(first posted 3/31/2012) The 1971-76 GM full-size station wagons were the largest wagons the company ever made. Each division had their own fancy version, usually with vinyl wood appliques on the sides – the Chevrolet Caprice Estate, Pontiac Grand Safari, Olds Custom Cruiser and Buick Estate Wagon. The Buick was the fairest of them all, an Electra wagon for all intents and purposes.
Buick had only just resumed the production of full-size wagons. Starting in 1964, the Sport Wagon, a long wheelbase version of the Skylark wagon with windows over the second row seat (shared with the Olds Vista Cruiser), became the top Buick hauler. This remained the case until 1970, when a new full-size Estate Wagon debuted on the LeSabre chassis, which had been redesigned for the 1969 model year.
I’m not sure why GM bothered with the ’70, as all-new big Buicks were coming out for 1971. They must have really felt the need to get back in the full-size wagon market, to tool a wagon body that was only used for one year.
In 1971, the new Estate Wagon came out with new sheetmetal and interiors. This was the biggest wagon GM would offer, and the Buick was arguably the finest. Luxury wagons were not a crowded segment. The only other comparable wagons were the Chrysler Town & Country, Mercury Colony Park and maybe the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. Need to haul? No problem, as these wagons had 105.7 cubic feet of cargo space and a 127-inch wheelbase. Plenty of room for cargo and people.
Interiors were extremely nice for a station wagon, with upholstery that would not have looked out of place on an Electra. The Estate Wagon essentially was an Electra, sporting the very same front end and the requisite four portholes on the hood.
1971 Estate Wagons came with a standard 455 CID V8 and a three speed column-shifted manual (most likely only a handful were equipped with it) or optional THM 400 automatic. The usual woodgrained vinyl applique was available, but you could get painted sides if you wanted it. Two-seat, six passenger or three-seat, eight passenger models were available. One nice feature of the 1971-76 GM wagons was the third seat faced forward. One third of the curbside seat folded forward for access. In an interesting throwback, the 1971-76 GM wagons had a leaf-sprung rear suspension. It was the only was the third row seat could face forward and have sufficient space.
But that was not the Estate Wagon’s greatest trick. GM, perhaps in a fit of pique after seeing Ford’s revolutionary Magic Doorgate, decided that they could build a better mousetrap. The result was the ‘clamshell’ tailgate. By inserting your key into the slot (there was also a switch on the instrument panel) and turning it right, the rear window would retract into the roof . Turning the key twice would make the tailgate roll below the cargo area. It was a pretty cool trick, if perhaps more complicated and less robust than Ford’s solution. Also, since the tailgate did not fold down, you didn’t have additional space for longer items if need be.
The Estate Wagon carried on in Bristol fashion, following the updates of its sedan, coupe and convertible brethren. As with every single US car, in 1973 it received the ‘park bench’ 5 mph front bumpers, and received a matching rear bumper the following year.
I saw our featured car, a 1974 model, in traffic. We have had wonderful weather around here the last couple of weeks, but I was still happily amazed to see this Estate Wagon in traffic. The last time I saw one of these was at the Scott County Fair at the demolition derby probably twenty years ago. Let us share a moment of silence for all those fine clamshell wagons that were purchased for $500 in 1990 and smashed into oblivion.
Anyway, I had to see if the driver was stopping someplace nearby. Luckily, he was. I love this wagon! The American Racing rims, white letter tires and slight rake give it a great look. 1974 was the last year the Estate Wagon got the Electra trim, and it may well be the best looking of the ’71-76s despite the big bumpers. I think it looks great without the wood trim too. This red ’74 has an attitude, but nothing that couldn’t easily be put back to stock.
Another big plus for these wagons: glass area! With the wraparound quarter glass, there is basically no D pillar. Great when you’re merging onto the freeway or backing out of the driveway.
Do you remember red interiors? I do, and miss them. I also miss the white, dark blue and dark green interiors. Black, gray or tan is getting a little old after being the only choices for the last fifteen years in most cars.
The owner clearly takes care of this wagon, as he parked in the ‘back 40’ of the mall. Got to avoid those door dings, you know. It also has 1974 Illinois plates, a neat touch. I really like the 1974 front end, with the subdued grille and ‘floating’ headlights.
The Estate Wagon carried on in much the same form for 1975 and ’76, but for some reason, the LeSabre front end replaced the ’74s Electra nose, and it was down to three portholes per side. It still had the colossal space and 455 V8 power though.
1975s also received a new instrument panel. The 1975-76 Buick IP is my favorite, with the drop-down glovebox and silver gauges. Very linear and modern for the ’70s. Don’t forget the woodgrain trim, after all, this is a Buick! The 1976s received quad rectangular headlights and a new grille, again shared with the LeSabre, but were otherwise little-changed. All new B-body Buicks were on the horizon, and they would also be great, but for different reasons. Let us raise a glass to the big Buick wagons; their kind will not pass by again!
Nice piece and I agree about the bumpers. Blecch. Although I am a fan of fake wood sides.
We all love to hate 5 mph bumpers but you could actually touch a hard object with them without doing $1000 in damage.
I am a fan of the large bumpers.
Was hit in the rear bumper in a 1973 Cadillac by a Saab 9000.
No damage to my car, although the rear bumper was not a fully 5 mph bumper.
The Saab needed a new front bumper, new head lights and grill.
Was hit in the rear bumper in a 1978 Cadillac on two different occasions.
No damage to my car. The impact bumper actually minimized the damaged on the other cars.
