Sometimes I struggle with what "w-body" means?

[98OldsIntrigue]

Sometimes I struggle with what "w-body" means ... mine is a 2nd Gen Intrigue, but I'm not really clear AT ALL about the "fundamentals of what distinguishes a w-body from others."

 

If I were guessing, it'd be GM, rack and pinion, but then I start to draw a blank.

 

Perhaps there's links (or even a thread in the forum) on the Internet that explains this a little clearer?

[Imp558]

we didn't do it GM did. all cars fall into some body style or another and GM gives them letter codes.

 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_W_platform

[digitaloutsider]

This is not a FAQ thread. Moved.

[98OldsIntrigue]

Oh --- it says Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

'How-To' articles and basic information for those who are new to the W-Body platform --- but I gotcha

[digitaloutsider]

The key is "how-to articles". Posting by normal members used to be completely locked in that section, and moderators would need to manually move "FAQ-worthy" write-ups there. That was lost during some forum migration years ago.

 

I need to fix that at some point.

[White93z34]

Its just the way GM designated different chassis models, and it holds true today though GM has left the different platform letters behind and gone for names now eg; Delta, Zeta, Epsilon, etc.

 

Its just a group of cars that share common major components.

 

The suspension/underlying chassis design is common to Impala, Grand Prix, Regal, And other W platform cars despite looking different on the outside.

[98OldsIntrigue]

That's about what I thought - but wasn't entirely sure ...

 

And it sure SEEMS there's very little (if any) differences in the front end suspension between all of the 2nd Gen w-body cars.

 

¬

¬¬

¬¬¬

 

So then, is there any significant differences whatsoever in the front end suspension (meaning not necessarily steering) between the 2nd Gen and the 3rd Gen?

[digitaloutsider]

The only difference at all is that the strut mounts on the Intrigue do not have the cutouts for a factory strut tower bar. Everything else is functionally identical across the steel subframe 2G cars (Regal/Century, Grand Prix, Intrigue) front suspension.

 

3G cars changed up a few things, like the sway bars and end links.

[White93z34]

I think, at least with early Intrigues the struts themselves said "Designed for Intrigue" or something to that effect. 

 

I think it was more about marketing then actual differences considering its all interchangeable and all the aftermarket parts are the same, but that's a whole different set of reasons I won't get into right now.

[oldmangrimes]

Question:   Are there any parts that are unique to w-bodys, unchanged from 1988 to 2016, and common to all w-body cars?

 

I know the basic DESIGN of all w-bodys is the same in some areas of the suspension and chassis, but I think most parts changed between each generation.   My first guess was the trailing arms, but there are at least two factory versions of those that I know of.    I know some parts are compatible/swappable between a 1988 Grand Prix and a 2016 Impala w-body, but are there any parts that are actually exactly the same?   Maybe those diagonal support bars on the front corners of the engine bay?     

[Nas Escobar]

Question: Are there any parts that are unique to w-bodys, unchanged from 1988 to 2016, and common to all w-body cars?

 

I know the basic DESIGN of all w-bodys is the same in some areas of the suspension and chassis, but I think most parts changed between each generation. My first guess was the trailing arms, but there are at least two factory versions of those that I know of. I know some parts are compatible/swappable between a 1988 Grand Prix and a 2016 Impala w-body, but are there any parts that are actually exactly the same? Maybe those diagonal support bars on the front corners of the engine bay?

Those bars are different between 1G and 2G/3G. 2G and 3G have more in common than the 1G does with them. I mean sure a 2008 3800 will bolt on to a 1988 (but with a lot of work) but at best the only thing in common between a 1988 and a 2016 is that they use the same gas filler cap or they use the same spark module for the coil packs (I think)

[l67ss]

Gas caps changed lol

[Nas Escobar]

Gas caps changed lol

Oh yeah when they made em flex fuel lmao

[White93z34]

the only part I think you can take off a 2016 Impala and bolt onto a 1988 Grand Prix is the rear Trailing arms. They changed design but fit and work the same.

