December LROM

To me comes the honor of the Long Roof Of the Month.
It all started back in 1982, when I bought my first car, a ’77 Chevy Impala sedan. It already had 230.000 mi on the odometer and I drove an extra 100.000 on top of that. Needless to say, I was hooked on that comfy ride. A big front bench and likewise trunk was all I needed back then. But things change and driving a big US car in Europe is not a lot of fun sometimes. Road tax is crazy and the gas prices are even more insane. So, when the Impala had to go, we chose a mid size ’79 Chevy Malibu 2 door, with a 260 inline six (which was not the original engine, as I found out later) It was an ok car, but the mileage it gave was not so impressive for an inline six. We’re talking 1990 now, and the 2 door had to go in favor of a ’83 Chevy Malibu wagon with a four barrel 305. Not that spectacular, but it suited our needs. As time goes by, the Malibu slowly rotted away (at the famous rear chassis) and by the time that we discovered, it was already too late, the Malibu had to go. (before it did, I took the engine and trans out, for safe keeping) By that time in 1996, the jobs and pay where good, so we bought a ’87 Olds Custom Cruiser with a 307 4 barrel. A type of car well known to all of our forum members. Everything was sunshine and happiness until the oil pump stopped working back in ‘99. That was the first (and until now the last) time a V8 left me at the side of the road. Try to find a tow service that can get a 4200 lbs car away, so we had to do it ourselves but it came home late that night. I took the engine out and because of my recent divorce I had no cash to buy a 350 and my oldest son (15) and I did a rebuilt on the 307 that took me 8 months. (my oldest son is now a certified car mechanic, age 25 and drives a ’78 Chevy Malibu sedan with a stock 2 barrel 305 V8) After the rebuilt the OCC did run fine but due to the “electronic” ignition I never got it to run with the right amount of advance. Pulling our 3400lbs trailer was no fun at all, certainly not in the mountains of France. Fast forward to 2004 and that’s the car we still have and man, do we love that Caprice wagon. It holds all 5 (!) kids, two dogs and the 350 TBI pulls our trailer as if it’s not there, gives me an average of 24 mpg and inside lots of space. Currently, the odo stands at 137K and problems so far (never left me stranded) include new PS pump (needed a new pulley but in the process I wrecked the pump) new air pump, new alternator, two new water pumps (one only lasted 30K) and a new spark control module . Upgrades done include Koni’s at the front, Hotchkiss front and rear sway bar (bigger than original),air shocks (rear), the biggest trans cooler I could find, replaced the cat with a Borla free flow and got rid of the rear resonator and took care of the road holding with UMI upper and lower control arms.
We still have the OCC and when time comes, we have some wicked plans with that. Probably flat black paint, 2” lowering, 18 or 20”wheels, a 400 ci Chevy block and rebuilt the trans with a shift kit.
But hey, just take a look at the pictures and sadly, cars before the digital time are not recorded.
Pete

The Olds when it came out of storage in 2008


The interior


The engine


The Caprice pulling a trailer with my wife's Mustang


Holliday in Spain


Hauling our trailor


just bought it in '04

Nice write up Pete. Your pictures remind me of my trips to the Netherlands....I miss those days. Used to work in Zoetemeer and after work hop the train into The Hauge.

Pete, I can tell you that 400 blocks are lots of fun. They will set you back into your seat even when you launch a 4400 lb car.

Great pics and great story Pete!! Nice cars!

Pete,

Cool writeup. Let me know if you want to exchange license plates.

Some nice history there, thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys
@Sprocket: hey man, The Hauge is my place of birth.

Nice write up, and you've shown a lot of dedication for GM's Long roofs.



Any pictures of your past malibu's I'm sorta partial to 78-81 malibu.
I've been to holland many times in my youth. The Hauge, Breda, Amsterdam just to name a few...

Good luck