Former Racer: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS
Chevrolet introduced the Chevelle in 1964. It was a mid-sized car designed to compete with the downsized Ford Fairlane. The Malibu was the better trimmed of the Chevelles and could be had with the Super Sport treatment, like the senior Chevrolets and the Nova. This ’65 Chevelle may be rare today as it’s an SS but also a convertible with a V8 engine, with fewer than 8,000 produced that year. As the stickers on the car will attest, this Chevy spent some time at the racetrack back in the day. Now, it’s in a dark storage unit in DeKalb, Illinois, and is available here on eBay. $18,500 is the starting bid which has seen no takers.
The 1965 model year was a banner one for Chevy. The advent of the Chevelle didn’t steal any thunder from the company’s full-size cars which sold more than one million copies (Impala + Bel Air + Biscayne). That excluded the 378,000 Chevelles that also saw the light of day. The Super Sport was still an option and could be had with any Chevrolet powerplant (the SS 396 wouldn’t become its own series until 1966). The seller’s ’65 Malibu SS came with a 327 cubic inch V8 (per the fender script) and apparently with a 4-speed manual transmission.
This Chevelle is no doubt loaded with history, but all we know is what the old and declining decals spell out on the windows and body panels. Also, a roll bar resides behind the bucket seats, so perhaps it did some serious racing at one time). It seems to have been in storage for many years and is only being sold because the seller has medical issues that prevent keeping or restoring the car. There is no reserve and only a bill of sale will be provided (the title is MIA, and the seller will start the bonding process for a new one if it doesn’t move).
There is some rust associated with the Chevy, specifically as it applies to the floorboards. We assume the interior is in a similar condition as the body, paint, and top. The motor and its surroundings in the engine bay are incomplete and no mention is made about the car being numbers matching, though some photos of engine parts suggest it is. If the 327 was tricked up to go racing, those parts don’t seem to have stuck around. Restoring this ’65 Malibu SS drop-top could be a rewarding project, but it won’t be cheap.
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Comments
Its a a great project but high for non running price. The title is an issue unless a BOS state.
I have a 64 Malibu convertible six banger.
Less non SS made than V8s and the export model overseas.
You should snap the pix of the real body tag in front of the drivers door that will show the vin number to check the engine.
Likely NOM if raced hard.
I believe the lack of a title is could be a very big problem for a buyer, even in a Bill-of-Sale state.
Alabama doesn’t issue titles for pre-’74 vehicles. You can register them and get license plates, though. However, if you bring an old car into AL from out-of-state with a Bill of Sale, you’re at risk if you don’t have the title from that state, too.
There’s a relative case in the news now. A local guy bought a ’68 Camaro with a BOS (only) from Oklahoma. A few years later a prior owner of that VIN showed up here with an OK title and claimed the car. It’s now in OK.
I talked to the seller. He bought the car from the Brockner estate, and hasn’t done anything with it. They couldn’t find the title. He has the keys. The original VIN tag is in the driver’s door jamb.
The top is torn. He has the full back seat. There’s rust in the trunk floor. He has six wheels for it: 3 later SS and three steel originals. He believes there’s no outer body panel rust. There’s no exhaust system under the car. He doesn’t know if it’s a factory L79.
A desirable piece but it will go for big bucks because of what it is. Someone will probably pay big and go full tilt build with it and it will end up at BJ where mere mortals can’t afford to be.
This car appeals to me. I think it’s over-priced, though, and I won’t be bidding.
The trim tag says it’s a factory 4-speed SS convertible that was originally dark blue with a medium blue interior and a black top. It had only a few options, such as a power top and a rear antenna. I assume it had a AM radio, too, but no power steering or brakes. The console came stock with a 4-speed.
The engine in it now is a ’68 327 from a passenger car with an automatic. I don’t know how to tell which 327 came in this Chevelle originally. It might even have been a 350 hp L79. Chevy made around 6,000 Chevelles with that engine.
The past drag racer, Pat Brockner, might have been the late Phillip Patrick Brockner of Elgin, Illinois, who died in 2013. Elgin is just outside of Chicago, and about 25 crow miles from DeKalb where the car sits now.
This is a neat piece. I hope it get saved in some form.
Wow, what an amazing barn find !, a real one at that . Id love to rebuild/restore this one, gonna be a sweeet ride.
Great info/contribution JB , thank you.
Its cars like this that make Barn Finds a treasure ;)
He has lowered the opening bid to $16,000 still no takers as of today Thursday.
The seller ultimately lowered the initial bid to $15,000, but no one stepped up.
There’s so much missing in the photos. I wasn’t surprised there were no bidders. No underneath shots were provided, and no photo of the original VIN tag was shown.
This car may very well be worth the money once the title is clear, but it would sure would be a risky purchase as shown.
The seller has just listed the car as a Buy-It-Now for $13,000. That would be an okay price IF he already had a bonded title, but it sounds like he is still trying to move it with a Bill of Sale only!
Let’s see… am I willing to risk it? That bet would cost $13,000 plus $1,000 to fetch, $1,000 to register, $2,000 for an interior, $1,500 for a top, $5,000 for parts (air cleaner, tires, clutch, pedal set-up, linkage, exhaust, battery, cooling system, heater, power top cylinders, etc., etc.), $2,000 for rust repair, and so on. Then there’s the mystery condition engine, rear end, suspension,and transmission to probably fix. A paint job would add another $15,000.
So I would have $40,000 plus in a car that I could lose in the future if somebody from Illinois comes knocking with a clean title? Naaaaaah.