[digitaloutsider]

Trailing arms and coil packs (in this case, 2008 would be the last year, 3800-equipped W cars would have an interchangeable coil pack with an '88 car.) are all that I can think of.

[Nas Escobar]

Trailing arms and coil packs (in this case, 2008 would be the last year, 3800-equipped W cars would have an interchangeable coil pack with an '88 car.) are all that I can think of.

 

They changed the ignition control module on the high feature engines? I thought they had different style coil packs but the same ICM

[digitaloutsider]

The High Value V6 (3500/3900) got an integrated ICM and coil module. It's not separate.

 

The High Feature V6 (3.6) is coil-on-plug.

 

[l67ss]

Oh yeah when they made em flex fuel lmao

no they changed before that

[Imp558]

I'm so curious to see how many posts end up in this pointless thread.

['93RegalGS3800]

A friend of mine once said that W-body means widebody...

 

I had to tell him that GM chassis designations had no real meaning and were just there as an identifier for the chassis.

 

There is nothing more to the the designation of W than W itself. Unless you know of the prototype designation GM10. But even that does not suggest more than the preproduction test mules of the mid '80's.

[Nas Escobar]

A friend of mine once said that W-body means widebody...

 

I had to tell him that GM chassis designations had no real meaning and were just there as an identifier for the chassis.

 

There is nothing more to the the designation of W than W itself. Unless you know of the prototype designation GM10. But even that does not suggest more than the preproduction test mules of the mid '80's.

 

That's a common misconception, that the W stands for  "Widebody". Truth be told, the 1st generation W's were actually narrowbodied. The 2nd gens were the ones that grew a bit wider. By the 3rd gen, the cars were considered "full size" rather than mid size. For what it's worth, the W body is part of the RWD A body (later G) lineage. The model names of our cars stem from cars on the A body platform in the late 60's and early 70's, hence its roots as a mid size car since the W was the chassis that successfully "killed" the RWD mid size program. The FWD A body tried but failed. 

[GPX]

That's a common misconception, that the W stands for "Widebody". Truth be told, the 1st generation W's were actually narrowbodied. The 2nd gens were the ones that grew a bit wider. By the 3rd gen, the cars were considered "full size" rather than mid size. For what it's worth, the W body is part of the RWD A body (later G) lineage. The model names of our cars stem from cars on the A body platform in the late 60's and early 70's, hence its roots as a mid size car since the W was the chassis that successfully "killed" the RWD mid size program. The FWD A body tried but failed.

I worked in the pre-prototype phase of the first gen Ws, aka GM-10. I was told by my engineer that the W stood for Worldcar, and in fact we had mid-sized/priced cars from all over the world that we were evaluating and examining for inspiration.

 

 

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[Nas Escobar]

I worked in the pre-prototype phase of the first gen Ws, aka GM-10. I was told by my engineer that the W stood for Worldcar, and in fact we had mid-sized/priced cars from all over the world that we were evaluating and examining for inspiration.

 

 

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In those times, didn't GM simply name a chassis after a letter in the alphabet? I thought the designations didn't mean much more than a simple identifier. If that's not the case, what did J, H, K, B etc. Stand for?

 

Anyways, if GM really intended that chassis to be a world car, they dropped the ball immensely. I think the J body was the closest GM got at that time to having a world chassis. They sold those in Korea and Europe. The "Cavalier" name was even used in the UK for Vauxhall's version of the J

[Imp558]

I'd like to know what "Y" and "F" meant.

[GPX]

The W-Body program failed at a number of its goals. I was in the interior trim group where our goal was to have no exposed screws, including the carpet retainer, but that didn't happen.

 

I would say in general, no, the letters don't mean anything. But sometimes they do. They had to skip a bunch of letters to get to W; why? And the group that was next to ours was working on GM's minivan--the M-body. Coincidence? I think not.

 

 

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