This rear three-quarter shot captured my attention immediately. That massive quarter panel takes like 40% of the length of the car.

It’s a 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu – 2-door hardtop coupe. These second-gen A-bodies really got the muscle car design just right.

Just look at it. It’s sizzling!

GM had refreshed the A-body platform and gave all of its intermediates, including the Chevelle, a new body for 1968. The coupes were now riding on a 112-inch wheelbase and received the ever-so-popular coke-bottle design.

The design features these elegant tapered front fenders and V-shaped nose. The trim line travelling all around the vehicle literally underlines the silhouette, making the muscle car proportions pop-out even more.

It’s just a very beautiful car and a major achievement for the Chevrolet design team!

The body looks really clean, though the 5-spoke wheels, low-profile tires and bright red callipers quickly give it away. It’s a restomod alright.

I got to talk to the third (and current) owner of the car – David Sparrow – who’s got a very interesting story with cars.

David lives in Alabama with his wife and three children. He’s been a contractor for a 3-letter agency for the past 14 years, but has run a couple performance/car audio shops in the past and has a background in business management.

Turns out, he hustled his way into this well-preserved Chevelle for just $2,700.

No, David didn’t hold anyone at gunpoint, although he does have a fine collection of weapons and takes acute pleasure in shooting at things.

David spent 9 years and counting buying, selling and trading his cars, accumulating profit, and reinvesting it, stepping up to nicer ones each time. He was patient, did his research and closed killer deals.

He got this dream muscle car in exchange for a 1989 Chevy K5 Blazer and a 1992 Camaro RS, and an additional $3,000 in cash. The cars cost him $13,000, so a total of $16,000. But all of this money was made by trading his own cars for profit, leaving his salary almost entirely for his family.

If you want to know how he does it, read my other article – Getting The Cars Your Want – This Guy Stopped Counting After 50

No rust and a brand new engine – this ‘68 Chevelle is a dream

Without further ado, let’s talk about the car.

David’s Chevelle has been an Alabama car all its life. He still has the original keys, warranty documents, owners manual and the Protect-O-Plate from Ed Mollison Chevrolet in Birmingham, AL, which sold the car in 1968.

These Protect-O-Plates were an interesting feature on GM cars between 1966 and 1972. Other manufacturers also issued them out under a different branding. But essentially, they have all core vehicle info hard stamped onto a metal plate – vehicle model, year of production, assembly date & code for the engine, as well as the transmission, rear axle date & ratio, etc.

If you had any problems with your car under warranty, the dealership would simply copy the contents of the plate with some indigo paper. This alleviated the hassle for customers, and made it easier on dealerships to obtain the necessary information to complete the service.

Today, it’s somewhat rare to find a car that still has the Protect-O-Plate attached, so this Chevelle Malibu fares well on the collector value.

Being an Alabama car means the body is generally rust-free. David assures us it’s in excellent condition and has also seen good care throughout the years. The previous owner repainted the car in the original Palomino Ivory. David is not crazy about the color, but the car is in such good condition, the off-white will stay for now.

This Malibu was never a crazy muscle car – more of a luxury cruiser – and David embraces that. He’s not after the next SS clone, he likes the fact that he has a plush street rod he can have some fun with.

This Malibu originally came with Chevy’s smallest V8 available in 1968 – the 307 cubic-inch small block. This 5-liter engine made a puny 200 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. It just wasn’t a performance engine.

At some point in life, the previous owner made the car into a proper cruiser, swapping out the junk V8 for a nice ATK 350 V8 crate engine from Jeg’s. This is a modern ATK reincarnation of the classic Chevy small-block that is reverse-engineered down to the studs. ATK have been able to take away many of the deficiencies in the late 60s engine design and manufacturing techniques.

Dressed with OE internals, a new cam with more lift and duration, Holley carburetor and a Flowmaster exhaust, the ATK 350 makes 330 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque at 9.1:1 compression ratio. For comparison, the best version which made its way into the 1969 Chevelle – the L48 350 V8 – only produced 300 horsepower on a 10.25:1 compression ratio.

The rest of the drivetrain is stock. This Malibu wasn’t a high horsepower model to begin with, so it has to do with a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission and 10-bolt rear axle.

Putting power to the ground are a set of Weld RT-S series S71 polished aluminum wheels. These measure 18×8 inches front and 18×10 inches rear. They are wrapped in Nitto NT555 drag radials – 275/40/18 front and NT555R 305/35/18.

David put The Right Stuff disc brakes on all four corners. He replaced the front springs with same height new ones from Moog, but added 2-inch drop spindles. The rear has new air shocks.

The ’68 Chevelle handles well and the ride is smooth and soft – perfect for a daily driver with some muscle.

Just like the body, the interior has aged surprisingly well. Being the upscale model, the Malibu comes with vinyl leather bench seats in medium gold or whatever that brown-green color is called.

David admits there are a few rips developing under his butt, but other than that, the vinyl is holding strong and has not faded severely over the years. The rear seats look immaculate for being 50 years old.

Overall the condition of the car is so good, David has decided this one is a keeper. He doesn’t have a concrete plan about the build, but it involves a bunch more power – either through an LS or the original 454 big block V8 which adorned early 70s SS Chevelles.

Of course, pumping up the horses will require revisions to the suspension setup to keep it all from going squirrely. You know how these project cars are. One thing after the other and by the time you exit the rabbit hole, there are dozens of boxes full of parts and your credit card’s burning hot.

At least David’s got a rust-free body to work with. Here’s a walkaround the car as he got it.

I can see how this thing was a bestseller, back in the day.