My 66 Chevelle Malibu build up.

[Stained Soul]

After messing around with other vehicles I knew it was time to get back to my roots.
I have owned 6 Chevelles and this one is my 4th 66 Malibu 2 door hardtop.
Tail end of Sept. 2014 my father in law and I drove 2300 mile round trip from Spokane Wa. to Fargo N. Dakota to look at this 66 Malibu, 48 hours almost exactly from the time we left, we were pulling back into my driveway.
The owner sent me a pile of pictures so I had a good idea of the condition before we left.
This is a picture of us almost back home....
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Next morning she needed a bath in a big kind of way.
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Interior pictures:
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Engine bay.... control yourselves guys....
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Trunk:
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[Stained Soul]

Moving along.
This is what was done to the car suspension wise before I got it.
Detroit Speed, Speed Kit 2 installed, front & rear:

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The Previous Owner (P.O.) found a 12 posi out of a 66 Super Sport Chevelle, rebuilt it and put in some 3:73 gears:

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P.O. also put CPP front power disc swap

I had a set of Rocket Racing Velocity rims/tires here on another car so I swapped them out the day I cleaner her up from the road trip.
Front 17 x 7 with 225/45/17 & BFG G-Force tires
Rear 17 x 8 with 255/40/17 & BFG G-Force tires

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First order of business was to swap out the cpp disc & rotors for some Wilwood 6 piston 12.2" discs:

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[Stained Soul]

Next up, this cpp angle is just not good with my OCD:

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This is what will replace the cpp stuff and I will also put some spacers in to level it out a little more:

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Before you say, "why didn't/don't you just change out the bracket".... look closely at the first pic... the booster is hard riveted to the bracket.

All aluminum L-33, 5.3
Stock short block, new rings & bearings.
Texas Speed 2.5 heads and lots of other good stuff:

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I will be moving the Alternator over to the other side once I have proto-type bracket in hand:

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The F-body pan will be replaced with the Holley 302-2 pan.

I have a built 200R4 trans with converter here already.

[Radlark]

Very nice beginning! Welcome back!

[Stained Soul]

I have been purchasing most of the needed parts for the engine swap that will start later this month.

These are the BRP Hot Rods frame/engine mounts:
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12 bolt aluminum rear diff. cover, Mallory Comp 140 fuel system, & canton over flow for the radiator:
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Tom F. turned me onto these guys for my Radiator and I was able place the order for it earlier this week:
http://rndfabrication.com/ABodyearly.html
Here is the cool thing about the above radiator guy: "We can make these for LS Conversion with both ports on the passenger side and with or without the steam port, at no additional charge! "

Goals:
get the engine/trans swap done and enjoy the car as she sits for this coming summer.
I will also be upgrading to power steering.

Upcoming:
HPI frame kit.
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While the HPI frame kit is being done we will replace the trunk pan also.

I would really like to do the ABC Performance Mini-tub kit & new inner wheel wells.
http://www.abcperformance.net/mini%20tub%20kit.html

I will have to see how things go with the Autocross I plan on hitting this year as to whether or not I do the ABC full kit.

Thats it for now, thanks for checking in.

L8R,
Stu

[Paraman1]

Good to see you on here Stu !!

[Stained Soul]

Thanks Mike, I registered a few years ago... finally decided to be social....... NOT.
I see lots of familiar names/cars on here so thats a good thing.

Have a good weekend everyone.

[Stained Soul]

Couple of pictures I found in my album.
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Radiator should be here by the end of the month... thanks Tom F.

6 banger and glide coming out in the next couple of weeks.

Then strip engine bay, weld up holes, prime, & paint.

And then the fun part, test fit everything........

L8R

[Stained Soul]

Managed to get a little done today:
Remove:
trans lines to radiator
battery
battery tray
upper/lower radiator hoses
heater core hose
radiator
all wiring connected to engine
fuel line & plugged
master cylinder & short coupling lines
voltage regulator
wiring to alternator

Here is what under the battery tray looked like after removal & hit real quick with a hand wire brush:
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Over head pic of engine bay missing a few things… :-)
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Not sure I will have the time to pull the driveling & drop the trans tomorrow, something has come up as usual.

L8R

[rixtrix1]

Nice start on a great project. Subscribed.

