Tri-Five Chevys? On CC? Okay, they’re 210s and not the ubiquitous ’57, but this is CC folks! So, to put things back on an even keel, here’s a rare Pontiac 6000 station wagon I spotted on the way back from the big car show in Nauvoo on Sunday. This survivor was either in Wapello or Mediapolis; I forget which.
It appears to be an ’87 or newer, judging from the composite headlights. A bit rusty, but not bad for the Midwest.
Here’s a fuzzy shot of the rear quarter view; the sun was rapidly setting as I shot these pics. Too bad it wasn’t an even more elusive Di-Noc 6000, but I’ll take what I can get!
And just to prove I’m not a complete Tri-Five grinch, here’s a nice 210 I saw at the weekly cruise night at Culver’s a few weeks ago–with proper dog dish hubcaps and blackwalls, of course!
Stock 56s I like they were a nice enough car modded ones Ive seen too many 210s are rare here as only 4door sedans were locally assembled.
Ive never seen a Pontiac 6000 though thanx
There’s a few tri 5s at UK shows that have sun visors, Continental kits and a weird fender guard on the bumpers,rather like a motorcycles crash bars,nice to see one with dog dish hub caps and black tyres that hasn’t been turned into a tart’s handbag
Here’s a closeup of those cool dog dish hubcaps. Note the little Chevy bowties running around the edge.
Thanks Tom
The A body wagons were the best of the line. Wonderful load space for a reasonably small footprint, incredibly good visibility, and a nice reliable car. Probably the best car GM made in the 80’s.
I had one, unfortunately not this beautifully simple. Mine was an ’86 Buick Estate Wagon, fake wood on the sides, fake wire wheel hubcaps, and a burgundy interior straight out of a cheap New Orleans whorehouse. Inherited it from my mother after she died, hated the car with a passion, but it was so reliable that I couldn’t justify giving it up for years.
Now if her tastes had only been close to this Pontiac.
Like this?
I agree, this 6000 was very cleanly styled compared to the baroque Buick.
My grandmother had an 87 6000 LE wagon in that exact color scheme. Light blue with wood paneling. The 2.8L used to rumble too.
Had an A body wagon – a ’96 Olds Ciera I bought in ’99, after my first son was born. I’d always loved big boxy domestic station wagons, and Oldsmobiles, so I figured now that I was a parent it was the perfect time to buy one. It did a lot of things well – it was cheap to buy, had the kind of clean, simple, conservative styling that I prefer, had lots of interior space, was very fuel efficient for its size, but reliable it most definitely was not. After about 60,000 miles it broke down every three months like clockwork, occasionally leaving me stranded. It also ended up being the straw that broke that camel’s back, turning me from a domestic-only buyer and hardcore GM fan to the Toyota and Honda owner I am now.
To hell with Di-Noc. That midnight blue Pontiac is perfect.
Sure, but the rarity factor would make it an even bigger find. I believe you could get a woodgrain 6000 all the way to the end in ’91, but I’ve never seen one of them. Factor in that Pontiac was the sporty division and I imagine the take rate was nearly nonexistent.
Edit: found one on flickr, as seen below:
I can take or leave Di-Noc, but I think the A-body wagons look great in all trim levels. 🙂
(Tom: Just saw your post of the 6000 woody and am drooling!)
Great catches on both, Tom! I can’t remember the last time I saw any 6000 here in Ohio.
When my wife & I were dating, she had a somewhat aged ’84 6000 sedan w. the Tech 4. Just before we got married, we replaced it with an ’86 Celebrity wagon, also w. the Tech 4. White w. Di-Noc and burgundy velour interior. Paid $1,500 in 1995. The only major repairs were the steering rack (right after we got it) and then a head gasket several years later. Both done w. help from my FIL in his garage.
That wagon turned out to be one of the best cars I’ve ever had. It was a decent performer, and pretty attractive in that color combo, until the tinworm finished it off. In addition to the body, he bit into the brake & fuel lines. Finally sold it off when it started to leak fumes from somewhere on the top of the fuel tank.
Not a perfect car, mind you, because there were other repairs like brakes, struts, and etc. I seem to remember an alternator and maybe a starter, too. Very few breakdowns, though, and usually simple & cheap when they did occur.
Funny thing though — when the fuel line running from front to back rusted out in ’01, the Chevy dealer had maybe 2 or 3 copies in stock.
My Dad and Mom had an 89 6000 LE Sedan when mom died in 93. Mother loved that car. She had always wanted a Pontiac to cruise off into the sunset in. That one was their one and only. The car was one of the best driving cars they ever had. Shortly after she passed it developed a leak around the head gasket. Dad never got it fixed and besides addiing a little coolant periodically never created a problem. He eventually traded it for a used 92 Cutlass Supreme. The Cutlass was not as good a car.
