1965 Chevy Malibu SS - Engineered Precision

We talk a lot about g-Machines that hit the road course whenever possible, but not everyone is into taking their cars to the track and pounding on them without mercy. These car enthusiasts enjoy cruising their rides and hanging out with other enthusiasts more than grinding down their sidewalls while trying to hit the perfect apex. Not hitting the track doesn't make their cars any less cool; generally, their cars have been upgraded to the point where they could certainly hang at any open-track day event. As Mr. Darwin would say, these cars have evolved from the slick-looking but poor-performing street machines of yesterday into the Pro Touring cars of today. They're modernized classics that haul serious derrire, but have the street manners and comfort to make cruising them a blast.

Bill Freelin's '65 Malibu SS is just such a car. About five years ago, Bill picked up a pretty clean Chevy Malibu SS, but just couldn't leave well enough alone. You see, Bill is a mechanical engineer in Southern California and, because of this, things that look good to us look off kilter to Bill's keen eyes. It was with this eye for detail that Bill set out to craft a car that could stand up to his own scrutiny. For this build, Bill enlisted the help of his buddies, the patience of his wife Linda, and cash from his bank to rebuild the vintage Malibu into one of the cleanest and most precise examples around. Bill wanted to upgrade the performance and appearance of the car, but also keep its classic musclecar-era look. With this in mind, the SS was sent off to Tony's Auto Body in Corona, California, where the body was stripped down to bare metal, massaged, prepped, and then shot in a DuPont Chromabase Tahitian Turquoise factory GM color. The only real body modification was removing the Chevrolet name from the hood and trunk. The rest of the car was left just as the GM designers wanted it, with all the chrome, brightwork, and body lines intact.

With the paint done, it was time to turn the attention to the chassis. Bill wanted the '65 to be fun to drive, so upgrading the suspension was a must. For this, he went with Hotchkis springs all around combined with Global West upper A-arms to get the right feel on the road. Hotchkis also provided the Bilstein shocks and sway bars to give the Malibu a good ride and keep the big Chevy flatter in the curves. Bill's car is no lightweight, and getting the 3,300 pounds to quickly slow down required some better brakes on all four corners. Baer was up to the task, and provided its Track-Plus 13-inch front disc brake system along with its 12-inch Sport rear disc brake package. This combination proved to be leaps and bounds better than the stock stuff, and also makes the vintage Malibu that much more fun to drive. The brakes also look great behind the set of 17x7 front and 17x8 rear American Racing Torque Thrust II wheels wrapped in Nitto 555 tires (235/45R17 and 255/45R17, respectively).

To motivate the Malibu, Bill wanted a powerplant that could keep him smiling for many years to come. For this, a '70 GM block was machined and combined with a Speed-O-Motive stroker kit to yield a 415ci small-block. The forged pistons, crank, and rods in the kit would allow Bill to pound on the small-block without fear that it would grenade on him. A moderately lopey Crane cam and stronger springs actuate the Manley 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves mounted in port-matched Air Flow Research 190R aluminum heads. Going with a moderate 10.2:1 compression ratio keeps detonation under control when running the swill they pass off for high-octane in California. The job of mixing up the air and fuel was left to an Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake topped off with a blueprinted Holley 780 carburetor. Turning that mixture to flame is done by the MSD ignition system, and the resulting gases are sent packing through a set of Hooker Super Competition headers and a 3-inch Flowmaster exhaust. Since the stroker didn't make enough vacuum to work the power brake booster, Bill installed an electric vacuum pump to solve that dilemma. A Milodon oil pan helped to upgrade the oiling system, while a larger aluminum radiator keeps it all running cool. Given Bill's engineering background, he also wanted less bling and a more industrial "down-to-business" look, which explains the prevalence of brushed and milled aluminum parts in the engine bay.

So, what is the result of all these parts? How about 485 hp at 6,200 rpm and 450 stump-pulling lb-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm? Since Bill had many cruising miles planned for the Malibu, he wanted the easy road manners of an automatic transmission. And, since it had to hold up to the power put out by the stroker, he went with a modified Turbo 400 three-speed. A Hughes 12-inch 2,400-rpm stall converter gets the car out of the hole, and the assembly reliably sends the power back to the 3.31-geared GM 12-bolt rearend.

Because Bill wanted to spend a lot of time cruising, the interior needed to be well thought out so that it would be functional, but still have the vintage feel of the original. Deciding that less was more, Bill called up OPG and ordered up one of its complete interior kits. The black Madrid-grain vinyl gave the right look, and the vintage feel was further reinforced by the addition of a three-spoke dark brown and brushed-aluminum GM steering wheel. The factory-style gauges were augmented with an Auto Meter tach and Stewart-Warner (oil pressure and water temp) gauges to help monitor the vital signs. You will notice that the dash still holds the original GM radio, but a hidden audio system with amplifier provides plenty of tunes for those long cruises between events. The only other hint that the Malibu packs more than the factory punch is the Hurst quarter-stick shifter on the trans tunnel.

Bill's car is all about the total experience, whether that's going on a long cruise with friends, hitting a car event, or just spending some time by himself polishing the Malibu while listening to good old rock 'n' roll in his garage. As Bill said, "While building and showing my car I have met many great people who have become very good friends. I now have three good car buddies: Art, Mark, and Kevin, who share the same passion about cars as I do." Bill has garnered well over 20 awards with his sweet '65, including one or two well-deserved Best Chevelle awards. To Bill, it's about more than the car, it is about the people and the memories. We asked Bill what his future plans are, to which he replied, "I look forward to building other cars in the future, but for right now, I am just enjoying the hell out of my '65." Sounds like a great plan to us.