It wasn’t that long ago that many enthusiasts viewed cars from the 1970s with barely concealed contempt. It was an era when emission regulations were tightening and power output levels were dropping. However, times have changed, and many people have softened their attitude towards these vehicles. A perfect example is this 1976 Chevrolet Malibu Classic. It presents superbly and has 31,000 genuine miles on the clock. It would suit a first-time buyer and is ready to head to a new home. Located in Chesapeake, Virginia, you will find the Malibu listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set the sale price at a very affordable $7,950. I have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder Pat L for referring this wonderful survivor to us.
There’s no doubt that this Malibu presents exceptionally well in its original shade of Firethorn. The paint shines beautifully, with no flaws worthy of a mention. The color is complemented by a contrasting pinstripe and protective body moldings and strips. The panels are laser straight, while the gaps are tight and consistent. There is no evidence of rust in the supplied photos, and the owner doesn’t mention any problems in his listing. The exterior chrome is in excellent order, as is the tinted glass. The styling of the ’76 Malibu is relatively conservative, but this one is saved from being bland by the inclusion of spotless Rally wheels wrapped in white-letter tires. When you bring all these elements together, the Malibu should command plenty of attention and positive comments wherever it goes.
The Classic was the range-topping Malibu in 1976. That means its interior was nicely equipped in a 1970s context, featuring air conditioning, an AM/FM radio/cassette player, and splashes of faux woodgrain trim. That might not seem like much today, but it was enough to satisfy most potential buyers in 1976. The overall presentation of this interior rates as above average. The red upholstered surfaces are virtually flawless, while the dash is in a similar state. There are a few shortcomings that potential buyers may wish to consider. Like many of its contemporaries, the carpet in this Chevy is faded and patchy. There’s no evidence of wear issues, so it hasn’t reached the point where replacement would be essential. However, it detracts from the upholstered surfaces, so spending $200 on a new carpet set could be worth the cost. The biggest issue is the dash pad because it has a couple of substantial cracks. It would seem that the most obvious answer would be for the buyer to source a replacement, but this might not be as easy as it first seems. I performed a brief online search that yielded no results. Someone who dedicates more time may have more success than I, although there are a couple of other options worth considering. A carpet cover would cost under $100 and would be fine for those subscribing to the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy. I initially thought that repairs with a product like Polyvance would be viable, but the cracks may be too large for the buyer to achieve a satisfactory result. That leaves a cap as the final option. These sell for around $170 and glue into place to provide a surprisingly good finish. If I were to buy this Malibu and couldn’t locate a replacement pad, that would probably be my chosen course of action.
Cars like the late-1960s Chevelle SS have developed legendary status due to their enormous power outputs and neck-snapping acceleration. By 1976, the world was a different place, and so was the story for the Chevelle Malibu. This car still features a V8, but this is a 305ci version that produces 140hp. The original owner’s inclusion of a three-speed automatic transmission, power steering, and power brakes clearly indicates that they more firmly set the focus of this car on comfort than outright performance. This fact is graphically demonstrated by the ¼-mile ET of 19.5 seconds and the 0-60mph time of 13.3 seconds. You will struggle to find many new cars today that produce those sorts of figures. Many buyers from this era would forgive the lack of outright performance if the Malibu produced exceptional fuel consumption figures. So, did it? Er, nope! An average of 14mpg showed that while the government’s focus on lower emissions was laudable, it didn’t produce particularly efficient cars. Things would improve in later years thanks to developments like fuel injection and electronic engine management systems, but in 1976, this was as good as it got. Our feature car may have emerged at the height of The Malaise Era, but it has only accumulated 31,000 genuine miles during the past forty-six years. The owner recently fitted new tires, a new battery, and a new exhaust. He says that it runs and drives well and would appear to be a turnkey classic that needs nothing but a new owner.
