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- GTP_Johnny1996
Lately I've been thinking about GM G bodies, more specifically the Monte Carlo and Cutlass of that platform. Before too long, the G body Malibu came to mind, and soon afterward my dad's car came to mind. You guessed it, it was a G body Malibu. Already posted on Instagram (and in the spoiler below to save time for me and space in this OP for you) is a brief story covering what I've learned about the particular car my dad owned and an idea I got thanks to much strong curiosity of that car.
Sounds simple. Track down a car, either a specific one or one that matches what you're looking for, buy it and fix it up. Obviously that's much easier said than done. Especially if you're trying to find one specific car that is essentially one of one. Currently I have at least a loose idea of a plan. As follows.
The first step would be to call the junkyard in regards to Dad's specific Malibu. First see if they have a matching car, at least based on the fact that it's a G body Malibu. Perhaps arrange a meeting so to speak where I could take a walk around their property to look for the car. If things get to this point, it might not be as simple as there being one Malibu that matches the one that my dad owned. There could be more than one such car, there could be too much rust to tell, etc. I don't believe we have any documentation on the car anymore, so it won't be as simple as matching up a VIN. However I would have to talk to my mom about that to know for sure, as I do believe she was the one who handled the disposal of the car before it touched the junkyard's tow truck.
The next step, assuming the junkyard does still have the car would be to do an assessment of it. First see if it's able to be purchased at the discretion of the junkyard owner, and if so move onto a visual check. Basically, see if it's in a good enough condition to actually buy and attempt a fix/restoration on (after ~20 years of sitting outdoors it most definitely will need it) or if it's just too far gone with no doubt about it. If it turns out to be too far gone then the plan would be to salvage a part or two (or more) for keepsake purposes, again at the discretion of the yard owner. If this happens and if the junkyard does not have a Malibu, then a search for another car will begin elsewhere.
The next step would be the search, but in the meantime I could come up with plans for the car. Plans would depend on the condition of the car, which will need to either be running or not running but be a relatively simple fix. While every fiber of my being will want to scream POWERRRRR in a way that would make even Jeremy Clarkson himself jealous and drop a big engine in it, I'd choose to go rather simple and just give it a respectable power increase, say 300 tops up from the factory stock less than 200. Just something for a sunny Sunday afternoon cruiser while still worthy of being in a car show or two along the way. Whether that would involve a crate engine or not, who knows. I don't believe Dad was that much of a car guy and into high performance stuff but I could be wrong. If possible I'd use some parts from his particular car for the build. Exterior color would depend on interior color, and I'd definitely like to have dark green paint on the outside even if it isn't a 100% match to my dad's car color. The only requirement would be to nickname the car after my dad using the same nickname, and possibly get it pinstriped on the back in the same font as what is on a shirt of his I have.
I created this thread to share an idea and some thoughts with you guys, and if you have any ideas or thoughts yourselves feel free to share. Personally and of course I'm heavily biased, I think this is an awesome idea and one I definitely would pursue to honor my dad. If not then I'd do something else to honor him. To me, this is more about him than it is me.
Sounds simple. Track down a car, either a specific one or one that matches what you're looking for, buy it and fix it up. Obviously that's much easier said than done. Especially if you're trying to find one specific car that is essentially one of one. Currently I have at least a loose idea of a plan. As follows.
The first step would be to call the junkyard in regards to Dad's specific Malibu. First see if they have a matching car, at least based on the fact that it's a G body Malibu. Perhaps arrange a meeting so to speak where I could take a walk around their property to look for the car. If things get to this point, it might not be as simple as there being one Malibu that matches the one that my dad owned. There could be more than one such car, there could be too much rust to tell, etc. I don't believe we have any documentation on the car anymore, so it won't be as simple as matching up a VIN. However I would have to talk to my mom about that to know for sure, as I do believe she was the one who handled the disposal of the car before it touched the junkyard's tow truck.
The next step, assuming the junkyard does still have the car would be to do an assessment of it. First see if it's able to be purchased at the discretion of the junkyard owner, and if so move onto a visual check. Basically, see if it's in a good enough condition to actually buy and attempt a fix/restoration on (after ~20 years of sitting outdoors it most definitely will need it) or if it's just too far gone with no doubt about it. If it turns out to be too far gone then the plan would be to salvage a part or two (or more) for keepsake purposes, again at the discretion of the yard owner. If this happens and if the junkyard does not have a Malibu, then a search for another car will begin elsewhere.
The next step would be the search, but in the meantime I could come up with plans for the car. Plans would depend on the condition of the car, which will need to either be running or not running but be a relatively simple fix. While every fiber of my being will want to scream POWERRRRR in a way that would make even Jeremy Clarkson himself jealous and drop a big engine in it, I'd choose to go rather simple and just give it a respectable power increase, say 300 tops up from the factory stock less than 200. Just something for a sunny Sunday afternoon cruiser while still worthy of being in a car show or two along the way. Whether that would involve a crate engine or not, who knows. I don't believe Dad was that much of a car guy and into high performance stuff but I could be wrong. If possible I'd use some parts from his particular car for the build. Exterior color would depend on interior color, and I'd definitely like to have dark green paint on the outside even if it isn't a 100% match to my dad's car color. The only requirement would be to nickname the car after my dad using the same nickname, and possibly get it pinstriped on the back in the same font as what is on a shirt of his I have.
I created this thread to share an idea and some thoughts with you guys, and if you have any ideas or thoughts yourselves feel free to share. Personally and of course I'm heavily biased, I think this is an awesome idea and one I definitely would pursue to honor my dad. If not then I'd do something else to honor him. To me, this is more about him than it is me.
