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Post Info TOPIC: 1981 IraqiTaxi


Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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1981 IraqiTaxi


Ever seen one, I haven't since they were new. v6, 3 speed factory floor shift, I think factory air, probably the heavy duty suspension. It would have had factory dog dish too. Lousy pics.

$_59.JPG

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/city-of-halifax/1981-chevy-malibu/1352948531?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true



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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC.
1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada

Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic

NOS


Poncho Master!

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I believe the all had factory AC

Dale



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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I had one about 15 years ago, still fairly original.  yes, all had factory AC, v6, 3speed, AM/FM, bumper guards, tinted glass, higher Kph speedo.



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Beaumontguru

MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH.  The other one has a longer roof.



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Hot Rod Garage just did one of these. Looked identical to your pics, same blue 4 door.

The HRG Malibu ended up with a 500 hp LQ9, Magnum 6 speed, full QA1 suspension, 9" Currie rear with Tru-trac and 3.89 gears. Bump stops and limit straps so it could safely get a little air and survive it. Cop rims. Funnest more door I've seen in a while!

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MC


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Drove many of them the summer I worked at Autoport when I was in high school.  This was after the deal with Iraq went sour when they were preparing them to send off to dealers, and I took a summer job as a car jockey moving them from one lot to another.  A friend's brother was a mechanic working there at the time and I recall him telling me that they were replacing all the clutches before sending them off to the dealers.  There was literally Iraquibu's (what we called them) as far as the eye could see.  

Having sat for a year or so on the salty, humid east coast (right next to the harbour), they didn't all start and move when you wanted them to.  I recall one that started up but just wouldn't move, I guess the brakes were seized, so after about a minute of trying all I could smell was burnt clutch, so time to move on...

They were mostly sedans with dog dish hubcaps, three speed manuals on the floor, what seemed like the mushiest suspension I ever drove, and decent stereos for the time.  There were also some wagons in the deal, but as I recall they were all automatics and had full wheel discs on them.

Used to see quite a few of them on the roads after they were sold off, but like everything they slowly declined over the years.  Interesting to see one again, brings back memories of 36 years ago...



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A Poncho Legend!

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One of these got turned in at Crown Assets in Mississauga when I worked there. I actually liked "moving" it around the car lot.wink We also got a lot of surplus stick more-door K-cars.



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Prince Edward Island

'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.



Poncho Master!

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A friend of my wife's had one and after a couple of years it was converted to an automatic from a wrecked 81 Malibu classic. When they came out my oldest brother went to Timmins garage to try and get one as they were selling them really cheap but the garages allotment was sold out. I always liked the lines of the that era Malibu with the 81 clean line grille my favorite.

Al

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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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When I worked for the Windsor Transmission Plant,they were offered for sale to GM employees for around  $6.000.

I found and bought one in Calgary when I moved here in the early 90's Yes air,AM/FM radio and three speed on the floor.

Also the bench seat upholstery was a tight weave material that was both comfortable and durable.

I believe the interior floors were double sprayed insulated, to keep out the desert sand. Great car for the times.

-G

 

 



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A Poncho Legend!

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Here is what Wiki has to say about these "Great Cars" ......my buddy's broke a tie rod after one year use while he was driving behind me on the highway, I watched him slowly drift into the ditch behind me. 

 

Iraqi taxi[edit]

In 1981, General Motors of Canada in Oshawa produced a special order of 25,500 four-door Malibu sedans for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government. The deal was reportedly worth well over $100 million to GMCL. These special-order Malibus carried the unusual combination of GM's lowest-power carburated V6, the 110 hp (82 kW) 229 cu in (3.8 L) engine mated to three-speed transmission with a unique on-the-floor stick shifter. All of the cars were equipped with air conditioning, heavy duty cooling systems, AM/FM cassette decks, front bench seats, 200 km/h speedometers, tough tweed and vinyl upholstery and 14-inch (360 mm) stamped steel wheels with "baby moon" hubcaps.

 

However, only 13,000 units ever made it to Iraq, with the majority of the cars becoming taxis in Baghdad (once the cab-identifying orange paint was added to the front and rear fenders)[citation needed]. With the remaining balance of about 12,500 additional Malibus either sitting on a dock in Halifax or awaiting port shipment in Oshawa, where they were built, the Iraqis suddenly cancelled the order in 1982.[3] Excuses reportedly included various "quality concerns", including the inability of the local drivers to shift the finicky Saginaw manual transmission. This issue was eventually identified as being due to an apparent clutch release issue that eventually required on-site retrofitting by a crew of Canadian technicians sent to Iraq to support the infamous "Recall in the Desert". Later speculation was that the Iraqis were actually forced to back out for financial reasons, due to their escalating hostilities with Iran requiring the immediate diversion of funds to support the Iraqi war effort. Then GM of Canada President Donald Hackworth was initially quoted as stating GMCL intended to still try to sell the Malibus overseas in other Middle East markets; however in the end, the orphaned "Iraqi Taxi" Malibus were all sold to the Canadian public at the greatly reduced price of about C$6,800. Over the years, they have acquired a low-key 'celebrity' status, sometimes being colloquially referred to as "Iraqibu".[citation needed]

 



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Ray White, Toronto ON

1973 LeMans 454 "Astro-Jet"

Built March 9, 1973 - Oshawa ON

1993 Corvette Convertible LT 1

Built January 10, 1993 - Bowling Green Kentucky 

 




A Poncho Legend!

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73SC wrote:

Here is what Wiki has to say about these "Great Cars" ......my buddy's broke a tie rod after one year use while he was driving behind me on the highway, I watched him slowly drift into the ditch behind me. 



