LAST EDITED ON Mar-29-19 AT 05:24 PM (EDT)
 
>I practiced on all sorts of different vehicles—my father had a
>little collection of 10-or-more-year-old cars at the time, the most
>expendable of which was his 1976 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu hardtop,
>a metallic green monument to the
>incredible knack GM's engineers had of getting as little power as
>possible out of an engine in the 1970s. Seriously, the Malibu
>sometimes had a hard time getting out of its own way, it was so
>massively underpowered.

It must have had a 6 cylinder engine in it then. My parents had a 1973 Malibu with the 350 V-8 big block in it. I learned to drive in that car in 1983 and it was the one I was allowed to drive after getting my license that year. Anyway, that thing was a monster and could haul two metric buttloads of ass with no problem. I remember coming back from Dixie Trek 86 through downtown Atlanta while following some friends to see a movie nearer to our homes. It was getting late in the afternoon, so we were doing a fair clip through the city. At one point I was doing 120mph passing by Georgia Tech on I-75/85. Which was a good trick considering that this particular stretch of Interstate was undergoing construction at that time (but not that day) and was a bit of a mess. It was a miracle that I didn't kill myself in that car.

On a side note, I hope whoever designed the engine compartment has to spend eternal punishment changing spark plugs in that model. With the big block in it, the #7 and 8 spark plugs were a royal bitch to change because of the air conditioner compressor was right above them. Those two plugs took at least as long as the other six to change. Every time I changed plugs I left with bare knuckles from the tight spaces.