If you haven’t noticed yet, the desirable late 1970s-early 1980s cars are starting to come up in value. What do we mean by “desirable”, when quite a few people dismiss that entire era as garbage? Four-eye Mustangs, GM F-bodies and GM A/G bodies like this 1979 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon are certain bets. The A/G station wagons, in particular, have an almost cult-like following, one that this author doesn’t quite understand all that well. But to each their own, and to be fair to the car, I can understand why people would be all over this one.

Compared to the large A-body wagons of the prior generation, this era Malibu was neat, crisp and free of the overstuffing and gingerbread that the earlier generation cars had plenty of. You still got a full frame, a small-block as an option, plenty of seating and more, but you didn’t have to have a large barge with massive battering-ram bumpers occupying your driveway. The only true downside with the A/G cars were the engines themselves…they were right at the height of the Malaise period, so even if you did luck out into a top-option car, you were saddled with a dog of a small-block. In this Malibu, that issue has been rectified with a crate Goodwrench 350 that’s about 5,000 miles old, fitted with some good parts, including an electric water pump and a Champion 2-core radiator. The TH350 automatic is even fresher, with only 50 miles on it, and you will be shifting on the floor, not the column. The paint and interior are original, and overall the car presents itself as a pleasant daily driver.

You might want to stick a head unit and some HVAC controls back into the pod in the dash before you actually try to drive this car around, just for comfort’s sake, but with $500 leftover from the $5,000 Rough Start budget, we wouldn’t worry about that right away.

Craigslist Link: 1979 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon