In exactly one month from the west coast (L.A.) to Europe (Rotterdam-The Netherlands) last monday "The Behemoth" arrived; a '72 Buick Estate Wagon 3 seats with a 455 4bbl engine. The model I was looking for quite some years and finally found through the v8buick board; my wishes were:
-Buick!!!
-pwr clamshell tailgate
-modelyears 71-76 (prefer 71-73)
-woody
-roofrack
-3 seats
-color beige or green-gold
-tan interior

First checked whether all "added" items (heads, crank, lots of NOS stuff) were there (I had some luck with a busy day at customs :) )
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/8930/p1010864wqi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Checking fluid levels before taking off:
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/9574/p1010862wum1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/8151/p1010866wmr1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And off we go....

http://img274.imageshack.us/img274/9863/p1010876wjc6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


to the garage to add / alter some things (f.e. sealed beams are not allowed over here as is the hitch)
Next wednesday the Wagon has its (dutch equivalent of the) DMV inspection to get a license... keep your fingers crossed

Glad to hear the wagon arrived OK. Add some interior photos and let us know about all the options!

Awesome! Must be a real head turner in Europe to see such a huge wagon.

Happy Wagoon Day Rob !!!:woohoo1:
....now let me get this straight....your NOT allowed to have seal beam headlights????...why??
...and NO trailer hitch??....:90:

...otherwise:) ...she sure looks purdy!!....you must be a happy camper:icon_drive:

Glad to hear the wagon arrived OK. Add some interior photos and let us know about all the options!

All the paper work came along with the Wagon....options:

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8363/wagonestatemanufsheet1webdt8.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5112/wagonestatemanufsheet2webvu5.png (http://imageshack.us)

The Wagon sits in a garage right now waiting for some new head lights and a few other things before it goes to the inspection. After that I post some interior photos

Happy Wagoon Day Rob !!!:woohoo1:
....now let me get this straight....your NOT allowed to have seal beam headlights????...why??
...and NO trailer hitch??....:90:

...otherwise:) ...she sure looks purdy!!....you must be a happy camper:icon_drive:

Cheers!!
Sealed beams are not allowed here due to the fact the ray of light is horizontal and here it has to be more in a "V"shape

Cheers!!
Sealed beams are not allowed here due to the fact the ray of light is horizontal and here it has to be more in a "V"shape

Could you take berfor and after pics of the head lights when they are on to see the difference (or do one side and then take a picture to see the difference)?

Wow! What a list of options! Congrats on the find. :thumbsup: If I had been searching a bit sooner, it would have ended up staying in Los Angeles! :yup: Looking forward to those interior shots.

Could you take berfor and after pics of the head lights when they are on to see the difference (or do one side and then take a picture to see the difference)?


http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/563/dsc04507ph1.jpg


On the outside you won't see the difference; left is the high sealed beam (look closely and you'll notice the horizontal stripes; right is the new one(V shaped)

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3568/dsc04508vk5.jpg

Wow! What a list of options! Congrats on the find. :thumbsup: If I had been searching a bit sooner, it would have ended up staying in Los Angeles! :yup: Looking forward to those interior shots.

There was (is?) another beauty for sale on eBay (a 73) but that was in FL

Will post some interior shots later

Rob, is the euro light flatter?

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/563/dsc04507ph1.jpg


On the outside you won't see the difference; left is the high sealed beam (look closely and you'll notice the horizontal stripes; right is the new one(V shaped)

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3568/dsc04508vk5.jpg

I actually know the difference between American DOT style headlights, and European E-Code style headlights. My family has converted all our cars to E-Codes because they are so much better than DOT's.

On the back of the E-code, you can see a removable piece. That's because when the bulb burns out, you only have to replace the filiment, and not the entire lens, as you would on a DOT light. Also the way that E-Code lights focus their illumination to where it is needed, is superior than DOT lights which waste most of their illumination.

@ wagonmaster: it is flatter, but hardly noticable

@ warwgn3 : you're absolutely right with your explanation. Still there is a weak point using the E: they won't last for 30+ years; the bulb itself has an average of 4-5 years (personal experience) and the inside of the lens will fade, because moisture can enter the lamp.
Another con of the E's is that the light monitors on the fenders will not work anymore :bawling:

ahh so its just a matter of changing to halogen...i see..:)
the lense is a slight bit different too...cool
...why wont your fender lights work still.?..

My brother wants to know what brand of E-Code lamps those are. Marschall, Cibie, Bosch? Also, is that a connection for city lights on the back of the lamp there, in the picture? Wish we had them in ours. Then we could wire our parking light circuit to them, and have front turn signals that go BRIGHT-off-BRIGHT-off instead of bright-dim-bright-dim, AND have parking lights that actually WORK.

