Three-On-The Tree: 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Convertible
Bigger is typically considered better when it comes to what’s under the hood of most American-made sixties offerings, but I’m kind of digging that this 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu here on eBay is rocking an inline-6, and along with being a convertible this one would really stand out at your local car shows with the hood up and the top down. The Chevy is up in Exeter, New Hampshire, and so far the reserve’s not yet been seen after 5 bids and a price of $10,100. There’s no title, but the car will come with a bill of sale and a current NH registration.
Of the nearly 8,000 Malibu convertibles produced for the 1968 year model, just 835 came with a 6-cylinder engine, so they are a lot less common than their V8 counterparts. The 35 in the VIN indicates this one’s true to the pedigree, but there’s no confirmation the block is still the factory component, even though my spidey sense suspects it is. Chevrolet also offered a choice of 2 sixes for ’68, the base 230 churning out 140 HP or the RPO L22, increasing the cubes up to 250 and giving you 15 extra horses. The decal on the air cleaner is quite worn, but I think it reads 230, and if that’s correct this one’s the entry version.
The seller says all of the panels are still original and from a distance the body doesn’t look all that bad, but once closer the finish appears inconsistent and there seems to be some filler in the passenger side quarter. Still, the car’s pretty much complete on the outside and the top material is in decent shape with a real glass window, so this one seems like overall it would be good to work with.
Another conversation started can be spotted inside, as on the column is a three-on-the-tree shifter, and just being a manual is also high on the cool-factor list. This one’s fairly basic, with a bench seat up front that appears to have been recovered on at least the bottom part, as it’s bluer and fresher than the rear area. Everything in there except the radio is stated to be working.
A trio of photos are provided from the undercarriage, and from what I can tell the platform seems solid, with a 10-bolt positraction rear-end a nice feature from the south side. There are several possibilities here, with changing the fluids and driving it around this summer as the seller suggests perhaps a fun start. But once the future owner is ready to take the Chevelle to the next level, he’ll have to decide whether or not to retain that 6 or put something more substantial under the hood. What would you do here?
Comments
Alright you walk into the dealership and request the lowest price on a Chevelle. Oh yeah I want a convertible and salesman does what he can to sell you an option list and you buy this car, poor salesman had in turn, made a sale but very few boxes checked. There it is today the stripper drop top. I am sure the rear differential was for winter. Ha ha
Positraction rearend not necessarily the best in winter!!
I’ve had several posi- traction rear end cars and they go a heck of alot better than one without.
In fact at times I preferred them over front wheel drive. We use to get some bad Winters in the mountains of Southwestern, Pennsylvania and with studded tires even my wife at the time could get around fine. We lived out in the country with alot of low priority dirt roads that were left for last to be plowed by the Township.
I just don’t know why you would think that. Sure, not as good as an all wheel drive or 4×4. Some even would argue front wheel drive is better but definitely better to have two wheels to get you up those steep snow covered roads.
I have a 68 Chevelle convertible factory inline 6 car vin reads 13567 automatic factory power top white with red interior with red stripes. Not sure if stripes are factory but definitely a different car.
This strikes me as the type of car a southern dealership would order solely for the purpose of putting a splashy “New Chevrolet Convertible for only $2600!!” banner at the top of their newspaper advertisement.
It’s likely a 230. Chevrolet incorporated engine callouts into the side marker bezels for every other engine offered in the Chevelle, even the 250.
I have trouble with your theory that this was ordered by a dealer as a loss leader or bait-n-switch car. That would have been more believable if it had a solid metal roof.
No, I have to believe this was a special order car, and the dealer probably required a hefty deposit to order it. If the dealer got stuck with it, it would have been total lot poison.
Sorry you’re having trouble with the idea, but dealerships did that kind of thing all the time back then. It would need to be somewhere a convertible has particular appeal (hence, “southern dealership”). I find it much harder to imagine that a customer would order a car this way. Any salesman worthy of his commission would have gotten that customer behind the wheel of a nicer, in-stock version or a late-model used convertible.
I have to agree with you Evan, definitely ordered by a customer.
