Progress report on malibu

[Bill Howell]

The boo has looked sad lately sitting on saw horses but here are a few pictures of frame meeting motor and tranny. It will not be long now. For those familiar with the g-body frames, you may notice I have boxed the frame rails. That should stiffen things up a bit. Also bmr ajustable trailing arms on the 9" will help get things in line.The headers are going to be a pain but worth the effort. Still have to notch and paint the cross member for exhaust on the left side. Oh, and yes I do like blue plug wires However, they will hardly be seen once everything is installed since we ran them underneath everything.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Lookin' good, Bill! Keep us posted.

[68BNUT]

wow I used to have an 80 classic looved that car. Man that passenger side header looks like a booger!! looks nice

[Bill Howell]

wow I used to have an 80 classic looved that car. Man that passenger side header looks like a booger!! looks nice

Thanks,
There is a reason the other side header is off-Looks like it will require a BFH adjustment before assembly.

[Steve Chryssos]

Lookin good Bill. Keep the pictures coming.

[ProdigyCustoms]

2 Kewl!

[parsonsj]

Looks good, Bill. Does TN have a rolling 25 yr smog exemption? Or will you have to remain compliant?

jp

[Bill Howell]

Looks good, Bill. Does TN have a rolling 25 yr smog exemption? Or will you have to remain compliant?

jp

Thanks John,
We have no inspections period in my area on anything so thank goodness there are no issues here yet. I believe Nashville and maybe Memphis are the only countys so far in Tennessee that have inspections. The engine that came in that car was a 267(?) and probably had 80hp, and then that was smogged down. It is going to be fun to drive the same basic set up with about 400hp.

BTW Your car is so far ahead of mine that I do not compare the two by any means. However your posting of the car and comments on other threads that our cars do not have to and should not be show cars from the ground up helped encourage me and I am sure others to post our projects. My car is being built to drive and enjoy so I did not spend time and money polishing the fuel lines. I probably will not even repaint the body and will consider rock chips battle scares. Yes that is a A/C compressor mounted up front and no I don't care if it robs a small bit of hp. It will make those road trips more enjoyable. I can not understand the concept of a true Pro-Touring car that spends most of its life on the road in a trailer? I guess that is the street rodder in me-trailers are for boats!
I hope others will follow your lead and post their cars. :icon996:
Thanks,
Bill

[TPI Monte SS]

Lookin' good Bill! I like the black/silver combo. The only bad thing is you'll be REAL limited on how wide of a tire you can fit in the front with those headers. A friend of mine had the same headers on his '86 SS and was rubbing them with 225/60s on stock 15x7s.

If you're using the car for straight-line only, then ignore my post.

[Jims78elky]

Looks good bill,I can remember when i "boxed" in the frame on my 78.
What gauge steel did you use? and where did you get it? I can remember trying to get some plate steel from my local welding shop and the guy wanting $170 for a 2X18X1/8 piece! I know now that there are other places (Note gray hair) that materials can be picked up,just curious
on how you worked that out! The bu's coming around nice,Look forward
to looking at more progress on the build-up..

-Jim

[colt zantop]

looking good! what rim/tire combo you goin with? whats the limit on width in the rear? that car is gonna be killer when complete....keep us updated...

[Bill Howell]

Jim,
A friend has a welding shop and he boxed it for me for free with scrap he had laying around. It is just a tad thicker than the frame. The biggest issue was rerouting all the fuel and brake lines since the original route was inside the channel.
Colt,
I went with 17x8 TT11's. The offset is 1/2" different front to rear for clearance up front(had to move front inward 1/2"). Some here said you could get 9" on rear but it looked too tight to me. I did not chop and box the wheel wells since you wouldnot gain but about 1/2" unless you cut the tubs and moved them also. I have been looking at some new wheels though because the TT11's are getting old. If I change, I may try the 9" on the rear.
Thanks for all the comments guys.
Bill

[gmachinz]

Bill, you can go 9" wide out back-keep a 5.25" backspacing and trim 1/2" off the wheel lip and they will work. I have 17x9's on my '78 Monte and I could have went another 3/4" wider without any rubbing. Yes, those headers are going to cost you up front in terms of max. rim/tire width. Why such headaches with the header fitment? I use Walker Dynomax on mine and they fit very nice! I have a SB w/a TH400. I bought my crossmember from crossmembers.com-they specialize in conversion ones. I think I paid about $260 for mine-very strong and the dual cut-out sections for the exhaust allowed me to tuck my exhaust tight against the floorpans. If you need pics or specs, email me I'll be glad to help any way I can with your project! -Jabin [email protected]

[el-camino]

great work Bill.
can you give me the part number from your valve covers, please

[Bill Howell]

great work Bill.
can you give me the part number from your valve covers, please

Klaus,
Funny you saw that and no one else noticed them! Actually that is not a GM part. I had a friend with a CNC do them for me. I can get you a set but it is not an over the counter part. They are really nice looking and a great conversation piece.
Thanks for noticing!

[lt4malibu]

looks awesome!

[Bill Howell]

Steve and Jabin,
Ya'll were right Those headers restricted the turning radius drastically. It was change the wheels or headers so I ordered a set of Dynomax tonight. Jabin said they worked fine on his car so hopefully that will be the last little surprize I have on this money pit. I do appreciate the heads up on them though because as big a pain as it is, it is still much easier now than after I have the body back on.
Thanks Guys.