I recently bought a car I was told was a '72 Chevelle Malibu, but it doesn't have the "Malibu" side tags, or holes in the body for them; does this mean the guy was lying, or did some Malibus not have the metal tags on the sides of the body? I appreciate the help.
--Rookie

Rule to remember:

All Malibus are Chevelles, all Chevelles are not Malibus.

Basicly a trim option at that point. Many people mistakenly think that Chevelle = Malibu, and as such, call all of them Malibus.

Without knowing more on the car, I couldn't say for sure (plus, I don't know much about that year)

Kurt

------------------
The 68 Chevelle info page. [last updated Nov. 30, 98]
www.geocities.com/~68_chevelle/Chevelle/Info.html (http://www.geocities.com/~68_chevelle/Chevelle/Info.html)
Email: Kbyfield@terracom.net
T.C. Gold #6
A.C.E.S. #1352

I could have sworn it was the other way around
All chevelles are malibus but not all malibus are chevelles. The malibu 300 deluxe is not a chevelle it's a 300.
Anyone else want to comment on this.

Actually byfeild is right. They are all Chevelles(even the 300 deluxe). Malibu is an option.

------------------
Wanted: 69 Chevelle Bumper Guards and a Maplight rearview mirror. http://sites.netscape.net/wasjunk57

In 1972, the Malibu was the "top of the line" trim package, the most "luxurious" if you may. Then came the Chevelle "Heavy Chevy" and then, of course, the SS. The Chevelle 4 door sedan was the lowest priced, but could be ordered as a Malibu with the more expansive trim package. Otherwise, it was a Chevelle, not a Chevelle Malibu.

Actually the Heavy Chevy" and the SS were options and not distinct models!

The Heavy Chevy option was only available on the Chevelle but not a Malibu. The SS option was only available on the Chevelle Malibu model.

That '72, if it was a Malibu would carry wheel opening mouldings, rocker panel mouldings, bright drip rails, additional chrome on grille (300 deluxe also), perhaps bright trim on the taillights(?). Inside it would have carpeting (300 deluxe also), all vinyl door panels with pleats and Malibu emblems. A base 'Chevelle' would have basically no chrome mouldings, and inside it would have a rubber floor mat, thinner seat padding and a strip of fake woodgrain running horizontally on the door panel.

Some say Toe-motto & some say Ta-motto I thought Malibu was a trim designation with more options

------------------
Lowered '67 Elcamino
ZZ430HP / 4L60
"Canyon Carver"

Since the HEAVY CHEVY was mentioned here, I might add that it was (for lack of a better term) a poor boy's SS. It did not have the chrome drip rail, wheel opening or rocker molding, which could be added in a heartbeat by the owner. I'm not a HEAVY CHEVY fan, so I never got deep into them, but I believe you could get almost anything except a 454 in one. I won't say that you couldn't get a CI Hood (I never saw one) because I got one (finally) on my 72 wagon.

------------------
Tom Parsons

My brother bought the most basic 2-dr Chevelle available in '72. A real strippo. 6 cyl and 3 on the tree. Maybe no radio. I'm sure it was a Chevelle by Chevrolet http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif, but it wasn't a 300.

What's the difference between a stripper Chevelle and a 300? Post vs no-post?

[This message has been edited by TK-70 (edited 01-20-2000).]

Thanks for the posts guys; things are getting one step more confusing, because the VIN number says that it's definitely a Malibu, but it doesn't have molding or the "Malibu" tags on the sides; my guess is that somewhere along the line someone decided they didn't like the extra chrome and took it all off (fine with me -- I don't really like it either). Thanks again! -- Rookie

As an example: In 68, the bottom of the line Chevelle was the "300". The top was the SS. Some of the different ones are:

300
300 Deluxe (what I've got)
Malibu
SS396
Nomad Station Wagon
Nomad Custom Station Wagon
Concourse

The Elky was a sub catagory of the Malibu and the SS396. The "official name", according the VIN breakdown for a SS Elky would be "Model 133-13880 2-Door Sedan Pickup, 3-Passenger", with the SS396 being cars of the 13800 series.

Kurt

What, my Elky is a malibu? Don't tell it that, please.

My 68 Elky, a "Custom Deluxe", has a Malibu steering wheel, dash trim, and door panels. I'm all but positive that Elky door panels won't fit any other "Malibu" models.

My first real hot rod was a 68 SS396 375HP 4 speed. It's only option was horsepower. No extra chrome, AC, PS, PB, or anything else. Interior ventilation was forced air through the kick panels. Grill was black. I was told that you could identify the 375HP versions by the black grill, but I'm not sure if that's accurate or not. But that car was DEFINITELY NOT a Malibu. I always hated it when people told me "That's a nice Malibu".

My 68 El Camino was a Malibu.
307 PG.

Well I'll get into this. Where I used to live there was a 1970 Chevelle Malibu Sport Sedan and a 1970 Chevelle Sedan, we had the same powertrain and options but I had chrome and a vinyl top and carpet. Another major difference was that the other didn't say "Malibu" on the steering wheel.

So it is a plausable assumption that someone along the line striped off the chrome, maybe they were short on cash and found a good deal. Or it was in a nasty front end "moment", my car has a "Chevelle" panel on the passengers side where a "Malibu" panel should be, thus no holes.

------------------
Francis Taracido Gold# 201 :)
sniper0666@aol.com
History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.
Oh No! You Know She's Got To Go!
Go Go Quadzilla! <oo=+=oo>
http://members.aol.com/sniper0666/page/intro.html

My 70 LS-6 came from the factory with malibu inside door emblems which I changed over to ss thinking someone had replaced the door panels. Then I realized they were factory installed when I found the build sheet behind the pass panel.

I have 2 64 El Caminos one is the standard (stripped) the other is the custom (bright trim). Both say Chevelle on the front fender, neither say Malibu anywhere. The interiors also have no "Malibu" in them anywhere. Both interiors are different from the Malibu as well as each other. I think GM used at least 4 different doorpanels in 64 maybe as many as 6.

------------------
Philip Valentine
Gold Member #42
"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."
philip@chevelles.com

My `66 Elky has the deluxe trim package and a few other options,and it says Malibu on the glove box door. It may have been replaced before I got the car though.

------------------

gearheadpauly