Absolute Noob Picking up a 76 Malibu

My name is Tyler I am new to the site but I have been following the forums for a couple weeks now. I don't currently own a G3 but I am looking into it. My grandfather ordered a 76 Chevelle Malibu from a dealership in New York while stationed in Germany. When he got back to the states he picked up his new Chevelle and drove it to Oklahoma. He has drove it since then while doing regular maintenance on it. Well that was until last year when he put it in park in his driveway, threw a cover over it and left it there(it ran well, he just got bored of it). He has offered to sell it to me. Sounds like a great deal right (with a pretty cool back story imo)? Well yeah knowing my grandfather the car is in pretty great shape even though I have not seen it yet, this would pretty good deal for someone who has even a minimal knowledge of cars but I know jack about vehicles for the most part. Now, I am more than willing to learn how to work my on own vehicle. That brings up other problems, I am a sophomore in College so I will have time constraints. So, after all that long winded unnecessary information my main question is what would need to be done to turn it to a daily driver and how much would it cost? This is what I have come up with that I would need to do to start off: Flush all the fluids from the vehicle, change the filters, add new fluids, check the brakes, new spark plugs, new battery, check the belts and rubber and replace what needs to be replaced, prime the cylinders, and then crank it and see what happens? If it fires up let it warm up for a while and then take it around the block and listen for further problems. If it doesn't fire up then I would be stumped. Did I miss anything? I do not want to ruin the engine.

TL;DR Lack of knowledge, time, and money but willing to invest what one has into it. Good or bad decision?
Looking for any and all opinions.

Hey, Tyler...welcome to the site! Nice to hear another young dude like yourself is interested in this generation of cars!

The stuff you list in getting this car back on the road is pretty extensive for a car that's only been sitting for less than a year. I wouldn't even be afraid of the gas being too stale, yet. Sure, it's always a good idea to do all this stuff to establish a base line of maintenance, but if your grandfather has taken as good of care of it as you say, I would think you could simply check the fluids, turn it over and fire it up. Then, do the various maintenance tasks as time and money allow. Besides, he should be able to provide some information as to when the last time was that some or all of this stuff had been done. These cars are an excellent place to learn self maintenance as you can actually do most of it with a basic set of tools. Things are relatively easy to access, too. It should be a great learning process for you. Besides, we're all here to offer advice and don't ever feel like any question is stupid. We all had to learn somewhere. Keep us posted on your decision.

Mcarlo77 wrote:Hey, Tyler...welcome to the site! Nice to hear another young dude like yourself is interested in this generation of cars!

The stuff you list in getting this car back on the road is pretty extensive for a car that's only been sitting for less than a year. I wouldn't even be afraid of the gas being too stale, yet. Sure, it's always a good idea to do all this stuff to establish a base line of maintenance, but if your grandfather has taken as good of care of it as you say, I would think you could simply check the fluids, turn it over and fire it up. Then, do the various maintenance tasks as time and money allow. Besides, he should be able to provide some information as to when the last time was that some or all of this stuff had been done. These cars are an excellent place to learn self maintenance as you can actually do most of it with a basic set of tools. Things are relatively easy to access, too. It should be a great learning process for you. Besides, we're all here to offer advice and don't ever feel like any question is stupid. We all had to learn somewhere. Keep us posted on your decision.

Couldn't have said it better.

You may want to consider that if you're looking to use the car as a daily driver- be prepared to spend some of your tuition repayment $$ on gas. That's my only gripe about these wonderful cars. If you're not driving a lot than no biggie but for long trips your wallet will feel it.

Mcarlo77 wrote:Hey, Tyler...welcome to the site! Nice to hear another young dude like yourself is interested in this generation of cars!

The stuff you list in getting this car back on the road is pretty extensive for a car that's only been sitting for less than a year. I wouldn't even be afraid of the gas being too stale, yet. Sure, it's always a good idea to do all this stuff to establish a base line of maintenance, but if your grandfather has taken as good of care of it as you say, I would think you could simply check the fluids, turn it over and fire it up. Then, do the various maintenance tasks as time and money allow. Besides, he should be able to provide some information as to when the last time was that some or all of this stuff had been done. These cars are an excellent place to learn self maintenance as you can actually do most of it with a basic set of tools. Things are relatively easy to access, too. It should be a great learning process for you. Besides, we're all here to offer advice and don't ever feel like any question is stupid. We all had to learn somewhere. Keep us posted on your decision.

