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round the year 2000, after pioneering big-time horsepower in full bodied street cars, the Anderson brothers began running a certain 1978 Chevrolet Malibu in the Nostalgia Pro Street and Heavy Street classes within the world of Outlaw street car drag racing. This car had some history, actually lots of serious history behind it. In 2001, Ken Anderson drove the car to the World Street Nationals final in Orlando and in 2002, the Malibu went 3 rounds at the Orlando event, and that was where Larry Vienneau first saw it. From that point on the destiny of this particular fast street car changed drastically. Larry was hooked and quickly caught the itch to buy a fast street machine after watching the Anderson’s campaign the Malibu in Orlando. He already owned a 1969 Chevelle and spotted Marlon Fedele’s ‘69 Chevelle for sale at the event. Larry, along with his brother Vincent, hung around the pit area of the Chevelle for the entire weekend to see if the car was right for them. The Anderson brothers just happened to be working on both the Chevelle and their own Malibu that weekend, so Larry and Vincent had witnessed first-hand the brothers’ work. The shocker came when on Sunday morning the Vienneau brothers woke to see “For Sale” written in white shoe polish on the Malibu. Being motorheads all of their lives, now the horsepower juices were really flowing for these guys. After watching the car closely on the track all day Sunday, seeing it run a 7.97 second 1/4-mile pass and already knowing the rich history behind the car, Larry knew this Malibu was the car he wanted. At the end of the day, after negotiating the price,
If you think we are kidding about Larry being into historical value, get this. The building the Malibu is sitting in front of is actually a new building (affectionately named Pizza Boys Garage) that has been made to look old. Yep, that’s right, the entire building front and even the front wooden garage door are false. The actual working roll-up bay doors are located at the rear... pretty cool stuff!
MAHLE Clevite products have been on board every single NASCAR® race winner since its beginning in 1948. But even we realize the true lifeblood of auto racing is on any short track on a Friday or Saturday night across the nation. This is the arena where today’s gladiators battle for supremacy - and we are proud to support them. As long as grassroots racing continues to breathe life into asphalt or dirt, our commitment to quality under the hood remains strong. www.mahleclevite.com
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