Re: Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff"

by Showtime73 Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:34 pm

So I was reading something on the gear ratios and said that anything higher than 4.1 was for more drag than street, but the tire size can affect it. If I go with the 18x8.5 front and 18x10 rear the total tire height might affect it slightly, but not much. Joe what's your top speed?

I would hate for a Friday drive to work to be unbearable, so I think he convinced me to go with 700R4.

by Joe73 Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:40 pm

A drive to work would not be unbearable in any way. I've been running 4.10s since the 80's. Very fun around town.
Forget about rim size when calculating. It comes down to tire diameter.
Here's the chart you need to look at and at the bottom is the calculation for an overdrive trans. The rpm's your looking at are for a 1:1 final drive which is what the 400 and my muncie give you.
Top speed as it pertains to what? Highway driving or going through the traps? Going through the traps speed would be affected by gear ratio, tire diameter AND ENGINE RPM.
Heres the chart. Just go with what you think you will be comfortable with. Me, I plan on keeping the 4.10s and maybe getting a gear vendors box to back it up someday.

by Showtime73 Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:50 pm

Thanks again for all the info it's a big help. Now I just need to make the first move, but not being there makes me really nervous.

new vs running engine and trans combo??

by chevellelaguna Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:57 pm

Great points Joe. My personal preference.. I don't care about cruising rpms, I've had mine cruising at 5,000, with plenty more to go, it was scary and fun as hell. 3.42s with 28.5" tall tire, th350... I had the speedo needle pegged coming back around the pin towards zero. When you can't tell if it's a guy or girl driving the car, what color the car is you're passing.... You're going plenty fast enough!
My next upgrade will be at least 4:10 gears, when I get the car done.

by chevellelaguna Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:59 pm

For the price you got quoted, new combo for sure.

by Joe73 Thu Jan 07, 2016 10:28 pm

Dont forget, with any automatic and that low of a gear, you will need manual valve body in the trans. Because taking off from a light you will go through all the gears REALLY quickly. You want to be able to hold a gear if need be.

With my muncie, I usually just take off in 4th when normal driving. I dont get any lugging at all. So I dont bother with the first three gears.

by Showtime73 Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:16 pm

So I talked to my uncle today and learned that my car was an original 454 Malibu. It had everything minus the SS badge. He actually still knows the guy who tried to fix the original motor. With a great deal of luck the guy might still have it. If so, I'll be rebuilding the original.

by Showtime73 Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:17 pm

So I talked to my uncle today and learned that my car was an original 454 Malibu. It had everything minus the SS badge. He actually still knows the guy who tried to fix the original motor. With a great deal of luck the guy might still have it. If so, I'll be rebuilding the original.

by Joe73 Sat Jan 09, 2016 9:00 pm

Best way to tell what came originally is with the 5th digit of the VIN number.

by mikidymac Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:35 pm

Welcome Showtime. Sounds like we were cut from the same cloth.....

My dad bought my 73' brand new and I drove it all through high school from 1993-1995 then parked it shortly after that and it has been sitting ever since. I just recently got to a place were I can afford to work on it and have begun the long and expensive process of ordering parts.

I went from the rebuild the 350/350 then the 383/700r4 then after pricing everything I was back at the $10,000 mark so I said screw it and bought the LS3 430 Connect and cruise package with engine and trans for the same price.

It all adds up but in the end I think we are both after the car we drove in high school just more modern.

Take a look as Speed Tech too, I just ordered their Road Assault kit.
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Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff" - Page 2 73%20Chevelle_zpsm8625xrp

by Showtime73 Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:16 pm

mikidymac thanks for the welcome, awesome story, and it sounds like we are on the same track. Maybe we can be the next to grace the pages of the hotrod magazines. Have you chosen a color yet, or you sticking with the original? I'm going original dark red metallic.

What did you get in the Road Assault kit? Front and rear?

by mikidymac Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:37 pm

My wife hates the gold and I have to agree. At this point the only thing to be original is the interior. I am leaning towards silver for paint and the interior is factory black.

For the body I am going to have the shop make the bumpers look molded to the car like the laguna but I am keeping my SS grill and front end, removing the marker lights on the fenders and having either the 67' or 69' SS chevelle hood bubbles and vents added to the factory steel hood instead of the cowl induction that everybody uses.

