ALTERATIONS This is where I really got down to the blood, sweat, and tears. Anyone that's climbed under their car to repair something knows what I'm talking about. The scraped knuckles, busted fingers, and the dirt in the eyes! And how about the greasy coating on the bottom of the car from years of leaky underhood components and road dirt!?!? Plans for 2004 are here!!
Okay, now I'm getting the fever to race again. So I sat down and made a short list of what I had to do to get back on the track:
1. Adjust the rockers
2. Finish the bodywork and paint the car
3. Install an airbag in the right rear coil spring
4. Change the oil and filter
5. Flush and refill the cooling system
So, that's my short list. There are some other things I want to do to the car, but those will take time and money. I have serious plans to go mid 11's this year and after I finish the new mods...it should be no problem.

Here are some new modification to the car for 2000.

I wanted more room for bigger slicks, the 9" slicks were already rubbing the frame rails...so here's what I did:

I started by cutting the some of the inner fender away from the frame. I used a torch and a saws-all.
Then I used the torch to cut the frame rail down the middle at the top and the bottom. I took the piece I removed and cut most of the sides off. That left me with a flat panel that had small edges.
Then I used C-clamps to hold the flat panel to the frame with the edges facing the frame, making sure it fit properly.
Then I welded the two pieces together and welded on small 1/8" thick steel plates to cover the holes that were created when I cut the frame in half at the front and back of this area.
Then I cleaned up the welds and used spot putty to smooth it out. Then a coat of primer and gloss black paint. It looks good and works very well. It didn't weaken the back half at all! Part of the reason for this is that when I welded the roll bar in, I welded the back two down bars to the upper spring/shock mount plates and welded in a 2x3 steel tube right behind the spring/shock mount plates.
Then I took my saws-all and cut the fender lip. I just split it down the middle. That way it is still fairly strong and won't buckle. So, I started with about 12" of fender to frame clearance and now I have 14", enough room for 10.5" slicks. I have been complemented on my creativity on this project and I'm pretty proud of it too. Let me know if you intend on doing this. I'll fill you in on any other details. Click on image for larger view The car now has a rebuilt rear-end. I took the car to Automotion Race Cars in Indianapolis, IN and had them do the work. The 10 bolt now has a GM Stage 3 carrier, Richmond 4.10 gears, a Moser mini spool, new Moroso 7/16" wheel studs, and a Summit support cover. While putting in the rear-end I added DoetschTech drag shocks, Brute Force U-joints, and new bushings. I bought two 15" x 8" with 4 1/2" back spacing Weld Drag Lite wheels and mounted M/T 9 x 28 slicks and ended up using 1/4" spacers to get the tires off the frame rail. I added an RCI 8 gal. fuel cell, Holley blue fuel pump, a Fram fuel filter, and Moroso 1/2" aluminum fuel line. I also relocated the Duralast battery to the trunk. Click on image for larger view How I converted to manual brakes: The braking system on the car was done by myself. I had to do some fabricating to the brake mount. First, I disassembled the original power booster and removed the rod and trashed the rest of the booster. I had the rod lengthened 1.5" by welding in a 1.5" piece of bar stock the same diameter as the rod. I then cut a piece of 3/16" plate to cover the booster holes. I drilled the holes and used short bolts to attach it to the firewall. I cut a center hole for the rod to pass through...i believe it was 1" dia. (i made a template for the holes from the firewall) I then drilled the holes in the plate for the new master cylinder. I used the new master cylinder for the template. The master cylinder is from a mid 70's Chevy 1/2 ton truck. This setup works great. It stops my car at the 1st turn off every time. I would make 1 change if I did it again. I would lower the plate by about 1/2". I would then shim the top of the plate about 1/8". The new master cylinder has too much slant. I can't fill it properly. The thing to watch for if you do lower your plate is the rod angle. Make sure you use silicone to seal around the new plate.

Attention
Wade Carter wrote me with this information: He says, "I did a manual brake swap on my '78 Malibu and found that my local Auto Value parts store could order a manual master cylinder for my application, since they still had manual brakes on Malibu's in '78. I got it for around $20. After removing the old master and booster I found that the new master bolted directly to the top two bolt holes for the booster. I was lucky since my Malibu is a 78 there was a hole in the brake pedal that lined up with the top bolts (I don't know if all years had this). Since the new master was the newer style aluminum with a plastic resevoir, the angle matched the fire-wall and also came with the rubber boot needed. The only fabrication was to remove the rod from the booster and lengthen it, this was trial and error, and to fab an aluminum plate to cover the hole in the fire-wall. I haven't had a chance to drive the car but the brakes feel good."

Note
This is very similar to what I have done except that Wade was able to find a lighter master cylinder. Lighter is better. Thanks Wade.