Here are a few pictures of wagons I've owned starting in 1968 when I bought my 1960 Chevrolet sedan delivery. It was originally owned by the American Tobacco Co.and used to deliver cigarettes.There was a Chesterfield(remember those?)logo on the side panel when I went to re-paint it.It also featured deadbolts on both side doors and the rear hatch.A piece of cyclone fence wire in a frame separated the passenger compartment and the rear deck. I bought it for $150 from a Chevrolet dealer in Ann Arbor Michigan with about 200,000 on the speedo.The front shocks were non existent and I almost wrecked it driving home as the front end bounced horribly. Drove it cross country and eventually painted it the dark brown shown and put a 283 c.i.V-8 in it with a 3 speed full synchro trans out of a 396 Chevelle. Drove it for several years before being in a head-on collision with some idiot who was late for a softball game.I've hated softball ever since(lol). My next wagon was a 1973 Ford Country Sedan with a 400M motor that met an untimely end when I was coming home one night and an unlicensed 14 year old who had stolen his brother's truck ran a stop sign and took off the front end and then crashed into a building trying to escape. I then had a series of Pinto wagons;the first being the silver Cruisin' Van with a 2800 V-6 and then various regular ones that I would buy for $25 to $50 and drive through the winter and then scrap in the springtime. I also had a 1978 Chrysler T&C with a 318 lean burn.Worst wagon I ever owned.The faux wood trim was imploding and it NEVER ran right.I think I owned it a month. Got a 1978 Fairmount wagon with a 302 V-8 a friend had bought new.He had taken the catalytic converter off and it ran terrible.I put one back on(needed to pass inspection)and it ran great.Got rid of it when my wife wanted a new car.Bought a 1982 Mustang Gt that my son now owns. Bought a Mercury Bobcat wagon and put a 302 in it and installed Cruisin' Van panels in place of the windows.Sold it after I transported my Doberman to the vet after she had tried to eat a skunk! Never could get that smell out of it. My 1964 Mini Cooper estate was the most fun.Had a 1340cc motor that was really tweaked and it would do nearly 110 mph,Drove it for 6 years(good weather only) and then some idiot woman rear-ended me while I was stopped to let a police car out of a driveway!Got it fixed and sold it to a friend of mine before moving to Michigan with my Seafoam Green Pinto Cruisin' Van.Drove it for awhile and then gave it to my daughter who gave it back because she couldn't see out of it.sold it to a kid down the road and when he had it parked a huge tree limb fell and crushed the roof. After the Pinto came my 1955 Safari and then the 57. Here are some pictures.
Nice story and pictures. We need more members doing things like this. Thanks. My wagon story is short without pictures. First was a VW sqaureback. Bad memories so I wiped most of it from my little brain. Don't even remember the year but wasn't long after they first came out. I'd owned and loved several VW Beetles. Got it from the local VW dealer when one year old and very few miles. I believe the last owners hated it too and traded back. Ya ever saw a blue lemon? I drove it to work several years and took it tent camping, when it ran. I spent as much time at the VW dealer as did many of the mechanics. Next was my 1972 red Gran Torino with 351 we used to pull our first real RV. Before that we had tents and small fold down campers. Loved that wagon but getting more involved in RV's we were convinced I needed a pick up truck in 1975. Third and last, my 1955 Chevy handyman wagon. I was getting more involved in restoring old cars and building customs. After hauling hoods and fenders for 55-57 Chevys in my Malibu 2-door I decided I needed a truck again. We were still camping but now had a class A motorhome. Since I already had a 55 Chevy and a 57 Chevy, I figured I'd buy a 55-57 sedan delivery as my parts hauler. That way I'd also have another cruise nite and fun toy. The only sedan deliveries I found in central Illinois were junk or overpriced, if for sale at any price. As written elseware, I followed my future 55 Chevy wagon home from work one morning. At that time, late 80's, Nomads and sedan deliveries were occasionally seen at car shows. But no one in his right mind had an old station wagon in the midwest. Eventually it was mine. That was in 1987. I planned on just cleaning it up a little. Ended up almost a frame off. Having mental problems after retiring to Florida, I traded our wagon for a pink 1949 Ford. Found out it was a PINK lemon. Even before the new owner came to get the 55 Chevy we were wanting it back. A deal is a deal so I followed through. Took three years of begging, whinning, and crying to buy it back. The new owner lived in the same town and belonged to the same car club. I saw him and MY wagon almost every weekend at cruise ins or car shows. I used trickery! At a large swap meet/car show i bought an original unrestored 56 Chevy 4-door HT. I pointed it out to the owner of MY wagon and told him I'd rather have the wagon back. Not sure why, but he agreed then to sell it for what I'd paid for the 56 HT. The rest is history. Had to swap engines, transmissions, and a lot of other screwed up things from three years of ownership by a non-car car guy. It's far from a show car and needs a lot of work again. But it's mine and it ain't for sale! That's my wagon story and since I don't have pictures it never happened!
Actually the color is a GM fleet color called Sea Foam Green.It really was a great car and I was sad when I saw it with the roof crushed.I did run into a guy at a cruise night who bought it and is fixing it up.He owns several other Pinto wagons.