While this 1976 Malibu Classic might not appeal to all of our readers, there will be some who view it favorably. I admit that the V8 versions were no longer the performance powerhouses they’d been a few years earlier, but they remained competent classics capable of transporting their occupants in comfort. It seems that this would be a good assessment of this car, but it does have a couple of aces hidden up its sleeve. The first is that it is in excellent condition for its age, while the second is that it is a practical vehicle that would suit an enthusiast with a family. However, if someone is considering dipping their toe in the water of classic car ownership for the first time, it is an affordable alternative that deserves a closer look. Would that be enough to convince you to pursue it further?
Very nice Chevelle, looks really good. The only thing that visually doesn’t work for me, is the placement of the (owner applied?) pin stripes. IIRC, OEM ones ran along the top of the quarter panel, stopping just below the opera window, with the second one starting on the door and running out to the front fender cap. Still, this should make the next owner very happy! GLWTA!! :-)
Pinstripes can be easily removed, either tape or paint!
Is this car still available?
Steal of a price!! Owner may have been sleeping on that one!
Evidently not that much of a “steal” it’s still for sale after 10 days. The REAL steals r gone within 3 days or so!
These models are actually very nice cars. Not worth much, and ripe for upgrades that make them better. My personal favorite is the 73.
Didn’t a 1977 Cutlass Supreme that was on here not long ago bid up to $27,100? Now this very similar car is selling for a fraction of that. Something is really weird with this market. The correction is going to be rough!
Had to check if I was on the right site. A clean affordable car on barn finds? Something for less than 20k that runs? Stop the madness! Nice looking Malibu. Good luck to new owner.
Mild 454 build, th400 and posi all easy bolt in and will wake it up…
Will never understand putting cheap, stick on side trim and paint scratching door guards on a good paint job. They do nothing to enhance the look of the car. Down to earth price and low miles makes this a good buy.
I feel ya on door edge guards. My 70 El Camino SS 396 has them, they are OEM pieces. But… they do break up the clean lines of the car. My car had been repainted, one of these days I will get brave enough to carefully remove them and see if there are any chips or damage. Not a fan of this body style but it has grown on me over the years! Hopefully the door ding strips are adhesive backed and not riveted on!
Either way they’re more or less period-correct so I’d leave them be. I’d think a base Malibu would look good without the ding strips but a Malibu Classic would look incomplete or at least very oddly optioned.
Body side moldings on a 2nd gen f-body were a must back in the day if you wanted to park 1 of those in a lot. I saw tons of 2 doors in lots then with gigantic doors in the ’70s. & once i sat in the car & another big 2 door pulled next to me & a kid opened the huge heavy door & banged mine. I was not happy. lol
I agree that they were a necessity back when daily driving. I hated to do it, but I ordered them on my ’81 Camaro, after seeing so many of them with dinged up side panels.
The dings looked uglier than the molding, IMO.
If I were restoring one for enjoyment, I would remove them.
After ’72 they were Chevelle in name only
67 Chevelle owners may have said the same for the 68s
I had a 74 Malibu Classic, 350 ci with 3 on the tree. It ran like a dog as delivered new. Once the warranty ran out I swapped out the distributor weights and springs from an older 327 and found a live vacuum port on the carb and switched that out. It was unbelievable how much better it ran after that.
This one looks real good. I could live with the add-on pinstriping, though not original it’s tasteful.
Piece of trivia, mine had the vinyl top on it with the same opera windows. Turned out the windows were the triangular ones like in the 73, they just covered them to the smaller size with vinyl on the outside and interior on the inside. Cheap way to continue using existing parts. At least by the time this one was made they had replaced the sheet metal with the proper stuff IMO.
You all may hate me but price is decent and swap out that wimpy 305 with an LS and later OD transmission and drive it. Better fuel economy more power and did I mention Fuel Economy. Gas pumps are not getting friendly!
Is this Cadman from Northern Cal?? Kawasaki rider?
Over 13 seconds 0-60?
