1980 Malibu

I owned a '78 and an '80. Both were good reliable cars and farley comfortable. They lack the sophistication of pollution controls and electronics, but that may not be a bad thing from a repair viewpoint.

Lacks safety equipment (air-bags for example), and as such is probably not appropriate for a younger driver. As well, items such as seat belts, etc, could be compromised with age.

There are lot's of good, more recent cars available that would be a better choice.

IMHO that's probably a better car than GM is making today. Just make sure that it's not rusty underneath. ex-GF had a Monte Carlo (I think '82? about that time frame anyway) and the floor had rusted out around all the body mounts, when I tried to lift the body off to replace a broken body mount bolt I found that only a couple were doing anything in the first place. Car was immediately sold, with disclosure of issues to buyer.

It'll probably drive like an old lady car, but suspension upgrades are available and not that expensive and you can make them into nice handling rides. If only they'd stuck with the RWD midsize platform... really, this is an evolution of the old Chevelle/Cutlass/etc. Sure it has a tacky crushed-velour interior and sedate styling, but underneath, it's *better* than the oldies except for being down on power due to smog restrictions and the lack of big-cube engine options due to the desire for better fuel economy.

The only other issues I remember having with that old Monte were an AIR pump that packed it in and locked up (replaced it with one from a junkyard) and an alternator that wouldn't charge (this wasn't resolved; it was the last straw that pushed her to sell it after it didn't pass inspection due to the busted body mount bolt.)

Just MHO... but if it's a 2-door and in good shape, I'd buy it... for myself. (and then warm it up a little.)

nate

Only real trouble issues were if you got the wrong transmission for the engine you had. Plus they had a nasty habit of rotting out the frame behind the rear axle. Repaired a LOT of those. Nothing like washing the car and having the rear bumper fall on your feet!!!

I would go over it completely though because it is a 30 year old car. Unless it was kept in a nice climate controlled location things like brake lines/fuel lines/suspension items all rust. Common engine was the 305 with the TH350 behind it. They also stuck the TH200 in some, it was barely able to handle the engine though.

Of course if it was me I'd buy it for myself. Full frame, nice lines and you can do a LOT with them. Cleaned up, put some handling parts in it and toss a warm engine in there and you could have a nice show/go toy.

Less than 2k per year, and after 29 years still street legal?

I have a feeling our legs are being pulled.

Why not? My FILs '64 Chevy had 36,000 miles when my niece wrecked it just a few years ago. Everything except tires and battery were original.

Thanks for the info guys. I'll give a good look over tomorrow.

I had the 1980 station wagon, 6 cylinder, automatic, a long time ago. I had issues with the rear window above the tailgate. I could not clean the steering wheel without melting the texture off of it. I finally got rid of the car when the rear bumper fell off on Interstate

90, maybe it was the road salt used > I'm looking at a 1980 Malibu with 47k, as a knock around 1st car for my

GM steering wheels have not gotten any better over the years. I finally wised up and bought a Wheelskins steering wheel cover for my new company car as soon as I got it; my previous one was worn through to the foam after three and a half years and 80K miles. yeah, that's $50 or whatever that I'll never see again, but at least I won't be gripping bare nasty foam every time I have to go somewhere.

I also bought good rubber floor mats (WeatherTech - despite the cheezy looking advertising they're actually a decent product) at the same time, for the same reason - and I took my carpet cleaner and cleaned and then scotchgarded the front seats. Then I washed it well and rubbed in a coat of Nu-Finish. Yeah, I kinda went over the top for a car that isn't really mine, but I don't like driving around in a rolling junk heap.

nate

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:

Cannuck,

My 84 year old mother drives about 800 to 1000 miles a year.

My neighbor inherited a 78 Olds 88 in 1991 from an uncle that died....the car had only 600 miles on it. That averaged out to only 50 miles a year over 13 years the uncle owned it.

harryface

91 Bonneville 320,260 05 Park Avenue 92,153

Harry--- another WebTver My 79 y/o mother drives about 1000 mi/year also-- and has for decades. She has a junky looking 96 Corsica that she bought about 5 years ago with around

60K. I guess it is ok mechanically-- I have never driven it and only ridden it it once. I was down there to visit them over the weekend and told her I wanted to get it painted for her, but she doesn't want that. Eventually they will have to get down to one car when my dad-- nearly 88--- can no longer drive. He has an 03 Century they bought about 4 years ago w/ about 30K. Don't know what it has now, but now he probably drives about the same as my mother, or maybe even less. (Which is probably a good thing) Larry