1964 Chevy Malibu SS

It wasn't supposed to turn out this way; it just did. When Jeff Skelton first teamed up with hot-rod builder Jason Pecikonis of Camarillo, California's Timeless Kustoms, Jeff needed help modifying his '67 Camaro into a killer street car. The to-do list called for an Art Morrison C5 chassis, a supercharged Nelson Racing 418-inch LS-series aluminum small-block, a full 'cage, and 1,000 hp on tap. But since Jeff's an anxious sort, he desperately needed another ride to hold him over while his Camaro received so much meticulous attention. So he casually mentioned to Jason that he'd like to find a moderately restored Malibu that he could drive in the meantime for local cruise-nights with his family. He didn't so much care about the year or the color of the car; it just had to be a serviceable Chevrolet musclecar.

It wasn't long before Jason ran across a clean '64 Malibu SS. It had a decent body and the original interior, and only needed a new motor. Jeff liked the deal and he and Jason set a schedule to perform a quick cleanup on the Malibu and install a new powerplant. Only a few weeks later Jason found a twin-turbocharged small-block. It made gobs of power (615 horses to be exact), was reasonably priced, and was ready to run. The scheme grabbed Jeff's attention when he realized how cool it would be to have two hairdryers under the hood of his '64 Malibu.

The following weekend, the guys lowered the turbocharged, fuel-injected 355 into the Malibu's engine bay and Jason began hand-fabricating the endless miles of plumbing in the engine compartment. Since Jeff wanted to be sure that the car retained its factory silhouette, a tremendous amount of work was spent to keep the turbo system and intercooler below the factory hoodline. Up front, Jason made a custom air-to-air intercooler that mounted nicely behind the stock grille. With so much wow-factor under the hood, it was only fitting to dress up the Malibu exterior with the right wheels and and bitchin' stance. The result is a complete Air Ride Technologies bag system with a set of Billet Specialties wheels wrapped in Continental tires.

In less than a year, the entire '64 Malibu project sprang from concept to reality. Meanwhile, Jeff and Jason are still busy hustling to finish the '67 Camaro; Jeff's having a blast driving his turbo'd '64 Malibu. The one time we could slow Jeff down enough, he explained that he especially loves firing the motor up, listening to the throaty exhaust, and rowing the gears away from a stop. And to think, this is just the precursor to more good things to come.