HOT ROD mag: G-bodies=beaters

[Brother Al]

Bonnewagon, you are absolutely right... actually its funny that they recommend the Malibu, yet trash the entire platform at the same time.

Jiho: I completely disagree, the more you relegate anything to "Junk" status and poke humor at it, the less likely that thing is going to be appreciated by the masses.. especially in the aftermarket and salvage yards. If HR took a rough but solid, 1970, 307-powered Chevelle Malibu and called it a "Beater" in their next issue, they would be buried in cancellations...

IF we want to preserve our hobby and maintain the aftermarket support we still have, then we need to stop going along with that backwards sentiment about the A/G Body. What we need to realize is that these are the last of the high volume sales/mass produced RWD cars that GM offered. IF we do not take things a little more seriously, then we may be continue to see ever sharper declines in aftermarket support... especially because the RWD market "closed out" in the 90's with the F Body and B Body... It has already started to shrink rapidly, thanks to the dominance of FWD vehicles and that the "Tuner Cars" are what many "kids" are playing with today.. that is going to increase exponentially and if we don't carve out a bigger niche in the market, then we will be SOL...

Clone Tie Pilot made a comment to a post I made earlier, about B-O-P V8 engines becoming scarce... "Market Share dictates support..." Very True indeed, but as I was trying to point out, those engines were once dirt cheap and very common... today they are coveted and scarce... an Olds 403 was just a POS stuffed into the Firebird and today they are worth some good coin... Because A/G Body cars are still "common" in some places, and if everyone continues to believe that "I can just get another one cheaply a few years down the road"... then we will quickly discover over the next decade that we are screwed out of the hobby. Like the Pre-Corporate BOP V8's or any other resource that wasn't appreciated... gone today because people assumed that they were so common that they'd be around for many years to come... What is VERY True Today: the aftermarket doesn't support them very much because the Market Share is almost GONE... You can also see this trend happening with the losses in '78 -'88 G Body products over the last decade... This is also being seen in the '82-92 F Body market... there is simply less and less support... I was of the affirmation that '82-'92 F Body's were "junk".. until I got my hands on a very clean example of my own.. now I'm addicted to them because of their versatility and their capability to outhandle just about anything else, short of the newest performance cars... they are MUCH more capable in handling than the '93-'02 F Body, current Camaro, or "cough, cough" its competitor the Fox Body. Toss in an LS engine and put it on a diet... you have one hell of an all around great performer that will give a C6 Vette a hard time. There is a concerted effort to Re-recognize the 3rd Gen and it is succeeding... Owners of '78-88 A/G Body's need to push for the same.

I remember going to the boneyards with my Dad and Uncles in the 80's and seeing all of the dead cars from the 50's, 60's, and 70's.. cars that are worth a mint today... just useless scrap iron then, today those junks are worth more than their weight in gold. This is because of attrition and a resulting response by owner's groups which took the initiative to force the aftermarket to respond to their segment and produce restoration parts... so much so that you can buy a completely new body from Goodmark, for a number of popular cars, and quite literally build it from scratch with aftermarket resto parts.

Toby, you Sir are seemingly the "Chuck Hanson" of the '78-'88 A/G Body World... promoting these cars to the aftermarket and car magazines, and personally getting bits developed to help restore them... Back in 1996, before Chuck got too big for his britches, he pushed hard to get the '68-72 Chevelles recognized and was involved with having resto parts made for all of the '64-'72 Chevelles. He united the '64-67 Chevelle owners with the '68-72 owners under ACES (American Chevelle Enthusiast Society). By default, the other '68-'72 A Body owners also started getting their stuff together... Today you can build most from scratch. The market for these cars was slow in the early 90's because of the recession, but once people got money in their pockets again, those cars took off... the same for the 2nd Gen F Body's and '68-74 X Body (Nova)... I see the same trends now that I saw for those cars in the 90's, save for the fact that the economy today is far worse than it was in that recession. All of same types of parts are becoming scarce.. Tilt Columns, Coveted Oddball Options, HD rear axles (12 Bolts then, 8.5's now), grilles, trim bits, electronic components, stock radios that work, good wiring harnesses, bucket seats and center consoles, door panels, and of course, actual GM body panels... Back in the 90's it was "Swap in a Tuned Port or hot new LTI (90's version) in place of that tired BOP 350, Chevy 307, or Straight 6... today its, "Rip out that tired Chevy/Pontiac/Olds 265 to 307 and replace it with an LTI or LS engine"...

