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My 1971 Chevelle Malibu

bkcole2

bkcole2

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looking for a brutally honest answer to the save-ability and value of my first car. It is a 1971 chevelle malibu coupe located in eastern kentucky. The car has been sitting in a barn for about 12 years. I drove the car as a daily driver in high school and went to something a little more reliable for college. I loved the car and I have wanted to restore it from the day I owned it. I currently live in central alabama and I have a decent sized two car+ garage where I could do some work to it. After looking at its condition recently, i wonder if the car is worth saving or if I should go a different route to scratch my classic car itch. I usually try to start the car when I am visiting the folks and I'm nearby. The car is not original and has been changed in my forms by multiple owners(including me). It is a factory 307 / th350 car but currently has a 350 and a saginaw 4 speed in it. It still has the automatic steering column too! Needless to say the previous work done to the car has all been pretty shotty and the car would need a total going through. The engine still starts but really runs rough pouring blue smoke. The under good wiring is a disaster and fire hazard. I never leave the battery hooked to the system. It has been that way since I acquired the car back in 2005. The braking system has locked its self up in the last few years so it would also need a complete run through as well. The rear end is an open ten bolt with 2.73:1 gears. The interior is trashed due to mold over the last 10 or so years. However, these are items I know I could fix with time and some work. The main concern to me is the body rot. Im not a welder and I have never done any body work. The car has rust bubbles all over it and I know the quarter panels are full of bondo and/or fiberglass above both rear wheel wells. The lip that holds trunk seal in place is full of holes along with the floor pans. I have had fenders off of it before and know that it will need the lower cowl vent panels as well. Basically every panel on the thing will need some love. The frame also has a hole rotted out in it just in front of the front sway bar on the passenger side.

I'm sure I have rambled on about the condition enough now and probably left out enough important details at the same time so I will get to my question.

Is this car worth saving? My ideal use would be just a good reliable driver with a little pep to make it fun. I would want the car to look clean, period correct and be capable of completing and event such as power tour. Or would the wise route be to move on and use a different car to scratch this itch?

What would it actually cost me to get this car’s body and frame back in shape?

Also, what is the rough value of the car if I were to sell it.

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It all depends. Sitting where it’s at isn’t helping at all. It will get worse sitting there.

If you follow Freiburger's mantra of don’t get it right just get it running the path is pretty clear. Yank it out of the shed, fix the brakes and get it running. You can fix the interior as you go, but a solid scrubbing would go a long way inside.

Rust sucks to repair. It’s costly if you have to pay someone to do it. It’s time consuming if you do it yourself, more so if you have to learn to weld. If the rust isn’t major structural, I’d run it as is.

As a sentimental fool myself, you don’t always get a shot keeping your first car going. I’d make an effort to do so. You can replace it, but it won’t be your first. By that you could put more effort than it’s worth but these cars aren’t nearly as plentiful to find as they used to be either.

Just get it home and assess from there.
 
hard to say the trunk gutter rot is typical when you pull the chrome trim from the windshield and rear window you will find more. Probably when the carpet comes up as well. What is a plain jane 71 Chevelle with a good body going for these days ? 40-50k ? You have your hot rod almost the whole body can be purchased new these days is $$$ but would save the body work which can be $$$ as well. I'd get it home tear the interior out and the trim off and see.
 
I could certainly see the roadkill mantra being a phase but not the end goal. It would certainly be better running down the road roadkill style than rotting away in Kentucky. I am a big fan of the work that the folks like vice grip garage do but I am just not a fan of the patina look. I want a clean car that looks like one from the era and I don’t want to be defeated before I ever start. It also does have a lot of sentimental value to me which is why I have never been able to let it go. I would love to have it fully restored but I also Don’t want to take on more than I can afford/do without reaching my goal. These cars seem to bring 30k pretty easily on a basic restored car and the better ones seem to get to 50k pretty easily(using bring a trailer as a reference). Base models like mine seem to fetch more when they are nicely hotrod’ed up or SS cloned. I just dont have a clue how much time and money it would take to fix the rot. These cars are very popular and nearly every panel is available as a repop like Wes said. If a take a shell and all the body parts and drop them off at a pro shop is gonna cost me 30k or 50k to come back with a painted body where I could assemble the rest or would that be less. I really have no yardstick to measure that with currently. I dont think my guess would get me in the ball park.

I do know that the car is worth way more if it is running and driving. And nothing starts without getting it where I can work on it. I suppose thatbis the first step no matter which way I go
 
Get it running and driving and see if it still brings you the joy it used to. If it does, begin assessing the extent of the damage and if it can be salvaged. If it doesn’t, then you can decide to just drive it around as is because it’s paid off and liability only insurance and cheap or put a for sale sign on it.
 
Yeah I’m not saying you need to keep it ratty, but you need to get it going. You can always make it nice later.

