nukesec1

I think I'm getting early alzhiemers and I'm not even 40 yet. I was just having a conversation with one of my Camaro buddies and I couldn't remember the body designation of our 2nd gen Z28's (mine is '78, hers is '80). I wanna say they are B body cars. And to make this Olds relevant. What is my '73 Cutlass Sup considered? And how do they come about these anyway? Is it just when the manufacturer makes a major body design change? I know my brothers '67 Barracuda is the Chrysler A Body and my coworkers '93 'Stang is called the Fox Body. And I've heard my particular Olds referred to as the Big Body GM era of cars. And another co-workers '70-something Cordoba is referred to as a B body (I think?). It's all confusing to me. Can someone help clear this up? Now, with all this talk about bodies and since I have the day off.....I'm gonna take my Fat Body out to garage and get into my Camaro and take a spin behind 500 horses of awesomeness! I love living in a desolate area of the county I live in. You never see a Sheriff's Deputy out this way and they just refinished Rte 49. Ahhhh, fresh blacktop!

wmachine

Courtesy of our own Joe Padavano:

GM Passenger Vehicles:

A - 64-80: RWD Cutlass/Skylark/Chevelle/LeMans/Malibu/Regal/Special
81-96: FWD Ciera/Century/Celebrity/6000
A Special - 68-80: RWD Coupe Monte Carlo/Grand Prix

B - 62-95: RWD Delta 88/LeSabre/Caprice/Bonneville/Roadmaster/
Parisienne/Catalina/Impala,etc
92-96: Buick Roadmaster
94-96: Impala SS

The B-body has always been RWD, and ceased to be produced around December 14th, 1996. The B body Bonneville was discontinued in 1981 and then brought back as the Parisienne in about '84. 1985 marked the last year for Olds and Buick RWD B-cars, and the new for '86 FWD models were built on the 'H' platform, which closely resembled the FWD 'C' cars. B-body wagons continued past '85; Pontiac was the first to be discontinued ('90??), followed by Olds ('92), then Chevy and Buick early in 1996.

C - 83-Dn: RWD 98/Electra 225
84-Up: FWD 98/Park Ave

D - Dn-96: RWD Fleetwood/Sedan DeVille/Limo
85-96: RWD Cadillac

When the 'C' cars went FWD in '85, the rear drive Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (renamed only Brougham from '87 -'92) continued to be produced, and became the D-body.

E - 64-94: Toronado/Eldorado/Riviera

F - 67-up: Camaro/Firebird

G - 78-88: RWD Sedan Cutlass/Regal/Malibu/Bonneville
95-up: FWD Aurora/Riviera
G Special - 81-88: RWD Coupe Cutlass/Regal/Monte Carlo/Grand Prix

I'm sure many Canadians would associate the '80s use of the Bonneville nameplate with the 'G' platform (4-dr), while 'Parisienne' would grace the Canadian B-body conterparts. The G body was renamed the Bonneville instead of the LeMans in 1981.

H - 71-77: Vega
H Special (HS body) - 75-80: RWD Starfire/Skyhawk/Sunbird/Monza
(also called H07)
H - 85-Up: FWD Bonneville/Delta 88/LeSabre

Pontiac introduced their FWD H-body, the Bonneville, in 1987.

J - 81-Up: FWD Firenza/Skyhawk/Sunbird/Cavalier/Sunfire/Cimarron

K - 85-Up: FWD Seville
K Special - 84-Up: FWD Deville/Concours

L - 87-96: FWD Corsica/Berretta

M - 85-Up: FWD Chevy Sprint/Geo Metro

N - 85-Up: FWD Calais/Somerset-Skylark/Grand Am

P - 84-88: Fiero
97-Up: Electric - EV1

P-90 - 97-Up: FWD Malibu/Cutlass

R - Geo Spectrum/Storm

S - 84-Up: Chevy Nova/Geo Prizm

T - 74-85: RWD Chevette/T-1000

U - Lumina APV/Silhouette/Transport

V - 87-93: Allante
97-Up: RWD Cadillac Catera

W - 88-97/98: FWD (GM-10) Cutlass Supreme/Regal/Grand Prix/Lumina
97/98-Up: FWD (MS-2000) Intrigue/Monte Carlo/Grand Prix/Century/Regal/Impala