Was hit in the rear bumper in a 1976 Mercury Grand Marquis by a guy on a Harley Davidson at fairly high speed.
No damage to my car. Minor damage to the bike but the biker smashed his left leg very bad. Poor guy.
I find it interesting that a car of this class has roll-up windows. Even the model in the brochure is sporting manual roll-up windows. Nowadays you can’t purchase a car without power windows and locks.
Back then, you rarely saw power windows on anything below top models of the near-luxury brands; in Buick’s case, that would be the Electra 225 or RIviera. While Buick and Olds pretended that their wagons were cargo hauling versions of the “deuce and a quarter” or the Ninety-Eight, in reality they were an extension of the LeSabre and Delta 88 models, both in wheelbase and pricing. When my parents bought a Ninety-Eight and Delta 88 in 1970, the latter didn’t have power windows, although they were optional. As I recall, that was pretty much the norm, and occasionally you’d even see a Ninety-Eight with manual windows.
When my mother bought a 72 Cutlass Supreme late in the model year, one of the few available that had a/c also had power windows. She bought it and we felt like rich people. Although with the air, we hardly used the windows anymore. Power windows in a Cutlass were quite a rarity then.
When I was kid, power windows were indeed a luxury item, to be endlessly played with when encountered. The first time I ever saw them in the flesh was when a family friend came to visit in his well used Cadillac.
When briefly worked at GM in 2005, I was surprised how many of their cars still had cranker windows, even then.
You’d be even more surprised at the number of people who seem to actually *want* hand-cranked windows, or at least say they want them. I, for one, welcome our new power-window Overlords.
Yes you are so correct.My uncles 76 caddy coupe. And yes I played with that passenger window until it broke. I blamed little brother ( temporarily) It was such an luxury item Ive only seen once before. Thank you for youre comments youve brought me back to a much better time , an slower fime. Thanx again
Very true. We had a ’71 Olds Custom Cruiser and although it shared grille, wheel covers and tailights with a 98, inside, it was trimmed like a base 88. Ours was an attractive good with white, base 88 style pleated vinyl interior. Fake wood appliqué on the dash and thin little strips on the door panels. Ours had power windows and the 455 four pot (believe it, or not, a rocket 455 2-bbl was standard). The ’71-’73’s were n/a WITHOUT wood grain vinyl siding. We had that wagon from ’71 through ’78 when my Dad traded it and my step-Mom’s ’72 318 sleeper Plymouth Scamp on a ’79 GMC High Sierra “Heavy Half” (he had the dealer remove the silly “Heavy Half” decals).
Late reply here. My dad ordered a ’73 Custom Cruiser with the DiNoc sides, my uncle (mom’s brother in law) ordered one the same year without the fake wood.
Another interesting tidbit. In1973 the most expensive US wagon was the Chrysler T&C, the 2nd most expensive wagon was the Olds Custom Cruiser! Although only by a few $ over the Buick Estate Wagon.
Nup. The Estates had the 127″ Electra wheelbase, not the 124″ wheelbase of the LeSabre.
Same with the companion Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser/98/88.
Dermot
Great Find! It’s a shame that so many of these were destroyed over the years. In many ways the Estate Wagon was the Cadillac of wagons.
These were all over suburbia in my childhood of the 1970s, and I recall taking more than one overnight trip for school or Scouts with a family who owned one.
The “Glide-Away Tailgate” was trick and got some attention at first, but then you quickly learned that opening and closing it was an agonizingly sloooooooow process.
However, I recall one of my Dad’s friends saying that there was an advantage to his Glide-Away when he launched his boat from a trailer. Perhaps if you were doing it alone you could put the seats and gate down, and have a clear view of whether or not the boat was in the water?
I remember that one of my childhood friends and his brothers were carted around by their mom in the Olds version of this car–I always thought the clamshell tailgate was cool. I’d love to have one even now, although the subsequent series (that included my own ’87 Caprice wagon) was much more practical.
Any idea what the curb weight on these was? I’d guess north of 5000 lbs.
Way north. The tailgate mechanism added lots on it’s own.
Said tailgate broke with shocking regularity and cost a fortune to fix, too.
When examining these cars, one must be aware of their 9 mpg city fuel habit. Yes, gasoline costs more now, but we use a lot less, too.
They also eliminated the cargo well under the rear floor, and lowered the ceiling. Compared to the competition, they were terrible at swallowing bulky loads. The author lauds the forward-facing third seat, made necessary by the huge underfloor pocket for the gate to slide into. But the rear axle completely eliminated foot space. A Chrysler Town and Country could comfortably seat two adults in back. Anyone over the age of seven in the third seat of one of these things could rest his chin on his knees.
Why does the author talk about ‘tooling up a complete wagon for only one year’ in 1970? Does he not know this was a Buick front clip and interchangeable doors were applied to a wagon which Chevrolet, Pontiac and Olds had been building in the hundreds of thousands per year since 1967?
I owned a ’73 Pontiac Catalina version – two rows of seating and a trunk in lieu of the third row. That car was so massive that the spare tire was stored in a space BEHIND the wheel well, accessible by removing a plastic cover, and the other wheel well storage area was large enough to store a medium sized suitcase. Between the wheel well storage and the storage area under the floor for the third row seating, there was more hidden storage than in the trunks of our ’86 Corolla and ’78 Aspen.
GVR was 5500 lbs, according to the owner’s manual. 400 CID 2BBL THM400 automatic, with optional transmission cooler and oil cooler – it was more than capable of towing the largest trailer available in those days. I purchased it from the original owner, and by the time I sold it, there were more than 400,000 miles on the odometer, and could have been a lot more if the rust hadn’t become terminal. In the almost 4 years and almost 100,000 miles I owned that car it only ever had a yearly tune up and oil changes as required. Not once did it need repair.
