'81 Pontiac Grad Le Mans Safari - Orange County, CA - $3,599

NOTE: Not my vehicle. Contact seller listed in the ad info...
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http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/4540124826.html

Woody Wagon - $3599 (Newport Beach)

Ad text:
"1981 Pontiac Grand Le Manns SAFARI Wagon . BARN FIND!
92K Orig. Miles factory air. V6 engine.
This car is built on the same frame as a 1981 El Camino and has a super smooth ride of a classic rear wheel drive car.
Would make a perfect SURF WAGON for someone looking for a classic .
Call Cap n Mike at (949) 355-1003

 

I'm not sure about it being the exact same frame stamping, but it is the same wheelbase. Remember, the El Camino has longer doors than the front doors on that wagon.

 

Its the same exact frame from the elcamino execpt for a few mounting points . The rear four are the ones that are different.

 

I'm still having my doubts.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_El_Camino

says 117 inch wheel base


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_LeMans

says 108 inch wheel base

That would make the frames different/longer also..?:confused:

 

Son-of-a-gun, I'm WRONG!

Yup - El Camino has a 117"wb. The G-body sedans and wagons had a 108"wb
(This is from the '80 El Camino brochure - same vehicle. No body specs in the '81 brochure.)
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/chevy/80el/bilder/5.jpg

 

Very nice car, and very reasonably priced.

No one mentioned that it's also a body-on-frame car.

The V6 powering this car will be the Buick 3.8 litre (231 cid) -- very possibly one of the best V6 engines ever made.

Just by my observation, the woodgrained versions of these cars (all 4 divisions) have become pretty rare -- I don't recall they're being that common even when they were new -- and most of the non-woodgrained ones seem to have been made into drag cars.

BTW: were the '81s actually considered "G Bodies"? For some reason I thought the "G Body" designation was reserved for the personal luxury coupes (Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, etc.), while the bread-and-butter mid-sizers continued to be called "A Bodies" until the front drive mid-sized cars (Celebrity, 6000, Cutlass Ciera, etc.) came out, whereupon all the rear drive mid-sized cars became known as "G Bodies" and the "A Body" designation was transferred to the new front drivers. Or maybe I'm completely off base here.

 

Always liked the look of the 1981 LeMans front end - one year only.

 

These body styles can also be notorious for rear frame rot, wagon or not.

 

While I agree that the V-6 is a Buick 3.8, I think you are confusing the early 3.8 (or 231ci) version with the almost totally redesigned and improved Buick 3800 that came out a few years later.

I have owned several of the earlier Buick V-6's and while not a bad engine they leak oil profusely after 50,000 miles (side benefit is they self rust proof the floor boards of the car they are installed in!) They are underpowered in N/A form in a 3500lb car usually with 2.42 rear gears.

The later 3800 V-6's with balance shaft roller cam, and many many improvements is in my opinion 1 of the 10 best engines ever made.

I still have a 97 Firebird with a 3800 V-6 and manual trans and it is a fun reliable and gets almost 30mpg, and doesn't leak OIL!!!!!!!!

I agree that the 81 Lemans has the best looking front end of the series.

 

hey, hey, hey.

wouldn't mind getting one of these. Pontiac made fewer wagons than their stable mates, much less woodie ones. and, for the while it was happening, the Pontiac wagons looked like Pontiacs, not Chevy's with different grilles.

 

I actually meant the Buick 90-degree V6 engine family in general. I'd never heard of any leaking problems on the early versions. But then, I hadn't really gotten any detailed reports on the earlier V6s at all. I was judging mostly by the 3300 in my Century wagon, with which I'm very impressed, and reports of similar era engines.

Although I'd heard of the odd-fire/even-fire development that Buick did, I wasn't aware of a major redesign. As I've said before, I'm constantly learning new things on this site.

I still wouldn't hesitate to buy this car with this engine, if I were in the market.

How does the 231 compare the the 265 Pontiac V8 that was optional for this model?