Hemmings
Restoration Profile: 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS
Link on Hemmings.com: http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2008/09/01/hmn_feature14.html
I pasted the article below:
FEATURE ARTICLE from Hemmings Muscle Machines Home>Contents 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Hemmings Muscle Machines - SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 - BY MATTHEW LITWIN
A healthy stack of two-by-tens, a few 55-gallon drums, an engine hoist, a few key tools and a two-car garage are pretty much all that's required to conduct a restoration. Okay, perhaps that's not the list most people would start with, but for Jeff and Stella Anthony of East Hartford, Connecticut, a sizeable heated barn with a finished floor was not an option, nor was the host of pro-grade tools most think are required to produce a show-winning result. That being the case, they needed a little creativity--and their efforts paid off.
Their project was this 1965 Chevy Chevelle Malibu SS, which Jeff spotted for sale in a local paper called The Bargain News. The car was located in relatively nearby Watertown, Connecticut, and truthfully advertised as needing work.
"When we went to look at it, the car had practically no floor, no trunk and terrible fenders. The body was up on barrels and the frame was on the other side of the yard," said Stella. "We quickly discovered that it was essentially a local car since inception, built in Framingham, Massachusetts, and sold by a Connecticut dealership. But even though it was disassembled, we could see the exact condition of the body and chassis, and what would be required to restore it."
There were a number of positives to balance out the prospect of seemingly endless hours of work. As an example, the engine and transmission were numbers-matching originals, and the car had been optioned with dual exhaust and a 10-bolt Posi rear. As an added bonus, the original factory red paint had never been covered up by another layer, and it seemed that the vinyl seats (front buckets) would require only a little cleaning.
"We knew it was going to take some TLC (Tools, Long hours and Cash) to take on the challenge, but we could see the end result--even through the mountain of parts," said Jeff. The couple purchased the Chevy in July of 1996; however, it had to be reassembled, to some degree, in order to move it to their home. Knowing that it was going to be quickly taken apart once again for the restoration, though, to say that it was actually reassembled is a bit of an overstatement.
While Jeff was confident in his mechanical abilities, the couple enlisted the help of Mitch Bryll, Stella's cousin, to perform the necessary bodywork, as well as provide an overall restoration plan and guidance. (Editor's note: Sadly, Bryll passed away this past December due to complications from leukemia). This would prove to be one of the most valuable decisions made early in the project, along with a spreadsheet maintained by Stella, which outlined what parts were purchased, along with dates, vendors, cost, and exactly where the parts were stored. According to Stella, "Parts were just about everywhere: in the basement, in the garage, under the bed, even up in the attic."
First on the list was the removal of the 283-cu.in. engine and accompanying two-speed Powerglide automatic, accomplished after the body was once again removed; this time around, Jeff used an engine hoist to lift it, and then placed the hardtop coupe on barrels--once again in the backyard.
Jeff then stripped the block and delivered it to Eastwood Motors in Somers, Connecticut, where it was cleaned. The block was then bored .030-inch over and rebuilt with new parts purchased from Kanter Auto Products. It was also agreed that, when the time came, they would install new valves with hardened seats so that the heads could survive on today's unleaded gas.
With the block at Eastwood, the couple had numerous engine essentials powdercoated instead of painted at Airborne Coatings in East Hartford. This included the intake manifold, cylinder heads, timing chain cover, rocker arm covers and the oil pan. One source of minor aggravation was the air cleaner, which had been missing from the car from the get-go. "We found one for sale in Hemmings Motor News, which turned out to be in pretty rough shape when it arrived," said Jeff. The assembly was quickly handed over to Bryll, who repaired and repainted it. Meanwhile, the transmission was brought to Main Street Transmissions in nearby Manchester for refreshing.
With the engine and trans in good hands, Jeff began to tackle the frame and suspension. To ensure that the finished product would be correct, the couple documented exact part locations and assemblies via photographs, right down to seemingly minute items such as fuel and brake line routing. Once stripped of all components, the frame was moved to Bryll's barn to be sandblasted, and then returned to Jeff's two-car garage, where it was suspended from the ceiling joists and painted black.
