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CC Follow-Up: 1974 Buick Estate Wagon

By
Tom Klockau
– Posted on July 26, 2012

Back in March I did a CC on a great ’74 Buick Estate Wagon I spotted in traffic. Recently, through stationwagonforums.com, I was able to connect with the current owner, who sought this car for years and finally got it.

The Buick Estate Wagon was the creme de la creme of GM wagons in 1974, and only 14,412 two- and three-seat wagons were built. Considering that the area I live in does in Curbside Classics with rust after 20-or-so years, it’s remarkable that this wagon survives in such fine shape.

I’ll let the owner, Swanny454, tell the story:

Good Morning Tom, loved the article.  My car has a pretty short history.  The original owner owned a Buick dealership and bought the wagon for his family to use as a vacation car.  The man passed away and his niece saw the car at the estate auction and had to have it.  That was back in 1996. She never drove it and I saw it 13 years ago at a repair facility close to where I live.  I tracked her down and asked if it was for sale, which it was not. She said she would never sell it.  I saw the car a few more times at the repair shop over the next couple years and then it was gone.  I figured it was sold to a demo guy and long gone.  Last November I was cruising craigslist and there it was!  I called on it right away.  The guy had taken it in on trade for some repair work he had done on the elderly lady’s house.  He had told her he needed a car for his 16 year old daughter.  The guy told his daughter that her new car was outside, the young teenage girl ran out the door and ran right back in and told her dad she would just walk to school [ED: Some kids just don’t know what they’ve got!].  Anyway, I bought the car sight unseen as I knew it was the same car.  I picked it up later that night and to my surprise, since 1996 the car had traveled a total of 212 miles.  It was all original down to the hubcaps, but extremely faded and dirty.  It had been stored in a garage where cats had been laying on it and using it for a bed.  The interior was musty smelling from sitting, but undamaged. The car ran rough and would not pull itself.  After a new distributor, rebuilt carb and plugs and wires I have put over 2,000 miles on it.  I left everything original except for the exhaust and aftermarket rims and tires.  I did add a CD player to it but added it under the dash with a homemade console, ran all new wiring and even a separate antennae.  I made my own speaker boxes that slide under the seat and out of sight for car shows.  I did not want to cut, splice or mutilate anything in the car.  The console I made has a quick disconnect at the back so it can be removed, slide the speakers under the seat and it looks completely original again.  I still have the stock wheels and hubcaps, and also a set of the deluxe hubcaps for it.  The car has never been smoked in, ashtray nor cigarette lighter ever used.  Currently the only issues the car has is the A/C compressor locked up and the clock does not work.  These issues will be addressed this winter.  The car retains 99% of the original paint.  When I bought it the rear bumper fillers were gone.  I located a good used set from the guys on wecrash.com and repainted and installed them.  About a month ago I tracked down Carol (original owner’s niece) and talked to her.  She said she never wanted to sell the car but finally decided she had no need for it and could not take proper care of it.  She remembered me and said she tried to contact me but the number on my card was no longer in service.  I had changed jobs and my old company kept my cell number.  She was glad to see pictures of it all “prettied” up but didn’t like the fancy wheels.  I told her one afternoon I would like to pick her up and take her out for lunch in it if should would go.  She agreed on one condition, “Only if I get to drive it” she said.  Anyway, I think the car found its rightful home with me.  I would have never guessed after 15-16 years I would end up with this car.

So there you have it. To all of you who have tried to get a Curbside Classic whose owner wasn’t selling, don’t give up! You just might end up with it after all. Special thanks to Swanny454 for telling me his car’s story.

← CC Outtake: Ready for the World, or the Oregon Country Fair
Rampside Outtake: the World’s Busiest Airport →

38 Comments

  1. Reply
    avatar Iowa
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 12:51 PM

    One of my old buddies used to show up at college with his dad’s ’73 Olds wagon, in which I was a passenger more than a few times.

    He called it “The Boat.” And, it was. This car brought back memories of “The Boat.”

    • Reply
      avatar Junqueboi
      Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:20 PM

      Your post brings back memories of my fellow college buddies & I riding around my ex-’73 Bonneville 2-door. They named it “The Boner”. Thankfully it wasn’t flesh-colored.

  2. Reply
    avatar Former Saturn Owner
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 1:00 PM

    Wonderful story. Sure would like more pix including interior and the original stock whhe and hubcap. Also the deluxe hubcaps that you have. Hope you enjoy this car for at least another 16 years!

  3. Reply
    avatar mrpz
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 1:13 PM

    A mid-70s GM and the clock doesn’t work? No sale!

    The original CC on this car got me salivating for one of these, and I found one on ebay motors in Palm Springs… same color and similar condition to this one. It hurt me to not bid. Glad to see one that this one wasn’t Cash-for-Clunker’ed, and that it is in the hands of someone who really appreciates it.

