Re: 77 Malibu Classic frame off resto

by ratnfested Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:20 am

Its from an 02 half ton. It's a 5.3. I am gonna have the heads worked a bit to achieve 300 CFM flow on the intake and 230 on the exhaust then it should make 500HP with the cam I picked. Actually the plans are from a Hot rod article. I'll paste the link below. I think this is plenty for a cruiser. I don't need 800 HP like the Maroon Chevelle has. It eat gas.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_1109_stock_gm_ls_engine_big_bang_theory/

by ratnfested Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:23 am

Oh and thanks for a bit of Schooling on the LS terms. I guess I better stick to LSx since its not really in a category and I do not know what the 5.3 truck motor option code is.

by Wallyuph Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:24 am

Sorry for the reference to LS.
Thank you for filling me in. I did not pull mine apart other than the pan swap as it was a low miles engine and I just wanted a stock type setup for myself.
I guess I'll just say its a 5.3 truck engine from now on.

by dynchel Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:37 am

Honestly I remember the first time I rode in a 5.3 liter equipped vehicle (new at the time '99 4x4 Silverado) I was really impressed with the power it had, and its burnout abilitys. My dad has a '06 Impala SS with the 5.3 in a fwd package.....lets just say that is you plan to floor it you better have two hands on the wheel. On a negative note working on the thing sucks a$$ due to them shoehorning that motor into that engine compartment. Mad

77 Malibu Classic frame off resto - Page 2 <a href=

77 Malibu Classic frame off resto - Page 2 2012-010

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here's the SS with my daughter posing outside Quaker Steak and Lube.....Good wings.

by pila Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:59 am

She is a little cutie !

by dynchel Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:06 am

Thanks, she just turned 6 at the end of august....plus she looks like her mom. Very Happy

by 77mali Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:32 am

Enjoy, they grow up FAST!

by ratnfested Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:13 pm

Another update. Parts are getting blasted and powder coated. and I am awaiting a Rotisserie.

77 Malibu Classic frame off resto - Page 2 561619_358533997625085_658487320_n

77 Malibu Classic frame off resto - Page 2 561619_358533997625085_658487320_n

by driveit Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:23 pm

Can't wait to see the after pic. Someday I will do the same. Maybe build a lighter weight chassis with a C6 Suspension or something. Daydreamin!

by Brainstain Mon Oct 28, 2013 5:12 pm

Did you have a helluva time getting the LCA's off the front? Every pair I pull is an enormous pain.

by Bruisr Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:57 pm

hey, I know you've been busy! Did you ever finish the big block in your maroon chevelle? You did have the couldbeworse.org site right? If I remember correctly you were doing a trick induction system!? What about your mods to the radiator core support. I tried following along for awhile, but got sidetracked.

by ratnfested Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:44 am

I'm still trying to figure out what LCA's are. It will come to me after I post this probably. Very Happy

Nope the Couldbeworse.org site is not mine. I did a 540 Dart motor with AFR heads. No fancy induction, just a 1150 QFT carb. runs nice. I need to make a trip to the track one of these days.

by ratnfested Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:51 am

Lower Control Arms?

See I said it would come to me. Oh yeah! Those springs scare the $%$^%^ out of me. I used a spring compressor through the shock hole to pull the spring up in the frame so I could let the LCA down and release the spring. The spring compressor did not have enough thread to release the spring nicely. So I stood on top the frame and used the impact to loosen it. BOOM! it came out like a rocket when the last couple turns of threads gave out on the compressor. I still managed to use it on the other side but it popped before it ran out of threads. It just did not have enough life left for that last spring. But thankfully it held long enough to get the LCA down. I had to can the compressor. I am installing air ride to avoid messing with reinstalling those springs.

by driveit Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:34 am

Ratnfested, do you have a kit for the air ride yet? I was thinking about that myself on down the road!

by Brainstain Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:35 am

Air is fun! Here's one of my toys that I'm trying to sell to fund my Malibu.

77 Malibu Classic frame off resto - Page 2 5806AB1E-D893-4D0D-902F-B765F9995006-1878-0000024FB12DE25D_zps34c63e1c

77 Malibu Classic frame off resto - Page 2 5806AB1E-D893-4D0D-902F-B765F9995006-1878-0000024FB12DE25D_zps34c63e1c

by driveit Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:39 am

Thats cool!

by ratnfested Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:10 pm

Nice Burb! Nope, No kit yet. Still looking.

by Brainstain Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:04 am

Thanks! I'm pretty sure there won't be a lot for our cars. However it's pretty simple to make. I actually helped take air off of a 77 for a guy that bought a bunch of parts off of me.

I'm not sure what you know about air, so..

Personally, I would get a bag cup big enough to fill the hole in the spring cup on the frame, and another for the lower arm. Weld the lower in but just tack the upper on. That way you can pull it off if you don't like it.

Make sure to run 2600 series on all 4 corners. People will tell you that a 2500 bag will be good enough for the back, and it will ride like poop. They are made for mini trucks and small cars.

If you go with individual valves and not a manifold setup, make sure you run a valve for each wheel. Making a T and running one line to both sides let's air flow from a bag with pressure to a bag without pressure when cornering. It feels like the car is gonna fall over .

If you want more help let me know. I don't know everything but I know a lot of guys that know a lot about air.

by driveit Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:55 am

Would air be good for a daily driver/road course car?

by Brainstain Wed Oct 30, 2013 5:35 pm

I know some guys use air. It's gonna add a lot of weight though. As far as daily use, it depends on where you live and your setup. I personally wouldn't want to mess with it in the winter but I live in Indiana. Frozen lines and cleaning out the water trap religiously just doesn't sound fun.

by driveit Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:00 pm

Agreed!

by ratnfested Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:32 am

I'm starting to have second thoughts but I'll wait till I see a setup on a car similar to mine and decide. Ideally I want a front air spring that allows the shock to go through it like factory. I will not likely be willing to cut and attach brackets to the frame to move the shocks. So maybe I will be putting springs back in. God I gate installing those front springs. Gonna sweat bullets doing it!

Actually looking through photos I see chevelle kits with the shock in the spring. And a 70 Chevelle kit should fit the car just fine. I am keeping the stock control arms so I might need to fab a bracket to attach the lower part of the spring to the control arm. I would like to fab a tank and hide the whole system under the car. Nothing in trunk would be nice.

by driveit Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:38 am

Yeah. If I done something like that I would deffinately want it hidden. I tote things around quite often and I would much rather put it in the trunk rather than clutter up the seats in the car.

by Brainstain Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:17 am

My Suburban is all hidden underneath. It uses 2, 3 gallon tanks from a semi truck. It's nice that it's tucked away until you have to mess with it.

by driveit Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:05 pm

I hear that. So many times thing could be so much easier if you could just get a different angle or had a little more room.

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