[1989GTA]

Looks like a nice project. Subscribing to the build.

[Stained Soul]

Yesterday my LS specific radiator from RnD Fabrication showed up.
This thing is BEAST…. :cool:
Thanks Sparky @: http://rndfabrication.com/ABodyearly.html
Thank you to Tom F. for the info also.

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Got the hood off of the car today, now comes the fun.

[Stained Soul]

Hood removed & dropped the drive line today.
Next up: Remove trans. & engine.

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[Stained Soul]

Gutless engine & transmission out today.
Now the fun stuff starts.

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[Motown 454]

Great looking car! That motor and trans is going to be so sweet in there. My wife had a 66 that looked just like yours but it was a 283 and nowhere near as nice. You have a great plan not to lay it up too and enjoy it.

[Stained Soul]

Thanks Wayne,
I wasn't even sure anyone was really reading my updates.
Seriously thought that the last update just might be the last.

Hopefully she will only be down for a couple of months, no big rush with the crappy weather we are having.

L8R,
Stu

[Yelcamino]

Progress looks good!

[timmy2times]

Nice

[rchaskin]

cool car.....

[rrelco]

When your ready to spoile that baby look me up....

[rixtrix1]

Thanks Wayne,
I wasn't even sure anyone was really reading my updates.
Seriously thought that the last update just might be the last.

Hopefully she will only be down for a couple of months, no big rush with the crappy weather we are having.

L8R,
Stu

Hey, Stu. Keep those updates coming! I'm subscribed. If I don't have time to work on my '66 Malibu, I can live through yours, and a couple others, lol.

[Auto Rod Technologies]

Looks like a solid car!!

[Stained Soul]

Thanks guys.
Hey Rick/rixtrix1, my brother lives in Phoenix and my folks live in Casa Grande.
I'm the sole surviver up here.
Oh ya, and the Pork Shop in Queens Creek has the best damn Pepperoni ever.

L8R,
Stu

[Motown 454]

I'm watching and enjoying your updates.

[Stained Soul]

Slow going, but finally getting the engine bay cleaned and stripped down to bare metal.
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I finally figured out a decent way to clean up the welds along the frame rails.
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More of the same boring stuff for the next week or so.

L8R

[dirty ernie]

Excellent build!

[Stained Soul]

Managed to get most of the firewall cleaned up today.
Every time I move the drop light to a different angle I see/find an area I over looked.
Hopefully I can get the rest of the engine bay cleaned up this week.
Still trying to decide if I'm going to pull the grill out and do the front side of the core support.

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[Bonehead]

I hate that part. Looks like you blew through it pretty quick. Looking good!

[Arctic_Ragtop]

Great choice on the '66, Subscribed. Keep the updates coming. It serves as motivation to get back at it for the rest of us. I really like your attention to detail, and high quality photos. Thanks

[Motown 454]

When you see how nice the engine bay came out, that will help you make the decision on the radiator support. It looks good.

[Stained Soul]

Managed to get most of the engine bay done today.
I would guess it's about 90% done, just need to do the edges and a few other small areas.
Also pulled the grill, valance & hood latch assembly off so I can clean the outside of the core support.
I will pull the bumper & brackets off later.

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[rixtrix1]

The Pork Shop is great. Been going there for years. I left NE for warmer weather in 1985. Nice work.

[Motown 454]

Nice job it looks great. There's a lot of work you've already got done there.

[wheatie8252]

Looking great, keep.up the good work!

[SparkyRnD]

Yesterday my LS specific radiator from RnD Fabrication showed up.
This thing is BEAST…. :cool:
Thanks Sparky @: http://rndfabrication.com/ABodyearly.html
Thank you to Tom F. for the info also.

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Got the hood off of the car today, now comes the fun.


Glad you like it, and cool build thread! Looks like it'll be a fun project to play with

[Stained Soul]

Thanks Sparky.
Todays updated pictures:
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Core support all done.
I'm going to get the underside of the front a little bit.
Try not to get to carried away.
Still need to:
Clean cross member underside
Clean front frame rails... underside
Clean corners where wire wheels won't fit.
Test fit engine
Test fit radiator
Pull manual steering box off
Thats the quick list........