  4. Reply
    avatar Jordan Tenenbaum
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 1:16 PM

    http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19675

    Perhaps this one can also be yours?

  5. Reply
    avatar safe as milk
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 1:33 PM

    now that’s a car!

  6. Reply
    avatar CARMINE
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    What can I say, I’m not only the hair club president…..I’m also a member!

    • Reply
      avatar 73ImpCapn
      Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:19 PM

      Nice! I prefer this headlight treatment to the feature car’s. A neighbor had this year big Byooie when I was a kid, red/white/white convertible, mags and whitewalls like yours. This is in the late 80s, there was nothing like it in my experience. Man I forgot how much I wanted that car.

      • Reply
        avatar CARMINE
        Posted July 26, 2012 at 4:42 PM

        There was a red/white loaded 455 convertible 75 at Turkey Run in Daytona last year, I would have loved to snag it but I was out of space, but it would have made an awesome companion to my Estate.

    • Reply
      avatar Junqueboi
      Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:39 PM

      His name is Carmine but his clamshell is blue. Like.

  7. Reply
    avatar slow_joe_crow
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:03 PM

    Regarding the back story, dealer’s wives seem to be a significant market for these. In the late 70s one of my car pool rides was a big Green Estate Wagon that was originally owned by the wife of the local Buick dealer. Naturally it was loaded, including a little map light in the roof.

  8. Reply
    avatar 73ImpCapn
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:15 PM

    Ah, happily ever after.

    It strikes me looking at that ’74 ad that the wagon versions of both colonnade and 71-76 big barge may be better looking than the sedans. I feel the same way about Mopar Bs from 71-78. The non-long roofs don’t seem to have enough top to match their big rounded bottoms…ok I looked at Paul’s link to the fair pictures.

  9. Reply
    avatar Swanny454
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:18 PM

    I just want to thank Tom for allowing me to tell my cars story. There are more pictures of it over on stationwagonforums.com. There are some of the interior and of i when I picked it up. I am currently doing a photo coulage of it with the stock hubcaps, deluxe hubcaps, stock rally wheels.and of course the torque thrusts. I will post pictures of it on stationwagonforums.com once I get it done

    • Reply
      avatar Junqueboi
      Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:36 PM

      So you’re keeping it then? It’s a beautiful car & amazingly not brown or beige. I’ve been wanting a ’73 Safari, Grand Safari, or Custom Cruiser for years but have yet to find a non-brown, non-yellow one within reason.

      The clock should be an easy fix if the coil hasn’t burned out. I typed up the instructions & remembered this isn’t really a fix-it forum. Oops.

      • Reply
        avatar Eric VanBuren
        Posted July 26, 2012 at 3:02 PM

        This certainly is a place to help others get or keep their CCs on the road and/or return them to their former glory, so type away to help our new member.

        • Reply
          avatar Junqueboi
          Posted July 27, 2012 at 8:48 PM

          Okay.

          1. Unscrew the speed alert knob. You’ll need a very thin pair of needlenose pliers to grip the narrow flat spot on the shaft though..as these knobs are typically pretty tight.
          2. I can’t remember for sure but I think you have to remove the radio knobs & 5/8″ nuts on each radio shaft.
          3. Gently pull off the woodgrain bezel (there are no hidden screws).
          4. Remove the two 1/4 inch screws holding the clock in & carefully peel the two bulb sockets away from the housing. It’s easy to tear the metal clips out of the plastic socket housings when you are doing this.
          5. Once the clock is out, pry the housing apart with a screwdriver & look at the coil windings.
          6. If the coil isn’t fried hit the movement with some brake cleaner followed by watch/clock oil. Keep the unit face up while spraying to keep the crap off the face.
          7. Gently twist the clock back/forth in your hand to get the balance wheel swinging (that’s what “ticks”)
          8.If the clock “points” are closed you’ll need to apply 12 volts so the unit winds itself. You’ll hear it click.
          9. If it seems to be running, you might want to leave it out & hook it up to a 12V source for a day or two. An old 12V Wall Wart is a good enough power supply.
          10. If all is well, put it back together again. Recrimping the case is not too bad on these.

          Some notes:

          ’71-’74 Buick clocks physically interchange. Some (maybe all) ’71 models had white hands though.

          A few ’74 big Buicks will have a unique rolling barrel “digital” clock. They are rare now but typically last longer than the analog ones.

          I have used WD-40 in the past with success but I read somewhere that it was a bad idea so now I use a syringe with clock oil in it…courtesy of a clock shop in Durham. BTW, they gave me the oil/syringe for free so the stuff must be cheap.

          More:
          If the face is dusty you can remove the knob but it’s pretty tough…just like the speed alert knob. All the hands will pull off — just be careful.
          I use a small paintbrush to remove dust. The numbers on lots of these are evidently painted with water-based paint so a dry brush is all you can use.

          Even more…potential TMI:
          The clock movements could be either “Borg” or “General Time” — nothing interchanges between the two styles. They are completely different and yes… some ’71-’74 Buick Clocks are G.T. and some are Borg. The cases will always be stamped with either Borg or G.T.

          If the coil is burned up and it’s a Borg unit, it’s easy to replace (3 screws). GT coils are a little trickier as they are staked in place.

          The good news is that parts out of pretty much any Big-Three analog clock fom the mid sixties up until ’80 or ’81 (including Ford & Chrysler) will work on yours…as long as both clocks have the same style movement. Many Fords & Chryslers actually have General Time movements in them.

          A used clock may be worth cannibalizing as coils don’t wear out: they burn out. If the ratchet mechanism in the clock breaks or the car’s battery goes completely dead it will kill the coil. So yeah, parts from a ’79 Chevy Silverado clock may work on a ’71 Newport clock. Pretty neat.

          Lots of cars not ordered with clocks will still have the wiring harness and even the bulb sockets taped to the main wiring harness. Buick & Olds were good about this.

          • avatar Eric VanBuren
            Posted July 27, 2012 at 9:26 PM

            Nice explanation. It is surprising how many parts for vehicles of this era were supplied a a sole supplier or two and were used universally across all the big automakers. The six way power seat switch is one. Many of those items were actually made by one of the GM divisions, for example almost all rag joints and air pumps were made by GM.

  10. Reply
    avatar Swanny454
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 2:47 PM

    I almost sold it then thought about it and realized I will never find another one like it

  11. Reply
    avatar Kevin Martin
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 3:05 PM

    My friend’s tow car in the mid-’80s for his Bilstein Rabbit was a 1974 Olds 98 station wagon (yah, beige) with a 455 that he had de-smogged. On the way back north from a race a Road Atlanta he asked me to drive. He told me that the car had no problem towing at 85 mph (137 kph), but on long hills I was liable to see a lot of smoke trailing the car, in which case I was to back it down to less than 80 until the smoke stopped. True dat! He put about 300,000 miles (483,000 kilos) on the pig before he gave it to a high school shop class.

    • Reply
      avatar Junqueboi
      Posted July 27, 2012 at 9:02 PM

      I bet it was an oil leak! On long high-speed pulls, the exhaust pipe(s) get much hotter…causing the dripping oil to burn off, thus creating the smoke. My ’73 Bonneville beater started doing this recently thanks to a rear main seal 🙁

  12. Reply
    avatar thunderjet
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 3:32 PM

    That’s a nice wagon. It’s a pitty more of these are not left. I’m going to guess that it’s a 455 car?

    • Reply
      avatar Eric VanBuren
      Posted July 26, 2012 at 4:28 PM

      Unfortunately this era B was/is the favorite of Demo Derby guys especially the wagons.

  13. Reply
    avatar Swanny454
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 3:45 PM

    Yes its a 455/400 car

  14. Reply
    avatar jpcavanaugh
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 5:22 PM

    I enjoyed reading more about this car. I have a thing for wagons, I will admit it. I spent a little time around these when younger. One kid in grade school’s dad was a lawyer and his mom drove a gold 71 or 72 Estate Wagon with that sort of caramel color vinyl interior. And I have written before about the 75 Custom Cruiser that my friend Lowell’s dad had in the late 70s. It was copper with that light brown vinyl again.

    The 71-76 GM big car series was not a favorite of mine (a bit of understatement?) but I do kind of like the big wagons. I appreciate the owner’s appreciation of this unique car. It may not be what I would choose to live with for the long haul (a 72 Town & Country would sure get my attention, though) but I get enjoyment out of this story.

  15. Reply
    avatar christauph
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 6:09 PM

    That’s a great wagon and story, thanks for sharing! What is the deal with “vacation cars?” My wife’s uncle bought a loaded ’04 Silhouette from the family dealership right before Olds closed up shop. The only thing they use it for is to drive to Florida once or twice a year. Other than that, it sits under a sheet in the pole barn. I guess its not much different than having a summer/sports car that gets limited use, but it sure is a whole lot less exciting.

  16. Reply
    avatar Flipper
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 8:24 PM

    What’s the reason for the extra chrome around the low-beam?

  17. Reply
    avatar Stainsey Stainselstein
    Posted July 26, 2012 at 11:25 PM

    I love this car, good for you. Amazing it’s not all rusted through. One of GMs biggest failings in the mid 70s was the rust issue.

