81 Malibu "Uncaged" Performance Therapy project thread

[NOT A TA]

Several months ago I won a contest called, "The Performance Therapy Online Photo Contest" http://www.performancetherapycontest.com/ organized by John Hotchkis. The winning photograph of me in my Firebird was taken by my bud John Hendrick at the famous Sebring Road Race track. As the Grand prize winner of the contest I am recieving products from Hotchkis Sport Suspension, Baer Brakes, Flowmaster, MSD, Rushforth Wheels, Yokohama tires, Lifeline Fire Systems, Redline synthetic oils, and Hot Wheels.

Since my Firebird already has a Hotchkis suspension, MSD ignition, and sidepipes (which I like) I'm going to use some of the prizes to give my Malibu some much needed Performance Therapy. During the 15 years or so since I paid a whopping $300.00 for the bu I've used it on and off as a DD and slowly fixed it up a little at a time until about 5 years ago when I decided to repaint it again. It hasn't been driven much since then mostly due to an idiot keeping it for a couple years which some of you may have read about already here. https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=63796 And after that I moved far away which was a huge nightmare and at one point I was so fed up I didn't even look at the bu for a whole year.

With 70,000 miles on the car currently, it still has the original unmolested 229 V6 auto combo and all stock suspension except for a rear swaybar I got off of a parts car. So this is going to be an awesome upgrade I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I've just about finished reassembling the exterior of the car and just need to put a new Landau vinyl top (I like them) back on.

The Plan:
I've got a '70 350 4 bolt engine from a C-20 that was rebuilt by my brother almost 30 years ago but never fired. According to the note on the engine it was magnafluxed and decked, bored .030, has a 3 angle valve job, double roller timing chain, ported head, and a ported intake refered to as an "inverted high rise" which I never heard of. That is all I know (or will know) about it.

I'll be installing that engine with the stock trans and rear by using the MSD prize to set up the ignition, the Flowmaster prize for the exhaust (the new stainless system coming out in a couple weeks), and the Hotchkis prize will cover the suspension and steering. Should turn out pretty cool!

Ideally I'd pull the engine apart and give it the once over with new assembly lube etc. before installing but thats not going to happen. This has to be done on an extremely limited budget and pretty quickly. I've got a few carbs hanging around and I'm hoping I can make one of them work. As it is I think I'll need to upgrade the radiator? and find a V8 fan shroud plus probably a few other odds and ends along the way. This is a grassroots type effort, no media blasting, powder coating or any other costly unnecessary expenses can be done at this time. If a hose or belt can be reused it will be. Anything that comes off that can be sold to help offset expenses will be. The engine compartment will get the infamous "Krylon Touch" to give it a neat clean appearance.

I started recieving the Hotchkis products today so I figured I'd start this thread and let everyone follow along and I'll update while I progress. Here's the list of Hotchkis stuff I'll be using. And I know I need to switch spindles to use the kit.

TVS kit with Extreme swaybars
Steering rebuild kit
Ball joint kit
Tubular upper A arms
Bilstein shocks
Air bag kit

Here's a few pics of the car. The dormant mouse that will be installed can be seen on an engine stand in the corner in the 1st pic.

[NOT A TA]

During the weekly chat a member here (Yoda4561) dubbed the Malibu "Uncaged" since the rollbar had to be removed. So thats where the name came from.

After coming up with a plan to awaken the dormant mouse thats been sitting on an engine stand for almost 30 years I discussed it with my buds Stewart and Dan at "The Machine Shop" in Delray Beach near my house. They thought I was crazy and that I should just bring the engine over to the shop and tear it apart, clean out all the gummed up prelube, check over everything in the engine, then lube everything up again. I know it's the right thing to do but I can't spend anything on it. They assured me that they had extra gaskets etc. kicking around I could use to put it back together if I needed any. That was a very nice offer on their part knowing I have no money to spend. (I'll help them out with stuff at the shop so I don't feel like a user.) So I guess thats the route I'll take. It'll be a little more work that takes time and effort but it will reduce the chances of me harming the engine on start up or having to yank the engine back out. I'll get the engine over to the shop this week and maybe have time to take it apart.

One of the prizes from the Performance Therapy contest was a selection of Redline fluids. So I'd asked for assembly lube along with the rest of the fluids I'll need for this car. Hopefully the Redline products will show up this week.

