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396-Equipped 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Project

The Chevelle SS 396 is one of the most duplicated cars out there, probably because the real thing was so cool, and the available population of Malibu’s hasn’t been depleted yet. This ’70 Malibu is a work-in-progress where much of the heavy lifting has already been done – and it has only had one prior owner. Located in Pennington, New Jersey, this solid and well-described project is available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $11,300.

This automobile started as a Cranberry Red Malibu Sport Coupe with a 350 cubic-inch V8, TH-350 automatic transmission, and the usual accessories for Chevy’s top-of-the-line mid-size car. That’s all gone now and what resides under the hood now is a 396 big block (really a 402?) out of a ‘71 El Camino that has only seen a few thousand miles since being rebuilt and tweaked. It’s paired with a 4-speed automatic that came out of a ‘96 Impala SS. We’re told it runs well but needs dialing in.

Unlike a lot of these Chevelle SS wannabes we see here on Barn Finds, this looks like a solid car that just needs someone to take the work across the finish line. A lot of sheet metal has been replaced, including the fenders, rear quarter panels, wheel housings, and the trunk floor. The floorboards needed some patching, but we’re told that wasn’t major. The timing of this work isn’t recent (could be as far back as 10 years ago) and the Chevy now wears two shades of grey primer.

The remaining to-do list includes a few things besides putting the chrome trim back on along with a new coat of paint on this hottie. It also means installing a new interior kit (mostly the front seat covers and headliner), exhaust system, fuel tank and lines (it runs off a gas can right now), driveshaft (it’s a roller), and hooking up the column shifter or switching it to the floor. This is a project where you can see the light at the end of the tunnel rather than having to start from square one. Nicely done SS clones can fetch good money and there’s no reason why this one couldn’t without some help.

Comments

  1. Avatar Richard Isenberg

    So someone out there with experience in buying an older cream puff as the crown Vic shown today. My wife and I would love to buy an older car at some point soon. What do I have to think about the most as I always see comments about gaskets and seals goin bad in older cars nor driven much. I’d never pay that for this Vic but it sure is a nice classic

    Like 1
  2. Avatar Sarge

    My buds big brother had a real 70 SS back in the day. What made that car fun was the factory Hurst 4 speed.

    Like 2
  3. Avatar Laurence

    My initial impression is positive–about the cars and the price. I would say that a pre-war MG aficionado who knows how to work on these simple but classy cars, could walk away with viable projects that will be rewarding…as opposed to much of the badly rusted, abandoned junk that we often see.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar Reid C hall

    Hmmmm, kinda pricey for a 70 Chevelle/SS clone car,maybe alot 🤔 of the major 🤔, body work is done, and or complete,but,it’s still, a pretty good project, hmmmm,he doesn’t mention all the SS trim,door panels, rear bumper SS black trim pad,as well as,a SS/black SS dash, with the rounded gages,ect.,although looks like l see a non/functional cowl hood 😉,but if you try to find 😉 the rest of what you need, it will take you 😉 awhile 😉, and might cost more than you can afford, and want to pay 😉, hmmmm, and then you have to finish the car,hmmmm, to pricy, l think 🤔 l would 😉 pass,on this one.

    Like 3

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