  18. Reply
    avatar J. Stephenson
    Posted July 27, 2012 at 3:07 PM

    One of my first cars was a 76 Estate Wagon that I bought at the end of high school and drove the first couple years of college. This was in Vermont, so while the car had been generally well cared for and ran great, the body was trashed with rust. That car was not destined to be a survivor, unfortunately.

    I loved the size, looks, and comfortable interior. Had pretty good power for 76 model 5000lb car, too. The rear window stopped raising on mine, so I couldn’t get anything over 1.5 ft in the back. Not a fan of the clamshell, but it looked cool with the almost fastback slope. The exhaust was odd as well. Mine and most of the ones I’ve seen, the exhaust goes UNDER the rear axle. If that’s the way they were originally, it’s a terrible design. The gas tank was behind the left rear wheel, so the weight wasn’t centered. All in all, GM made a lot of compromises to be different. The 77-90 was much better designed, if more boring.

    • Reply
      avatar Junqueboi
      Posted July 27, 2012 at 9:10 PM

      Good mention on the exhaust. Dual exhaust was not available on the clamshells. I forgot which side the exhaust pipe ran down…but say…if it ran down the right side…the tailpipe took a 90 degree bend behind the rear axle & ran across the width of the car & exited on the LEFT side.

      Some guy converted a blue ’71 or ’72 Buick Clamshell to a 2-door using a donor Electra coupe. It is absolutely amazing. Hopefully someone will post a picture of it here.

      • Reply
        avatar NZ Skyliner
        Posted July 27, 2012 at 11:42 PM

        Not sure if it’s the same car, but I’ve been following a ’72 Buick estate-coupe conversion for a while over at stationwagonforums. Here’s an early pic of it:

        • Reply
          avatar Eric VanBuren
          Posted July 28, 2012 at 1:11 AM

          That is cool.

      • Reply
        avatar J. Stephenson
        Posted July 28, 2012 at 10:08 AM

        Yes, I remember that. It ran down the right side, under the axle, then turned 90 deg and exited behind the left wheel. I think I’ve seen them modded to have the exhaust exit in front of the right wheel, so it never has to cross the axle.

  19. Reply
    avatar Swanny454
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    The reason the exhaust crossed over was because of the spare tire well on the right side. And the exhaust runs under the axle is when people tried towing things the exhaust would hit the axle. Dual exhaust was an option in the Buick options book in 1974 but I have never seen a car with factory dual exhaust.

    • Reply
      avatar J. Stephenson
      Posted July 28, 2012 at 8:24 PM

      Do you mean that when the rear bottomed out it would hit the exhaust? Did the early years of it have the exhaust run over top of the axle and they changed it for later years? Did your 74 come with it running under?

    • Reply
      avatar Bill Gillooly
      Posted August 16, 2012 at 10:32 PM

      My family assumed that the crossover was designed to keep the clamshell gate compartment warm (and dry) to prevent a freeze-up and to minimize rust. Rust finally got ours, we couldn’t lower the gate more than 1/2 way without it falling off the track.

  20. Reply
    avatar thetallguy
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 7:43 AM

    My mom’s ’72 was copper-colored w/ woodgrain and creme vinyl top. It was a 455/400 and also was fully equiped. I loved the look with the factory option chromed wheels. My parents bought it as a demonstrator car at Peacock Buick in Alexandria, VA.

  21. Reply
    avatar Bill Gillooly
    Posted August 16, 2012 at 10:30 PM

    My parents bought a ’72 Buick Estate Wagon in November of ’71 when I was 12. It was “Sandalwood” sort of a cream/yellow/beige with brown interior. The 455 4-bbl Quadrajet was the only engine. He got the power clamshell gate, a manual version was standard. He only got an AM radio, my Dad didn’t believe in listening to the radio in the car. The car would go anywhere at any speed and never got more or less than 12mpg. Few problems until about 85,000mi when it ate a valve or two. My Dad elected to have a rebuilt engine installed. I bought it from my Parents in 1980 and drove it on a 44mi round-trip commute to work when gas hit a high of $1.35/gal. I used to make $150/week, and my rent was $150/month and my gas bills were $150/month. Half my takehome pay was spent on rent and gas. In the spring of 1982 an elderly gentleman ran a stop-sign and I T-boned his chevy. The Buick was probably repairable, but nobody really wanted it anymore and I abandoned it to the tow-truck. I replaced it with a 1972 Dodge Dart that was a much better car for me (though it really didn’t get that much better mileage – 15-20mpg), but that’s another story.

  22. Reply
    avatar Bill Gillooly
    Posted August 16, 2012 at 10:38 PM

    The pretense that these were 6-passenger cars is a little suspect. At least for a 17-year-old me and my 11 and 10 year-old brothers in the back on a 2-day trip from NJ to Florida (without a radio). Things got a little tight in the back after a while.

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