Just talkers. They don’t even have a clue of what day it is. The guy wanted this car an it fit his budget. Not everyone is wealthy. I think he did good..
This one is where an SS396 clone comes to mind. Source a 396, 5-6sp Tremic, 12 bolt, buckets, etc. It’ll still bring in more $$$ when done and tired of owning looking to sell, than to keep orig & to sell. Just IMO.
Cowl tag says 13667, which decodes as an 8 cylinder on the picture that he shows. Maybe this actually had an 8 banger, and was switched out for some reason?
Cowl tag reads 13567.
This is a cool old oddball car, I always liked the goofy special order cars. Appears to have had old man amateur body repairs back in the day but also appears to have been kept up with as a driver. New quarters and a fender or two, appears pretty solid otherwise.
I’m enamored with 60s and 70s cars in general. The idea that this was produced is less amazing than the fact that it survived. This would be a blast to rat around in.
$10,000+ for an underpowered 6 cylinder Malibu convertible with a column stick? It’s neat to look at, but boring to drive, as underpowered as it is. As much of a stickler for originality as I am, this car needs a decent V8, but it’ll probably get turned into a ridiculous hotrod, far from just minimal upgrades.
There is a LOT of Bondo in both rear quarter over the wheel wells and behind and in the lower front fenders at 10k it’s rare but not worth the price IMO
Why does everyone think cars like this were not off the rackers. I saw dozens of cars from all the big three set up like this. Cuda convertibles and the like. I bought a 69 Tempest convertible at a sale for minimum bid. The car was brown and tan with and overhead 6 with a three on the column. There were tons of Chevelle rags with this set up or the 307 stick. Parts moved well off intermediate GM rags in the 80s before repop everything existed and you bought cars like this for pennies or just hauled them off. It amazing it survived. I would leave it be and do a nice restoration. Lord knows there are enough SS things around as 90% of units like this were destroyed long ago for just being basic. You think about the high end muscle things you processed for scrap but often forget the thousands of basic transportation units that passed without a thought until you see one like this. For some strange reason in my collection of stuff there is a 63 Impala 2 door. The car is a six with a glide with power steering, and power windows. This Chevelle is just fine to me and a pleasure to work on. If you don’t have to the beltway battle, this is a great vintage daily ride.
as an aside: why do folks think these sixes couldn’t keep up with traffic? they did fine. we had a 55 plymouth with a six and it would easily do 70. my dad would get up to 85 or so occasionally. later we had a 63 nine passenger dodge wagon with the slant six. both cars easily kept up with highway traffic. even the 52 chevy with powerglide I got when I was 16 did ok. these cars weren’t power demons but they could be driven safely in pretty much all conditions.
Looking at this vehicle and the current bid just tells me that there is people out there with more money than brains!
I remember advertising on the radio as the car has a furnace and a fiddle and a huge low price. This is one of them
Driving in 2024 urban traffic , let alone the highway is nothing like it was in the 1960’s. 60 year old low powered, poor braking, no handling clunkers like this are not up to the challenge of daily highway jousting.
Jousting is the correct adjective too. Politeness is impossible in city traffic. Enjoy the fight for superficial superiority.
I drive them every day as i do not own anything under 20 years old except a E250 and a crotch rocket. An 84 Corolla is no faster than this and if people are in such a big hurry they can go around me in my 52 year old convertible. I don’t understand when folks think 30 is 50, 40 is 60, and anything above 50 is whatever, it will do.
Exactly… do the speed limit or 5 miles above. It won’t take you much longer in the long run, save yiu money in gas,and maybe save your life. When I drove triaxle a guy on our asphalt crew would always fly like there was no tomorrow. In a hurry to get to nowhere. Our owner was a cheap skate and even now he still runs 1970’s and early 1980’s triaxles and tandems. Trucks that have long exceeded their prime and should be relegated to farm use and local back roads. Anyway I would do the speed limit or a little below when empty. When loaded with 23 tons usually never above 50 on the open highway, they were that rickety.
We did a job about 50 miles from our company headquarters and the guy Flys by me within 3 miles of leaving job site he flew past me doing at least 75 mph in a 65 mile per hour zone.
