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A six-cylinder Malibu that’s been in the same hands for nineteen years doesn’t get to 520 horsepower overnight. Jeffery’s slow-build street rod — big-block swap, upgraded rear end, reworked suspension — is a reminder that the best builds in this community are usually years in the making, one system at a time.
This 1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS convertible wears Evening Orchid over a white bucket seat interior with a four-speed manual, which is about as bold a specification as a buyer could order that year. The Malibu SS was a trim and appearance package rather than a factory hot rod, but 1965 turned out to be the year Chevrolet quietly changed what a Chevelle could be. What arrived partway through the model year reshaped the entire line. Read on for the mid-year decision that made 1965 matter.