Selling my 81 Malibu for a fox-body.... opinions?

[speedingpenguin]

I've wanted a fox-body Mustang since before I could drive. I was looking for one for my first car, but wound up buying an 89 Firebird. I loved that car, but it was one headache after another. Long story, but I ended up junking it. Wanted to buy a fox-body after that, but somehow wound up behind the wheel of a 96 Cobra (Go figure). I had a lot of fun with that car, but didn't like the crazy insurance rates, the price of aftermarket parts (being a 96 Cobra and all), and wound up selling it. I briefly considered buying a fox-body after that, but decided to give General Motors another try, and bought an '81 Malibu with a 229ci V6. The body is in great shape, the paint is real nice, interior is decent for what it is, the car runs and drives great.... just to get the car where I want it to be, I'll need a whole new drivetrain, suspension, and at least a little money into the interior to make it a little nicer... and since its my only car and I realisticly cant afford to have 2 cars at the same time, its not like I could slowly build it up as my budget allows.....
I dunno..... I am seriously considering this.... as much as I'm going to miss the Malibu if/when I sell it, other than the body looking real nice, its not like I'll never be able to find another one if I want to..... and besides, I actually like the Regal/Cutlass/Grand Prix/Monte Carlo's better than the Malibu appearance wise.....
I dunno.... any advice or suggestions or thoughts?

 

[Maryland Stang]

A friend of mine has a 78 Malibu. 4 speed M-21, Ford 9", 350 with cast iron factory heads with some big 'ole cam in it, Edelbrock intake, Holley etc. It's a nice enough car but the guy he bought it from didn't do everything according to the book. He's been chasing gremlins in it ever since he bought it and he said it can be hard to get Malibu specific parts for it.

We used to cruise around together (me in my 5.0) along with a 61 Vette and a 70 Challenger and he always insisted on being last. I guess it was just a mental thing with him.

 

[1990Coupe]

ive always liked those malibu's. Yours is in awesome shape! Can't offer much help, cause i love fox's and your car is in just too nice of shape.. Trying to find another in that kind of shape would be pretty hard I would think?

 

[Boss 351]

Those cars are sweet... so are fox bodies (but more common). It's a tough call. Put an LS6 in the Malibu

 

[speedingpenguin]

If I had the money to put into the Malibu, I'd do it, but at this point in my life I've got just too much other stuff going on (and not making enough money) to be able to put a large amount of money into a new engine/trans/rear/suspension for the Malibu, so I think with a fox-body I'll already have something fun to play with (5.0/5 speed), and with parts costing what they do, I can do a little bit here and a little bit there, where with the Malibu its basicly all or nothing at this point. Hmm.......

 

[Boss 351]

It's true if you get a clean 5.0, it will be a fun car and parts are VERY easy and cheap to come by...

 

[iwashmycar]

dont know if it was mentioned but....how much is that thing worth anyway??

 

[speedingpenguin]

The Malibu? ****, I don't really know what its worth.... I think its probably gonna be one of those deals where its worth what someones willing to pay..... My guess would be between 2500 and 3500, probably towards the lower/middle side of that figure.....

 

[fivespeedsteed]

what is that red firebird looking thing in there? cant you sell that if your so attached to the mali? that wuold be my guess.

 

[speedingpenguin]

the bird is going too. complicated story, I havnt paid any money for it but I owe my buddy 1600 for it, anything I can get over that will go towards a mustang in addition to what I get for the malibu

 

[iwashmycar]

not bad......i think youll need to add a few bucks to get a clean fox, but there are some real good deals out there. Also depends what area your in.....dont know what they go for in MA.

Low mileage...close to, or stock, and clean CAN go 7K+. Mine was 6300 with 60K and clean as heck for the most part in Ohio. It was also only on the market for like 18 hours, and I wasnt waiting