I pull in to fuel up 2 miles from our shop and he is there with a big grin on his face like he showed me. I asked him how long before me he had pulled in and I said don’t lie because it looks like you only have a few gallons of diesel pumped. He said” About 2 minutes or so.”
I said so it is worth it to risk a ticket or worse for a minute or two?”
I then reminded him we are paid by the hour and not the trip and we are on overtime so why would you even want to get back quicker,not that he actually did. Lol
An interesting car, but for having only 32K miles it sure is messy under the hood. It needs a ton of work on the body but it seems to be pretty solid overall. I need to stop reading BF as I see too many cars that make me want them.
But you won’t stop, because you’re as addicted as I am, C’mon, admit it!
I like the “three-on-the-tree” for the once boring, but now weird and cool factor. The Positraction is a nice touch, but no mention of the axle ratio. As befits its thrift power status, I’m guessing it’s a tall (numerically low) ratio, to extract maximum fuel economy from the 230? straight-six with a one-barrel carburetor. Acceleration with such a configuration can best be described as “leisurely”, LOL! Clean it up, fix the bad bondo repairs and drive it, or restomod the hell out of it, either way the buyer will likely be able to get their money back when they go to sell it, so there’s little risk here.
A Chevelle convertible? Inline 6? Column manual shift? Rare as hen’s teeth. It would be a shame to change anything about it!
Don’t be boring & do what the herd does.
I think it’s cool however with the obvious rust in the rear quarter and possibly body filler the rust showing on the floors in the corners I bet there is a lot of work to do for a restoration I think the current bid reflects actual current value maybe whoever bids higher has different ideas or more money to throw it than me
Oh damn, manual top! Talk about poverty spec! Hope your back & shoulders are robust, they are HEAVY
True, but again, do you retrofit it with a power top, or keep it all original? The bits are all available from NPD or similar, so it’s the new owners call, with the state of their bank balance playing a large role in the decision making process, LOL!
I had a 68 SS396 Chevelle convertible back in the early 70s, manual top worked just fine. Also, no P/S or Brakes and a M21- 4spd with a 3.55 12bolt rear. there was a lot of strange options back then… not many Rag Tops produced in 68.
Around the late 1970’s, I had a ’68 Mailbu convertible (red with black top), but with a 327 and two speed Powerglide, which I switched out in my driveway using ramps, for a 3 speed auto. I certainly would not have enjoyed that car as much as I did had it been equipped with a 6 cyl. As it was, I installed a new intake manifold with a Holley double pumper, and headers. It had a highway geared rear end though, so off the line it wasn’t a rubber burner, but once it was moving, it was fast. The downside of these cars? They were terrible for fenders rotting out. By the time I got it, the fenders were already full of bondo. But the price was right. I got 4 fun years out of it, barrelling down the highway with the top down.
This could be the best car ever on B/F. A bullit proof drive train, good mileage, solid construction frame and a convertible. If I had room in my garage !!!!!!!!
I like it, always liked the 68 I love 3 on the tree, my aunt had a 4dr with the 6 and 3 on the tree it did just fine on the highway. I would have some fun this summer then plan new quarters and what ever else it needs. $10k to steep for all its needs. I still like it though.
I like this oddball. I had a 68ss396 convert for twelve years.Preety fast but a hell of a looker. This would be a different spin with good looks. I had a 73 belair four door with a 250/3 on the tree. big boat that was tough as nails and fun!
I’ve wondered just how many of those stick six cylinders they made in ’73. Last year for that setup.
Keep the 6. Drop in a warmed up 292 and TH350
I’m all for keeping it as is. Clean it up the motor, add in p/s & p/b, replace the bondo with sheet metal, give it a paint job and enjoy the conversation at shows.
Years ago at a show there was a ’67 Catalina 2 door post, no chrome window moldings, 400 V8 and 3 on the tree. Lots of people traffic around it.
Good news for the stick tranny is it was fully synchro by then.
I still have my 69 convertible..it came exactly as that one except butternut yellow.i’ve owned it since 1979..I changed a lot on it back in the 80s..V8,posi,burgundy in color now.