Virtually bullet proof, and I even had the added bonus of the clamshell tailgate never once malfunctioning. That I know was an aberration – I guess I was lucky. That was the last good GM vehicle I owned. The rest of them lived down to GM’s badly bruised reputation.
You’re right about the slow tailgate. My dad bought a ’72 Chevy Kingswood (from Roger Penske no less) and he made sure to order the half electric tailgate. That way he could open the window, then rotate the key surround and manually release the tailgate. This was quicker than the full electric version and with the door supported on a torsion bar, there was less electro mechanical hardware to worry about.
Regarding the author’s d-pillar observation, they were there, but hidden behind the glass, immediately adjacent to the retractable backlight.
Funny story, my hot headed sister once got in an argument with my other sister after dropping her off somewhere. In a fit of temper she dropped the car in reverse and floored it. She backed up a little to fast and too far and nailed a telephone pole square in the middle of the bumper.
From that day forward, the door would not fully drop into its pocket. The car was 7 years after Le at the time (until then he had always traded in every three years, but this became the first kids car in about 1977-8). So my dad did not have it fixed. To make it look a bit better, we bought an unbent bumper from a junkyard and I hammered out the panel behind it and, voila, the door worked again.
Oh, and my sister’s lame excuse to my parents, to cover for her anger issue? “The pole was in my blind spot.”
The power tailgate was an option. Standard was a manual tailgate with a handle at the center top. You grabbed that handle and pulled it shut with a healthy slam.
When opening it you turned the switch and it dropped halfway down. You pushed it the rest of the way down. Most of the clamshell GM wagons in my hometown had manual tailgates, and I don’t recall anyone having problems with those.
WOW! What a beautiful find! Would love to park my 1996 Roadmaster next to it for a while and just compare. I always loved those cars and looked at a few used ones in the late 70’s. Just knew the fuel economy was about the same as a Greyhound bus.
I kind of always felt that the Olds Custom Cruiser was even a notch above the Buick with the rear quarters off the 98 complete with fender skirts which Buick did not do to the Estate Wagon. Can not remember about the Buick but the later year Olds with Power Windows also got the interior door trim off the 98 also.
Thanks for the great write up!
Would love to find a 90’s Olds Custom Cruiser
Here’s a Roadmaster Wagon with the LT1. Too bad it’s all the way out in Jersey.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-Buick-Roadmaster-Estate-Wagon-well-kept-LT1-V8-/160772515825?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item256ec9e7f1
argh!
I have a ’96 Roadmaster wagon now. Used to have a ’71 Pontiac Safari wagon. Loved that clamshell tailgate! My sister-in-law had an Olds Vista Cruiser with that roof window (similar to our ’96s roof). The biggest difference is our wagons have 116″ wheelbase and these old ones are 127″. That means I could slide a sheet of 4 x 8 plywood in the back and close the tailgate. It hangs out the back of my new wagon. Chevy’s corvette 350 LT-1 makes it move out pretty well compared to most new cars today. (OK, OK, a few Mustangs have seen my taillights LOL) but there is no substitute for cubic inches. Even though my Pontiac only had the 400 cid motor, the Buick version had the 455. I had that motor in a ’70 Electra and it just loafs along, has so much power it doesn’t need to work hard. it got 24 highway, 18 city. Not bad for something over 5,000 lbs! and not too much less mpg than our ’96s. Obviously the ’71-’76 cars were much more low tech than our ’96s. Not all the electric bells and whistles that tend to fail with age. 3 speed vs 3 speed with overdrive automatic trans. Entertainment: AM/FM 8 track, cassette radio vs AM/FM cassette CD player now! I still have the factory 8 track demo tape that came with my ’70 Electra LOL. The ’96 was not available as a 6 passenger with storage space. Dealership told me they could remove the 3rd seat for $300 labor after the car was delivered. (I had a ’64 Bel Aire wagon 6 passenger, and that rear compartment storage area was awesome! Bigger than many sedans). I don’t know if leather was an option for the old ones, mine was vinyl. My ’96 has leather. Both have key on the column with column lock. Old: wiper switch on dash, headlight dimmer on floor. No headlight delay wheel, just pull on, push off. There was no Mist or adjustable delay feature on the wipers, or a wiper on the back window, day/night mirror control was manual. Rear window did not have defog wires either. Side view mirror (1) was not heated. Electric windows did not need the ignition on to work, now they do. No such thing as High Mount Stop Light (3rd taillight) back then! The ’70s wagons did have seat belts and sensors that beeped and buzzed to annoy you to put them on. Unfortunately, they worked with weight sensors in the seat. So setting a bag of groceries, or a ladies purse, next to you on the seat required putting the seat belt around it. I bypassed that “feature” by fastening the seatbelt into it’s clip from behind the seat. Both cars have beeper/chime for key in ignition or headlights on. New ones also have door ajar. Old: open door interior lights on, close – off. Now we have a delay. I found this to be a very bad thing when the module or circuit or whatever controls it went bad and my interior lights stayed on and I came back to a dead battery. Same problem with the rear compartment lights that come on with the tailgate swinging open. Most recently when I open the tailgate, the lights do not come on right away, but a few minutes later. (annoying) My mechanic tells me it’s a mercury switch inside the tailgate (read that take apart tailgate to repair). Over the years the unlock thing for my keychain has stopped working (yes I tried new batteries) So I’m back to the old fashioned way of unlocking with the key. Oh well,. Don’t get me wrong, I ordered my ’96 new, and still love it. But I would take a ’70s wagon in a heartbeat.
