rare g-body
- Thread starter 80malibuv84sp
- Start date
- Status
up to 81 is an A-body .... 82-88 is a G-body. My 81 is a classified as AK47
A - series or chassis
K - sales VIN code for Calais models
47- 2 door
from 82 and up the A designation was given to the "new" front wheel drives: Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.
A new designation G body was given to the existing rear wheel drive: Buick Regal/T-Type/GN/GNX, Chevrolet El Camino, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Monte Carlo SS, GMC Caballero, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme/Cutlass Calais/Cutlass Salon/Cutlass Supreme Classic, Pontiac Bonneville, Pontiac Grand Prix, Pontiac Grand LeMans.
78-81 models were the last of the rear wheel drive A-body cars.
A - series or chassis
K - sales VIN code for Calais models
47- 2 door
from 82 and up the A designation was given to the "new" front wheel drives: Chevrolet Celebrity, Pontiac 6000, Buick Century, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.
A new designation G body was given to the existing rear wheel drive: Buick Regal/T-Type/GN/GNX, Chevrolet El Camino, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Monte Carlo SS, GMC Caballero, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme/Cutlass Calais/Cutlass Salon/Cutlass Supreme Classic, Pontiac Bonneville, Pontiac Grand Prix, Pontiac Grand LeMans.
78-81 models were the last of the rear wheel drive A-body cars.
Ok so "technically" the 80 Malibu is classified and originally designated as "A body", however it's structurally a G-body and since the english language is progressively developed I think it's safe to say that the majority of g-body enthusiasts and the general public will consider an 80 Malibue as a G-body. Nuff said. :wink:
My understanding was A-bodies were late 60's, early 70's. I do remember this coming up somewhere when I looked up the history of the malibu. All well, all I know is I can take almost all the parts from a g-body and stickem on my a-body 
when the new body styles were released in 1978, heavily downsized from 1977, the cars that we know as G bodies were initially called A bodies, as they had been when on the older, larger bodies. They remained A bodies until, if memory serves, 1981 when GM gave the A body designation to a new line of (again if memory serves) compact cars. The existing A bodies were renamed G bodies, and the rest is history.
There is, to my understanding, no difference between the '78-80 A bodies and the '81-88 G bodies. They are the exact same thing, just renamed.
There is, to my understanding, no difference between the '78-80 A bodies and the '81-88 G bodies. They are the exact same thing, just renamed.
- Status
Similar threads
