71-76 GM wheelbase question

I checked with Payless auto glass and the rear door glass is the same for Chevy and Buick full size wagons. So the extra 2" could be in the C pillar giving 2" more legroom to the rear seat. It's possible that it's infront of the A pillar moving the engine forward by 2" ,making the tranny hump a bit smaller in front like my 68 Coupe DeVille. You can tell that the engine is far away from the firewall. Which I've never seen before on a Chevy. Maybe the BOPs have the front wheels pushed forward and the engine has more clearance? I did a tune up on a 72 Grand Safari and don't remember there being a whole lot of room for the cap though...............

I'm going to have to assume it's 2" more rear seat legroom and cargo length.

 

i'm pretty sure the extra length of the b.o.p's is in the pitch of the frame directly infront of the firewall. chevy's have a hard downward slope, whereas the others are longer and more gradual.

 

I think we have a winner. After comparing the side views of the Chevy and BOP wagons, the difference appears to be in the length of the front fender between the back of the wheel opening and the front edge of the front door. Sure looks like at least 2" difference between the Chevy and Olds wagons.

 

Ya I think you're right. I only have one side view photo of a Chevy, but it seems like the BOPs have a longer nose.

Any BOP owners notice if the distributor is 3-4 inches away from the firewall? I think the chevy is the usual 1-2 inches.

 

I suspect that the engine is not further forward, but instead the fan shroud will be longer to make up the difference. This is what GM did on the 1969 Grand Prix and 1970 Monte Carlo. Those cars used a 3" longer wheelbase than on the other A-body cars (115" vs 112") and both have the longest fan shrouds in the world as a result. The extra 3" on those cars is entirely between the front wheels and the firewall, so the floor pans are the same as on the other A-bodies. Is strongly suspect the same thing was done on the 71-76 B-body wagons.

 

Hmm, so I wonder if the BOPs have more front seat legroom or did they just add a longer front end to the cars. I'd guess it was cheaper to keep all the wagon floorpans and bodies the same and just change the frame and fenders and add the 2" that way.

I suppose that way they could use the same fenders as the Electra, Bonneville and 98 and save on not having to make unique fenders just for the wagon. Otherwise they would've been Catalina, 88 and LeSabre wagons I guess and not considered Full Size wagons. I just looked at pics of an 88 and 98 and the fender length from the wheel to the door looks the same.

Man, if somebody could measure from the front edge of the front door to the center of the rear wheel on a Chevy and a BOP that would definitely close the case on this issue.

Every other wheelbase extension I've seen ( Crown Vic Taxi, Town Car L, BMW 7 series L , Mercedes S class L, Caddy Fleetwood Brougham, etc)adds to rear seat legroom. I guess extra long hoods were all the rage back then.

What a waste I was hoping for more rear seat room and cargo bay length.

 

I can do it for an Olds. On my '73 Custom Cruiser, the distance from the front edge of the front door, measured at the point of the front door protruding the farthest forward, which is about half-way up at the level of the chrome trim strip, to the center of the rear wheel is 97 inches (8 feet, 1 inch).

 

Awesome ! Thanks Jaunty75, nice wagon btw. The Olds wagon is my favorite of the BOPs. I like the tail fins, fenderskirts and the clean smooth body lines on the side view. Looks a little like a Cadillac.

My grandfather had a 74 Olds 98 4 dr hdtp, lima bean grean inside and out. I used to drive it all the time when I was a kid learning how to drive. It only had 9,000 miles on it. The exhaust sounded cool too.

 

Any Chevy Full size wagon owners out there??

Please measure from the frt edge of the frt door to the center of the rear wheel.
Trying to figure out whether they're the same body size (not counting the nose) as the BOPs.

 

Thanks. I know I have a bit of a bias, but I always though the Olds versions of these '71-'76, clamshell-tailgate GM wagons were the most attractive, and, of these model years, I always thought the '73s were the best-looking as the front end was a little more forward-swept, sleek-looking in a minimalist kind of way, if you can follow what I'm talking about, which I'm not sure even I can.



In other words, more than any of the other full-size Olds 88s, 98s, and Custom Cruisers of that era, when viewed from the front, the '73s always looked like they were moving even when they were standing still. The front ends of all the other years were just more squared off, angular, and boxy-looking.

 

Yes I see what you mean. I guess they were going for the pointy "Rocket" nose cone look on the other years. You must get a lot of people asking you about it at the gas station and stuff. People think my 94 RMW is big, hahaha and talk about it like it's from the 60 or 70s. It's just a baby.......... I need something bigger!! Plus it has 270k on it and is starting to rust away. Runs great though, so......... I have time to find "The Ultimate Wagon"

 

I get a few double-takes, but most people don't know what to make of it. You see wagons from this era so rarely now, and even the newest of them are 34 years old. Someone today has to be in their mid-40s at least and more likely around my age (53) to have any real likelihood of remembering these when they were new.

For me, these cars are all about my high-school years. We owned both '71 and '73 Custom Cruisers, and I turned 16 in 1973. I did most of my learning how to drive on the '73, although I took my actual driving test in our other car at the time, a '71 Ford Pinto. The Pinto was MUCH easier to maneuver in the parallel parking operation we had to perform as part of the test.

 

Oh ya, nice ! I took my drivers test in my dad's (and later mine) 76 Lincoln Town Coupe. Had to do a K turn on a narrow city street with cars parked on both side. Hahahaha, I showed that test guy I could drive at that point I guess. No big deal at all for me. I was used to manuevering that car into our tiny garage that required a 90 degree turn to get into with neighbors parked in the way. My dad and mom couldn't handle getting it in OR out, just me at 15 yrs old. Then I went on to get my Bus license and at that point cars were like little toys, hahaha.

Back to the subject though...........

Any Chevy wagon owners want to measure their car for me??? See thread above. Please.................

 

You need to contact the guy who started this thread:

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11987

 

Thanks Jaunty,
I sent him a private message.