From the looks of the parts that go with this car, it appears that the seller may have purchased it with the goal of making an SS 396 or 454 tribute out of it. But, that’s just speculation and life and other projects get in the way, so the car is up for sale. It’s a base Malibu coupe with a non-running 307 V-8 and an indeterminate color besides primer grey. The car and all its parts, new and old, are located in Pearland, Texas and available here on eBay where the no reserve auction stands at $6,550.

Chevrolet rolled out the Chevelle in 1964 as a mid-size car to compete with the Ford Fairlane. The car’s second generation ran from 1968-72 and would be the automobile’s most popular and iconic years (remember the SS models). The cars were little changed in 1972, the last year of that body style, still wearing the single headlights adopted over duals the year before. The Malibu 2-door sport coupe would be one of the line’s best sellers, with more than 207,000 units built that year. Many of them left the factory with small-block V-8s, like the seller’s car that is said to have a 307 under the hood.

While the seller doesn’t say, I’m thinking he had bigger plans for the car when he bought it. Why else would you buy a brand-new cowl hood to replace the rusting stock hood unless you envisioned swapping the motor out for something bigger? We’re told he bought the car as a project, but other efforts will prevent him from getting to it. The engine is said to turn over, but the seller has not tried it himself. We assume the transmission is a Powerglide and that it’s still there. The body is rusty and coated in an older spray of primer. Besides the hood, new replacement sheet metal that will come with the car includes trunk (lid or floor?), floor pans, fenders, and rear deck filler panel. We’re told that the frame looks good and the glass is all there.

Oddly, no interior or engine compartment photos are provided. We’re told there are no front seats, but the rear seat frames and door panels will come with the car, but they will need to be reupholstered. The dashboard is said to be complete but showing signs of wear. The wiring is “not cut up” which implies that anything that was removed from the car was done so without damaged the wiring. It is also said to have been an original factory air car, but the seller doesn’t say if its all still there and hooked up.

The mileage in the listing is 30,000, which would suggest the car has had a very rough life, if accurate, but 130,000 sounds more likely. Non-SS Chevelle’s from this era don’t carry the lofty price tags as the SS models do (north of $50,000), so figure a Malibu with a 307 V-8 is worth one-third the money. That gives the buyer some room to complete a restoration, although tribute cars don’t bring the money that originals and restored versions do. Would you build it this way or go stock?