You could get electric windows that didn’t need the ignition switched on to work? Wow, we so need this back. Nothing worse than sitting in a parked car and not being able to open the windows, hoping the driver will hurry back.
But the Greyhound bus was easier to park . . .
“Luxury wagons were not a crowded segment. The only other comparable wagons were the Mercury Colony Park and maybe the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser.”
Don’t forget the Town & Country which more often than not had the luxury wagon market all to itself until these came out.
As a kid, there was one schoolmate’s mother who drove one of these, probably a 71 or 72. I remember the forward facing third seat – that was the one all the kids wanted to sit in. It is funny today, but that big luxurious Buick still gave you vinyl seats.
Later, one of my best friend’s dad bought a used 75 Custom Cruiser. The thing was an absolute pig on gas, usually around 8 mpg around town. Vinyl seats in that one too.
I realize that I am on record as a hater of this series of GM B and C body, but if I had to pick one, it would be one of these wagons.
How could I forget the Town & Country? Will fix.
I love vinyl seats, in fact we still have them, they are are called, “synthetic leather.” Really, leather isn’t that much different anyway. It is still freezing in the winter. In many ways, I prefer a high quality cloth interior to leather. It is more comfortable.
Vinyl makes perfect sense in a wagon, which could be used to haul stuff, kids with ic cream, etc. Much easier to keep clean. My 1978 LeSabre had white vinyl and I loved it.
At the time we got the Olds Custom Cruiser, a friend’s Mom got a new ’72 Chrysler T and C. I thought that car was much classier than the Olds. Dark brown with medium brown interior. An “Imperial” station wagon!
Ah a Bismark class battlecruiser! I do love station wagons. That one just needs a slight tint to the windows.
When these were about 20 years old, I saw a cherry Estate Wagon on the streets of Tokyo. Shiny black. Heavy tint on the windows. I asked who would want to drive such a large car in Tokyo traffic.
Two of the younger Japanese colleagues I was with immediately chimed in “I’d love that car. Anyone in our generation would.”
A young salaryman lusting for an 8 mpg car in a country with $8/gallon gas. Go figure.
“The only other comparable wagons were the Mercury Colony Park and maybe the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser.”
What JP said! 🙂
These things were still pretty common when I was a kid, along with Country Squires. Somehow I don’t remember the Fords dragging their tails like the GMs all seemed to. Was it all the extra weight from that crazy tailgate?
that’s a sexy boat! nice find
Can’t say I ever wanted a T&C, but I’m grateful for them…They used the same massive brake booster as the Imperials, and outsold them by a wide margin, so it’s still possible to find the darn things!
I just was looking at an Electra Wagon. I wish I could afford the gas on it.
Meh…you get it, how many miles do you think you’ll be putting on it? It’d probably be traded off in three weeks anyway.
😉
The leaf springs were a mixed blessing for these beauties. On the one hand, they gave these wagons phenomenal cargo and towing capacity. In fact, one of the selling points of the clamshell gate was that you could open it with a trailer attached. On the other hand, they gave the wagons a more trucklike ride compared to their sedan sisters. If you buy one of these expecting to have the smooth floatiness of a Fleetwood Brougham with an extra seat and a really big trunk, you will be disappointed. Finally, the leaf springs ultimately sent far too many of these wagons to an early grave at the demo derbies. Derbiers like them because the leaf springs tend to keep the rear wheels clear of the bodywork as the rear of the car gets crunched. Coil spring GM cars are more likely to fold up around the rear wheels and become immobilized.
Nice, nice car! A friend of mine’s parents had a then new ’74 when we were in grade school I loved that car! Hmmm…one of these with an LSx swap and overdrive?
As has been noted, the Estate Wagons had very nice but not Electra level interiors- in the Buick’s case the seats were LeSabre Custom level. The Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser faired less elegantly- the Ninety Eight exterior styling was mated with a base Delta 88 trim level.
What amazes me about these wagons was just how durable they were. Our ’75 Safari is probably still running. My dad wanted to be buried in that wagon. I’m not sure where all the complaints about broken tailgate mechanisms are coming from. Lots of people I grew up with had these wagons with both manual and motor operated tailgates (including my family) and no one had a busted tailgate. And they weren’t “slow” to open and close either. The upper window and lower gate moved at about half the speed as a power window moves today. Not exactly excrutiatingly slow. Nor did they have rear end sag problems. Maybe after being on the road for a decade hauling heavy loads without replacement shocks but not when they had an owner that kept them in any kind of repair due to heavy use. They had 455s and THM400s and they cruised just fine without wallowing on their big, wide Michelin radials. Nuclear powered GM “hang meat in here” air conditioning, great visibility, thick sheet metal, swallow 4′ x 8′ sheets and still close the tailgate. These things were absolute tanks and ate Ford Country Squires for breakfast. I will never forget going on a long trip after getting that wagon and getting stuck listening to the BeeGee’s “Jive Talkin'” every stinkin’ third song on the AM radio for a thousand miles. BLECHHHH! Yeah, they didn’t get high gas mileage. But what station wagon that could hold, haul, and tow what this thing did got high mileage? None. I had a big SUV rental earlier this year and it got 9mpg too-40 years later.
“If you’re hauling the tribe cross-country the Wagon Queen Family Truckster is your automobile. You may hate it now but wait ’til you drive it.”