The more things change, the more they remain the same... :lol:

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

Clone Tie Pilot made a comment to a post I made earlier, about B-O-P V8 engines becoming scarce... "Market Share dictates support..." Very True indeed, but as I was trying to point out, those engines were once dirt cheap and very common... today they are coveted and scarce... an Olds 403 was just a POS stuffed into the Firebird and today they are worth some good coin... Because A/G Body cars are still "common" in some places, and if everyone continues to believe that "I can just get another one cheaply a few years down the road"... then we will quickly discover over the next decade that we are screwed out of the hobby. Like the Pre-Corporate BOP V8's or any other resource that wasn't appreciated... gone today because people assumed that they were so common that they'd be around for many years to come... What is VERY True Today: the aftermarket doesn't support them very much because the Market Share is almost GONE... You can also see this trend happening with the losses in '78 -'88 G Body products over the last decade... This is also being seen in the '82-92 F Body market... there is simply less and less support... I was of the affirmation that '82-'92 F Body's were "junk".. until I got my hands on a very clean example of my own.. now I'm addicted to them because of their versatility and their capability to outhandle just about anything else, short of the newest performance cars... they are MUCH more capable in handling than the '93-'02 F Body, current Camaro, or "cough, cough" its competitor the Fox Body. Toss in an LS engine and put it on a diet... you have one hell of an all around great performer that will give a C6 Vette a hard time. There is a concerted effort to Re-recognize the 3rd Gen and it is succeeding... Owners of '78-88 A/G Body's need to push for the same.

I feel that is quickly happening to SBCs now with the LS motors overtaking the industry. I just don't feel like starting all over again to suit the current fads the market wants to push on me besides the ungodly prices. This past year I am seeing this rapidly growing resentment towards all older engines online. That you are a loser if you don't run LSX. Yes I know LS motors have some advantages but getting it shoved in one's face gets old fast especially while saying the current stuff one has is now crap. In 20 years the LS family may be completly outdated too, everything becomes outdated sooner or later.

 

[Blake442]

I bought my rust free 86 MCSS as a rolling chassis for $500.
When it is up to $3500 it will be running with a Junkyard 5.3 and 4L80E, Craigslist Ford 9" with some nitrous, and I will have collected some parts for a budget ebay turbo build. That being said, it will just be a beater...

Yeah, but are you going to drive it in the snow? I doubt it...
LAXrated, are you going to drive that aerocoupe around in the snow and then junk it in the spring? Again, I doubt it...

You guys seem to be confusing your low-budget project cars with what the article was talking about as actual winter beaters. I'm getting the impression many of you haven't dealt with a real winter before.

A winter beater is a sacrificial lamb that takes the winter punishment while the cars that are special to us hibernate until spring.
It's something you spend absolutely no money improving, and the bare minimum to keep running.

The danger of what Hot Rod wrote is that it could lead misguided or simply unaware people into driving good cars to an early grave.
Now if they're using cars that are already too far gone to be projects/restored, that's fine, that's what I did with the Elky I mentioned earlier, but unfortunately it's tough to trust other people's judgment...

 

[Bonnewagon]

Really my first '81 Malibu wagon was beater priced-$300. But I never intended to use it like that. I just needed a wagon, and this one had a floor shift and full gauges. I knew nothing about these cars and parts were hard to come by. I think Dixie Monte Carlo and junk yards was the only real source at the time, early '90's. But the damn car grew on me and I drove it to work/fishing for 16 years! I had 5 different motors in it, biggest a 400. And when it dissolved I looked for another one and there were none. I bugged a 93 year old man for 5 years to sell me his Bonneville wagon, and now I want to keep it until I am 93.

