1980 Chevrolet Malibu Classic – East Coaster of the Day
It’s a sleek muscle-bound, strong and not-so-silent type, this 1980 Chevy Malibu Classic.
The owner kindly declined having his name mentioned but said the car really belongs to his sons’. So he gave us permission to call it ‘Liam and Luke’s car’.
Well, at seven and two years of age, it’ll be a few years before Liam and Luke get behind the wheel of their car. Probably for the best, since the shiny black Malibu Classic has close to 450 horsepower.
Liam and Luke and their Dad have owned the 40-year-old car for about three years. It took Dad the whole first year to complete the work, although it came to him in pretty good condition.
He mentioned changing to bucket seats but really prefers the bench seat and we heartily agree!
He put in a 383 Stroker engine. It has a Grand National 8.5-inch rear end and a cool Billit steering wheel. The hood is an addition as well. And it wouldn’t be a a true strip car without the WELD Draglites on the four corners.
It has a Turbo 350, automatic shift, three-speed transmission, which many consider to be one of the greatest of automatic transmissions ever built, known for its strength, versatility and compactness.
The furthest the car has been was a road trip to the automotive extravaganza, Atlantic Nationals in Moncton.
When the 1980 Chevy Malibu first came out, Car and Driver called it ‘a charmer’ and a ‘wallflower with hidden talents’. The magazine also credited Chevrolet with building “… a near-ideal representation of the American car”.
We concur. And obviously Liam and Luke’s Dad does, too. Whenever we see (and hear!) the 1980 Chevy Malibu Classic at a car meet, he’s usually grinning from ear to ear behind the wheel.
