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How many 79 malibu 4-speed cars made?

23K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  bb454camaro 
#1 ·
Hey guys i just picked up a nice 79 malibu standard shift car, factory 4-speed!!!! I know these cars are rare but i want to know how many of them was made in 1979? anybody have a link that tells the production on this kind of car? any help would be great Thanks :confused:
 
#3 ·
PICTURES! I have only ever seen one factory 4 speed G-body and that was a then new '79 El Camino, IIRC it was a "Royal Knight" edition or some goofy thing like that. Would have been a cool ride without the cartoon graphics.
 
#5 ·
Good find. :thumbup: I had a '78 with a 305 AT years ago, I'd love to find another one but a decent one around here brings pretty good money IF you can find one and the not so decent ones all got cut up for stock cars back in the 90's. :(
 
#6 ·
tiresmoke55 said:
Hey guys i just picked up a nice 79 malibu standard shift car, factory 4-speed!!!! I know these cars are rare but i want to know how many of them was made in 1979? anybody have a link that tells the production on this kind of car? any help would be great Thanks :confused:
Hey smoke I worked for the general in 78 when they introduced the new a & g body cars. In 1978 and 79 I remember seeing 1-79 Grand Prix 4-speed, 2 Lemans and 3 or 4 Malibu's. Very very rare cars in all car GM lines for 78-79 they probably only made hundreds.
 
#7 ·
1930u said:
Hey smoke I worked for the general in 78 when they introduced the new a & g body cars. In 1978 and 79 I remember seeing 1-79 Grand Prix 4-speed, 2 Lemans and 3 or 4 Malibu's. Very very rare cars in all car GM lines for 78-79 they probably only made hundreds.


Thanks very much for that info.. i knew they was really Rare but wow!! only 100's....
I WOULD LOVE TO GET THE ACTUAL PRODUCTION NUMBER ON THESE CARS U KNOW... even me having the build sheet i wonder if there is another way to find for sure that it is4-speed factory? never know the guy i got it off of could of pulled a fast one on me lol,, be hard to get that sheet but you never know,,,,,,

the trans hump where it is molded for the 4-speed is all factory so thats what im manly going off of right now,,,

I really wish i had a way to check the Vin code and be 100% sure!! :mwink: well thanks and have a good one,
 
#8 ·
I seen one once a long time ago around 83-84 it was an originally silver but had been painted black red interior and had supposedly went through the vette line for engine and trans 350/4speed and vette rally wheels. sounded a little far fetched but he had an certificate of authentication right from GM
 
#9 ·
I found a new 78 Monte Carlo on the dealer's lot in Berea, OH (then Merrick Chevrolet) back in the day. Had a factory 4-speed with a 350. Bought the car and drove it about 10 years before selling it to a friend's son who took it out to California and drove it ten more years. I remember a time or two when I took it in for service the mechanics would comment about how much 'special order' stuff was on the car that they hadn't seen before - aluminum this and heavy-duty that and such. There was nothing special about any of the options listed on the new-car window sticker. Of course, now I wish I still had it.
 
#10 ·
tiresmoke55 said:
Thanks very much for that info.. i knew they was really Rare but wow!! only 100's....
I WOULD LOVE TO GET THE ACTUAL PRODUCTION NUMBER ON THESE CARS U KNOW... even me having the build sheet i wonder if there is another way to find for sure that it is4-speed factory? never know the guy i got it off of could of pulled a fast one on me lol,, be hard to get that sheet but you never know,,,,,,

the trans hump where it is molded for the 4-speed is all factory so thats what im manly going off of right now,,,

I really wish i had a way to check the Vin code and be 100% sure!! :mwink: well thanks and have a good one,
Get the all the numbers and letters off the serial tag. You should be able to verify manual or automatic from the engine code. Any chevy dealer should be able to help you.
 
