When General Motors introduced its latest midsize A Platform for the 1964 model yr, the A-based Pontiac GTO got a lot of the attention on the time. In the long term, though, the Chevrolet A-Bodies proved to be the platform’s big success story. By the center Nineteen Seventies, The General was raking in big money with the Chevy Monte Carlo, essentially a Chevelle with a lengthened snout and a generous helping of vinyl-and-velour luxury plus crypto-Charlemagnic crests (though, to be fair, its Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme sibling outsold it in some years). For those automotive shoppers throughout the 1973-1977 period wanting Monte Carlo swank on a good budget, the Chevrolet Division offered the reasonably sporty-looking Chevelle two-door. Here’s one among those cars, present in a self-service automotive graveyard in Phoenix, Arizona.
All members of the 1964 Chevrolet A-Body were badged as Chevelles, including the truck-bed-equipped Chevelle El Camino (throughout the remainder of the Sixties, Chevelle badging progressively faded from Chevy’s cartruck). At the moment, the Malibu name was used to designate the Chevelle’s top trim level.
The Malibu name proved so popular that it got here to be seen as a model in its own right. By 1976, all Chevelles were Malibus; for 1977, the Chevelle name remained in use for marketing materials but was not present in the cars themselves. Starting in 1978, the Chevelle name got the axe and the Malibu name has reigned supreme since that point (you’ll be able to still buy a brand new Malibu today, despite years of stories of its impending demise).
Because of worries about ever-stricter rollover-safety regulations, The General replaced A-Body two-door hardtops with a fastback-ish pillared design often called the “Colonnade Hardtop” starting with the 1973 model yr. This included the Monte Carlo, which also got a couple of hundred kilos of added gingerbread and rococo body lines.
Those within the know understood that the Monte and the Malibu coupe were just concerning the same automotive, mechanically speaking, and that the Malibu Classic two-door may very well be optioned as much as match the plushness of the Monte Carlo for much less money.
The MSRP for the most affordable possible 1977 Monte Carlo was $4,673 (about $24,586 in 2023 dollars), while a Malibu Classic coupe with the identical powertrain because the Monte Carlo began at $4,455 ($23,439 after inflation). Add a couple of snazz-enhancing options and also you’d minimize your Monte Envy.
After all, you would save even more for those who selected the bottom 250-cubic-inch (4.1-liter) straight-six engine in your Malibu. That is what the unique buyer of this automotive did. This engine was rated at 105 horsepower and 185 pound-feet (the entry-level Malibu/Monte Carlo V8 was a 305 — aka 5.0-liter — with 140 horses and 245 pound-feet). With this setup, a 1977 Malibu Classic coupe began at just $3,926 ($20,656 now).
After all, the ’77 Monte got here standard with an automatic transmission, while the six-cylinder Malibu Classic had a three-on-the-tree column-shift manual. The three-speed automatic on this automotive added $203 to its price ($1,068 in today’s money).
It also has air-con, advisable in Arizona. The worth tag: $471 ($2,478 now).
This automotive ended up here due to a not-so-hard crash that also caused enough damage to show a running automotive into scrap metal, value-wise.
Comfortable, and considerate.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
