Just a few weeks ago we established that ‘barnfinds” do exist. We can confirm they exist because we were called to help out at rescuing yet another car that has been stored for decades. It looks like this story will even have a happy ending.
We love stories and what a story is this one. This Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu came of the assembly line in the GM factory in Antwerp (!) and was delivered in July 1965 to the first and only owner. Until now of course. Our customer could buy the car after the first owner sadly passed away. Funny fact is that the car will reside at less than 5 kilometers of the GM factory in Antwerp, in a neighborhood where a good deal GM-employees used to live.
The grandson told us that his grandparents worked on the market and only used the car on the few days they were not working. Between 1965 and 1985 the car covered no more than 37.548 kms. After the 20 years of little use, less than 2.000 kms a year, the car was stored in the garage where we salvaged it 37 years later.
Although the children and grandchildren of the owner, now well over their sixties and thirties, often asked or suggested to let the car go he would never part of it in his lifetime.
The car would have been a rare sight on our roads back then, not only because of the limited use but also because of the fact that it was an unusual car on the roads in Belgium.
The car is reasonably good, it looks like it has only superficial rust and a good washing and shining will make a great difference. To get the engine running after all those years will take the necessary precautions and hopefully will work out just fine. That is the first step, the second one is to prepare the Malibu for the road.
To be continued