 

[motorheadmike]

In all honesty, even from growing up in a family that thrived on G-bodies, I don't care what Hot Rod wrote because the truth of the matter is that they are relatively worthless beaters; and even some of the "flagship" trim models were lipstick wearing pigs on the best of days.

Yet, I have three (technically four) G-bodies sitting here at the house. Why, if they are so damn shitty? Because they are what I know and love. So **** what anyone else says, because if I followed the herd I'd be driving something with a lot less heart and soul.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

Yeah, but are you going to drive it in the snow? I doubt it...
LAXrated, are you going to drive that aerocoupe around in the snow and then junk it in the spring? Again, I doubt it...

You guys seem to be confusing your low-budget project cars with what the article was talking about as actual winter beaters. I'm getting the impression many of you haven't dealt with a real winter before.

A winter beater is a sacrificial lamb that takes the winter punishment while the cars that are special to us hibernate until spring.
It's something you spend absolutely no money improving, and the bare minimum to keep running.

The danger of what Hot Rod wrote is that it could lead misguided or simply unaware people into driving good cars to an early grave.
Now if they're using cars that are already too far gone to be projects/restored, that's fine, that's what I did with the Elky I mentioned earlier, but unfortunately it's tough to trust other people's judgment...

x1000000000! The term beater is used too loosely. A beater doesnt get a $3000 powertrain, a badass cruiser does 8)

 

[skulledmonte84]

Here's my beater 84 Monte.had the v6 229, i pay 400.00 cash, back in 2006 ,pic was taken a week later after i put tires,rims an that dumb looking spoiler on there,i drove it all the way up till 2011 "everyday driver" sun,snow,rain,sleet,hail,didn't make a f*** to me. loved driving it in the winter,gettin her sideways finally got me a truck in 2011 so,i parked it an then started to really work in her,it's coming together but 50.00 dollars more or less a month don't get to much stuff done in a hurry lol ,wish the snow would just go away an stay away forever.That way i can go out an do something to it

 

[marcar1993]

Ouch guys, not only do I own a g body, but a k car variant and a fox body fairmont.
I have to say, our fairmont with 200k miles served its purpose and 30 years of NJ winters took its toll, but with my dad's constant upkeep its still going, and kept him getting to work until he bought his truck in 2011. The car is still around, just basically maintaining it until maybe someday I can restore it.
Next up, my first car was a 91 Plymouth acclaim. Slow as hell, didn't look pretty, but it got great mileage, ran like a top, and always got me around. I only sold it because I needed a truck. Now I have more money in my pocket, I picked up another one, a 92 and it serves the same purpose. And beater isn't the idea here, daily yes, but my typical snow storm beater is my dakota plow truck, though once the bulk of the slop is gone, I do drive the acclaim.
You know what the best beaters truly are? Whatever you can find cheap that's on its last legs anyway and rotting away. Something that isn't going to get wrecked by salt, but maybe just have the job finished. Its a shame to subject any decent car to beater conditions because you can. There are plenty of fwd foreign cars to be had cheap that are mechanically ok and rotting way. Want a beater, get one of those. The only reason my truck sees this use it because its in it anyway making me $.

 

[bill]

8yrs ago, I had a vision of swapping my tired and spun bearing 3.8l v-sux for a rebuilt sbo 350 from the high compression era. If I had known then what I know now, It would have a modern chevy engine w/mpfi and electronic transmission. The idea was solid...the reality was a let down. But Im not giving up on it just because it requires more work, more headache, or more fuel. Someone, somewhere, someday, will appreciate what Ive accomplished and why...

 

[Bonnewagon]

I think Hot Rod's definition of a beater is a lot different than ours. To them it is synonymous with disposable. I guess my '99 Sunfire is a beater, but I'll be damned if I'd just dump it after a bad winter, it works too well. I guess in Hot Rod's mind you either drive a brand new Camaro, or a spotless classic Camaro, and anything else is junk. Funny thing is I know a LOT of people that buy $500 cars and drive them until they explode, then just get another, but we call them white trash and they probably don't read Hot Rod.