B body

[ztim]

What is a B body and how many cars and years would it cover? Is there a book with this info? Thanks

[Redog]

You asked a mouthful

I know for a fact that the B-body covers 1977 to 1996 which are the Impala SS, Impala, Caprice, Delta 88, Parsinine, and LaSabre.

Alos goes back to the mid 60's to the 70's covering the Older Impala and caprice models as well, but I'm not sure which else it covers

[joe_padavano]

Here's a primer on GM car line nomenclature (note this list is about 10 years old and GM has changed the nomenclature since then, but it covers most of the cars of interest to this forum):

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)

[texasred]

Good info Joe!

C.J.

[ztim]

The detail of your answer is outstanding. But the trim parts wouldn't be the same would they? Anyway, thanks! I am going to print your answer.

[Oldsfan]

Trim parts for your 88 probably interchange between '80 and '85. Some stuff may interchange with Custom Cruisers up through '90. Some interior stuff may interchange with '77 thru '79.

Paul

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by ztim

The detail of your answer is outstanding. But the trim parts wouldn't be the same would they? Anyway, thanks! I am going to print your answer.

It depends. The B-body cars went through an exterior change in 1980. 77-79 are interchangeable and 80-90 are interchangeable. Of course there are model and year differences, but bumpers (for example) are the same for all Olds B-bodies for 80-90. One thing to watch out for is the Custom Cruiser wagons use different front fenders than the sedans. The reason for this is that all the B-body wagons for 77-90 use the Chevy doors. The Olds sedans had a feature line on the doors and fenders, the wagons do not.

Interior trim varies by year and model.

[ztim]

How about the mounting bracket that the windshield wiper attaches to? The motor is underneath. I have one broken on the passenger side. Would one from any B body work?

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by ztim

How about the mounting bracket that the windshield wiper attaches to? The motor is underneath. I have one broken on the passenger side. Would one from any B body work?

I suspect those were the same on all B-C-D body cars for 77-90.