#14 ·
I think they where rare because those years power was um, a joke..
not many buyers for a 145hp 4spd car..
This was true at the time, but now, it's STILL a cool four speed car. :)

At the last car show I went to there was a 4 speed 66 Impala. When I was a kid I still would have dug it because I love wagons and always have. But the general public would have laughed at it. At the time a 79 Malibu was a sorry example of the great Malibus and Chevelles of just a few years before so there wasn't much we cared about them anyway.
NOW, that's all changed in my opinion, now I see those cars as a pretty damn neat car and will check them out often at shows.

Brian



 
#15 ·
I have a 79 El Camino with a 4 speed in it. It came with a 3 speed manual transmission. They made them with both 3 speed and 4 speed manual transmissions. They used Saginaw transmisssions. I put a ST10 transmission in mine. They also made some of the El Caminos without cat converters, mine is one of them. Mine came from the factory with a posi rear end, tilt, cruise, A/C and the gauges. They are repoping the pedals and clutch linkage. I have the T10 with the low first gear, the rear end has highway gears in it, I couldn't be happier
 
#17 ·
Did you know that there are 4 speed monte carlo SS's, (g-body, not the original) but only available in Mexico for some reason?

But anyways i was thinking about this while half-asleep; They really made alot of these a/g bodies. Every division except cadillac had one. This is amazing. Which GM division(s) designed it?
 
#18 ·
Chevy probably built most of them. They also had some in Pontiacs. They are rare no mater which brand they came on. You could get a 350 and 4 speed in 78, in 79 the 305 was the largest engine. Over on the Monte Carlo SS BB they are converting G body cars to manual transmission with the brake and clutch pedals from a 3rd generation F body and using a hydraulic clutch. People forget you are moving less weight on the 78 and up El Caminos. I put a roller cam 305 in mine, I'm happy with it, it pulls good. I have some full length headers but I have not tried to see if they will fit . I had trouble trying to get some shorties to fit
 
#19 ·
When GM designed them, they designed them so a dual exhaust could not be used without modifing them. The transmission cross member is made so a exhaust pipe will interfear with it on the drivers side. I cut a section out of the crossmember and braced it on top so I could run a exhaust pipe on the drivers side. Most of the aftermarket headers for a SBC say they won't work with the 78 and up 4 speed G bodies. They might after the cross member is modified.
 
#21 ·
I kind of enjoy when these "threads from the crypt" get resurrected. It kind of shows that what was interesting to some of us 5 years ago is STILL interesting today.

What year was it (1980's?) that GM produced a boatload of Malibu's with manual transmissions and sold them to the Saudi's ????

It sounds like history is about to repeat itself, with sales of the Malibu up 160% in the first 3 month of production.
 
#22 ·
The ones they made with manual transmissions have always been poplular. When they show up on Ebay there are always bids on them. There are some road test articles on the internet from back in the day. The only problem is they used a Saginaw transmisssion instead of something better. Some people have been using T5 transmissions for swaps. There is a night and day difference with the ST10 over the Saginaw.
 
#23 ·
I know this thread is old, but I thought I would post my info anyways. I owned a 79 Malibu Classic in 1985. Factory brown with tan interior, bucket seats, sun roof, landau vinyl top, 305 4bbl, factory aluminum intake, factory gauges and factory 4 speed on the floor in the console. Car also had what was referred to as the police package with a larger front sway bar and frame stiffeners. A very loaded car. Unfortunately, I totaled the car one Friday night, bought it back from the salvage company and parted the car out. My buddy at the time had a 1978 Malibu 305 four speed car and it was his car that actually turned me onto them and had me look for a four speed Malibu for myself. His was all factory black with black interior. bench seat, four speed on the floor, 305 4 bbl, cast iron intake, no gauges, no sunroof, no police suspension. A very basic Malibu. It also had multi colored stripes down low on the side of the body (dealer installed?) I only mention it because there was another black 4 speed Malibu roaming around at the same time that was identical to my buddies. (black on black with stripes) We also had a friend with a 79 El Camino that was a factory 4 speed car, also black on black in Jacksonville Florida. I've never seen another since then and am currently looking to purchase another some day I hope.
 
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