not have a floor shifter installed. below is a photo of patterns the left is standard the right is when you run a manual valve body.

 

[just_a_goodoboy]

Thank you soo much everyone for helping me review this car.

I decided to take everyone advice and pass on this car. It does not fit my expectations right now.

I appreciate you all in this journey.

 

[mikerunt]

I still think this is a chat bot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro