1973 Chevrolet Bel Air

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars...on/1001445717?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

 

Low end of the low end. Manual tailgate. No A/C. But then, it is a Bel-Air, not an Impala or Caprice. He has a number of photos, but most are not very good.

I mean, what's the point of this one? That you can see those trees and that light sconce on his house out the window? If he was trying to show the quality of the dash, there are about 10 dozen other, better ways he could have done it. Nice trees, though. Beautiful sconce. The gutters look to be in pretty good shape, too.

 

Fairly rare car. I would say that even if this were a Caprice wagon it wouldn't have A/C since it is in Canada. Most of the cars from up that way back then seem to have not been optioned with it. I remember the LOADED '73 Buick Estate Wagon posted not too long ago... it had everything but A/C... yep, from Canada. lol.

I may have mentioned before, many years ago I had the chance to purchase a maroon '73 Bel-Air 4dr sedan. While most were lower optioned models and used as police cars/taxis, the one I could have purchased was a very high optioned car. It had tilt wheel, A/C, cruise, black vinyl top, bumper strips/guards, and power windows or locks - which ever one was available on these... one wasn't available and I cannot remember which right now.

I am sure it was a rare bird.

Here is a '73 Bel-Air taxi...

 

In 73, in Canada, the Bel Air, as basic as it managed to be, was still the one up trim level. We still had the VERY basic Biscayne sedan here.



Of course, this one has the optional full wheel covers. But rubber floor mats were part of the package. This Bel Air is a neat old car, that's for sure. For the right person, it could be a very nice car to own, and certainly NOT one you will see coming and going. A great number of these base models were used the way we would use a van or a pick up now, for heavy work, so they were never meant as a long term car. I'm betting a lot were scrapped well before 1980.

 

That is a neat '73 Biscayne! I have never seen one before. Did they also make a wagon version there?

I imagine they are very rare. I always heard that the Biscayne lasted longer in Canada, just like the Bel-Air lasted on into the late 70s I think there as well, but '75 was the last year in the US.

Here are a couple more I found... it looks like that lower one has a 454!!!! How rare was that?? It also has bumper guards/rub strips.

 

What I would like to know is, as it seems that they are framed doors (instead of the frame less ones), will the rubber wipes fit from the sedan fit the wagon? On the Holden models from the 70's in Australia, the doors won't fit from a sedan to a wagon because the wagon has squarer window frames to match the wagon styling and as a result, the little quarter window is a different shape, but the wind up glass and rubber wipes still fit either door. So with these Chevy's, are they the same doors from sedan to wagon? Is the glass interchangeable? If not, what is different? Is the sedan door itself shorter overall? I have a measurement of the glass wipers that rrbnut sent to me which is 32 " including/accounting for the "elbow" rear part of it but does anyone have access to the sedan rear door so we can compare?

 

I am certainly no expert but they look like the same door to me.

 

The definitive answer would be found in a Hollander's Manual. I think the doors are the same, but don't quote me on that one!

The Biscayne really was a penalty box on wheels, and that is what the Police Departments here used for highway use, so a Biscayne with a 454 was not that uncommon. As a civilian car, they were very much rare, though. The up charge to get the nicer Bel Air was not great, and the decent Impala was very little more again.

 

I love this quote.

We call them a povo pack here!

 

The front doors will work, the rear doors will not. Wagon doors in the back are a bit longer than sedan doors I believe, therefor the window sweeps would also be to short.

 

Yeah, I would say that a civilian '73 Biscayne or Bel-Air with the 454 would be quite rare.

The '73 Bel-Air wagon was the rarest of the '73 Chevy wagons as well. I wonder how many had the 454? The 3-seater was the lowest production...

CHEVROLET-
1971
Brookwood- (Biscayne)- 2 seat - 5,314
Townsman- (Bel-Air)- 2 seat - 12,951
Townsman- (Bel-Air)- 3 seat - 6,870
Kingswood- (Impala)- 2 seat - 26,638
Kingswood- (Impala)- 3 seat - 32,311
Kingswood Estate (Caprice)- 2 seat - 11,913
Kingswood Estate (Caprice)- 3 seat - 19,010

CHEVROLET-
1972
Brookwood- 2 seat - 8,150
Townsman- 2 seat - 16,482
Townsman- 3 seat - 8,667
Kingswood- 2 seat - 43,152
Kingswood- 3 seat - 40,248
Kingswood Estate- 2 seat - 20,281
Kingswood Estate- 3 seat - 34,723

CHEVROLET-
1973
Bel-Air- 2 seat - 14,549
Bel-Air- 3 seat - 6,321
Impala- 2 seat - 46,940
Impala- 3 seat - 43,664
Caprice Estate- 2 seat - 22,969
Caprice Estate- 3 seat - 39,535

CHEVROLET-
1974
Bel-Air- 2 seat - 6,437
Bel-Air- 3 seat - 2,913
Impala- 2 seat - 23,455
Impala- 3 seat - 23,259
Caprice Estate- 2 seat - 12,280
Caprice Estate- 3 seat - 23,063

CHEVROLET-
1975
Bel-Air- 2 seat - 4,032
Bel-Air- 3 seat - 2,386
Impala- 2 seat - 17,998
Impala- 3 seat - 19,445
Caprice Estate- 2 seat - 9,047
Caprice Estate- 3 seat - 18,858

CHEVROLET
1976
Impala- 2 seat - 19,657
Impala- 3 seat - 21,329
Caprice Estate- 2 seat - 10,029
Caprice Estate- 3 seat - 21,804

 

Thanks woodywagonman, this was the answer I was looking for. I wonder what would the next course of action be? Surely there is a company making this rubber already otherwise they wouldn't be able to do the other models so it should be available off the roll you would think. I don't think it would be that hard to recondition the ones on the car either using new rubber strips.

Getting back to this one, I think that the fact that it is a factory 454 and the same as the one in Tulsa that make this so special because there just would not be too many left now. It is a pity that both of these are as rough as they appear in the pics.

 

Right answer, wrong reason.
The lower door shells are identical - same outer sheet metal and inner frame. It's the window frame that's different. If you look very close to that sedan picture, you will see a slight dip in the top frame edge as it goes rearward to meet the vertical frame piece. On the wagon, the top window frame piece goes straight back without the dip. This is the difference in the rear doors.

 

I emailed 3 times asking for more detailed pictures of the rust......no reply

 

Bel Air wagon still there.