Fair price but I couldn’t live with myself every time I merged anywhere or wanted to pass that truck on a 2 lane road!
love this chevell model, the 3rd or last gen, in all its guises: camino, waggy, sedan, coup,vert. And I’m a ford guy. 6 or 8 engine choices, 3 or 4 transmissions…
Wha happened to americ – ker?
I drove a 1975 Malibu Classic for 5 years. It came with a 350 2 barrel carburetor. I installed a 450 cfm Holley 4 barrel and small tube headers. With the non-posi economy rear end gears it ran a 16.04 quarter mile. I had a 50 mile round trip commute to college, couldn’t afford putting a bigger carb on it.
Looks like a Pioneer AM FM cassette unit. Chevy wouldn’t offer a cassette player until 1979.
The good thing about these cars is that since their engines were so anemic and emasculated, people can transplant some serious-horsepower engines into them and nobody cares! There are none of the so-called experts who critique every nut and bolt and number on these cars.
They can just be fun.
How do I contact the owner? This was one of my dad’s first new cars and I haven’t been able to find one
Bill, Click the Reply button in the top left corner of the ad.
https://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/d/chesapeake-1976-chevy-malibu-classic/7454332713.html
That looks like stick on side moulding and tape pin stripe. Couple of hours with a heat gun and buffer and you would be good to go. Just Dashes could probably redo the pad.
My 74 had that side molding AFAIK it was continued through that generation of Malibu’s. Saved a lot of door dings in the parkinglot.
Of the surely gazillion of these that Chevy sold, this is the first one I have seen in years.
First year for the 305. Lots of problems early on
My 1975 Malibu I had back in the day had the same door ding molding on it too. I don’t think it was aftermarket, just optional.
The gripers (again) were usually not the folks that didn’t own one. Suspension can be redone to give this model excellent cornering, it’s big enough for a family to go to a cruise-in, and has a lot of room under that hood to add some snort. Comfortable and stable on the road in stock trim, and as any Chevy, can be made into anything you want. My particular favorite is the El Camino variety. I’ve had a few and still have one. Love them.
Were usually the folks that DIDN’T own one. Crap! Can’t correct that first sentence. Site won’t let me.
I am in the minority, but I have always liked the Colonnade style GM cars . The only thing I would change on this car would be the header panel to the single round lamps . I’ve never like stacked square headlights on any vehicle ,
Those square head lights remind me of the Family Truckster :) . I wonder where the rust is that they mention in the add.
There are some weak points. The most common is the windshield leaking causing rust in the floor pans and the cowl. Bottom rear of the front fenders due to rust starting between the outer skin and a brace right behind. Bottoms of the quarters, too. Poor ventilation through the inner body and leaks from the quarter glasses contributed to that. In other words, pretty much the same as other old cars.
Good looking ride..but the the 305 gotta go!!! Nice 383-450hp redo the the Turbo 350 and posi 3:73 gears nice dual exhaust and away you go! It would be a nice clean sleeper. 🐻🇺🇸
This looks like the deal-of-the-week! Very clean, low miles, everything works (including A/C), new tires, battery and exhaust. This Malibu has lots of years left in it and after perusing CL, anything with less than 100k miles is gonna cost ya $20k or more for a shoebox car that may be on the verge of crapping out. At this price, you could fly in and drive it home with a clear conscience. I’m pricing plane a plane ticket, lol!
Adam, you kept referring to this CHEVELLE as a Malibu. The first generation of the Malibu started with the 1978 model year. From 1964 to ’77, Malibu was not a model line unto itself, but an appearance option package on the Chevelle line.
DID YOU KNOW, you had better check the 350 engine for 200 psi. The car has a L-46 Corvette engine in it. Mine did. Yes, swap the distributor arm for a Moroso flyweight with a medium spring on it. You will be shocked. Nobody else will tell you that this car had a Corvette engine in it, THIS YEAR ONLY 1976.
Also, I fell asleep at the wheel, and my car wound up driven by my angel, twice, within a couple of days. Or I would not have made it.