Radio Shack Company Car? 1977 Chevy Malibu Classic Junkyard Find

Another 70s Malaise era Chevy Abody make it into the junkyard. This time it's a 1977 Malibu Classic that was purchased new as a company car for the Tandy Corporation out of Ft Worth Texas which also owned Radio Shack. This one was pretty much your average run of the mill GM product of the day. It did have sport mirrors and rally wheels. It also had, according to some paperwork in the car, a rebuilt 305 installed back around 1990. Its been off the road for over two decades but I bet that dam thing still runs.

[@googleusergp]

Whoa Nelley, it's a Malibu and it's got some boo-boos. Yes, some of the stock rims are a hard sell. I had a set of take off six lug OBS GM truck rims and I wound getting about $200 for them, but I didn't pay for them (my friend gave them to me to sell along with some tools for me to keep), so they were pure profit. That's the other half of the dealer order acknowledgement, which generates the options that go on the window sticker. We got the VIN, we win: 1 for Chevrolet, D for Malibu Classic, 29 for four door pillar sedan, U for 305 V8 with two barrel, aka RPO code "LG3", Chevrolet produced, 7 for 1977 model year, R for Arlington, TX assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Arlington, TX plant still operates today and produces trucks and SUVs. Hudiburg Chevrolet was located on 7769 Grapevine Highway in Fort Worth and there is an appliance repair shop at that location now. There is still a Hudiburg Chevrolet at 6000 Tinker Highway in Oklahoma City, OK. RPO code M40 is typically for a THM400. RPO code M33 and M38 are THM350. That address today is a Bank of America location, but back then it was Tandy Corporation who owned Radio Shack. Tandy made early personal computers such as the TRS-80 which was the first computer I learned to use in grammar school. This was probably either a salesman's car or a corporate executive's car. It didn't take long for it to be assembled and then shipped to the dealer as it was made in TX and sold there. Yes, we must always verify, because when you get the tag, you can brag: ST77 for 1977 model year, 1AD29 for Chevrolet (1) Malibu Classic (AD) four door pillar sedan (29), R for Arlington, TX assembly, 71C for Firethorn knit cloth interior trim, A65 for front split back bench seat with center armrest, 13L and 13U for Silver lower and upper exterior paint, looks like 10E for the fifth week of October 1976 production. Whoa Nelley, owned by Tandy and used to be fine and dandy. 305 took a nosedive. 1977 and going to Heaven. That's it, time to quit. Fisher Body code 1AD29 is out of time. "It's been a while....." (Staind/Been Awhile/2001) and this one is ready for the pile. Going to be flat and that's that. Made in the Lone Star State and no longer great. RPO code LG3 and it's over for thee. Chevrolet Malibu and it's over for you. Going to get squished and all of the A body faithful, some here, perhaps Benny and yes, the Google Man too are going to be pissed.

[@ppeters480]

Thanks for the additional info its golden !!!

[@joesmithjoesmith4284]

I never figured out why GM used the M40 RPO code on vehicles equipped with something other than the TH400. Used to see it more on the trucks having the M40 RPO but TH350 installed. According to the 1977 Chevy engine and transmission usage chart, the A-body w/ LG3 could have either a M29 or M38. The peak under the car lets you see the rear of the transmission with a vacuum modulator, so it's a M38. I think it was late '70's GM put VIN labels on the back side of the door panels, so if you removed the door panel to make a warranty adjustment, you had to peel one off and stick it on the repair order.

[@googleusergp]

​@@joesmithjoesmith4284 Mid 1970s on the label under the door panel.

[@googleusergp]

​@@ppeters480 Sure thing.

[@Sedan57Chevy]

Not sure why but these colonnade cars have always spoken to me. My favorites are the 73 Buick Century and the 76-77 Grand Prix, but they all had unique looks and, with as rare as they are today, really stand out.

[@johnwilliam384]

I remember that Radio Shack slogan: "You have questions,We have Answers." Think there's only three left in the Country.

[@ohioyodertoter6827]

Was gonna say Tandy corp could it have been owned bye radio shack 🤔

[@gideondingle9363]

I guess they ran outta answers.

[@RageousMode]

Thanks for covering this brother. I have a '76 coupe my Dad bought new and being in Canada the winters and salt have murdered the body panels. It kills me being up here and seeing repairable, rust-free panels so far away. That beauty actually has a lot of salvage I could use, feels bad :( Great documentation with it.

[@henryhendriks9499]

As always a very entertaining video . Was a fine car in his better days.greetings and god bless you.Henry Hendriks from Arnhem in the Netherlands.

[@JCT442]

Sounds like maybe a Radio Shack company car; Tandy owned Radio Shack based in Fort Worth. Might explain the lack of options.

[@googleusergp]

Maybe they were going to retrofit a Realistic radio in it to showcase the product and that's why they only got it with an AM radio. LOL.