>>But what station wagon that could hold, haul, and tow what this thing did got high mileage? None. I had a big SUV rental earlier this year and it got 9mpg too-40 years later.<<
This is important to remember–yes, these were horrible on gas, but so were any number of successor vehicles.
We had the manual gate on the ’71 Custom Cruiser. The upper (glass area) was power; glass would power itself up into the roof then the lower gate would “drop” down about a couple of inches. From there you would “push” it down the rest of the way.
I badly wanted my parents to get one of these GM “clamshell” wagons. (My favorite was the Pontiac.) But for some reason, when it came time to replace my mother’s 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban, they decided we didn’t need a wagon anymore, and got a ’73 Dodge Polara hardtop. But I did go to school with a family that had one of the Buicks, either a ’71 or ’72 (too long ago to remember exactly).
We missed out on the clamshell treatment none of the OZ big three bothered I can see why it would have been very expensive to make and impossible to keep working in very dusty conditions Fords magic hinges got here though they were cool.
Were the 1970 wagons built by Ionia/Mitchell-Bentley like the A-body wagons?
I had thought for years that Mitchell-Bentley did the A-body Oldsmobile wagons, but it’s looking like I was wrong about that — Mitchell-Bentley sold their Ionia plant in ’64.
When my grandmother died, the hearse at her funeral was a 75 Chev Caprice wagon with the clamshell tailgate. It was the first time I saw a clamshell in action – I wanted to ask the undertaker to open and close it a couple more times, but the timing just didn’t seem appropriate…
You should have gotten the name of the undertaker. Then go to a funeral for someone you don’t know and ask. Infinitely more appropriate.
Local funeral outfit in my suburb has a 75? Clamshell Chevy very cool.
My last uncles last ride was in a Buick with clamshell tailgate very clever.
The 1970 Estate wagon was the same body shell as Chevy and Pontiac, with some shared parts with LeSabre, not a lot of cost to tool up for one year.
I wanted my parents to trade in our 68 Plymouth Custom Suburban [Fury III] wagon for a new ’73 EW, but we couldnt afford it. Ended up getting a used ’72 Sedan DeVille in fall 1975.
Regarding demo derbies, now clamshells, even non drivers, run $1000-1500 minimum. Derbiers are moving on to 90’s Crown Vics, dirt cheap.
GM’s 1971 full-size cars were arguably the last “styled” cars from GM (with possible exception of ’73 Monte Carlo). From Chevrolet to Cadillac, all were sensational and the wagons were prestige cars in their day. They were successful too — production got off to slow start due to Fall 1970 UAW strike, but Ford full-size wagons — which had done well from 66 through 70 with “Magic Doorgate”— never outsold Chevrolet after 1971. My own favorites are the 71 Kingswood/Kingswood Estate, 71-72 Olds Custom Cruiser and 73 Pontiac Grand Safari, but Buick Estate wagons were the “country club” rides of their time.
OK I fess up! I did run one of these (1973 Pontiac) in a local demo derby (first and last time) 20 years ago. I was the mechanic and my friend was the driver. We made a couple of rookie mistakes: 1) we failed to drain (drill) and then weld up the bumper shocks (bumpers can get pulled off at the corners quite easily); 2) we also didn’t weld the differential spider gears together to achieve a solid axle, meaning that a blown tire leads to massive spinning-the-wheel-inside-tire smoke on that side and zero vehicle movement! Oops . . .
We did win $120 in two heat races before the derby, however, which paid for the car and all of its modifications (counting my labor as free). It was cheap fun!
I’m still waiting for the SUV class of demo derby, but darnit, that cash for clunkers took so many of them out of the automotive gene pool for good.
Great write up!….and so close to my heart.
I learned how to drive on my Dad’s 1972 Buick Estate wagon…crystal blue with blue vinyl interior. It was the first car my Dad bought with A/C…a freezing cold frigidaire unit.
It still had manual window cranks and an AM radio. The only options were the A/C, roof rack, third seat, body side molding, bumper rub strips and power tailgate. The standard tailgate had to opened by twisting the key, and then manually pushing it down.
A 4×8 sheet of plywood could fit between the wheel wells and within the car with the tailgate closed.
The 455 4bbl was a pig, but effortless in acceleration.
The sticker price with options was just under $5600.
I’m curious…on the standard tailgate, did the glass retract into the roof manually, as well?
I remember seeing one on a Chevy once. When you turned the key in the fender, both the glass and the gate would unlock. Each had some kind of springloaded mechanism. You would roll the glass up into the roof, then shove the gate down into the floor. Both would latch in place when fully open. Not sure, but I think you needed the key again to release them again for closing. Then you pull the gate up until it latched, pulled window down the same way.
All the clamshell wagons had a power rear window standard. The power tailgate was optional on all of them. If you had to push or pull a window something was wrong.
My parents bought a ’73 EW from Peacock Buick in Alexandria, Va as a demonstrator. that car had every option including the wood, chrome wheels w/ white walls, vinyl roof and power windows and locks. It also came with a complete trailer towing package. We never towed anything with it, but once brought home a cord of firewood with only a little bit of sagging in the rear. I only remember the tail gate needing repair once. I backed it into a telephone pole when I started driving at 15 and a half!
What can I say, I’m a fan, though I am partial since I own one, although the 74 and down ones have Electra badges and 4 portholes, the trim does not really change between the 74 and 75 series cars, just the Electra badges and the number of portholes, the car in the brochure picture represents the nicest interior you could get, the standard interior was more LeSabre than Electra.
