This 1964 Chevelle from the Roadster Shop is the wildest on the planet
“This car saved my life.” So says its owner, Tim Roach of
Tennessee. He has an emotional bond with the Malibu that goes far beyond
the attachment that normally forms between an enthusiast and his
automobile.
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The plan was to use the 1964 Chevelle to pull an Airstream
trailer around the country, traveling with his wife. That was the plan
they formulated after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t beat the disease and died before the dream
could be realized. According to Tim, driving the convertible helped him
deal with the depression he felt after she was gone. It kept him sane.
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“The taillight sketch turned into every inch of the car being
tweaked, customized, reimagined. However, it always stayed true to the
car’s original lines and clean, simple design,” according to Tim. “And
of course, me being in the tech world, these one-off modifications could
be handled with state-of-the-art technology not available in 1964 or
even five years ago.”
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The body sits on a Fast Track Roadster Shop chassis with
billet control arms and spindles, Penske double-adjustable coilovers
with Hyperco springs, and rack-and-pinion steering up front. Making sure
it handles like a modern sports car is a Roadster Shop independent rear
suspension carrying 3.50:1 gears. Rolling stock consists of one-off
six-spoke rims from Greening Auto Company in Nashville, Tennessee, (18x9
front, 19x12 rear) wearing Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires (225/35R18s
and 335/35R19s).
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Under the hood is a 416-inch LS3 built by Wegner Motorsports
(Markesan, Wisconsin) that uses ported LSA heads, a Callies crank and
rods, Mahle pistons, a Comp cam, and Edelbrock E-Force supercharger.
Horsepower is more than double anything offered by Chevy in the ’64
Chevelle—813 at the flywheel, with 789 lb-ft of torque. The folks at
Wegner said it could tweak this further, but Tim figures that’s way more
than enough to crush any import-style vehicles he’s likely to
encounter. A 6L90 six-speed automatic handles the gear changes, with
pushbutton controls on the console.
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Paul Atkins Interiors in Hanceville, Alabama, handled the
unique cockpit and convertible top. There’s a drop-down iPad mini that
comes from the center of the dash, a narrowed stock gauge cluster
opening, and a custom-designed center console housing pushbutton
controls for the transmission and engine starting. It’s unlike anything
we’ve seen before in a vintage Chevy.
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As with most classic vehicles, the A-body
eventually started showing its age. Rust had started bubbling up through
the paint, and there were mechanical issues as well. The choice was
quickly becoming either fix it or sell it. For Tim, getting rid of the
ragtop simply was not an option. He decided to ship the Chevelle to the
Roadster Shop in Mundelein, Illinois, for repairs and upgrades. Like a
lot of builds, the further they dug, the worse things got. The owner
decided it was time for the Chevy to become a full-on custom, something
like what he recalled from his youth. But this was no throwback build.
Tim sketched out a design for the rear panel to change the taillights
and spell out Chevrolet between them.
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When your author first saw the Chevelle dubbed
“MaliciouSS” at the 2014 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the first thought was
this is what the Malibu would look like if Chevy brought it back as a
2016 model. It has classic lines, but with thoroughly modern lighting
and an interior that’s totally 21st century. It succeeds where a lot of
OE efforts at retro styling have failed. We love what the Roadster Shop
created for the grille, a modern design with classic touches. The
tailpanel is in a league all its own. Inspired by the ’65 Chevelle, it
uses cutting-edge lighting for a one-of-a-kind look. Don’t go searching
for any of these parts on the Internet. They’re all one-of-a-kind.
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“MaliciouSS is my tribute to GM’s design, the
simplicity of the car’s roots, a modern take on mid-1960’s design, the
start of an era of Chevelle Malibu as a muscle car, to the advancement
of technology and engineering available to us today, and above all, a
tribute to my late wife, Katherine Clark,” noted Tim. “The car has been
reborn and so have I. I have found a wonderful, understanding wife. We
are starting a family together, all made possible with the help of a
1964 Malibu that reminded me that I could be happy again.”
The A-body went back to the Roadster Shop for some final tweaks after
SEMA, and is slated to do some major shows in 2015. Then Tim said he’s
going to start piling on the miles. “I put a lot of money into it so I
can drive it,” he said.
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