I know this topic has come up for discussion before. I have a 1980 Malibu, and I have an opportunity to purchase a refurbished frame from a Cutlass, and the seller believes that the Cutlass was a 1982. I've read discussions before, where people talk about differences in the front frame horns between some models. I have a copy of the '82-'88 Chevrolet G body parts catalog here, which includes '82-'83 Malibu, and '82-'88 Monte Carlo, as well as '82-'87 El Camino. Everything except the El Camino quotes the same GM part number for a complete frame assembly. So what I'm asking here is, does anyone know definitely whether or not the Cutlass frame will swap into my Malibu, and if so, how can you tell? Are there measurements that can be made on each frame to confirm if they're the same or different? Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.
A/G frame swap
- Thread starter clean8485
- Start date
G Body frame Interchangeability for 2 door and 4 door swap
I've searched and have found many contradicting answers. To start, I would only like to discuss the difference in the front frame horn section. I realize we can compress the 5 mph shock or lengthen the frame horn by cutting and welding. There also appears to be different 5 mph shocks.It would be...
gbodyforum.com
If that frame has long front frame horns, and yours has short. I'm pretty sure it's simple modifications to complete the swap. If it's a clean frame, I'd say go for it. Everything else is the same on 2 door and 4 door, I think after 83 they have the extension for the trans crossmember welded in. Take a pic of your frame and compare it to his.
gbodyforum.com
Different gbody frame length
Good day I have a 1980 Malibu in which installed a 1981-87 cutlass frame because my original frame was damaged in an accident and the only issue i have is that my front bumper sticks out a few inches from the grille leaving a big gap. I read that the cutlass frame is slightly longer because...
gbodyforum.com
Top image is a 79 Malibu sedan, bottom is an 82 Cutlass sedan. These photos were taken by myself at a friend's place that was stripping them for his roundy-round buddy. Crappy flip-phone pics, but you should be able to get an idea of the difference
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