Lane Collectibles 1965 Chevrolet Malibu

Jeff Smith, editor of Car Craft Magazine, traded a V-6 Vega for this '65 Chevelle Malibu SS roughly 20 years ago. Wanting to race the car, he built a 383 cubic inch small-block that began a string of engine and transmission changes between 1987 and 1993. During that period, the car ran a whole series of mid-to-high 12-second E.T.'s at the drag strip.

In 1991, Jeff outfitted the car with one of the early Digital Fuel Injection systems, and soon entered it in a competition called the Automotive Triathlon of Motorsports. The event challenged the car to two drag strip passes, four laps on a paved 1/8th mile circle track, and two laps on a 1.6 mile road course.

During the next couple of years, the Chevelle competed three times and appeared in several issues of CHEVY HIGH PERFORMANCE magazine. Today, it is powered by a 560 hp Lingenfelter Performance Engineering-built 420 cubic inch small-block Chevy engine with 4-speed manual transmission.

A big push was to also build a decent handling car. Over the last 12 years, Jeff has worked hard to create a car that will pull over a full G in lateral acceleration in the corners, but this required modifications to the car's control arms, shocks, wheels, and tires. Readers of CHEVY HIGH PERFORMANCE have eagerly followed the Chevelle's transformation from giant bread box to scorching asphalt-burner in the pages of their favorite magazine.

Riding on a set of Weld Racing 17 x 9 inch wide wheels and VictoRacer tires, the car has competed in both the 140- and 150-mph classes of the Pony Express Open Road Race. Driving solo, without the aid of a navigator, Jeff finished both races with the second race averaging 148 mph in the 150-mph class.

Lately, the Chevelle has raced in the first two Hotchkiss Media shootout competitions, finishing second the first year. Jeff's Chevelle has been put through its paces, both as a supercharged racing contender and a dependable daily-driver, wracking up awards and nearly 20,000 street miles since he acquired it. While there are some newer cars that can out-perform it, Jeff Smith and readers of CHEVY HIGH PERFORMANCE magazine can't think of another '65 Chevelle that can duplicate his car's performance.

-Lane Staff