Heres mine
Why can’t you get red interiors in cars anymore? I knew it wasn’t just me who noticed.
Geesh I love wagons. the one I posted is my current one of the 7 I have owned. With much regret, she is now for sale because I needed an SUV to pull my new travel trailer. UGH! I cant believe I actually said that! I have fallen victim to the SUV market in which I vowed never to be a part of!
These wagons look great without the vinyl woodgrain, nice find! One of the very few ’71-76 GM B-bodies I find appealing, though the structural integrity is probably crap compared to what came before (and after). Sure looks great though. 🙂
I had a ’71 Electra 225 coupe which also looked great but felt like a real boat on the road. Handling was simply atrocious…
we have a 90 estate wagon, last of the square bodies. Underpowered, but leather, power all and we put a power sunroof. I enjoy it very much. Also a 75 Lesabre Convert, wonder how it would compare with the wagon. All great fun
That’s my wagon. I had no idea that it was featured in an article on this website. I chased the original owner of this car for 13 years before I finally ended up with it. It has 99% of it’s original paint on it. Only thing that has been repainted is the rear bumper fillers. Car has 52,250 original miles. Glad to see there are other wagon lovers out here,
Swanny454 is referring to the Maroon ’74 Buick Estate in the first pic. You should all stop by and join us at Stationwagonforums.com
My Parents’ bought a ’72 Estate Wagon with the power gate. The power clamshell gate worked great for years, only when the supporting structure near the bottom of the tracks rusted were there any problems.
I took my driver’s test in that car. I thought I had the biggest car on the test course until I saw that two cars behind me was a Checker Wagon. When I had to do the parallel parking test, I pulled up beside the “car” in front of the empty space, looked over my shoulder, dropped the power bottom gate and with a picture-window view, backed into the space. The examiner had no problem with the technique.
I ran a 72 Estate in a demo once. The whole 71-6 GM wagon platform is desired by us crazies that knock these things in the head.
I prefer the Mopar stuff myself.
Now, on to the coolness part. When Im not smashing rusty hunks of crap nobody wants on the roads anymore, and giving them one last glory run before they meet their maker, I also like to save some too. I call myself a longtopper. Meaning I have a love for wagons. And even tho my street car blood bleeds blue oval, I love this body style long top from GM. My favorite is the early 74 Kingswood/Caprice. Mid year they went super ugly. If I could ever find a clean one in saveable condition, Id spend my hard earned Boeing money on one.
Now that being said, People tend to have a bad taste in their mouth about demo derby. As some one who has been around it my whole life (30 years), I like to think of it as giving a car (or truck) one last glory run before they go to the scrapper. With craigslist and ebay, most of us take the hard to find parts and put them on those sites when we strip a car, so others who need the stuff, can get it. Why not bump it in the head and have some fun before it becomes a Toyota?
Dan
We ain’t judging, and it is a Viking funeral for a car that was on its last legs. Good on you for letting it go out with a bang (literally!). You hear the same thing about guys who turned Novas and Chevelles (or whatever they complain about) getting turned into circle track cars instead of concours level show cars. Get real. Most of them used as racers were 6 cyl base models that were unloved by their owners, or rebuilt wrecks, or some other form of salvage. Guys who do grassroots racing or Demos are usually car buffs, too, but they do not have deep pockets for the most part, so rarely would a good car be used for sport.
Those clam shell tailgates were something else. Especially in a heavy downpour or with a few inches of snow on the glass.
My favorite was the 1970 woody Estate Wagon
I now have a ’70 Estate Wagon with no woodgrain. In 1976 I got a ’56 Century wagon and had that four years, a great car, in ’82 got a ’57 Caballero and had it four years also. Bought a ’94 Roadmaster Estate new (black) with wood and drove it 12 years. My favorite Buick wagon that I owned was my ’65 Sportwagon with 3 seats. I loved the way it handled. Had to sell it in 2004 because I was moving. I enjoy the ’70, not bad mileage though not nearly as desirable as the others but a nice ride and handles fairly well. Love Buick wagons and always wanted a ’72, without those vents on the tailgate or the huge bumpers that came after!
Learned to drive in the family’s 74 Estate Wagon, and took my driver’s test in it. The car was nearly 20 feet long, which was about the same length as the space used to test parallel parking. After ten minutes of back and forth the car was nowhere close to parked. The Georgia state trooper took pity on me and said “Let’s head out on the road son.”
Our model featured the copper exterior (no woodgrain) and brown interior with three rows of seats. My dad didn’t trust “that new fangled tailgate,” so he specified the manual version. As I recall it took a pretty hefty pull to raise it. The portion of the second row of seats that allowed access to the third row was a Rube Goldberg contraption that lifted the entire seat (cushion and backrest) up and tilted it forward. That too require quite a bit of brute force. We took delivery shortly after the Arab Oil Embargo. 🙂
I vividly recall 750-mile road trips with eight aboard and enough luggage for a week. (Sears sold a giant zippered bag that protected the suitcases up on the roof rack from bugs.) We had to be approaching 6,000 pounds.
Out on the super slab the driver set the cruise control at 75 mph, while somebody in the back seat monitored the citizens’ band radio for the latest Smokey Report. At that weight and speed Estate Wagon was none too easy to drive. The over-boosted power steering provided zero road feel, and the boulevard suspension was squishier than a Krispy Kreme donut fresh out of the fryer.
The steering rack (recirculating ball?) had a giant dead spot on-center, so when you first turned the wheel nothing much happened. Naturally, you turned a little more — at which point all that Michigan metal listed to the side and the car snapped off to the side like a fighter doing an aileron roll. The secret was to be ridiculously light on the steering. Out on the freeway it was literally a one finger effort.