Thanks for the welcome!
One of my details may have been a bit vague. The car has been sitting for a entire year. I'm not sure how much that alters things but just clearing it up a little.

77mali wrote:

Mcarlo77 wrote:Hey, Tyler...welcome to the site! Nice to hear another young dude like yourself is interested in this generation of cars!

The stuff you list in getting this car back on the road is pretty extensive for a car that's only been sitting for less than a year. I wouldn't even be afraid of the gas being too stale, yet. Sure, it's always a good idea to do all this stuff to establish a base line of maintenance, but if your grandfather has taken as good of care of it as you say, I would think you could simply check the fluids, turn it over and fire it up. Then, do the various maintenance tasks as time and money allow. Besides, he should be able to provide some information as to when the last time was that some or all of this stuff had been done. These cars are an excellent place to learn self maintenance as you can actually do most of it with a basic set of tools. Things are relatively easy to access, too. It should be a great learning process for you. Besides, we're all here to offer advice and don't ever feel like any question is stupid. We all had to learn somewhere. Keep us posted on your decision.

Couldn't have said it better.

You may want to consider that if you're looking to use the car as a daily driver- be prepared to spend some of your tuition repayment $$ on gas. That's my only gripe about these wonderful cars. If you're not driving a lot than no biggie but for long trips your wallet will feel it.

Haha, my wallet knows the feeling already. My current vehicle is an '83 Chevy Long Bed.

Might need a battery and oil change and anti freeze but check with your grandfather about the last changes. Get yourself a manual (factory shop manual on ebay) it will help you take care of the car. Nice thing is they are super cheap to maintain.

Mali brings up a good point with the gas mileage on these cars. But, it probably won't be any worse than what you're already spending on gas for the Long Bed Chevy. And, some of that can be recouped by doing your own maintenance. Did I mention most general maintenance parts for these cars are pretty cheap, too? It's a win-win situation, my friend!

Back to the car sitting for a year...that's still not excessive and wouldn't change my approach to starting it up. I'd guess the battery might be dead...but, that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be replaced. Put it on a charger and see what you've got. Throw a 5 gal. can's worth of fresh gas in it and give it a try. When it fires up (and, I'll bet it will), just keep an ear out for any unusual noises (i.e. knocks, squeals, tics, etc.) and shut it down if something doesn't sound right. Keep in mind, here in the snow belt, we put cars in storage for 6 mos at a time...and, no harm done.

Being an OK car, that thing should be relatively rust-free, huh?

Thanks for the advise guys. It is much appreciated.

I am going to try to make it to my grandpa's house this weekend to see it and probably take it off his hands, but he is very adventurous since retirement so I will have to see when he's home.

From my grandpa's description it is pretty much rust free. He said he had it painted not to long ago.

Welcome to a great place Tyler !!
Gas mileage ? Heck, my Malibu gets right up there to 9 MPG !!
Yours will do much better.

Post some pics of this Grandpa car.

I love older folks' classic cars. Chances are if they've had them that long they're very well taken care of.

It took some time but I finally made it up to my grandpa's. Now all I need to do is find a trailer and bring her on home.

Snagged some quick pics while I was there.
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You better thank your Grandfather twice and be extra nice for a long time!! That is one sweet lookin' Classic! If the chrome looks as good in person as it does in that picture, you've got a real keeper!

nice score brother .... that's another oddity Half Vinyl roof on a non laguna ?? Still very cool and looks to be in good shape ....

welcome aboard

NICE! welcome aboard.

Sweet ride

Looks good,get some nice mag wheels for it and it will look extra good!

Limey SE wrote:nice score brother .... that's another oddity Half Vinyl roof on a non laguna ?? Still very cool and looks to be in good shape ....

You could get a Malibu Classic Landau, with the half roof.

Very nice start! Wish mine was that clean when I started. Good luck.

Thanks everyone.

Yeah, Ponti I am definitely grateful for my grandpa selling me his car and I have let him know that and will continue to.

Ant, yeah I will for sure have to get some new wheels, looks a little funny with four different wheels.