What does a wagon mean/represent for you.

What does my wagon mean to me..I havent had the long pleasure of cruises or drives in my wagon and to be honest I dont even know why I bought her except something about that car turned something on inside of me that I had never felt before. Here is where it gets crazy. As you all know I own a 1974 Plymouth Satellite Sedan that has been in my family for some years, and it is part of the family in a way, my second oldest daughter has already laid claim to it when she is old enough to drive. I happened to be surfing ebay looking for parts for the sedan when the picture of the wagon popped up and I immediately knew I needed to save her after reading the description. Going against all of my intuition I bid and won the car sight unseen. I paid to have it shipped up here from San Antonio and saw how poor shape she was in. It was like I could lay my hand on the fender and feel its pain. I immediately started ordering up as many NOS parts as I could find. I can look at this car the way it sits now and in my minds eye, know what it will look like when she is done..because I feel like she is telling me what she wants. I have restored cars in the past and have often been indecisive over what engine I am going to use, what color am I going to paint it etc..never realy knowing how its going to turn out. From the moment I unloaded this car off the trailer I KNEW exactly the way it was going to be. I already know the colors, the drivetrain I am going to use...everything. I am even >< close to cutting up the sedan to get all the missing parts I need for the wagon. My wife thinks Im crazy since the Sedan is immaculate, but although it has been in the family for a while and we all love the sedan, the wagon just seems "special" in some weird way. I mean its a broken down, rusty hulk, sitting, sad, and unmoving in the parking lot and still people come over and ask questions about it and say how much they would love to have one.

I have a feeling that wagon will be in the family long after I am dead and gone.

 

Great story, 74, and I can relate to your strong attraction. Just something about a wagon that either reaches inside you or it doesn't. You either get it or you don't. As I said before...glad to see you save that 'ol wagon. Now I am even more excited about the save because of your excitement. I hope you will stick around here and give us a running, pictorial account of this wagon's resto.
As much as I love wagons and as much as I want to see your 74 claw its way back to it's glory days I am appealing to you to NOT touch a single part on your sedan. Cars that have survived in a single family for years are treasures that should be treated like a Renoir or a Van Gogh. And, I can assure you, when you finish that wagon and have a matching sedan to go with it you will treasure both. You will have two cars that will live long in your future family. It may be difficult to find certain parts for the wagon but they are out there somewhere and it is self satisfying to find them. Please, let the sedan keep on living and keep on giving in its beauty. It deserves it.
Good Luck on your resto and we are all looking forward to watching and helping in any way we can.

 

Don't hurt that Sedan!

74, I agree with everything Silverfox wrote. You just keep your sawzall and cuttin torch away from that sedan. We know where you live and may have to get a possie and come after you! There are other parts cars and wagons waiting for you to rip them apart. Go get em. Keep lovin both your treasures and git-er-done!

 

It's been a long time since anything I've written was published (or likely even read for that matter) so it's unlikely I'll have anything nearly as eloquent as 'Fox to contribute. In the interest of keeping this going...here goes.

For me a wagon means comfort, flexibility, and a unique identity. Having gone through a number of sedans and coupes, few have provided such a volume of creature comforts as my wagon does. I have leg room, head room, and enough space for 3 people in both the front and back seats without them elbowing each other and jostling for space. Add an extra two seats in the wayback and that's a lotta capacity.

Being flexible enough to fold down those seats and haul a 4'x8' sheet of plywood is handy. I rarely have need to haul anything. Certainly not a sufficient need for me to own a truck that would only rarely get used. Knowing that if I have to bring something large home from time to time, I can just do it without having to plan ahead means a lot to me.

A unique identity has become formost for me with all of my vehicles. I like to watch people stare when I go by and being able to spot the car in a parking lot from quite a distance makes me proud. My car looks nothing like any of the others in any lot I park it in. I'll never be able to tell stories about how I accidentally tried to unlock the car next to mine because it was similar and that's a good thing!

 

Yeah. All those things are always in my mind as well, wiz. Good points, indeed. The flexibility of a wagon is unmatched by any conveyance. And I like the fact that I am a bit unique when driving down the road. In my mind, at least, I think there are people out there that not only look and remember the station wagon as I drive by, but may harbor a bit of longing at the same time.
I like this thread subject because each time someone mentions a reason for their love of the wagon it trips the fact that each of us has had those same reasons but they have been, somehow, forgotten. Everyone that has contributed to this thread has reminded me of the many things that I love about a station wagon. The trip back in time is probably the most important to me but the tough practicalities and beauty of a wagon have always been strong points too. I have often said about wagons that you either get it or you don't. I love it that we have a dedicated group here that gets it.