[@michaelwisniewski2037]

Big fan of the 73 to 77 chevys here. Those fenders are always good to grab when u can get em there non reproduction

[@XCELERATIONRULES]

73-77 bumpers always outlast the car itself,chrome process was amazing.

[@malikdigger4544]

I alway admired the 1974-77 GM A body car's but fact that this was a old ( Radio Shack) car makes it even kooler.

[@xnotx2]

Must have been a Tandy computer vehicle for sales guys or maybe higher ups.

[@googleusergp]

I agree, Tandy owned Radio Shack.

[@nlpnt]

Definitely not a company pool car, they wouldn't have sprung for the Malibu Classic trim level on those.

[@googleusergp]

@@nlpnt Who knows. Maybe they got a deal on it. LOL.

[@mjc8248]

I miss the old colorful interiors, except for 90s ford truck red. I had a span where every ford truck i bought had red interior and im still traumatized. I used to buy cars based on odd interior colors alone. I bought a cartier lincoln just because it had green interior and a taurus with purple interior. Nowadays you get black, tan, and many shades of grey. Its so boring.

[@PHXez7939]

I liked the round headlight model from the early 70s myself.

[@mjc8248]

Once they went to the square headlights they were dead to me. I have owned several chevelles and Malibus from the 60s but those later model cars never appealed to me.

[@MrSmokingfrog1]

Wow, I had one same year and color back in 94, it had a 250(6cyl) engine. It was in immaculate condition at that time since it was 1 owner elderly lady owned with 44K original miles at the time. I wish I would have kept it, but I needed the cash to buy a 68 Mustang fastback 3 months later. 😀

[@TheBBodyBuilder]

Happy Easter Benny! You know if you were looking for that car I bet you would be hard pressed to find one. In the past I always considered Malaise era vehicles to be nothing more than drive line donors at best…now I’d love to find a solid one to LS turbo. Benny ever contemplate locating solid Southern project vehicles for your Northern viewers?

[@nathankim7664]

I dunno why, but I have a soft spot for fleet cars/vans/trucks. Yeah they're basic, but at least they were maintained well especially if they were state/government/corporate owned. Big Al's Bike & Auto is trying to save every mid-2000s Malibu owned by AT&T. Did you save the manuals Benny? I hope you did because the books are MINT! Such a shame for this car, this Malibu could've been saved. 305 will run and the interior is in good condition!!!

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Cool 🥰

[@CR7659]

I always take those owners manual packets. Yards here don't even charge for them. Never worth very much, but I chuck them in a milk crate and take it to the swaps.

[@johnhill8046]

Neat 70s chevrolet

[@scottvincent3062]

Back in the summer of 84 my dad sold his 79 ramcharger to pay bills when he was laid off from the mill, the day after they called him back to work so he bought a 74 malibu 4 door for 200 bucks from a young guy who lost his license and who needed to pay speeding tickets because his parents were going to throw him out, it was blue, lowered had chrome reverse rims with baby moon hub caps and the reason he had so many tickets was it had a 70 corvette lt1 engine in it, he even flared out the rear wheel openings to fit wider tires on it. The front floor boards had rust in them so my dad grabbed some 1/4 in armor plate from the scrap pile at work to fix the floor, my dad drove it for a month because he drove 30 miles one way to work and he got tired of the lousy gas mileage so he parked it and gave it to me to use that fall when I turned sixteen. I drove a month myself when I dukes of hazzarded it in a field, got run off the road by an angry gals boyfriend after leaving a party that fri night, 3 coils springs broke, bent a couple of rims bad and cracked the tranny case from the starter to the tailshaft.

[@45AMT]

Yep Tandy corp is or was the parent company for Radio shack. Based in FT Worth. Car was delivered 2 months after I was born LOL!

[@xnotx2]

Sweet, a Malibooboo. My dad had one, but think it was 2 door with an inline 6.

[@robertlyman9789]

Funny all old car doors make that sound

[@quicksilver462]

Probably still runs!

[@ClassicRideSociety]

I wouldn't doubt it

[@buckster2575]

Keep that paper work and window sticker.i found one a 98 GMC truck I kept.

[@isaackinghan2556]

Would love 2 see what cars they hsve out the fromt for sale lol thdy have few nice cars u should do wee video 😂

[@rudyflores9395]

I need the chevy cobalt hub caps

[@diedonner299]

If you find any first gen Mercury sable or Ford Taurus 1986-1988 in those yards please show!

[@lateefcarrere1649]

Well, if wrecking yard workers WERE smart, they wouldn't be in a wrecking yard. That's not a blanket indictment, just my experience with the occasional trip to the yards. In other news, that Malibu still looks like it has a few miles left in it.

[@leedaniels7196]

It sure does!.I would love to have that for a restoration project.

