Still Got It -Mark Grimes - This iconic Malibu pro streeter is as fine today as it was when it...

You ever wonder?

Does curiosity ever get the best of you?

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You know…that special someone from back in the day-how are they holding up?

Have the ravages of time taken their toll?

Or are they still fine?

If you are a veteran of the custom car scene, car mags in general, or pro street movement in particular, then Mark Grimes’ Kandy Blue Pearl 1965 Chevy Malibu you see here may ring a few bells. After all, way back in 1987 when it first debuted, it snagged the elusive Triple Crown of Pro Street, capturing Street Machine of the Year honors along with Best Engineered and Best Pro Street at the Street Machine Nationals. It was on the cover of almost every major car magazine of the era, shown heavily for a few years-but then-it seemed to disapseptember 2020 | RPM Magazine pear.

This iconic Malibu pro streete

Story by Toby Brooks Photos by Stephen Taylor

er is as fine today as it was when it debuted 33 years ago www.rpmmag.com

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

Still smok But look closely at the pictures, kids. Three decades later, it is still as smokin’ hot as ever.

And why wouldn’t it be? A self-described car fanatic since the age of 9, Grimes has had a steady stream of wild rides for pretty much all his life.

From drag cars like a mini-tubbed 1972 Monte Carlo on nitrous (“I blew it up pushing the NOS button too many times!” he joked) and a 7/8-scale Top Sportsman ’57 Chevy, to wild street rides like a drop-top pro street 1968 Cadillac Coupe DeVille with a 500-cube Caddy powerplant, but the one build style he’s always gravitated towards was pro street.

“My first pro street car was actually a 1976 Chevette,” he recalled. With a full tube chassis and a built small block, it was a relatively wild feature-car quality build at the infancy of the pro street movement. “I traded it in 1981 for a brand new 1980 Malibu, which I then completely tore apart,” he added.

With a re-worked chassis, full cage, fat McCreary meats, and a blown small block, it was even wilder than the Chevette. So too was the next build—a pro street Vega with a blown 454.

“I actually bought the ’65 Malibu SS in 1982 for $1800. It was in mint condition with a set of Cen76 76

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kin’ hot!

‘65 Malibu Pro Street

This iconic build from the first wave of Pro Street is still as head turning today as it was back in the eighties. $BOBEB T 1FSGPSNBODF 4PVSDF

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

AGED WELL; NOT WELL AGED *G POMZ XF DPVME MPPL UIJT HPPE BGUFS ZFBST Changes to the Malibu were few to get it back into shape.

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

...did people think we were crazy cutting up a nearly- perfect 1965 Malibu SS...

terlines, and I had no intentions of ever cutting it up,” he said.

However, when a cash buyer approached Grimes and his wife Diana at the Hot Rod Nationals in 1983 wanting to buy the Vega, the couple couldn’t pass up the offer.

“Driving home with an empty trailer and cash in hand, we decided on the way back home to Omaha that we were going to build another pro street car. We just couldn’t decide what to build,” he said.

After 10 hours of discussing the pros and cons of building nearly every GM body style imaginable but reaching no consensus, Mark and Diana finally arrived home. As Mark pulled the garage door open (“Manually, of course.

No way was I going to spend my car money on a silly power garage door opener!” he laughed), the couple saw the Malibu sitting there and inspiration struck: why not build it?

“We already owned it, and in 1983-1984, you didn’t see a lot of ’65 Malibus—especially pro streeted,” he said.

“And then it started: CHOP CHOP CHOP! Wow did peo-

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

BRACE YOURSELF

This is the way Ford rear diffs were braced ZFBST BHP MPOH CFGPSF BOZ UZQF PG LJU XBT available. Of course this being a Pro Street 1.0 ride, it’s all been chromed!

RAT’S NEST...

IN A GOOD WAY

" DVCF CJH CMPDL Chevy Rat motor resides between the Malibu rails and sports a forged crank and pistons, H-beam rods and is topped by GM iron heads and a 6/71 Dyers roots style blower.

ple think we were crazy cutting up a nearly-perfect 1965 Malibu SS,” he added.

Chassis modifications were the first order of business.

Grimes had John Jacobsen construct a full chromoly tube chassis with a 12-point cage. In an era before pre-fabricated tubular control arms, the car was treated to custom upper and lower units that were chromed for good measure. Carrera coilovers were installed on all four corners, and recent upgrades included a quartet of custom 4-piston disc brakes.

