1971 Chevrolet Kingswood 400

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-Chevrolet-Impala-/231712801979?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

 

Interior is in pristine shape, only a crack in the dash.
Body does not look too bad either, it does have decent options so it could be 6K at most with those rims.

 

Keep the fugly rims

 

Nice-looking wagon. The wheels do nothing for me, but those can be replaced. Has power tailgate, third seat, and air-conditioning. That seems to be about it on the options front, but for a '71 Chevy, that's not bad. No power windows, seats, or locks, which was very common for the era. Aftermarket radio. No cruise control. No luggage rack. Does have a clock.

 

Interesting.....
The ad mentions that the '400' engine is a small-block, but before looking at the ad, I was wondering whether is was a big-block or a small-block. It turns out that in 1971, there were two '400'-sized engines offered. You could get the 255 hp Turbo-Fire 400, or you could get the 300 hp Turbo-Jet 400 (big block). (And you could also order the 365 hp Turbo-Jet 454.....)

 

Curious options for a Kingswood as mentioned. AC, power tailgate and 3rd seat, but not much else.

 

Looks like a solid car

 

For spending its entire life in Iowa this wagon is in great shape!

 

That is what I was thinking. I would be interested to see the underside but no pics on the add. It must have been stored inside winters...being a first year clamshell it is hard to believe how nice it's held up in Iowa but again more pictures would bring more coin on eBay for sure imo. 5600 reserve still not met

 

I'm pretty well-versed when it comes to clamshells, especially post-1973, but I didn't know a motorized tailgate was an option for 1971. What's more, I noticed that the dashboard only has a switch for the window. Anyway, this IS a good looking wagon. Of all the missing options, I'm missing the luggage rack the most.

 

If I recall correctly, the power rear window was standard on all 1971-76 GM clamshells. As well, the power tailgate door was always optional for all years also.

 

My father owned both '71 and '73 Custom Cruisers, purchased new, when I was in high school. The '71 had a power tailgate (as did the '73), and power tailgates were options on at least Oldsmobile clamshells, and I'm guessing all GM clamshells, right from the first year the clamshells were offered in 1971. Power rear windows were standard every year.

If you look at the design of the car, with the window going up into the roof, where would you put the crank if it was not a power window? I don't think there was any way to put a lift handle on the window itself, so that meant putting a crank on the roof of the car just above the rear window, which would have looked awful and been difficult to reach for anyone of modest height. No, there was no way GM could not have had a power rear window on the clamshells.

Note that the clamshells were unique in this regard as I don't think there was ever any other station wagon that had the rear window disappearing into the roof. For all other wagons, it descended into the tailgate itself. In such cases, it was easy to put a crank of some kind right on the tailgate itself to lower and raise the tailgate window if it was not powered.

 

I agree, power tailgate WINDOW was standard on all clamshell wagons (makes) and clamshell model years. As for the tailgate DOOR, I also agree having it powered was optional in the first couple of model years. But it was the dash switch for power gate door I was trying to inquire about here. This wagon appears to have the power gate, but only a dash switch for the window. Does this mean that one could only operate the power gate door by way of the key while standing at the rear of the wagon? Just found this a bit curious.

 

I do not have a 1971 Fisher Body Service Manual, but I do have one for 1973. It's in the body manual, not the chassis manual, where this is covered.

Anyway, it specifically says "Power operated tailgates can be controlled by an instrument panel mounted switch (except Chevrolet) or a key operated switch located at the rear of the right quarter..."

So in 1973, Chevy wagons did not have a dash switch for the power tailgate. If it was true in 1973, it was most certainly true in 1971 as I doubt very much that a feature would removed in later years.

Not having a dash switch is one of those sacrifices you had to make, apparently, if you were a cheap-o and bought a Chevy!

 

I can assure you in 1973 you are able to operate a power tail gate & window from the switch on the dash of the car in a Chevrolet. I have all GM wire diagrams for 71-76 wagons... But I also know from owning a couple 1973 Chevy wagons as well.