weight diff between a GN & 79 MALIBU

[marred4life]

alright im getting started on my next project but dont have a vehicle yet im thinking of ether going with a 87 t type or a 79 malibu. i heard through the grape vine that the malibus are alot more lighter than the regals. im building a 109 engine but want to get a nice light car what are the wight differences from each other. i know power options are critical to this but ill be looking for a 6 cylinder malibu with no power options.

 

[NJ Torque]

I have a GN powered malibu... nothing new... and Ive head they weight less too... my 86 witgh everything and a 6pt cage and a glass hood weighed 3690

 

[TURBOELKY]

2990 with a v-6. I believe that was a 2 door, drop on some fiberglass bumpers, a glass hood, take out the a/c and you'll have a very light car. Then add in the speakers, the amps, etc. and your back to 2990 If you do that swap, you better start looking for a whole lot of parts. Interrior wiring, a rear end, a dash board unless your going to try to stick with the ugly 79 dash. And try to find an 82 malibu 2 door, very hard now days, but will save you money in the long run. oh, and get a gas tank too.

 

[bison]

This is a fairly big project if you want to swap out the dash. I saw one that was done very nicely last night in Newington CT at the car cruise at Burger King. It had a complete GN interior. There was no roll bar or AC in the car. With skinny drag fronts and light weight racing aluminum rims in the rear id guess it could be as light as 3000 with no driver. Probably closer to 3100 with lightweight street rims and tires on the front and being able to drive comfortably on the street. I find it hard to believe it could be lighter than that without glass bumpers and hood while having the full interior in it. That is unless it has a bunch of other lightweight components on it like the front support, and lightweight control arms.
Turboelky says 2990 with the V-6. That is damn light. Wish my tanks were that weight. A 10.0 car becomes a 9.60 car with equal 60's. A friend of mine had a street race Malibu 10 years ago that weighed under 2800 with him in it! lexan windows, glass everywhere including the bumpers, stripped interior, no door supports though they were still steel shells, small fuel cell with an aluminum headed SBC in it with a lot of spray. The 3mpg was enough to make you hate it after one night of driving. It should have been on the trailer except to race. That thing was a real torture chamber. I always wanted to put in one of my v-6's and see what it would do. Trying to find an un-molested non rotted malibu is a chore itself. Good luck with the project.

 

[TURBOELKY]

Bison

yup, pretty light, that was straight off the gm information page. the elky's 3200 lbs. w/ ac and a v6, I guess the extra weight from the 9 or 11 inch wheel base difference, one or the other I forgot. But the dash swap is the easiest thing you can do to keep it simple. If you have not done a dash before, get somebody to help or your going to be there a while. Ask fast-ed about a quality dash install, he'll steer you in the right direction Here are a few pics Bison, damn I miss driving this thing!!!

 

[TURBOELKY]

one more, this is right after I installed the new v6 stuff, notice the big fuel leak under the car??? trial and error baby!!

 

[graza002]

Got to love the Grand Elky!!! Here is a few more pics I took of your car from a while back.

 

[TURBOELKY]

Got to love the Grand Elky!!! Here is a few more pics I took of your car from a while back.

thanks Andrew, nice to see you got the acura fixed too! hey marred, get the malibu!! even a wagon

 

[Turbo1dr]

If you strip the car like 98% of all Malibu owners do, you'll be down to 3100 or less...without fiberglass or lexan. You can now get a rear bumper and front bumper covers and take the mucho heavy bumpers completely off and save about 80lb.


This is the weight of my Malibu FULLY LOADED with just about every power option there is plus more!

Left front: 910 - Right Front: 924
Left rear: 766 - Right rear: 780
WITHOUT DRIVER in total street trim: 3380

Left front: 984 - Right Front: 929
Left rear: 812 - Right rear: 811
WITH DRIVER in total street trim: 3536


My 87 GN with me in the car weighed 3640
My Turbo Trans Am with me in the car weighed 3580

 

[marred4life]

nice car wish it was in my driveway ive done a dash board swap before and it wasn't hard at all it took around 1.5hr to remove and install a the new one.

 

[marred4life]

thanks Andrew, nice to see you got the acura fixed too! hey marred, get the malibu!! even a wagon

im thinking about it just got to find the right one grandma driven to the max

 

[graza002]

thanks Andrew, nice to see you got the acura fixed too! hey marred, get the malibu!! even a wagon

Thanks!!! It was a real pain in the A$$!!! Marred, go for the malibu. I dont think there are any in the SoCal area. Start a new trend. So far no one else wants to do Toyota trucks

 

[TURBOELKY]

Thanks!!! It was a real pain in the A$$!!! Marred, go for the malibu. I dont think there are any in the SoCal area. Start a new trend. So far no one else wants to do Toyota trucks

here is where I got the weight information from, they must LIE!! ahhh

Chevrolet Malibu information, specifications, history, and images. High Resolution, Wallpapers, Destop Images.

 

[SS_Sean]

3028 pounds as pictured in my signature. I'm one of the 98%.

 

[wahoo50]

Here's one for you.

 

[bison]

Those are some nice cars guys. If i find a Malibu or Elky that is rust free ill probably grab it and do the same.

 

[RGS87GN]

i guess it really is impossible to make a el camino look cool.

 

[Turbo1dr]

i guess it really is impossible to make a el camino look cool.

How about this one?

 

[marred4life]

thats my dream car the best of both worlds

 

[SS_Sean]

Who owns that one?