Cincinnati, Ohio, native Tom Kobman specialized in Corvette restorations for decades, then decided to take on a project far out of his wheelhouse. The change came in 2009, the year in which he purchased a 1962 Buick Invicta Estate Wagon and began a body-off-frame restoration to concours standards.
Upon successfully “day viewing” the 1962 Invicta station wagon, Tom shifted gears, opting to permanently move on from Corvette restorations and into restoring rare station wagons. After the Invicta, Tom found a 1968 Chevrolet Impala station wagon with a factory-installed 396-cid V-8. The car could be had at a reasonable price, but required a body-off restoration. Undaunted, Tom pulled the trigger on the rare big-block Chevy wagon and it was soon on his rotisserie, getting the complete restoration treatment.
The 396-packing 1968 Impala station wagon may have been relatively rare, but its scarcity couldn’t compare to his next discovery and purchase of a station wagon that is so rare, he never even knew it had been built by Chevrolet.
The first find
Back in 2013, during one of his regular late-night internet searches, Tom came across an automobile on eBay that stopped him in his search. When he saw the listing for a 1973 Malibu SS station wagon with a 454, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He said he didn’t know Chevrolet had produced such a
