I guess I bought a Fraken Wagon

Discussion in 'General Station Wagon Discussions' started by ShagonWagon, Dec 2, 2019.

  1. ShagonWagon

    ShagonWagon New Member

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    OK, here are pictures of the wagon we picked up yesterday, a 1977 Ford Estate. The interior is in great condition, just needs a little cleaning and airing out. It has been sitting in a garage for the last 32 years. Last registered in 1987. 87,780 showing on the odometer.
    But as you can see in the pictures the front clip is wrong. Not sure of the back story on this but man it looks strange.. Does anyone know what the fenders and hood may have come off of? Also, the vin number has a R for the engine type but I can't find a vin decoder that shows a R for the engine type. I'm assuming that it's a 350 but does anyone know for sure?
     

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  2. ShagonWagon

    ShagonWagon New Member

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    Wow I don't know what I was thinking, I typed in Ford.
    It's a 1977 Buick Estate Wagon.
     
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  3. 101Volts

    101Volts Well-Known Member

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    Here's a 77 Buick like yours with its original matching front end:

    [​IMG]

    Your car should look more like this. Note that in the pic above, there are fender vents (real or fake, I don't know) but there's no trim underneath them like there is on yours (pictured below) and the metal bends in a different place near the bottom than the fenders on your car. Also note that the bend in the bottom of the fender doesn't match with the door on your car, then of course the fender doesn't fit right.

    [​IMG]

    It looks to me like someone put a Buick Electra Sedan Front End on your car, likely due to rear-ending another car or (worse) a head on collision; I could be wrong about what kind of front end it has now, though.

    Is the lower dashboard bent, cracked or broken where knees could have bumped it? Maybe the steering wheel isn't original either?

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. ShagonWagon

    ShagonWagon New Member

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    I think you're probably right about it being a Electra front end. Everything inside the car looks good. I looked at the frame and core support before I bought it and all looks ok. My guess is a crumpled fender and he couldn't find one to match so he bought a whole front clip. Front what I understand the PO was a metallurgist and quite the tinkerer.
     
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  5. ShagonWagon

    ShagonWagon New Member

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    Anyone know where I may find the correct fenders? Were there other Buick models that had the same body lines?
     
  6. 101Volts

    101Volts Well-Known Member

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    I personally couldn't say for sure since I'm not most knowledgeable about 77 - 79 Buick Sedans and Coupes, all I can say is since your car's a 77 you might need to look for another 77 - 79 Buick Wagon Parts Car. The 1980 - 1990 models differ, they don't have the vents on the sides. Maybe the 80 -90 Fenders differ in other ways, I don't know.
     
  7. jaunty75

    jaunty75 Middling Member

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    GM VIN decoder shows that R on Buick means 170 hp 350 with 4-bbl carb.
     

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  8. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    That would be nice if you could locate a Buick 350, dress it for good low-end power and clear breathing at speed, and back it with a 700R4.
     
  9. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    It somehow looks cool, anyway. I'd leave it as an attention getter, for now.
    This one's got a Toronado front clip

    [​IMG]
     
  10. ShagonWagon

    ShagonWagon New Member

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    Thank you.
     

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