Just picked up this 1978, 4sp, radio delete, 305 2bbl

[TURNA]

G-Body's only came with 3 or 4 speed Saginaws or a 5 speed T-50.

Nothing else ever from the factory.

Very nice looking wagon!!!

 

[pagrunt]

Did the Chevy factory 4 speed come with a 2 barrel?

The '78 LG3 305 2bbl & '79 267 L39 both did have the 4 speed as an option. The wagons could have a 4 speed in both '78 & '79 but not with a 350. The could have a 3 speed (base transmission) up to '81 only on Chevy V6's. To add, the '78 wagons had 2.73 gears, '79 had 3.08 gears.

Correct me if I'm wrong, muncies were built in Muncie, Indiana. Saginaws were built in Saginaw, Michigan.

Fantastic purchase. I love the options.

Oddly in the mid/late '70's the Saginaw trannys were all made in Muncie.

 

[Ribbedroof]

Hey Sean80monte, care to expand on that dislike? WTF

 

[aj1434]

Welcome to the site aj. As you have already discovered, there are lots of nice folks here. You have a cool looking wagon there. Do you have any interior photos, especially of the shifter area? GM usually installed the shifter on the factory manual transmission cars pretty far forward, and on the left side of the transmission tunnel. Its almost under the ash tray area, below the radio. That allowed them to offer the manual transmission on vehicles with both bench and bucket seats, without any shifter clearance issues with bench seat cars. I have a factory built 1980 Malibu 2 door V8/4 speed car. I'll post a photo or 2 here that shows the shifter on my car.
As for not having cranks for the rear door glass, that's normal. All of the '78-'88 A/G body 4 door sedans and wagons have fixed glass in the rear doors. On the wagons from '78 up, and on the sedans from 1981 & up, the rear doors have the swing out vent windows at the rear, behind the fixed glass. The hot ticket is if you have a car that has factory power operated vent windows.
As for verifying that its a factory built car, without a build sheet, it could be tough. If it was originally titled and sold in the States, then I'm not aware of any services offered for Chevrolet owners that could help you. If you could trace the ownership of the car back to the original owner, then maybe there will be some paperwork there that could help you. Bit of a long shot though.
Keep us up to date with the progress on your car.

Your shifter and location is the same as mine.

 

[ssbrewskyaz]

The column question is the most valid. The factory manuals have the column with the key release installed, they're hard to come by and usually only Re there on a factory install. Most people that change to a manual don't install the key release column.

Another thing to look for is the extension harness for the neutral safety switch down at the clutch pedal. These are really hard to come by, one can be made but you would be able to see if it was hacked into the main harness.

The comment about the rear Windows not going down; don't feel slighted, no G-Body rear Windows go down. They're all fixed In place as a cost reduction measure. ...

 

[CaliWagon83]

The comment about the rear Windows not going down; don't feel slighted, no G-Body rear Windows go down. They're all fixed In place as a cost reduction measure. ...

Probably my single biggest gripe about the G-body sedans/wagons.

 

[Local Hero]

Probably my single biggest gripe about the G-body sedans/wagons.

Mine too. Had I known this fact beforehand, I probably would have never made the purchase. My dog complains about lack of airflow in the back.

Nice color on your wagon aj. I really like the look of it with the wheels.

 

[GP403]

nothing to do with "cost reduction" anything. Look at the glass then look at the door. Where's it going to go if you roll it down?

 

[TURNA]

nothing to do with "cost reduction" anything. Look at the glass then look at the door. Where's it going to go if you roll it down?

They could have made it a half down window like alot of the 4 door/wagons back then all they needed to do was make a thicker door panel like in the B-Body's

GM was cheap

 

[CaliWagon83]

Thanks Local Hero. Plan on keeping the look. Want to get some 17” Rallye-style wheels to keep the look with sharper handling/performance. They cost a fortune, but sometimes you’ve got to pay to get what you want.