If it was a Malibu it should have had lower moldings, and the extended front grill/fender moldings, rather than the wheel lip moldings the SS cars had. What "V8" emblems are you referring to? A standard Malibu would have had "Malibu" emblems on each quarter panel, and of course a Malibu wouldn't normally have an SS hood...Seems strange they'd replace the stock hood with a steel SS hood rather than a fiberglass aftermarket one. I've also never seen a 72 72 code on a 69 Malibu...lots of oddities here.
A cool car for sure..