Those G body cars from 78-88 has to have one of the greatest potential hot rods ever produced. Great cars, lighweight, full frame and a big block fits!

Ray, your buddy's car was only a year old when that happened? I've never seen a GM with a broken tie rod (other than abused 4x4's)

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars



A Poncho Legend!

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Way back when I worked at an auto plant I had a co worker who always referred to them as "Iraqi TACKY'S"! lol. I didn't have the heart to correct him. I guess he figured they were tacky cars!


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MC


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73SC wrote:

Here is what Wiki has to say about these "Great Cars" ......my buddy's broke a tie rod after one year use while he was driving behind me on the highway, I watched him slowly drift into the ditch behind me. 

 


 That seems to be an unusual failure for one of those cars (which should be no less or no more 'great' than any other G-body, aside from the clutch issue which was rectified).  What other problems did your buddy have with it, or did the "off roading" put an end to the car?



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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Never heard of them.

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Uber Guru

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I had a Gold one and a Blue one.Ran straight pipe from the cat back,sounded like a Grand National.I thought they were great cars.

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A Poncho Legend!

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The one listed for sale in Halifax looks to be in really good shape.

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I stripped a rusted out one a while back with the intention to put all the standard stuff in this lemans. Another one I keep saying I'll get to.couch cars  le mans two door 005.JPG



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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MC wrote:

Drove many of them the summer I worked at Autoport when I was in high school.  This was after the deal with Iraq went sour when they were preparing them to send off to dealers, and I took a summer job as a car jockey moving them from one lot to another.  A friend's brother was a mechanic working there at the time and I recall him telling me that they were replacing all the clutches before sending them off to the dealers.  There was literally Iraquibu's (what we called them) as far as the eye could see.  

Having sat for a year or so on the salty, humid east coast (right next to the harbour), they didn't all start and move when you wanted them to.  I recall one that started up but just wouldn't move, I guess the brakes were seized, so after about a minute of trying all I could smell was burnt clutch, so time to move on...

They were mostly sedans with dog dish hubcaps, three speed manuals on the floor, what seemed like the mushiest suspension I ever drove, and decent stereos for the time.  There were also some wagons in the deal, but as I recall they were all automatics and had full wheel discs on them.

Used to see quite a few of them on the roads after they were sold off, but like everything they slowly declined over the years.  Interesting to see one again, brings back memories of 36 years ago...


 MC, were you there when the Ladas were laying around the Autoport too?



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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC.
1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada

Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic



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Cheviac wrote:

I stripped a rusted out one a while back with the intention to put all the standard stuff in this lemans. Another one I keep saying I'll get to.couch cars  le mans two door 005.JPG





That will make a great project, those are neat cars.

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars

MC


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DonSSDD wrote:

 MC, were you there when the Ladas were laying around the Autoport too?


 I moved Ladas around the summer I worked there, but they were still being sold by the dealers, so it was just business as normal with them.  I do remember that they smelled "funny" inside, like old blankets or something - they didn't have the usual new car smell - it was kind of weird actually.

My other 'favourite' story is when I worked the "car wash", which was a kerosene wash to strip off the shipping wax from new cars off the boat.  We were moving a lot of Volkswagens (Sciroccos mostly) through the wash and the guys on the 'in' side would leave the driver window down just a crack, enough that the plastic cover on the seat was sprinkled with the kerosene solution, so that guys like me on the 'out' side would have to sit in a pool of kerosene and water (?).  I'm guessing it was funny to them, but I couldn't help but wonder if it did any damage to the interior of the cars.  I was just a high school kid, a low man on the totem pole, so I didn't mention it to anybody lest I make myself a target for abuse...  On a side note I wonder if that sort of process is even allowed today as it usually took me 3 or 4 days to get the kerosene smell out of my hair - it couldn't have been good for the health...



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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MC, I had heard stories of them sitting as long as 3 years and rusting severely. They originally sold in big numbers due t and "they had a good warranty". The car and the warranty were crap and people quickly stopped buying them so Autoport had quite a fleet for a long time. Not sure what happened to them, may have been scrapped?

These were just rumors at the time, always wondered if they were true.

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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC.
1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada

Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic



A Poncho Legend!

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MC wrote:
 I was just a high school kid, a low man on the totem pole,

 Your story sounds like my first job as a car jockey at a F**d dealership.

Maybe that's why I dislike F**ds!blankstare



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Prince Edward Island

'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.



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DonSSDD wrote:

MC, I had heard stories of them sitting as long as 3 years and rusting severely. They originally sold in big numbers due t and "they had a good warranty". The car and the warranty were crap and people quickly stopped buying them so Autoport had quite a fleet for a long time. Not sure what happened to them, may have been scrapped?

These were just rumors at the time, always wondered if they were true.


 nope, all rumors. they sat in Halifax? for almost a year, not rusted, GM had to install cat converters, unleaded fuel necks to sell them in Canada. there was a waiting list at the dealer to buy them. they were good reliable cars, only issue was poor idle on some, had to knock out the idle mixture plugs so the mixture could be adjusted.



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Am I right remembering they were being sold for around $6500?

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars

MC


Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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DonSSDD wrote:

MC, I had heard stories of them sitting as long as 3 years and rusting severely. They originally sold in big numbers due t and "they had a good warranty". The car and the warranty were crap and people quickly stopped buying them so Autoport had quite a fleet for a long time. Not sure what happened to them, may have been scrapped?

These were just rumors at the time, always wondered if they were true.


 Is your question about Ladas or Iraquibus?



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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Ladas MC. 



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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC.
1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada

Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic

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