[srh3trinity]

Awesome, now we will get double the build threads. Sounds like two cool cars are going to get even better.

[Smock67]

I saw you other thread on the "cage", if you can call it that. Anyhow with everything you and this car have been through I'm glad you won the grand prize. Its nice to see people who deserve to win these types of contests actually win. I will be following this thread for sure.

[NOT A TA]

Thanks guys! It'll be a fun project. Probably a little fustrating at some points due to the budget for this car but it'll be kinda like it was back when I was building cars in high school (although the Malibu wasn't even built when I was in high school! LOL).

Here's a familiar sight in many garages. An old school engine put together for a project that was abandoned sits in a corner. This one had been assembled at roughly the same time the Malibu was sold as new!!! Luckily for this engine it may get a chance to breathe again (pending inspection). Today I got things out of the way to make room in the garage to do the swap, took a few pics, and dug out the engine hoist.

[jackfrost]

cool build... looking forward to see it come together. I'm glad you decided to check the motor out. it shouldn't cost too much time or money to take it apart and put it back together...

[John Wright]

OH yeah, SBC powerer cart...that is going to be cool.....LOL

j/k, I know the old skool mill is for the Malibu

[cheapthrillz]

Awesome news John! I didn't know if you were going to use your winnings on The 14 car or not....

Uncaged should be ahead of the game as a budget build. Decided on what systems you are going to run from your winnings or do you have a choice?

[NOT A TA]

Awesome news John! I didn't know if you were going to use your winnings on The 14 car or not....

Uncaged should be ahead of the game as a budget build. Decided on what systems you are going to run from your winnings or do you have a choice?

The 14 Car already has a MSD ignition system and Hotchkis suspension. I have a couple other cars that always seem to take a backseat to the Firebird and so this was a perfect opportunity to do something with one those cars. I've been working on the Malibu the past couple months buffing out the new paint, cutting out the rollbar, and reassembling it. After talking to John Hotchkis for a while one day about what car(s) to use the prizes on I decided to use the Hotchkis, MSD, and Flowmaster products on the Malibu as one project. The other project is to use the Rushforths, Baers, and Yokohamas on The 14 Car.

As for choices, I ask for what I would like and have a use for and recieve whatever the companies feel like sending. LOL I've spoken with reps from each company and asked for their product recommendations based on my use of each car. As an example when I spoke with the guys at Baer about brakes for The 14 Car I told them I'm not a show guy. Cross drilled, slotted, zinc washed etc. is stuff I don't really care about. What I need is brakes that I can use for track days that will provide the best performance and last the longest. Performance and maintenance becomes more important if you frequent the track regularly. We'll see what they send.

As I mentioned earlier one of the prizes from the Performance Therapy contest was a gift pack from REDLINE Synthetic Oil. I recieved a shipment from REDLINE yesterday with engine oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, engine break in additive, water wetter, lead substitute, and rear end gear oil as well as a T-shirt, hat and stickers! So I'm set for fluids for the new engine and also got some things I use in other cars like lead substitute. The product packaging looked really nice so I decided to set a up little display in front of the car and take some pics. Thanks REDLINE!

[srh3trinity]

That is a substantial gift pack from Redline. This contest is paying great dividends for you.

[first64]

John,

I don't know if you've thought about it but you can get a dual electric fan out of a concord(and like vehicles) from the JY, they fit well and should fit your budget. I can try and find the years to look for if you like.

[twosaturns]

I'm sure you are aware, don't use the redline oil for break in of the old/new engine.
real cool win for you! I'll be paying attention to how this goes together, I had a 4th gen 'bu back in the day that I never got to build the way I liked, so this is cool.

[NOT A TA]

John,

I don't know if you've thought about it but you can get a dual electric fan out of a concord(and like vehicles) from the JY, they fit well and should fit your budget. I can try and find the years to look for if you like.

That may be an option. I need to do some research on what I need to change so that the cooling system will support the bigger engine and fit in the engine compartment with the extra couple cylinders.

[NOT A TA]

I'm sure you are aware, don't use the redline oil for break in of the old/new engine.
real cool win for you! I'll be paying attention to how this goes together, I had a 4th gen 'bu back in the day that I never got to build the way I liked, so this is cool.

Yes I'm aware, but thanks for reminding me to elaborate on the issue a bit for the young folks or those new to the hobby watching this thread. Even though this isn't some big power engine combination it is still important to "break in" the engine correctly.

It's recommended that most rebuilt engines are broken in using traditional petroleum based oils with an additive containing ZDPP (Zinc dialkyldithiophosphate). Chemical engineers who know much more about these things than we do say it's important and thats good enough for me! There are lots of opinions about the specifics involved in "break in" concerning engine speeds, length of time, oil weights etc. but the basics are similar. Redlines recommended "break in" procedure from the frequently asked questions page of their website is pasted below.


Q: Can I break-in my engine on Red Line motor oil?

For peformance engines, we recommend using conventional 10w30 motor oil to ensure proper piston ring seating. We recommend using this oil in combonation with our Engine Oil Break In Additive, which features the antiwear chemicals necessary to protect valve train components like camshafts, rollers, and tappets. Though most conventional oils are missing the important antiwear components that you find in Red Line's synthetic motor oils, the conventional oil is not as slick as Red Line and will allow the piston rings to seat more quickly. If you allow 1500 to 2000 miles in a street engine or 20 to 30 minutes on the dyno at low rpm, the rings will have had sufficient time to seat and the high initial break-in wear will have occurred. For new road cars, always follow the manufacturer recommendations and initial oil change recommendations for break-in.

[twosaturns]

it's cool redline puts that out there on the website.

[first64]

That may be an option. I need to do some research on what I need to change so that the cooling system will support the bigger engine and fit in the engine compartment with the extra couple cylinders.

Not much is needed, you'll need V8 mounts and brackets(clamshells), radiator hoses for a V8 car. I really can't think of anything else, maybe check the fuel line diameter and maybe the front springs if the front sags too much.

You will need to change out the radiator to support the 350, they still carry them at the parts store. For almost the same cost you can get a aluminum universal one from Griffen (4 row IIRC)

[Tig]

Very nice, looks great.
What kind of kart is that?

[NOT A TA]

Not much is needed, you'll need V8 mounts and brackets(clamshells), radiator hoses for a V8 car. I really can't think of anything else, maybe check the fuel line diameter and maybe the front springs if the front sags too much.

You will need to change out the radiator to support the 350, they still carry them at the parts store. For almost the same cost you can get a aluminum universal one from Griffen (4 row IIRC)

first64: Thanks for the info. I'll have to scrounge around to see what I can find. Front springs along with all of the suspension will be new Hotchkis stuff as part of the prizes from the Performance Therapy contest.
Tig: It's a flat Kart but the fiberglass body isn't on it. It's for sale. Could be yours!
__________________________________________________ _________

The morning after the last post my home was burglarized and among the missing items was my computer so needless to say my Malibu project "Uncaged" had to take a backseat temporarily. They got about about $3,000.00 worth of stuff and I don't have regular insurance because of the last burglarly (long story) so it's been difficult getting online and getting camera issues straightened out.

Anyway, I got the engine out to bring over to the machine shop and after taking a closer look at it found it's not a fresh (older) rebuild. So we went straight to plan B! I've had a 350 4 bolt block, crank, rods, and some .040 over forged pistons I've been saying I'd get to sometime (also dragging around the country! LOL) Well now's the time! I donated the complete engine and a couple sets of heads to the machine shop. Can't believe I dragged that engine around the country for years and never looked in the exhaust ports or spark plug holes till now!

So I'm going to work part time at the shop along with the donated parts in exchange for machining and instruction on bulding the engine. I'm pretty psyched actually, because although I've been a car guy my whole life I've never assembled a whole automobile engine!

The top pic below is when I was getting ready to transport the engine and realized it wasn't "fresh". I should have pulled the rags, got my glasses, and looked inside the engine 4-5 years ago! And no, Although it looks like we might, we didn't put it in the trunk! Although, I do admit I did it in the 70's and 80's sometimes! Meanwhile another one of the prizes showed up to brighten the day! So the bottom pic is a huge selection of Hot Wheels products that arrived.

[twosaturns]

ARE YOU FRIGGIN' SERIOUS???? they gave you ALL that stuff???
I am SO friggin jealous right now! I can't beleive they reintroduced the Sizzlers race track! me and my brothers had one of those, hadn't seen one in 30 years!
Dude, you have to let us know if you are going to unload any of that stuff!

[stealth71]

Looks like it's time for Chevellabration. They opened it up for late models this year.