X - 62-79: RWD Nova/Omega/Ventura/Apollo/Phoenix
(also the original RWD Seville)
74: GTO
75-79: F-85, Skylark
80-85: FWD Omega/Skylark/Phoenix/Citation

When this small Cadillac was introduced in 1975.5, GM made so many changes to the 'X' chassis that they gave the Seville a K-body designation (GM's K-car !). The 'K' platform remained a separate entity until about 1991. If I remember correctly, it was amalgamated with the 'C' cars in '92. The K-cars had much in common with '80 and up E-cars.

Y - 53-Up: Corvette

Z - 58-69: Corvair
90-Up: Saturn

GM Trucks:

C - All: Full Size 2WD Pickup
Dn-87: 2WD Blazer/Jimmy/Suburban/Crew Cab
92-Up: 2WD Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban/Crew Cab

G - All: Full Size Van

K - All: Full Size 4WD Pickup, including Blazer/Suburban/Crew Cab except 88-91
Dn-87: 4WD Blazer/Jimmy/Suburban/Crew Cab
92-Up: 4WD Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban/Crew Cab

L - 91-Up: AWD Astro/Safari

M - 85-Up: 2WD Astro/Safari

P - Delivery Van

R - 88-91: 2WD Blazer/Jimmy/Suburban/Crew Cab (old-style body)

S - 82-94: 2WD S-10 Pickup/S-15 Pickup/S-10 Blazer/S-15 Jimmy
95-Up: 2WD S-10 Pickup/Sonoma/Blazer/Jimmy

T - 82-94: 4WD S-10 Pickup/S-15 Pickup/S-10 Blazer/S-15 Jimmy/Bravada
95-Up: 4WD S-10 Pickup/Sonoma/Blazer/Jimmy/Bravada

U - 88-96: Lumina APV/Trans Sport/Silhouette
97-Up: Venture/Trans Sport/Silhouette

V - 88-91: 4WD Blazer/Jimmy/Suburban/Crew Cab (old-style body)

nukesec1

WOW! Now I'm really confused! Where can I get this info in a printed version? That's really good info to have. The break donw of all the designations. Thanks! I think? LOL!

wmachine

Use your computer! Highlight the text, right click "copy" and then paste it onto an empty word document, or open an email and paste it onto the email, then print it. You don't even have to send the email.

joe_padavano

I actually updated it and made it a sticky on the Tech Editor's Forum

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...platforms.html

joe_padavano

By the way, the 2010 Camaro is the first Camaro that does not carry the F-body designation.

csstrux

For real?! What are they calling it?

nukesec1

Really? I did not know that. What are they calling it?

nukesec1

Now I have more questions. This is driving me crazy now. I owned a '94 Roadmaster and was told by a GM mechanic that the Roadmaster, Caprice, Impala and all GM trucks of those production years had the same frame. I'm not trying to make a science project out of this. I'm just curious. It seems from Joes info that the designations come from frame, and wether or not the vehicle is FWD or RWD. Am I correct?

joe_padavano

They're not MY designations, they came from GM.

The trucks and cars do not share frames. They SOMETIMES shared brakes and even spindles. The B-body cars you referenced (Roadmaster, Caprice, and even Custom Cruiser) DO share brake rotors, calipers, and rear drums with the half ton full size pickups in certain years. That's ALL that was common. Your mechanic friend is misinformed (which would worry me a little if he's really supposed to be an experienced mechanic).

The S-series trucks also shared suspension and brake parts with the G-body cars. In this case, the front spindles interchange as well as the rotors and rear brakes.