General Motors B platform

See also:List of GM platforms

GM B Platform
1973Oldsmobile Delta 88convertible
Overview
Manufacturer	General Motors Buick Pontiac Chevrolet Oldsmobile Cadillac
Production	1926–1996
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size car
Layout	FR layout
Chronology
Successor	GM H platform (FWD)(full-size) GM G platform (1995)(full-size) GM W platform(full-size) GM V platform (RWD)(forChevrolet Capricesold in the Middle East) GM Zeta Platform(for Chevrolet Caprice sold in both the Middle East & North America andChevrolet SSfor the RWD Impala SS)

TheB platform(also known as theB body) is afull-size,rear-wheel drive,body-on-framecar platform,that was produced byGeneral Motors(GM) from 1926 to 1996. Originally made forOldsmobileandBuick,all of General Motors's five main passenger car makes would use it at some point. It was closely related to the original rear-wheel driveCandD platforms,and was used forconvertibles,hardtops,coupes,sedans,andstation wagons.With approximately 12,960,000 units built, divided across four marques, the 1965–1970 B platform is the fourth best selling automobile platform in history after theVolkswagen Beetle,Ford Model T,and theFiat 124(and itslicence-built copies,mainlyclassic Ladas).

Originally, the B platform was used for Buick and Oldsmobile products, with theA platformfor Chevrolet and Oakland, and the C and D platforms devoted to Cadillac. During theGeneral Motors companion make program,VikingsandMarquetteswere also manufactured on this platform, as wereLa Sallesfrom 1936 to 1940. The B platform became GM's base model platform in 1958, when all existing Chevrolet products were upgraded to the B platform.

The B platform was used for thePontiac Streamliner TorpedoandStreamliner;theOldsmobile L-Series,Series 70,andSeries 88;theBuick SpecialandCentury;theLaSalle Series 50;and theCadillac Series 60,Series 61,andSeries 63.

For the 1959 model year, the previous A- and B-bodies were built on the new B platformthat lasted until 1996. During this period, the B was the most modest of GM's three full-sized platforms, slotting below the upscale C and the luxury D. The A platform designation would be resurrected by GM in 1964 for a new series of intermediate-sized cars including theChevrolet Chevelle,Pontiac Tempest,Oldsmobile Cutlass,andBuick Skylark.

History

The GM B platform was introduced in 1926 with theBuick Master Six,and theOldsmobile Model 30,and had at least 12 major re-engineering and restyling efforts, for the 1937, 1939, 1941, 1949, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1977, and 1991 model years; along with interim styling changes for 1942, 1969, and 1980 that included new sheetmetal and revised rooflines. The platform was downsized in length by approximately 10 inches in 1977 and reduced in weight by an average of 800 pounds.

In 1991, the platform received its last major redesign, regaining several inches in length and featuring numerous frame improvements and reinforcements, while the shorter wheelbase remained unchanged. The last B-cars rolled off the line in 1996, leaving onlyFordproducing domestic large rear-wheel-drive sedans until thelinewas phased out in late 2011, with Chrysler reentering the market with theirLX platformin 2005.

1996Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon

Known for being durable and reliable, most B-platform cars used suspensions utilizing coil springs in the front and leaf springs in the rear until 1958, when they switched to coils in the rear; one exception is the 1959–60 Oldsmobile 88, which used coil springs in front and multi-leaf springs in the rear. All B-platform cars since 1965 used perimeter frames with side rails, along with the 1961–64 B-platform Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles. The 1958–60 Buicks and 1959–60 Oldsmobiles used a ladder-type frame, while an X-frame without side rails was used on 1959–60 Pontiacs, 1959–64 Chevrolets, and 1961–64 Buicks.

The B platform was the last platform design to have thegasolinetank filler port behind thelicense plateafter 1958. Exceptions included all station wagons, as well as all 1961–64 cars (which had the tank filler in the rear fender on the driver's side) and 1965 Buicks (which had their fuel filler door above the license plate). Also, the B-platform vehicles from Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick from 1941 to 1948 had the fuel filler door in the rear fender on the driver's side.

By 1986, theBuick LeSabreandOldsmobile Delta 88moved to theGM H platform.And in 1991, ChairmanRobert Stempelsaid:

There are some corporate things we're going to drive; we are a front-drive corporation.

He also stated that the rear-wheel-drive 1992Buick RoadmasterandChevrolet Capricehad been produced "over my dead body."No successor for this platform was made after 1996, when the Roadmaster and Caprice ceased production. However, the Caprice would be revived and built on theOpel-developedV platformfor the Middle East but built byHolden,while years later, the Caprice for police use along with the Impala SS successor, theChevrolet SS,would return to the United States, built on theGM Zeta platformdeveloped by Holden in Australia.

Use

Sedans

Chevrolet

• 1959–1972Chevrolet Biscayne
• 1973–1975Chevrolet Biscayne(sold only in Canada)
• 1958–1975Chevrolet Bel Air
• 1976–1981Chevrolet Bel Air(sold only in Canada, as a rebadged Impala)
• 1958–1985Chevrolet Impala
• 1994–1996Chevrolet Impala SS
• 1966–1996Chevrolet Caprice
• 1996Chevrolet Caprice SS(sold only in the Middle East, as a rebadged Impala SS)

Pontiac

• 1937–1940Pontiac Deluxe Eight
• 1941Pontiac Streamliner Torpedo
• 1942–1951Pontiac Streamliner
• 1959–1981Pontiac Bonneville
• 1959–1981Pontiac Catalina
• 1959–1981Pontiac Parisienne(Canada only)
• 1983–1986Pontiac Parisienne
• 1959–1966Pontiac Star Chief
• 1959–1970Pontiac Strato Chief(Canada only)
• 1960–1961Pontiac Ventura
• 1962–1981Pontiac Laurentian(Canada only)
• 1966–1969Pontiac Grande Parisienne(Canada only)
• 1967–1970Pontiac Executive
• 1971–1975Pontiac Grand Ville