Once again, new suspension and brake components were sourced from Kanter. Rather than install factory-style steel brake and fuel lines, the couple felt that spending a few extra dollars for stainless lines would help prevent deterioration as time wore on. Once the frame was converted back into a rolling chassis, including new body mounts, the completed engine and transmission were reunited and bolted into place, along with a new dual exhaust system.
"Jeff hooked up an old dashboard with the ignition still in place so that he could adjust the rocker arms and give the engine and transmission a test run," said Stella. "He simply couldn't resist hearing it run for the first time."
The body was next on the list; by now, however, some preliminary work had already been performed. What was left of the old floor had been removed when the body was separated upon purchase. At the time, reproduction floor pans had been tacked into place with a MIG welder to ensure that the body would not twist. A reproduction trunk floor had also been purchased, although a new rear wheel well would have to be fabricated by Bryll, since the original well had disappeared long ago.
Together, the decision was made to lower the body back into position before any more work was done. Using floor jacks and a stack of scrap lumber, the body was lowered mere inches at a time, alternating between front and rear, to ensure a straight fit. Bryll agreed to work on individual components as they were removed from the car. Each panel was painstakingly stripped, straightened and primed before being bolted back into place. The primer of choice was Glasurit MS primer, which is yellow in color and chromate-free.
"When it came to the fenders, one was so bad that we had no choice but to replace it," recalled Jeff. "At the time, we could not locate a 1965 Chevelle replacement, so we had to search for a used one. We actually found two: a 1965 fender in Hemmings, and a 1964 fender at a swap meet. Bryll was able fuse them into a single, usable fender. He also replaced both quarters with reproductions, and the front windshield frame had to be reconstructed due to severe rust."
As mentioned, the trunk was another area of reconstruction. Stella was indispensable in this area of the restoration, thanks in no small part to several photographs she had taken of another '65 Chevelle, which not only showed the configuration of the missing wheel well, but also the jack bracket on the trunk floor, not included on the reproduction replacement. Once welding was complete, Bryll applied correct spatter paint.
Bear in mind that Bryll was performing final body prep work in his barn, which, according to accounts provided by the Anthonys, was just big enough to fit the car. It was also in a state of such disrepair that it no longer exists. Such were the working conditions when he had applied three coats of the afvorementioned primer, then block-sanded and "pinholed" to further eliminate any imperfections.
Autobody Supplies and Paint in East Hartford was able to match a correct batch of Regal Red to a color chip found at a swap meet, which Bryll applied in four coats, topped off by four coats of clear. The entire body was then wet-sanded and buffed with a 3M finish glaze.
After four years, the push to the finish was on--only the interior needed to be completed. The dash was stripped and repainted with gloss black textured paint. Fortunately, as the Anthonys originally thought, only a minor cleaning was required to spruce up much of the original interior. Not only were the original bucket seats installed, so too were the original seat belts, center console, dash pad and rear bench. Conversely, the dash bezel, sunvisors, headliner and floor carpet were all reproductions, as was a new horn ring. Original glass, a wiring harness and a fuse box were also installed.
Both bumpers had been delivered to Nu Chrome in Fall River, Massachusetts, for replating, and Stella began to retrieve the stash of exterior trim items from hiding. An original AM radio was acquired, considering that the factory-installed unit was missing at purchase, but prior to installation it was sent to Antique Radio Service, also of Massachusetts, which installed a chip so that the unit could receive FM signals without a cosmetic change. The Speaker Shop, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, rebuilt the speaker.
By July of 2001, five years after purchase, the restoration was complete. "Not everything went smoothly, though," said Stella. "We installed the cigarette lighter in the dash, and the next day while Jeff was in the garage, he smelled smoke. He quickly found it emanating from the lighter, and he burned his fingers removing the wiring and the unit. Had he not been there to make that discovery, there's a good chance both the car and the garage would have been lost to a fire."
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Owner's View "A stock 1965 Chevelle Malibu SS is pretty rare around this part of the Northeast, so we wanted to restore it to stock specifications. We love the looks of the '65, and in particular, the rear blackout section. "Though it took five years, we wouldn't have done it any different. It takes time, patience and research to get it right, but the end result is very rewarding. Since then, we just maintain it with regular service and cleaning, especially since we add close to 1,000 miles on it annually--lots of cruise nights and car shows--and it's met with a ton of positive response." - Jeff and Stella Anthony
This article originally appeared in the SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.
