We were a GM family. For better or for worse, there was time when everything that my parents drove was a product of The General. Lots of Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, and Chevrolets ranging from Monte Carlos to Corvettes to Bonnevilles to Delta 88s. The nostalgia and tradition worked well when the family was trading every couple of years, but began to fail after the FIRST GM diesel purchase.
In this shot, circa 1972 or 1973, I stood in front of my grandparents Grand Safari wagon. Growing up in a car culture, it’s funny that THIS is the car that carries so much love. Mom and Dad swoon about their times borrowing this car from the grandparents; and loving its’ reportedly swift 455 engine and its’ “loaded to the gills” option list. They speak of this car as the last great wagon the family ever enjoyed. The replacement 1976 Olds Custom Cruiser was hearse-like and its replacement 1979 Custom Cruiser diesel began the unraveling of a decades-old allegiance to The General. And then there’s the family Monte Carlos:
Above is my father’s 1970 Monte Carlo SS that he purchased new. This shot was taken in late April 1971, the week following my birth. The very small “SS454” is barely visible at the far right of the picture. I never really caught the drag racing bug, but as I understand, the car was a serious performer in the Richmond drag racing scene.
The 1972 Monte Carlo in the background stayed in the family for over a decade and spent the next 20 years with a close friend of the family. The Monte was originally purchased new in 1972 from the family friends at Hechler Chevrolet in Richmond, VA. It was a mildly-optioned car with a 350, 4 barrel, auto trans. A/C, AM/FM radio, rear window defogger, black vinyl bench, and rally wheels. Family tradition has it that the grandmother “had to have it” after loving the style of my father’s 1970 Monte Carlo SS and my mother’s 1971 MC.
The car was still relatively new when the rainy spring season came around in early 1973. The grandmother is reported to have picked up a smudge on her London Fog raincoat from the non-tilting steering. By early afternoon, she had a new metallic brown 1973 Monte with ALL the options, including the 454 big block. This 72 was then sold to a cousin who drove it until 1981. The car was re-purchased by the grandparents in 1981 when the 1973 MC’s engine failed. By 1982, my parents had it and later sold it to family friend who restored and lightly modded it to make a decent street car and 1/4 mile performer.
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Great shots. My, oh my, is that top one ever from the early 70s!]
I sometimes forget how common those early Monte Carlos were. They were everywhere, once upon a time. Actually, it a bit of an advance CC effect, I just saw one in motion last evening.
Great pictures! I love the subtle SS454 Monte Carlos — they remind me of the “Go fast with Class” Buicks and they are so very rare.
But I love the Pontiac wagon even more.
+1,& it’s a woody what’s not to like?(apart from those clothes!)
That top picture totally hit me as my Dad owned a 1971 Grand Safari. It was a rust color with a light tan vinyl interior. I was only 4 when we got that car and we had it until I was 10 but I remember it vividly. The clamshell tailgate always fascinated me – Dad wasn’t too appreciative of it in the mid-winter when it would barely open but I always thought it was the coolest thing! I know that my brother who is 10 years older than me always said that wagon was really fast with its huge 455 V-8. It had some weird options too – I know it had the auto climate control A/C because my father hated it – he vowed that he would never order another car with it ever again and he held true to that until he was forced to have a similar system in his 1990 deVille. I also remember getting really sick after going to a carnival in the third seat. It is so funny how certain things never leave you, and seeing that picture instantly triggered all of those memories!
The auto-ac system in all GM cars of the era was dreadful. There was limited manual control and once the auto system fails, it will never work properly again. I have seen thousands spent on getting it working but I’ve never seen anyone successfully do it. The Cadillac I drove across the mountains on Labour Day weekend had the same system but it was stuck on heat and defrost, the default when the system fails.
If he was running that Monte in G/SA that’d put him well into the 12s, assuming the class indexes from back then are similar. Not too shabby for 1971. I remember those “tuxedo shirts” being all the rage in the late ’70s, but that top picture looks like a future Herb Tarlek!
Are those gold band tires on the Grand Safari? – always loved those things, especially with that style of wheel!
Terrific pics and cars. That looks to have been a very Grand Safari indeed – rally wheels, woody and loaded. The ultimate SUV in its day.
The clamshells were probably awful, but as Tom C pointed out, there was nothing cooler!
My dad had the Safari’s cousin: a ’72 Buick estate wagon, also running a 455 and also a woodie, but in metallic green. Loaded with the pneumatic suspension. To this day he swears it was the best car he ever owned. My uncle would love to visit from England just so he could roam the I5 in that big, smooth beast.
I had a good drive in a 1972 Grande Safari that was in our shop. It was left by the owner so I drove it on weekends, until the gas ran out, that is. The style was totally cool, the best looking wagon I have ever seen in my opinion. It was HUGE and drove like a battlecruiser but it was surprisingly well buttoned down for the era. Also lots of go from the 455 but holy dinah did that thing suck gas. When you stomped on it, you could see the gas gauge needle go down. Still, for a road trip mobile of the era, there is no way you could beat it. Like most GM stuff of the era, the brakes sucked.
Wow, you have some serious “cool car” heritage in your family, but your mom dresses you kind of funny 😉
I used to race motorcycles and Trip Noble was a fast and crafty competitor. Now I must look up the origin of this name Trip.
Regarding the top picture….how much more 70s can that picture be? None. None more 70s.
[always a good day when you can fit in Spinal Tap before 9 AM :)]
Man, I remember that color and pattern suit. I had one back then, too. Only I was 23 at the time, and wore it with five inch platform heels and two inch soles. In matching patent leather and suede. And my eye shadow either matched or contrasted, depending on my mood that evening.
Perfect addition to the picture: SiriusXM is running a David Bowie channel for the next week or two (channel 111). Nothing like listening to most of the “Ziggy Stardust” and “Diamond Dogs” albums on the way to work today.
Great pictures! That looks like a really nice Grand Safari, and reminds me of one that belonged to my cousins. Theirs was a brown ’72, but also a woody with rally wheels and loaded. I thought it was an amazing car, and LOVED the “disappearing” clamshell tailgate. I used to pester my mother constantly that she needed to get one of the big GM wagons–never worked though, she steadfastly drove GM sedans.
The Monte Carlos are so cool too. The 1st gen design is so clean and nice looking. That SS454 is awesome!
Like your family, my family was very loyal to GM and we always had GM cars–and enjoyed them, until they really blew it in the 1980s.