In 1978, I learned to drive on our 1976 grand Safari station wagon. It had the rectangular headlamps and the wood paneling and also key colored rally wheels. Ours was a very light cream yellow color with saddle brown interior. It had a roof rack power tailgate three rows of seats and all possible Electric options except for power seats. I also drove that car to college for 4 years and for many years after and never put a scratch or dent on it. It was always heavily waxed, well cared for, garage kept, and always in mint condition. My mom was always an absolute perfectionist about her cars and her things, as I got to be. Later on the car was given to me and I drove it for many years and finally sold it in 1990. It was always kept like new and had no dents and no rust, I should never have sold it. I don’t know what the heck I was thinking. I tried to find another one but instead found and purchased a 76 Caprice estate wagon, maroon with wood, standard, & 9 passenger power tailgate and mint condition from a guy in Illinois, I take it out on nice days. People love it and complement it but it will never be quite as classy as our 76 Grand Safari, especially the interior.
“1971 Estate Wagons came with a standard 455 CID V8 and a three speed column-shifted manual ”
Sweet! could you imagine driving this beast so equipped? Fantastico!
As crazy as a manual shift Buick seems today, the old clam shell wagons were great tow vehicles and were often seen pulling horse trailers and Airstream camper trailers. In that application it made perfect sense.
You had to order quick – GM discontinued manual transmissions up and down their big car line halfway though the 1971 model year, with the exception of six-cylinder Chevrolets (and Canadian six-cylinder Pontiacs) which could still be ordered with 3-on-the-tree for a few more seasons.
If you want to see some nice wagons, use google images and look up Ford Falcon wagons from Australia.
I had a 1973 buick estate wagon bought it in 1978 for $700 because of gas prices, and used it as a taxi cab for 3 yrs, I loved the car the clam shell tailgate was great for loading luggage and overall it was a fantastic car, It had under 40,000 miles on it and when I sold it she had over 300,000 miles with the original engine and tranny IT WAS GREAT
mmmm…. clamshell
My favourite Buick Estate Wagons are the 1969 through 1971. I feel I should correct the editor. The 1970 and 71 Estate wagon was based on the Electra 225.
I learned to drive in a 72 Chevy Kingswood Wagon. Maneuvering one of those big boats prepared you for anything. Fortunately, I took my test in Dad’s 70 Skylark coupe which was a whole lot easier to parallel park. The Kingswood was a decent car for the 3 years we owned it except for an unrepairable tendancy to diesel after shutoff and gas mileage in the 8MPG range.
I love this featured wagon. It’s the same color as the 74 Electra 4dr hdtp my best man chauffeured us in on our wedding in 78 .
Sad as it is ,while these were being smashed in the derbies 15 yrs.ago,who would of thought station wagons would be cool again? I love seeing young families on cruise nights or car shows enjoying themselves with their old wagon. I guess it rings so nostalgic to us boomers.
I would love to see another CC wagon week in the future.
Ah yes, the Buick Estate Wagon GTO*
(*good taste option, aka woodgrain paneling delete).
RetchBlargl. The ’71-’76 GM B-bodies offend my eyes, no matter the bodystyle. They are on the list of cars I’m glad are scarcely seen any more.
What’s the deal with the small rear marker light below the “Estate Wagon” badge on the ’74-’76? Was the larger wraparound taillight found at the last minute not large enough to satisfy legal requirements or something? It seems like an afterthought.
The front and rear sidemarker lamp must emit at least a specified amount of light 45° forward and 45° rearward of its axis, which is a line perpendicular to the front-to-back axis of the car. The sidemarker reflector must reflect at least a specified amount of light hitting them from 20° forward and 20° rearward of its axis. Both of those requirements would be difficult or impossible to meet with the shape of the taillamps’ sidewalls and 1975 technology, hence the separate sidemarker.
The one-year 1970 Estate Wagon came about because of the reskin of the A-bodies for 1970. Both the standard Skylark wagon and the stretched glassroof Sportwagon would need new skins for 1970. Buick opted to do new skin for the standard Skylark wagon and tool a B-body skin instead of the Sportwagon.
On the Olds side, the Vista Cruiser was pretty popular, so Olds tooled a new Vista Cruiser skin instead of a one-year Olds B-body wagon.
Very close, but there never was a Buick Skylark station wagon.
In 1970 the “Sport Wagon” name was moved from the the long-wheelbase A-body station wagon (which had been considered a full-sized station wagon and which was killed) to the short-wheelbase A-body station wagon that had been previously been sold as a Buick Special. The Buick Special was discontinued after 1969.
The 1970 Buick Sport Wagon was now a mid-sized station wagon.
This left Buick without a full-sized station wagon, so the 1970 B-body Estate Wagon was put into production for a single year before being replaced by an all-new Estate Wagon in 1971.
It’s interesting that neither Buick nor Olds had a true full-size wagon from ’64 through ’69 (’70 for Olds.) One contributing factor was that prior Buick and Olds full-size wagon bodies were built by Mitchell-Bentley / Ionia, an arrangement ended after 1963. Could have been a higher outside costs vs. lack of in-house capacity made them go the Sportwagon / Vista Cruiser route. Also worth noting that Chrysler never offered a true mid-sized wagon in the 60s, nor did Mercury after the brief Meteor interlude.
