1974 Chevrolet Malibu 250 inline 6 from North America
Summary:
Not a bad snapshot of mid-seventies Americana. Not at all :)
Faults:
Valve cover oil leaks.
Cold start driveability was mediocre - stumbles/hesitation until warm.
That was it :)
General Comments:
A stripped 4 door base Malibu. 250 inline 6, TurboHydraMatic 350 (the supply of Powerglides had dried up during the prior model year).
AM radio, heater, power steering and brakes, with full wheel covers. That was all.
Medium-blue, slightly Turquoise metallic paint, no vinyl roof. Black vinyl interior.
Generally competent, dead reliable vehicle.
Dull performance was the only real downside. The TurboHydraMatic 3 speed was a great ally to a de-smogged 6 cylinder engine (100 HP) pushing around 3700 pounds (not including passengers/cargo). Luckily, the 2 speed Powerglide was gone from the lineup at this point. Skimping on the amount of gears is not the thing to do when you already skimped on the amount of engine ;)
Decent handling and braking, as well as comfortable, roomy accommodations are a reminder of when General Motors dominated the market thanks to attention to details - even on the "stripped" models.
A good snapshot of the mid-seventies in middle America :) NOBODY would put up with such a basic-but-solid vehicle today.
Sadly, it met an unfortunate demise when a family member had a head-on with a mid-seventies Imperial.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 5th March, 2017
7th Mar 2017, 11:35
I think we can look at every single manufacturer and find that all of them did not have total shining moments. What brand do you drive? Let's try that theory and see if we can find any manufacturing flaws ever produced by your favorite brand. I have owned many cars, both foreign and domestic. There's models in each I would not touch. Go through the reviews on here for an answer past and present.
7th Mar 2017, 05:22
Was this Chevy that paid attention to details, the same brand that built the Vega?