[@victorrobinson9116]

Keep All Chevy keys stock up on them 😢

[@terrencegiordan2775]

Benny and the jets that is because everyone wants the 15x8 rallies.

[@Cheezwizzz]

500 bucks for A/C ?! Whoa

[@googleusergp]

It was an expensive option back then.

[@Cheezwizzz]

@@googleusergp Almost a fifth of the overall cost of the car!

[@googleusergp]

@@Cheezwizzz That's how it was back then. It was an expensive option and when people "ran out of gas" (money) when ordering options, AC was sometimes left off (to be regretted later by some).

[@gideondingle9363]

I have a 77 GMC Sprint with that same front end.I need those rear bumper guards.Can somebody get them 4 me?I'm in California.

[@randywineinger779]

Rough shape and it's a more door. I think it's care is sealed.

[@cootersgarage4408]

Where's this yard? Looks like they have some Cadillac fleetwoods

[@ClassicRideSociety]

Pick n Pull Ft Worth

[@cootersgarage4408]

@@ClassicRideSociety thanks.

[@ClassicRideSociety]

@@cootersgarage4408 that firebird you wanted the radio out of was at Apache wrecking yard just south of Ft Worth. I haven't been by there since

[@garymckee8857]

The first 4 barrel 305's l remember were installed in 82 Camaro's . Google can set me straight on that.

[@googleusergp]

Earlier than that. I parted out a 1979 Cutlass with a 305 VIN code "H" engine.

[@garymckee8857]

@Google User GP Thanks, l thought they might have installed some on some late 70's Caprice or similar models.

[@googleusergp]

@@garymckee8857 An '80 Caprice with a 305 was four barrel "LG4" VIN code "H", the 1979 was a two barrel VIN code "G", RPO code "LG3". My grandfather had a '79 with a 305 V8.

[@garymckee8857]

@Google User GP I had a 77 but it was a 305 two barrel.

[@googleusergp]

@@garymckee8857 Same as my grandfather's and the same engine as in this Malibu. 1977-1978 were the VIN code "U" 305, RPO code "LG3". In 1979, it changed to a VIN code "G" and was still two barrel. You could get a 305 VIN code "H" but in other models. The 1979 Cutlass I parted out was a 305 V8 with four barrel. I remember taking the Q-Jet for it and selling it later on.

[@MrTonyPiscatelle]

I was wondering why do you have to show the data plate to the ( google man ) I don't understand .

[@googleusergp]

He shows it so I can decode it and we then know what we're looking at. If you look at my posts, I decode the VIN and the trim tags and decipher what the codes signify. The details are always in the numbers. With the tag, we can brag and with the VIN we can win.

[@gideondingle9363]

Get that owners manual.

[@Leo-DaGreek]

FT Worth TX car

[@ClassicRideSociety]

Yep 👍

[@armandodimarzio1136]

Tandy Corp radio shack ?

[@ClassicRideSociety]

Looks like that would be it. I should have looked it up myself when I seen that. Thanks for the tip. 👍

[@dcguenter]

@@ClassicRideSociety Not Radio Shack, Tandy Corporation was a leather manufacturer based in Ft. Worth. My Grandfather owned a leather manufacturing factory here in my little city of Barrie Ontario, Tandy had a factory just a few blocks down, but that was back in the late '70's....

[@googleusergp]

Yes, Radio Shack was part of Tandy.

[@dcguenter]

@@googleusergp True, but a leather company first...

[@googleusergp]

@@dcguenter Tandy Corporation did sell leather goods for a time, but it's the same company. Tandy eventually got out of the leather goods business and sold electronics/computers/parts ala Radio Shack. They were based in Forth Worth, TX. The address on the dealer warranty folder comes directly back to the Tandy Corporation, an electronics vendor and supplier.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Another one that shouldn't be in the Junkyard Also, who are these Junkyard employees who are constantly destroying classic cars? They need better training or better employees

[@debrastarke3996]

First year of the blue 305’s. Worthless engine really, made with cheap quality metals, cams would go flat 40 to 50 thousand miles. Chevy wouldn’t fix them, just replace with “Targetmaster” engine under warranty. Real common back in the day

[@davidingling9791]

Too many doors!

[@johndrake2729]

Why is it called a Radio Shack car? Should have called it a Kojak car ... oh, wait, he drove a Buick.

[@ClassicRideSociety]

I figured since it was purchased by the Tandy Corporation, it was probably a radio Shack company car as radio shack was owned by Tandy

[@ajloko8955]

I would have got them rims you trippin man easy to sand and paint and put caps and rings on . Always grab them

[@ClassicRideSociety]

I guess I should have mentioned that I meant they aren't worth it to me to resell. I'm not a big fan of those GM Rallys. They're ok just not all that to me to add them to my collection. I have lots of wheels to where some are even in my bedroom 😄