The brand is Hella... will post the partnumber later (with sizes etc) And as you described: there are city lights on them and I redirected the original to those Hella lights.... more later...

Hella with part# 1A3 002 850 031 (with city light )... diameter is 135mm (exactly the same size as the sealed beams), the glass is a bit flatter than the originals. There are other brands as well that have replacements.
I paid about $30 per lamp (excl halogen bulb)

I altered the citylights exactly as you described before....works great

so Rob...you never did explain why you have to take off the trailer hitch?....not that i'm a fan of them but....i'm curious:D

I have to show the equivalent of the DMV the original specifications of the car and the hitch....
I don't have those papers and they're no longer available.... only took of the first part of the hitch for the inspection so I still can use it
Planning to visit the Riviera meeting I'm organising this summer (for the 2nd time) with the Boattail on a trailer behind the Wagon :bigsmile:

Very nice car! A nice find! Now, if I can only find my "dream" clamshell wagon... 73' Caprice Estate or 73' Grand Safari.

Hate to bring this up, but how much is gas in the Netherlands??

yesterday I took the Wagon (9mls/gallon) to a meeting: had to pay US$ 7.88 per Gallon. Will have a LPG-convertion at the end of this year for the Wagon (like I have in the Rivieras) For LPG we pay about the same what you guys in the US are paying for regular.
Problem with LPG in the Wagon is that I don't want to have a LPG tank visual in the rear; solution could be a tank (wheel shaped) in the place where the spare tire is situated right now, but those tanks are only made with 6mm tubes going to the engine and for a 455 you at least need 8mm. Altering it myself will get me into trouble with RDW (the DMV equivalent here).
So I probably end up with a small second tank and have both of the 6mm coming together and from there a 8mm forward to the thirsty 455.

Yesterday:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9353/dsc05643yl7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Rob can you take another pc of the car with the luggage carrier?

ahh screw it 75 !!
just move over here!!...it'll be cheaper in the long run:drink:

I remember years ago I worked for a VW dealership in Blytheville, Arkansas. We got an Olds 455 in trade for something and everyone at the dealership liked to drive it to run errands. It sucked so much gas, the boss told us not to drive it anymore and to drive something else. This was when gas was only about about 45c a gallon.

@ Rev....that idea crossed my mind more than you can imagine.... lots of people here are immigrating (Canada / NZ /Australia) Last year almost highest amount since the 5-ties due to.....euhhh let's not make this thread a political one.

@ Wagonmaster: No problem, but what exactly do you want to see in such a photo?

@ dodgeguy: as an employe of a VW-dealership I even would have paid the gas out of my own pocket ($.45 / gallon :dance: )instead of driving a Golf or something like that (hope I don't step on toes here :) )

@ Wagonmaster: No problem, but what exactly do you want to see in such a photo?




Same angle, but from the rear.

@ Rev....that idea crossed my mind more than you can imagine.... lots of people here are immigrating (Canada / NZ /Australia) Last year almost highest amount since the 5-ties due to.....euhhh let's not make this thread a political one.

Tell me about it:biglaugh:
English has fallen to 5th place as our national language:biglaugh:

English has fallen to 5th place as our national language:biglaugh:

That's exactly why people here are leaving.....Dutch in some major cities isn't any longer the first language... :banghead3:
I assume people from here moving to Canada are speaking (proper) English

Lucky me...I only paid 15 Canadian $:

(OK, OK.... mine's with a GM logo)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Buick-luggage-carrier-SUITCASE-BAG-OEM-NOS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42606QQihZ017QQitem Z270185633365QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Lucky me...I only paid 15 Canadian $:

(OK, OK.... mine's with a GM logo)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Buick-luggage-carrier-SUITCASE-BAG-OEM-NOS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42606QQihZ017QQitem Z270185633365QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


You sure got a deal!!!! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

yup....you win!!!:bouncy:

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9353/dsc05643yl7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)[/quote]

Very neat accessory and that'll make your gas mileage go down even more too but who cares!

Sweet looking wagon!

Clark

Lucky me...I only paid 15 Canadian $:

(OK, OK.... mine's with a GM logo)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Buick-luggage-carrier-SUITCASE-BAG-OEM-NOS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42606QQihZ017QQitem Z270185633365QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

$650 bucks, you gotta be kidding me!

Clark

$650 bucks, you gotta be kidding me!

Clark

With the devaluation of the US$ in this tempo, next year that eBay luggage cover will be even less than the price I paid for mine :D