 

Our Wagon

i bought our 1955 Chevy wagon simply because I had a 1955 2-dr Bel Air and a 1957 Bel Air 2dr HT. Loved the looks. A wagon kept teasing me on my way home from work. One day I followed it home like a stalker. But, like a stalker, I only stalked it. I fantasized about that cute little wagon as I drove my semi up and down the Illinois highways. One day, there it was, listed in our local paper, for sale. I checked it out on my way home from work one cold Illinois January morning. Snow above the rockers, too cold to do much checkin. New red paint and new oversized tires and custom wheels. Yep, she was a real looker. I was hooked! I wasn't really buying a station wagon. Just another 1955 Chevy. After a little minor adjusting, then a full restoration and customization , we finally got to ride in her. I can't explain it either. I've had sports cars, custom cars, cars and more cars. But when we take that beat up 1955 Chevy wagon for a ride, we get more looks, and more personal thrills than anything I've owned. We can haul parts, lumber, groceries, and ourselves in it with room to spare. It isn't big. After all, it is just a 1955 Chevy 2-dr wagon. But it rides and handles like a dream. Young people think it's some new foreign SUV. Older people remember when they were new and tell how Dad had one just like it. Only theirs was blue and theirs was a Ford with 4-doors.

 

I get that ALL the time. "WOW Jon, this rides like a cloud.....wish they made cars like this again"

 

What does a wagon mean for me/us? I was raised traveling in wagons. Mostly Fords, my fathers prefered brand. But for me it has usually been GM products. When I saw my first '57 Nomad in a hotrod mag in the early sixties I knew instantly that it was the car for me. I loved everything about it. Then a few years later I saw a picture of a '57 Safari and that ruined me. To me it was that next level, I had to have one, and the search was on. It was not about being different or unique, that never came in to the thought process, it was and always has been about having a piece of art in progress that I could mold to my own liking. I can visualize well and could immediately see reliving many of the trips through North America we took as kids in my parents wagon, trailer in tow, but this time with me behind the wheel of my wagon, my vintage equivalent trailer tucked in behind, and living the dream I've had since I was small.

That dream has lead to over 31 years of ownership and a constant evolution in the character of the Safari. And to the addition of a 1951 Airstream, similarly modified to suit our needs. My wife and I have put tens of thousands of miles on our wagon and we can not think of any car we would rather have than it. Oh sure, we have other cars (we cheat on the wagon from time to time) but the wagon is always the go-to car, the dream fulfiller, the one that will be the toe-tag car.

Through sad circumstances I recently had the opportunity to acquire a '57 Nomad and after much soul searching realized that it needed to go to a home where it would be that persons equivalent to what the Safari is to us, not second best, and so that has happened.

As I tinker on the wagon adding and deleting things over the years I realize that it has grown and changed as we have, and with some loving work along the way has allowed us to do many things that others can only wish they could do. We've met incredible people who come to chat about the car and end up being life long friends, the trailer has amplified that, and it seems as we look in to our future we are planning more and longer trips with the wagon.

So for us, the wagon has always been about the wagon itself and how it looks in our eyes, the pleasure we derive from it when we get in and head out, and the fulfillment of years of dreams. To others it probably looks like a constant project, but to us, it is a constant evolution of our needs and wants.

Life is very good when one owns the car of their dreams and after owning it for more than half our lives, we would be lost without it.

 

Wagon and RV

Saf57, you have lived our dream. We have yet to get an old RV trailer to pull behind an old car or wagon. I went so far as to buy a 1948 Chevy panel truck and start making it our RV puller. Wouldn't a Bambi look kool behind it? Even added the hitch and wiring. But, things happen. Never finished. We also had the Safari dream. Those and a few other wagons are far prettier than our handyman. While still in central Illinois, my homestate, we used to camp a lot in Indiana. Just into Indiana on a two lane highway, we would pass a house with a 1957 Safari in the yard. I tried many times to buy that. This was when it was still fairly new, into the 80's. Sadly I don't believe it was ever moved or driven. And wasn't for sale. Have no idea where it went or if it is still there on that two lane I've forgotten. Safari's were rare in Illinois. We see a few here in Florida at a show now and then. Keep livin your dream for many more years. And then let your kids continue the dream.

 

Neighbors sometimes donated razorblade-laced Trick or Treat candy. Parents would help separate the trickier treats from the safe ones. I don't think Edith Bunker was such a wicked neighbor. But, who knows? Everyone has to have a dark side

 

What does a Station Wagon mean to me? A family car, fun, a comfy ride, utility and a nice reminder of when I was 3-5 years old and felt so worry-free; going to Grandma's and having a nice day there is another thing; I recall one day when I was 3 or 4, she made a Mickey Mouse coconut cake. I don't remember eating any, though. (?)

 

What if Grandma had baked a Jane Mansfield or Marilyn Monroe cake?

 

I probably wouldn't have known of either actress and hey, to my 1-5 year old mind a cake's a cake.

 

My wagon represents a couple things to me. My mother sold Tupperware for 12 years or so, from the early sixties into the mid seventies. She got a new wagon from Tupperware every two years. In the early 70s she's won a golden galaxy award and received a gold fully loaded ford wagon. I think it was a galaxy wagon but not sure. I still have the bronze plack that was mounted on the grill and said "golden galaxy award". My mother quit selling in the mid 70s, the stress of two teenage daughters and a newborn son were enough lol. That was the last of wagons for us. But in 1977 my parents bought a new LTD 2 brogham sedan. I was 13 and loved that luxury car. Although I had my own cars well before 16, I got my licence with the 77. So my 77 colony park represents two time periods in my youth. The only difference is the ltd had a 302 and the wagon has a 460. That ltd was gutless to say the least.

 

Believe me. There are cakes out there that would even make a five year old blush