The road assault kit is tubular upper and lower control arms, bolt in coilovers and sway bar for under $2,000. For the rear I am going to box and rebush the lower arms and get adjustable uppers with bolt in coilovers probably from Speed Tech too. I am not willing to cut the frame.

I already got my Jeep Grand Charokee steering box to speed it up and will be ordering KORE 3 brake kits.

by Wallyuph Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:45 am

mikidymac wrote:Welcome Showtime. Sounds like we were cut from the same cloth.....

My dad bought my 73' brand new and I drove it all through high school from 1993-1995 then parked it shortly after that and it has been sitting ever since. I just recently got to a place were I can afford to work on it and have begun the long and expensive process of ordering parts.

I went from the rebuild the 350/350 then the 383/700r4 then after pricing everything I was back at the $10,000 mark so I said screw it and bought the LS3 430 Connect and cruise package with engine and trans for the same price.

It all adds up but in the end I think we are both after the car we drove in high school just more modern.

Take a look as Speed Tech too, I just ordered their Road Assault kit.

I Agree totally with you on the car we drove in high school just more modern. I too just installed a LS3 430 Connect and cruise package in my 73. I love the set up and have not even tried to adjust any thing yet. Get great mileage and goes good too. It also looks great under the hood if you ask me.

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Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff" - Page 2 <a href=

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by Showtime73 Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:00 pm

Just read up a little on the Connect and Cruise package, and it looks awesome. i look forward to sharing info with yo guys, but for the next 18 months I will mostly be asking questions and sharing 2nd info/pictures.

by Joe73 Tue Jan 19, 2016 12:50 pm

Not mine but Id bet he'd take 5.

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/pts/5409798789.html

by Showtime73 Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:43 pm

So while I home two weeks ago, I worked on her for a while and after 10 years of sitting she fired right up. I have a video, that I'll get uploaded soon. She's in the body shop now, and I hope to get regular updates for you guys. Paint, body, motor, trans, and rear end will be done over the next year and a half. I'll do the rest when I move back to the mainland.

The only part I need some help with right now is a front bumper.

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Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff" - Page 2 Gmz0UfQ

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by testpilot61 Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:57 pm

What do you need for the front bumper?

by Showtime73 Sun Apr 03, 2016 7:47 pm

Sorry for the delayed response, but the front bumper is twisted slightly on the driver side. The guy doing my body work said it's probably best to replace it.

by Logicalloco Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:01 pm

On the chevelle with the black wheels, I never saw a wheel/tire size. I would love to get mine looking like this. Please specify wheel/tire sizes.
Thanks in advance.

by 1cheapshot Sat Oct 29, 2016 11:45 pm

Out of curiosity what does a 502 Chevy crate motor run these days? If your not racing it would be a fairly straight forward bolt in.

by Showtime73 Fri Feb 17, 2017 3:10 am

Unfortunately, I'm not doing the work to my own car, so the pictures will likely be few and far between. Progress has definitely been made, and my mechanic is going through sealing all the hole and replacing the bad panels. Next the doors come off and floor panels get replaced.

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by Showtime73 Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:26 am

Decided to go all out on the suspension, and since I found the level 3 QA1 kit for $3200 on Jegs, I bought it. That's exactly $1K cheaper than the QA1 website. I'm all about the ride quality so I hope this purchase is worth it.

http://www.jegs.com/i/QA1/122/HK03-GMA3/10002/-1?ymm=4294829746+4294829791+4294829484

by Showtime73 Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:28 am

Logicalloco wrote:On the chevelle with the black wheels, I never saw a wheel/tire size. I would love to get mine looking like this. Please specify wheel/tire sizes.
Thanks in advance.

Those were 17x9 in Cragar Soft 8s.

by Showtime73 Tue Mar 21, 2017 1:29 am

1cheapshot wrote:Out of curiosity what does a 502 Chevy crate motor run these days? If your not racing it would be a fairly straight forward bolt in.

Should be fairly straight forward, but I'm having a 454 built for my car and that running in the neighborhood of $5000.

by REVINKEVIN / Mr. 600+HP Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:32 am

An LS7 like this?

Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff" - Page 2 08010

Here is what you can do with $25,000. The engine looks really cool. 400 small block with AFR heads. Big Wilwood brakes, 12 bolt, Dakota digital gauges, and so much more. Budget your money and do as much work as you can.

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Nick's 1973 454 Malibu "Buff" - Page 2 9910

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