Love the wagon version particullarly without the wood. They always seem like a great design. Thanks for sharing and also the oh so cool 56 210.
Nice car. According to my research the car in your pic is an 87 or 88. 1987 was the first year of the composite headlights. from 1989 to 1991 Pontiac replaced the grill with a black grill with a Pontiac symbol on it and dropped the famous Pontiac split grill. They also added turn signals to the headlight pods(the lights closest to the grill were the turn signals. This augmented the turn signals in the bumper.
I never see the 6000 in any shape or form anymore. It is a given that on my commute I will see 2 or 3 Cieras or Century’s but never any 6000’s or Celebrities.
I forgot that those A body wagons had rear vent windows, when i bought mine I had to replace the latch on the left one and don’t recall ever again opening them
just have to correct one thing, the lights closest to the grill are fog lights not turn signals. The turn signals remained in the bumper until the end of production.
on the 89 STE and the 90 SE/AWD the lights closest to the grill is just a parking light. The 89 and 90 all wheel drive models had a fog lights under the front bumper.
Really?? Wow I learn something new everyday. I wonder what GM’s rational was placing fog lights on all 6000 from 89-91? That would mean you could in theory get a bog standard 6000 with crank windows, AM-FM radio and vinyl seats but yet still get fog lights
Pontiac seemed to do this towards the end of a car’s life. Maybe it was a cheap way to give the whole line a facelift buy giving the base cars a look similar to the upper trim levels? Honestly just guessing on this, but here are some other examples.
The Grand Prix sedan did it, the light bar front end was originally an GP STE specific style.
The Bonneville did it, the GXP style groud-effects and facias got used on the 05 SLE as well.
The 3rd gen Firebird did it when the Trans Am ground-effects became standard on the base V6 model in 91/92.
Economies of scale at work?
These were similar in many ways to an Americanized Volvo 245. I say that as the highest compliment. They were size- and fuel-efficient, pretty darn reliable, and fairly priced.
Ouch, the title “Now That’s More Like it!” should have been reserved for the ’77 Caprice, from whose commercial it was lifted:
Whatever happened to catchy jingles?
I knew I’d seen that slogan somewhere. Thanks for pinning it down!
If Detective Brisco says its cool, then it must be.
Check out the same 77 Chevrolet ad with Law & Orders Jerry Orbach as the pitchman.
Chevy’s 1977 “Now That’s More Like It” advertising campaign was one of their most successful in years. The public responded and Chevrolet dealers were amazed at the dramatic increase in floor traffic when this redesigned, smaller Chevy hit the market.
I love the lines of 80s cars, so clean and crisp. People say cars look alike today but honestly there wasn’t much separation until the mid-60s when GM set that new benchmark. By the time Ford caught up there were imports to spice things up. I guess that’s why I’m a fan of the 70s and 80s, brands had distinct identities back then.
The 6000 looks great in that color and with the perfectly placed chrome trim.
I am with you on this. I love The squred off roofline in higher end GM 98, Trofeo…Eldorado there was a black 86 that went in dallas Mecum $1600. wish I’d had the chance, red leather! interior carpet and dash, headliner red
In as New Condition… Mileage ? From a 150 car personal collection”90ish looking man drove the vette thats worth 2.6+”million 67 L88 maroon
Funny thing is, Now looking at the 6000 IT Looks exactly like the inspiration for the 86 Eldorado -GM …….
How bout that L88! I saw Mecum preview the car and saw it again after it sold but I think it was $3.2M. As much as I love the C2 and take into consideration that there were only 20 L88s built you could make your own so easily! The only difference would be that the numbers don’t match. This must be a record for numbers matching premium.
Maybe there is more unique L88 hardware than I know, not so familiar with them.
You can’t really recreate a Mercedes Gullwing or many Ferraris.
Great find Tom! I see a lot of the longer-produced Century and Cutlass Ciera sedans, but 6000s, let alone 6000 wagons are a once in a blue moon type of sighting. I agree that these were great, no-nonsense styled cars.
Long live the A body wagon! Probably the 2.8/3.1 MFI engine in this one. My dad’s wagon was the elusive 84 6000 with the Di-Noc and the wire wheels. And it was the last of the species around these parts.
Your dad’s wagon was the very first 6000 I ever saw with wood sides! I don’t think they even showed the woody wagon in the brochure after ’84.
My grandmother had an 87 6000 LE wagon in light blue with wood paneling. The interior was blue too, I mistt that car so much. The 2.8 made it sound like a sports car and in the early 90’s I thought the dash looked so futuristic. (Considering my mom drove a Chevette and then a 79 LTD at the time.)
We had a 1987 Pontiac 6000 wagon when I was a kid. It was white and I think it was a 4 cylinder. The engine was a bit noisy but seemed to be pretty reliable. My most vivid remembrance was the rear hatch had a dual key lock, turn it to the left and it opens the glass, turn it to the right and it opens the whole hatch.