Oldsmobile

• 1926–1935Oldsmobile F-Series
• 1929–1931Viking
• 1936–1939Oldsmobile L-Series
• 1939Oldsmobile G-Series
• 1940Oldsmobile Series 70
• 1941Oldsmobile Dynamic 76
• 1941Oldsmobile Dynamic 78
• 1942–1947Oldsmobile Dynamic Cruiser 76
• 1942–1947Oldsmobile Dynamic Cruiser 78
• 1948Oldsmobile Dynamic 76
• 1948Oldsmobile Dynamic 78
• 1949Oldsmobile Futuramic 76
• 1949Oldsmobile Futuramic 88
• 1950Oldsmobile 76
• 1950–1956Oldsmobile 88
• 1951–1964Oldsmobile Super 88
• 1957Oldsmobile Golden Rocket 88
• 1958–1966Oldsmobile Dynamic 88
• 1964–1966Oldsmobile Jetstar 88
• 1965–1985Oldsmobile Delta 88
• 1967–1968Oldsmobile Delmont 88

Buick

• 1926–1935Buick Master Six
• 1926–1935Buick Standard Six
• 1930Marquette
• 1936–1942Buick Century
• 1954–1958Buick Century
• 1936–1958Buick Special
• 1959–1962Buick Invicta
• 1959–1985Buick LeSabre
• 1963–1970Buick Wildcat
• 1971–1973Buick Centurion
• 1991–1996Buick Roadmaster

Cadillac

• 1936–1938Cadillac Series 60
• 1936–1940LaSalle Series 50
• 1939Cadillac Series 61
• 1941–1947Cadillac Series 61
• 1950–1951Cadillac Series 61
• 1941–1942Cadillac Series 63

Two-door only

• 1961–1969Chevrolet Impala SS
• 1961–1966Oldsmobile Starfire
• 1964–1965Oldsmobile Jetstar I
• 1962–1968Pontiac Grand Prix
• 1966Pontiac 2+2
• 1977–1978Buick Riviera
• 1959–1960Chevrolet El Caminocoupe utility

Station wagons

• 1941–1942Buick Special Estate
• 1954–1958Buick Century Estate
• 1954–1958Buick Special Estate
• 1959–1963Buick Invicta Estate
• 1959–1964Buick LeSabre Estate
• 1970Buick Estate
• 1971–1976 Buick Estate (trim between LeSabre and Electra)
• 1977–1979Buick Estate(with LeSabre trim)
• 1977–1979Buick Estate Limited(with Electra trim)
• 1980–1989Buick Electra Estate
• 1980–1989Buick LeSabre Estate
• 1990Buick Estate
• 1991–1996Buick Roadmaster Estate
• 1966–1968Chevrolet Caprice Estate
• 1969–1970Chevrolet Kingswood Estate
• 1971–1972 Chevrolet Kingswood Estate (Caprice trim)
• 1973–1976 Chevrolet Caprice Estate
• 1977–1996Chevrolet Caprice Estate
• 1959–1961Chevrolet Nomad(Impala trim)
• 1962–1968Chevrolet Impala
• 1969–1970Chevrolet Kingswood
• 1971–1972 Chevrolet Kingswood (Impala trim)
• 1973–1976 Chevrolet Impala
• 1977–1985Chevrolet Impala
• 1959–1960Chevrolet Kingswood(Bel Air trim)
• 1959–1961Chevrolet Parkwood(Bel Air trim)
• 1962–1968Chevrolet Bel Air
• 1969–1970Chevrolet Townsman
• 1971–1972 Chevrolet Townsman (Bel Air trim)
• 1973–1975 Chevrolet Bel Air
• 1977–1979Chevrolet Bel Air(sold only in Canada, as a rebadged Impala)
• 1959–1961Chevrolet Brookwood(Biscayne trim)
• 1962–1968Chevrolet Biscayne
• 1969–1970Chevrolet Brookwood
• 1971–1972 Chevrolet Brookwood (Biscayne trim)
• 1949–1950Oldsmobile 88 station wagon
• 1949–1950Oldsmobile 76 station wagon
• 1957Oldsmobile 88 Golden Rocket Fiesta
• 1957–1963Oldsmobile Super 88 Fiesta
• 1958–1964Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Fiesta
• 1971–1976 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser (trim between 88 and 98)
• 1977–1992Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
• 1942–1951Pontiac Streamliner station wagon
• 1959–1970Pontiac Bonneville Safari
• 1971–1976 Pontiac Grand Safari (Grand Ville trim)
• 1977–1978Pontiac Grand Safari
• 1977–1981Pontiac Bonneville Safari
• 1959–1970Pontiac Parisienne Safari(Canada only)
• 1977–1981Pontiac Parisienne Safari(Canada only)
• 1967–1969Pontiac Grande Parisienne Safari(Canada only)
• 1983–1986Pontiac Parisienne Safari
• 1959–1970Pontiac Catalina Safari
• 1971–1976 Pontiac Safari (Catalina trim)
• 1977–1981Pontiac Catalina Safari
• 1959–1970Pontiac Laurentian Safari(Canada only)
• 1977–1981Pontiac Laurentian Safari(Canada only)
• 1987–1989Pontiac Safari

External links

• BBodyForum.comThe '66-'96 GM B-Body Community
• GM B platform ForumFor owners & enthusiasts of 1977 to 1990 GM B-Bodies
• List of GM VIN codes