Out back, a ladder bar setup suspends a narrowed, braced, and chromed Ford 9-inch housing that was assembled by Advanced Driveshaft. A custom center section works in concert with Strange axles. GM 3.73 gears make for easy cruising with the tall 33x19.5-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman rear tires. If you are wondering about the wheels, you aren’t alone. The one-off Mercedes aftermarket center design gives the car a unique look, with 17x7s on Goodyears up front and massive 15x15s out back.

Body and paint were handled by Terry Anderson.

Shaved door handles, drip rails, and suicided doors highlight the custom touches before an incredible light-yearsdeep House of Kolors Ice Blue Kandy Pearl hue went down followed by trick graphics by Jack Edwards. Bright chrome bumpers look great with the polished wheels, long chrome wheelie bars, and towering blower and scoop.

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

SHADES DOWN

Everything under the hood is either chrome or polished, including the blower!

LOOK CLOSELY

Although the setup looks nostalgic, fuel delivery has been swapped out from that PME DIVHHJOH HBT HV[[MJOH mechanical fuel injection for an Accel EFI system with custom throttle bodies disguised by the Enderle scoop

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STILL COOL

‘65 Malibu Pro Street

Even by today’s Pro Street in-car fashion standards, the Malibu’s interior is award worthy, not to mention built for driving in style and comfort.

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR THE KIDS!

The narrowed rear seat is nice touch for extra passengers. Despite the large wheel tubs, battery and fuel cell located in the trunk, there is still lots of real estate left.

p.

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‘65 Malibu Pro Street

Mark & Diana Grimes’ Pro Street 1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS Chassis & Modifications:

Power adder:

Suspension & Brakes:

Electronics & Ignition:

Full chromoly tube chassis with 12-point cage by John Jacobsen.

FRONT: Mustang II front suspension with chromed tubular upper and lower control arms and Carrera coilover shocks. Wilwood 4-piston disc brakes.

REAR: Custom ladder bar suspension by John Jacobsen with track locator and Carrera coilovers.

Wilwood 4-piston disc brakes.

Body & Paint:

Shaved and suicided doors. Custom hood opening with filled/smoothed lip. Shaved and filled drip rails and factory trim. House of Kolor Kustom Kandy Blue Pearl paint prepped and sprayed by Terry Anderson. Kustom Kandy Blue and pink graphics by Jack Edwards.

Engine:

1969 427 ci BBC built by Charlie’s Speed and Marine (Blair, Nebraska). Balanced and blueprinted with forged steel Chevy crank, H-beam rods, and 7:1 Venolia pistons. Ported and polished cast iron cylinder heads with roller rockers. Custom roller camshaft.

Induction and Fuel Delivery:

Dyers supercharger intake. Accel EFI system with custom machined throttle bodies and Enderle bird catcher polished aluminum & chromed scoop.

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Polished and chromed 6/71 Dyers supercharger underdriven at 10%.

MSD ignition box with Pro Billet distributor 8mm wires. BDS EFI system. Dakota Digital instrumentation.

Exhaust:

Stainless collector headers.

Transmission & Driveline:

GM 700-R4 4-speed automatic transmission by Autotransmatic. 2,500 rpm stall converter.

Differential:

Narrowed 9-inch Ford housing with Strange Engineering axles and GM 3.73 gears. Assembled

by Advanced Driveshaft.

Tires and Wheels:

FRONT: One-off Mercedes Centra center 17x7inch wheels with Goodyear tires.

REAR: One-off Mercedes Centra center 15x15inch wheels with 33x19.5-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires.

‘65 Malibu Pro Street

Speaking of towering blower and scoop, motor-vation for the classic Chevy comes from a 427ci big block assembled by Charlie’s Speed and Marine. Starting with a forged GM crank and H-beam rods, mild 7:1 compression Venolia pistons round out the rotating assembly, while iron heads with roller rockers and a Dyers aluminum blower intake reside up top.

The chromed Dyers 6/71 supercharger is underdriven at 10% and is now home to an Accel EFI sys-

tem with custom machined throttle bodies and an Enderle scoop. The mechanical injection system back in the day looked trick, but was no match for the drivability afforded by the modern fuel management system. Backing the blown rat is a 700R4 GM trans built by Autotransmatic. A 2,500 RPM stall converter was added for improved street manners.

Inside, the Malibu features a full Mark’s Place interior, including lowback buckets by Tea’s Designs and even a cut-down back seat between

the tubs. Dakota Digital instrumentation fills the dash in a billet bezel, and a B&M shifter provides gear selections for the automatic trans.

The car sat in storage for years before the pro street bug bit again.

Grimes pulled it out, blew the dust off, and added a few upgrades like billet hood hinges. But by and large, the car you see here is pretty much the same iconic pro streeter that took the custom car scene by storm back in 1987.

And it’s still as hot as ever.

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