Before minivans, everyone seems to have had one of these wagons. Then everyone went to minivans then went to those small SUVs.
A cousin of ours had an SE version which seemed to be the middle ground between the regular versions and the STE.
I really like the STE models. A kid in my school’s mom had one. They seemed to be driven by people that were more sophisticated.
Loved all the guages and push buttons on the STEs , later SSEis
– BUT TEST them before purchase. Know what you CAN/Can Not Live with. . I wonder why they never made an 87 on Bonneville Wagn or Coupe. It might have sold.
There was a year or two around 1986 where Pontiac offered a 6000 S/E on the wagon. It had a trick dual exhaust similar to that of the later Dodge Shadow.
My first car was a 1984 6000 STE that I bought in 1985. It took me another 22 years before I could risk buying another technologically laden vehicle.
the 88 Pontiac catalog has an SE wagon with a 5 speed pictured. That is a pretty cool find. I’ve only seen one.
I love the wagon’s hood! Stylish!
The last time I drove a 6000 would be 1998-ish. The TV station I was working for in Nashville had a fleet and all were in advanced stages of decomposition. One had an engine fire, one was run through a chain-link fence and I think another one had an engine that lost oil as soon as you poured it in. The Luminas that replaced them were treated as a huge improvement.
Of course, when I started at the place I work now, there was a Gen 1 Taurus that was a mess, a hapless Windstar van and a Gen 2(?) Ford Escort. All were replaced by Hyundais. Not a great idea.
What’s with the aux radiator fan in the Tri-Five?
HOT ROD! …BUSTED!!….
Drop your Curbside Classic keys off at the nearest office…or manhole cover…
I added a red pinstripe to my Volvo station wagon…does that make it a hot rod too?
Only if you removed the Brougham nomenclature 🙂
I agree the Pontiac 6000 series was one of the best-looking and most efficient. Perhaps a bit weak in the engine compartment, but most cars of the era were as well. I believe for whatever reason, Pontiac shifted the 6000 STE’s future over to the bigger Bonneville.
When I arrived back in Canada a decade ago after a long sojourn abroad, I started looking for an A body wagon as soon as I got settled. Alas, there were none to be had, or the ones available were out of my price range, which was in those days $1000. I ended up buying an ancient 1990 Grand Caravan for $700, which ran okay and had good brakes. I moved all my stuff with it, kept it for six months and sold it for $600. Good deal all around!
Hey – anyone remember the “6000 SUX” from Robocop? I always thought that was so funny 🙂
This is a sweet find! I saw a really rusty 6000 sedan being driven by a young guy this weekend, but I was maneuvering my own car out of a parking lot and wasn’t able to snap it. It looked horrible, but 6000s are so rare I would have tried to capture it if I could have. It was the slightly later model with the round emblem in the grille instead of the traditional Pontiac split grille (I prefer the latter). This is a sharp-looking, sporty wagon, especially at that front 3/4-view you shot it at. I had an ’85 Sunbird that was probably the same color. It was a very sophisticated color, a very dark blue that had a lot of green in it, sort of a midnight teal. Not your garden variety navy. I think it may be similar to a Cadillac color called “Commodore Blue” dating back to the ’70s.
I had 2 A body wagons, a ’84 Cutlass Ciera and a ’88 Celebrity, both with the 2.5 4 cyl with fuel injection. Had some mechanical problems with the Cutlass mainly due to the previous owners lack of maintenance. The Celebrity was terrific. Loved the versatility of the wagons as well as the styling. I had 3 kids and these were the perfect size wagons of the time.
Great car and great write-up as usual Tom! These cars were somewhat rare in wagon form – but there was one Pontiac dealer not too far from my house that always seemed to stock a 6000 wagon with woodgrain – so there were a few of these in my neighborhood just like the white one pictured! I always liked the sportiness of the Pontiac compared to the other A-bodies. My Dad considered one in sedan form after his 1977 Caprice Estate was getting up there in mileage but needed the space of a wagon and these weren’t available in wagon form until 1984. He ended up with a 1982 Country Squire that was a great car until the miles started piling up – the carb was always giving him trouble as it got older.
Yesterday I actually saw a 1977 Caprice Estate Wagon for sale with 66,000 original miles on it. It was yellow with black vinyl interior – third seat – incredible condition! I hope to see it again so I can take some pictures of it. I haven’t seen one in that condition for at least 20 years!!
Mediapolis
Nice car. The low-level 6000 would be the one to have in my opinion. I did not realize that the heavy ribbed cladding on the LE & SE & STE models is made out of the same crap the Chevy Citation bumper fillers are.
This stuff rots and eventually crumbles away to nothingness, leaving the shiny stainless steel supporting bracket exposed. It’s too bad because there will probably never be a nice original 6000 remaining before too long.