Up for sale is a 1968 Chevelle 300 Deluxe coupe. We've all seen folks take a Malibu and clone it into an SS, but this one is just a little different. It is actually a Malibu that I changed into a lower level 300 Deluxe! Its badged as a 427, sort of a pre COPO clone that never was. I've had this car for 10 years, and built it to drive, not for a quick flip, so I have not cut corners on it. Read on...
The car has an NOS right fender, AMD left fender and header panel, a repro right 1/4 panel, and a left lower 1/4 panel. The trunk and floors are solid, the only other body repairs were to section in the trunk weatherstrip channel from a donor car. It was sprayed with Slicksand hi build primer before blocking, and painted with Nason single stage urethane. The paint is going on 4 years and is still very nice. My goal was a factory appearing finish, so when I cut and buffed it, I left a slight amount of orange peel. If you want it to look like glass, there is enough material for another cut and buff. The rear bumper and rocker moldings were NOS parts, the front bumper, door handles and other trim are repros. Its got a new windshield, with the rest of the glass being original. All weatherstrip and such was replaced at that time. I'd call it an 8 out of 10, there are a few spots if you know where to look, plus a few chips from use, since I DRIVE this car! The interior was done shortly after paint, and looks really outstanding. It is all Distictive, and was new except for a redyed original dash pad. The dash has factory U14 gauges except for the tach, which is a no name unit resembling an old Sun. There is a tilt column with the original 300 Deluxe steering wheel. It has an am radio with a hidden FM converter (remember those?) and a rear seat speaker with fader. Both speakers are new from turnswitch dot com, and it plays as well (or not) as you would expect. The car is also equipped with a functioning aftermarket cruise control, and a Day 2 appearing under dash a/c unit that cools to 38 degrees. I wanted to enjoy the ride, have I mentioned that I DRIVE this car?
The engine is a 454, bored .030 over with flattop pistons. The heads are 1968 casting #401. These are large oval ports, and give a compression ratio of around 9.1, meaning it runs on pump gas with no problem. The cam is a Howards hydraulic with .500/.505 lift on a 114 degree lobe center, it idles well and makes nice power. The intake and exhaust manifolds are stock, with a custom tuned Quadrajet and recurved points distributor. The shortblock only has about 100 miles on it since a complete rebuild.
The trans is a 700R4 overdrive with lockup and a 2100 stall converter, and it has less than 150 miles since a complete rebuild with Transgo parts. The driveshaft was shortened and balanced at the same time.
Out back is the original 10 bolt peg leg differential with 3.08 gears with new seals and bearings. This combo makes for a great highway car. Living in Houston, you can't get anywhere without being on the highway, and as I think I've mentioned, I DRIVE this car!
The wheels are15x7 rally wheels with new trim rings and have F70-15 bias ply repro Firestone tires, including the spare. The tires have about 2,000 miles on them. The buyer will have a choice of these wheels and tires, or a set of 215-70-15 whitewall radials on 15x7 rally wheels, also includes a matching spare. The redlines look better, but the whitewalls drive better!
The front and rear suspensions have been rebuilt with all stock parts, and there are front and rear swaybars with all new brakes, including the factory single piston from discs, that have about 1Underhood is a 1977 truck 454 bored .030 over with flat top pistons, and 1968 heads with ca50 miles on them. A Jeep Grand Cherokee box makes for tight steering, and the car drives and goes down the road like it was 1968 again.
Everything on this car has under 3,000 miles on it, and I would not hesitate to drive it cross country with doing nothing more that checking oil and tire pressure before I left. In fact, I've done just that, I took it to Kansas City last years for the Midwest Chevelle Regional show (where it won a Top 3 award in the 1968 Stock class!), a 1,500 mile round trip.
So you are thinking, "wow, what a car, sounds like its perfect" Well... no its not. The horn does not work, I've never been able to find the correct parts for the 300 Deluxe steering wheel. The factory amp gauge and temp gauges are inop, I have a digital volt gauge plugged into an underdash charging port, and an aftermarket temp gauge. The vent window rubber is cracking, I could not figure out how to take them apart to replace them, even with youtube :( The paint is not a 10, and there is a little bit of wind noise, even with new weatherstrips. I have every reciept for everything, and a clear Texas title
But,if you want a car to drive anywhere, any time, win trophies and get thumbs up, then this is the one. I just clay barred, polished and waxed it and it has a full tank of gas.
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