Any number of communities around the U.S. have parking garages with fleet vehicles purchased by local government bodies, used sparingly but seemingly of critical importance when local leaders ordered twelve cars of exactly the same spec. It doesn’t matter the department, just that you can order however many of the same kind of vehicle for your staff to use at a moment’s notice. This 1983 Chevrolet Malibu wagon formerly belonged to U.S. Customs, and the seller claims it was acquired from an auction held at Washington-Dulles Airport in Virginia. Find it here on craigslist with an asking price of $4,000.
Now, the auction wasn’t held anytime recently, as the seller notes the Malibu was auctioned off sometime in the 80s. Having spent some time working for a bridge authority in New York, I can tell you it’s not entirely surprising to see an early 80s car end up being auctioned off shortly after it arrived at the airport. Many supervisors (at least in my experience) were on a regular rotation for new vehicles, so it wasn’t surprising to see lightly used cars and trucks swapped out for something newer in the next year’s budget. This Malibu may have been sitting somewhere long enough that it ended up being covered in airborne debris, but the interior presents as being from a car that previously didn’t spend much time outside.
It’s hard to say what exactly the plans were for this Malibu since leaving the airport parking garage. The top photo of it on the rollback shows the station wagon wearing what looks like Monte Carlo wheels; here, it’s sitting on Rally-style steel wheels. So did the previous owner have plans to hop up this six-cylinder equipped Malibu? It’s almost guaranteed that as a government-owned fleet vehicle, it came with the thinnest of options packages and likely little in the way of luxury features – which makes it perfect for a performance-oriented build. The bodywork doesn’t look too bad, but there does appear to be some rust blossoming through along the bottoms of the doors.
With the debris blown off, our suspicions are confirmed: there’s some rot to sort out, and we can’t see the passenger side, so who knows if it’s a problem over there as well. In the top photo, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Malibu was a sort of pale yellow in color. Now, I very much preferred the Monte Carlo wheels over what are either steel wheels or Rallys (I thought they were Rallys in the above photo; now, I’m not so sure), but I’m guessing the seller is keeping those for himself. It does come with some spare doors and rear glass, and the seller notes the frame and floors are in rust-free condition. At $4,000, it’s not the cheapest one we’ve seen, but it still looks like a fun project to build into a sleeper.
Have a hard time buying the story that this is part of a government fleet, given the non-standard wheels.
It may have been, at one time, but not recently. The seller didn’t do himself any favors by not explaining that portion of its history better.
With its nominal asking price, it’s stands or falls based on its current condition. Wagons are sought after, depending on the amount of rust, this car may be priced decently.
Steve R
Fleet vehicle 30-40 years ago…lots of time to swap out whatever came with the car and throw on a set of Camaro/Monte wheels. The red steelies with spinners do nothing for me.
This would be fun to throw in an LS with a 5 speed. At least the interior is not trashed. For a guy with some parts on hand seems like a good deal.
The guy I bought it from has a bunch of old cars in his yard. It had a set of Trans Am honeycomb wheels on it which he would not sell with it. I took the wheels off my ‘88 Monte Carlo to tow it home. I put rally’s on later. It has a set of 17” torque thrust II’s on it now.
These mid size GM wagons had the worst design rear doors in history- the main glass is fixed, and the smaller glass opens like an old vent window. How that idea passed as a good idea was beyond me . Check the rear frame rails on these too. They are notorious from severe rot out over the rear wheels .
More rear seat hip and elbow room was obtained with the fixed glass.
Fantastic 1/4 miler platforms.
Junk finds like this have no place on Barn Finds (in my humble opinion).
I will be heartily laughed at, but I have a perfect 5.7L Diesel out of my since departed Buick wagon. This would be my resurrection as Doctor Diesel, a moniker given years and many GM diesels ago! So let out that laugh! I love my diesels!
I loved the ones I used to have.
This is my wagon.The story the previous owner told me about history checks out. There’s a Dulles Airport Aerodrome Vehicle sticker on the front bumper and it came with 5 sets of keys. Seems like an old fleet vehicle to me and why would somebody make up some lame shyt like that anyway… Gus fring
“Barn Finds” has long since been a misnomer for the items on this site, but
“Old Used Cars For Sale” would eliminate the boats, airplanes, motorcycles and toys that pop up. And doesn’t flow off the tongue as well either!
Typical embellished, b.s. story…it was bought from a U.S. Customs auction because it was ABANDONED at the airport by someone that drove it there, parked it in long-term parking, and never came back to get it because it was a p.o.s. Washington-Dulles Int’l. auctions this crap off ALL of the time on govdeals.com and/or other sites.
I wouldn’t have bought it if the frame or body was rusted out. If the author paid attention to the listing he would see that it says it comes with 2 extra sets of doors so that little spot of rust on the driver door is not an issue, unless you can’t change a door. Everybody so sketchy and skeptical nowadays. Can’t even sell a solid car with some extra parts without it being criticized and critiqued by the internet auto know it all’s.
the big rust problem with G bodies is not the body but the frame, especially where it kicks over the rear axle, I had quite a few including Oldsmobile and Pontiac wagons, Buick regal T types and grand nationals and Chevy Malibu’s, the Midwest weather destroyed the frames.
The East coast too.
I am a topless kind of guy but i have a nephew that likes station wagons and him being the only male in a family of girls and being a car guy , i am considering a build up but only on a 2 door
These were not offered , as anyone done a decent job of intalling 2 doors from a coupe ?
The basics of these cars make them perfect for modernizing and there is also plenty of after market help
I went to go check out this 94 Buick Roadmaster sedan with LT1. The seller also had a Chevy Malibu wagon parked in his yard like the one featured here. He pointed out to me that the 5th generation El Camino’s front windshield is angled more than his Malibu wagon. And I noticed it too when looking at my El Camino. The window is slanted more back on the 5th gen El Camino than the Malibu wagon of the same era.
Many, many years ago I found the mate to this car, stacked 3rd high on top of 2 other cars. Salvage yard in Hibbing Minnesota. The yard operator assured me he could get it down without damaging it, so I bought it. He had a crane with a fixture that grabbed the upper door opening frames ( doors open). He swung it off the stack directly on to my trailer. Only damage was a nick in the chrome on the drip rail. Oddly enough, it had Virginia plates on it. Before I built it, I found an extremely clean 81 ElCamino from California, so built that instead. Wagon has been sitting in my barn for 20 years now, I have 2 nephews who have built many A/G bodies, they’ll have to fight over it.