You are right it’s worth more if it runs and drives even in the current condition.

Rent or borrow a trailer and bring it home. The longer it sits where it is will only make the repair work harder.


As far as the money goes to fix the rust double what number you have in your mind. Thats a starting point. But what you need to do is a real close inspection of every panel on the car. Each spot on the surface you see rust on will likely have an adjoining panel under it that is crusty too. Thats where you need to make a hard call because the cost to repair may far exceed the value (actual not sentimental).
 
The body work can always be done in stages.
Like mentioned, make it go and drive it. And see if it brings you joy.
Then pay for someone to fix a single rear quarter just to the primer. Give that a coat of paint with the 2k you can get in a rattle can now yourself.
Save up, and do another quarter the same way the next year.
When the body is done, then you spring to have someone wet sand and spray the whole thing.
Could even be 2 years between quarters. As long as it's running and your enjoying it.

Hell, just driving it around now would be cool.

You get a heckler about the rust, you just ask them "Where's YOUR 71 Chevelle?". Lol
 
Body work done by me would have to be in stages. I kind of imagined doing it all at once by paying someone top blast it then having the body rot repaired. I suppose doing a little bit at time over a long period of time Johnny Cash style would best suit my life right now and allow me to enjoy the car some in between repairs. I guess I just watched to may hot rod restoration shows growing up. I suppose I will need a welder if things go as I hope they do. Let me know if you have a good recommended one for body work.

Thanks for help.
 
It all depends on your skill level and time. You pay for the work with time or money. It is definitely worth saving. You just need to come up with what you can afford. Sitting there is going to make it more costly in the future.

The frame rust that you show tells me there is more that is not seen. Those are the things that you can not plan for when you start into a project like this.
 
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A decision of how much sentimental value it has is important. If you really want THIS car it’s fixable, but will be expensive. I’d take a serious look at the frame and area and the window frames.
If nothing else- get it out of the dirt, fix the brakes, and drive it a bit. Next, evaluate its condition and your work space. Do you have a place to wrench on it? Do you want to learn to weld? Floor pans and the trunk are good places to learn. Bolt on stuff like fenders may (will) be easier to swap.
 
Do some serious soul searching .... I am in the 3rd year of my restoration of my 85 Blazer I bought brand new ... sole owner for nearly 40 years now ... I am super pumped I am within weeks of finishing .. it takes time ..

If it was my first car from high shcool (71 Camaro) I would probably restore it as well ...

Tough Call ... Cash and Time .. the question is always ... why did I get rid of it ?

Best of luck with your choice.
 
This is one of my current projects..
Way more work than a “normal” person would consider…..
I have searched for years for the first Corvette I drove.
1973 Big block, 4 speed. Metallic Yellow exterior, dark saddle interior.
I have pined over “this” car for years!
I finally tripped over this one in Georgia…
The EXACT same car… love blind, I bought it!
An extremely rare combination..
I am sinking way to money into it, that I will probably never recoup…
But after searching for years…..
i have cars I massively regret selling for the reasons you are saying….
In the end… YOU only can decide if it’s worth it!
Yes, it will take time…
Yes, it will take money…..
But, at least In your case… everything is available to restore!
I have an unpopular, 1 year only car I’m putting together!!
Sometimes….. it’s for the love of the car…..

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bablazer73 said:
This is one of my current projects..
Way more work than a “normal” person would consider…..
I have searched for years for the first Corvette I drove.
1973 Big block, 4 speed. Metallic Yellow exterior, dark saddle interior.
I have pined over “this” car for years!
I finally tripped over this one in Georgia…
The EXACT same car… love blind, I bought it!
An extremely rare combination..
I am sinking way to money into it, that I will probably never recoup…
But after searching for years…..
i have cars I massively regret selling for the reasons you are saying….
In the end… YOU only can decide if it’s worth it!
Yes, it will take time…
Yes, it will take money…..
But, at least In your case… everything is available to restore!
I have an unpopular, 1 year only car I’m putting together!!
Sometimes….. it’s for the love of the car…..

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Click to expand...

Build thread? I love '73 Corvettes! Especially big block, four speed cars!
 
Get that poor car parked inside somewhere dry. As the others have said, get it running and driving then decide if you want to fix the body up or not.

I've been "working" on an 8.1L swap into my 71 for about 4 years now. I'll get it running one of these years... Until then it'll sit up on my 4 post lift. It's mechanically 90% complete just needing some exhaust work, a power steering hose and the front bumper put back on but needs a complete re-wire and the dash reassembled.72264876_10162938454685500_3553514851034726400_o.jpg20210401_143311.jpg20210730_131720.jpg
 
what intake is that. lots of peps on fb 8.1 performance are after 4barrel intakes. That port fi manifold is a clean set up
 
Yeah that's the 1 everyone is looking for. I guess Dart doesn't make them any more.
 
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