That's SeaFoam Green? I like it but looks light blue to me. My 55 Chevy wagon was originally SeaFoam Green according to the numbers. A light green color.???????
Man your cars have a hard time of it, I think I'd be a little nervous driving in one of your cars... This is a cutie! I always thought I'd like to have one of these. But if we every find ourselves in a position to purchase another summer only car it will be Hubby's turn to pick the car and I have a feeling it won't be this little cutie. Nice story. I think my favorite wagon was an old navy blue Caprice wagon that I lovingly called Eeyore. It had the 3rd rear facing seat, the kids loved it. It wasn't pretty, the paint was fading but it sure cruised along on the highway...yeah I've missed Eeyore.
I guess I could tell the stories of how I acquired my 1955 Safari which led to getting the 57 Safari. I had moved to Michigan in the winter of 1993 and married the girl I was supposed to marry in 1966....but that is a story for another time.I was basically starting from scratch after having layed out a considerable amount of money for a divorce from my first wife.A compensation settlement had provided me with a little money to get on with the rest of my life. I started looking for a suitable car knowing that I would need one to advertise my painting business. I came axross an ad in a local paper advertising the 55 Safari. Calling the number the person answering the phone seemed surprised when I asked about the Safari.He said that he had placed the ad over two years ago and had never gotten a response.He was about ready to re-list it when I called. I made arrangements to view the car(about a 3 hour drive from home)and after looking at it and taking it for a test drive we came to an agreement.He delivered the car two weeks later on a trailer in a snowstorm(it was February)and that was the last time it has been on one. Since getting it in 1994 I've logged about 180,000 miles with very few problems.It still has the rebuilt 287 V8 that one of the previous owners had installed and although it smokes a bit and leaks oil out of the oil filter when it needs changing it still starts and runs fine. Some of the experiences we've had with it traveling across the country would fill a good sized book(which I am still trying to write);one of which led to me buying my 1957 Safari. We had driven out to Massachusetts to attend one of my favorite car shows(the Ty-Rods Old Timers Reunion)and to stripe a 32 Ford phaeton for a friend of mine. When he saw the car for the first time he remarked that a friend of his had one very similar and it was for sale.We made arrangements to see it and after spending an hour trying to open the lock on the garage and then pulling all the piled up trash bags and old bicycle frames from it I was shocked to discover that it was the one that a friend of mine built as a race car and I had lettered the dashboard back in 1963! I bought the car on the spot but had to wait until the following April to pick it up.The tires(Goodyear Wide Ovals)that had been installed in 1966 still held air as did the shocks and once home I mamaged to free the engine and start it although I must admit it didn't run very well. As a race car it had seen a lot of stuff removed that needed to be there for driving on the road.I started to remedy this with the idea of outfitting it with A/C and cruise control so my wife could drive it but she didn't want it so I started building it for me. All was going well until I was diagnosed with throat cancer and it was almost a year before I was well enough to do anything on automobiles.Then other things started to take precedence and today the car sits in my garage;used a storage unit and patiently waiting the day I can finish the job. I've had many offers to buy it(there was but 1,292 originally built)and there have been times I have been tempted but it still sits there.The last guy offered me $20,000(!) which is about 20 times what I paid for it and I was seriously considering it when he says sarcastically" Well how much is it going to take to buy it?" and that is when I threw him out of the garage.Some things are NOT for sale! Anyway that is the story(and I'm stickin' to it).I'm enclosing some pics of what it looked like in 1969(the last time it was raced).
Another great wagon adventure. Glad you joined us and shared your photos and wagon history. You've been in Michigan about six months longer than we've been in Florida. We enjoyed camping up there in summers but no way I'd live there full time. Karma and luck have been on your side, although you've gone through other crap I wouldn't want to. Good luck on your toys.
That picture was taken in 1970 as I was getting it ready to be painted.It actually wasn't in too bad a shape considering it had spent all of it's life in Michigan aka the Rust Belt.Salt really does a number on Michigan cars and very few survive in decent shape. The reason for the Impala nose is I had the hood blow up on me while driving about 60 mph and it destroyed the hood and the hinges did a number on the fenders.A friend of mine traded me the nose for some striping on his car. It was great driver when finished.I had found a rear seat out of a 60 two door wagon(how many of those have you seen?)in a junkyard and installed it.The rear was completely carpeted and I had bucket seats and center console out of a 63 Olds F-85 Jetfire.Another touch I liked was a friend of mine got me a 12volt 50watt incandescent bulb from a motor home and I used a porcelain light base mounted to the old dome light with the pull chain strung over to the mirror.Made a nice reading lamp at night and I spent many a night in it.That is another story entirely.
Let's do it! 1978 Pontiac Grand Safari ][/url] 1979 AMC Pacer 1986 Buick Electra Estate Wagon 1989 Olds Custom Cruiser 1992 Olds Custom Cruiser And my favorite wagon, my 1996 Roadmaster Wagon Have loved them all, and will have my next one soon!! -Mike
man....i wish that I had taken pictures of all my junk over the years !! ...even nowadays...I really have to remind myself to take them !!! I had 2 of the 'porthole' Pintos....way back in the day !! Even had a Woodie Mini in the 80's but i never started taking pics till about 10 years ago or so....bout the same time I met you yahoos Cool story Safnut ! and 81....best pics as always