To Louann with the Roadmaster, if you’re interested in getting your keyfob fixed, look up KEYLESSFIX.COM. I had great luck with this guy. I sent him the remotes, he fixed them like new, it was quick and inexpensive. He’s located in Port Huron, MI, 810-479-0606. I used him for the remotes for an ’06 Malibu, pretty sure he can help you out too with your Roadmaster.
Took my wife to the hospital to have our first kid in our ’71 Beetle. While she was there, I bought a used, three-seat, ’72 Estate Wagon to pick her up in. In some respects this was a mistake, because instead of bringing along everything we needed for the kid, the Buick allowed us to bring everything we had for him.
The car was enormous. 455 ci engine. According to the registration, it weighed 5,300 pounds. It ran on ambulance tires. I lived a mile from work and if I drove it there in the winter, and home for lunch, the choke never came off. Between work and weekend shopping, under those circumstances, I got 2 mpg! 26 gallon tank. Filled it once a week.
Since other commenters mentioned power windows, one unusual thing about them: the back of the switch on the driver’s door, the one that controlled all four windows, wasn’t symmetrical. When the part of the switch that controlled the driver’s window crapped out, I figured, who needs the right rear window to go up and down? So, I took the switch off the door panel intending to rotate it 180 degrees. It didn’t fit that way. Had to get a new switch.
What a ride. The tumble home on these wagons is amazing. If you’ve ever seen an aerial picture of one, the roof is about 2/3 the size of the belt line.
These were reasonably popular in my prosperous suburban neighborhood, but mainly as Chevys with the occasional Custom Cruiser. There were a lot of Electra sedans and coupes floating around, but I can’t remember anyone who had one of these. More likely to see a T&C or Colony Park. The B-Body estate wagons were much more popular.
Beautiful!!! I like the wood grain – just me. I know it’s a hassle and many people don’t like it. But it just makes the statement of the period.
At 55yrs. old and for 17 yrs. the 2nd owner of a ’76 Grand Safari that is FULLY LOADED, I have no desire to drive our late model Lexus or any other late model car. The front license plate is from my mother’s ’65 Biscayne 2 seater, ’71 Townsman 3-seater and finally her ’76 Impala 2-seater. (In Jersey, the tag stays with the person, not the car.)
My (mostly) orig. paint, DURANGO BRONZE(copper) over CREAM GOLD(yellow) GRAND SAFARI features windows,locks,tilt,cruise,intermittent wipers,60/40 notchback l/h&rh 6-way power with f&r custom seatbelts. Pwr. tailgate and heated wire rear window defrost. Auto temp.control A/C (same as OLDS. tempmatic), AM/FM/8 Track,4 speaker system, front dome reading lamps and 3rd seat/cargo dome lamp with auxiliary switch. White and red courtesy lamps on all four doors and front litter container. Also, lighted rt. visor vanity mirror and cornering lamps. Rally gauge cluster w/ fuel econ. gauge. Lh&rh remote sport mirrors and Rally II whls. Luggage carrier, frt.& rr. bumper gds. and trailer light wiring. Base Grand Safari–$5746.30 plus options–$2629,plus destination chg.-$370. Total— $8,745.30. What a bargain and it is still a Dallas, Tx RUST FREE Clamshell! Pic’s to come soon!
My first car was a hand-me-down blue with a white roof, 1974 Estate Wagon. 455 with a 4 barrel Holly, which was stock. I loved that car. It was so cool! I love bc edvthe wrap around rearvwinows, and with all the seats down in the back….well I’ll just leave that to your nastalgic imagination. I sure wish I still had that car. Huge comfortable front seat, andveven though the car was heavy, it fast! They say you always remember your first, and SHE was AWESOME!
I agree with most everything that I read as I also grew up in the 70’s and I loved being one of 4 kids hauled around in station wagons with the 3rd row seats. My uncle owned a 1973 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser & a 1974 Pontiac Catalina Wagon because he owned A FLORIST which delivered a lot of flowers during those years! His wife had the 1972 Buick Estate Wagon. My mom owned a 1970 Ford Country Squire which was green with wood paneling. It was a good-looking wagon. These were all great rides for the day, and I love reminiscing about it as a kid during that time period. I will have to defend the Buick LeSabre which I see a lot of posts referencing. If you take a look at just American made vehicles, it is no contest about which models sold the heck out of some cars! Buick’s LeSabre was by far and for many years a giant seller for Buick. It is also listed as one of the top 5 best-selling American cars without a doubt! Kudos also to Oldsmobile’s Cutlass, Ford’s Taurus, Ford’s Escort and of course the F150 Trucks. Also, Chevrolet wouldn’t be around today if it weren’t for the Impala! I just wanted to give credit and spread the love for some cars that withstood a lot of years..
Looking back at the pre-74 version (’73 ad in the post) of these with more refined small bumper rear end, reminds me of what a sucker I am for any 71/72 fullsize Buick. Gotta say though, the wagon really benefits from the plastic wood, which brings your eye down from the roofline of these great beasts.
My parents looked at an Estate Wagon in ’72 since we kids were getting close to college age. We were too big for the 3rd row because of the differential hump, and my mother decided it was just too big to maneuver and park in suburban and sometimes DC traffic. We got a ’73 Century wagon that didn’t have quite enough 2nd row legroom and rarely started without dying at least once. At least I talked my dad into getting the up-level interior, but we learned how awful vinyl seats can be. That Rendezvous in the background would have been ideal for us, particularly if it had the rare 3.6V6 and an extra timing chain. Dad did not like underpowered cars.
This ’74 has a little extra chrome around the outer headlights. I prefer the ’73, if you must have a big bumper.