Welcome aboard Joe, and rejoice in your deliverance!!

Now that you've become enlightened don't stop there. If you're dead set on building a rod, even if it's down the road, you need to keep learning what's what. History is full of people who got the dream but missed the clue. That's how garages end up with pieces of cars masquerading as shelves. Building a car is a process, and if you don't really understand it, you set yourself up for failure. That's why I frequently recommend a beginner start with a car that's already together and running, and isn't a POS. That way they can tackle the "little" jobs and increase their knowledge base over time. And that's what it takes, time.

So the Malibu sounds like a good idea to me. As long as you don't go nuts for an original BIG BLOCK BOB, SS, gotta be numbers matching, etc. etc. type car, you can do a very respectable one for around $10k. Then while you enjoy that car, hang around the rod runs, or some of the guys in your area that build these cars, and learn from their experience. Read as many of the rod magazines you can stand, watch the silliness that goes on here, and go to any "Cruise In's" where you live so you can see the various components in use and talk to the owners.