Our New-to-Us 1978 Electra Estate Wagon Project

I can understand if the car has no headlights, but otherwise? What are they trying to do here? OK, so statistics show wreck rates are higher at night and so using an older car at that time does put injury and death rate higher statistically, but otherwise? I need to think.

I will say it's not that way for my cars here in Pennsylvania, including the 1984 Caprice. That doesn't mean the law doesn't exist here but I haven't seen it. Maybe WagonKiller could chime in about it.

 

I wonder if the daylight use is not about the car, but a restriction to the driver.

 

That daylight restriction means for farm use only from what I've seen before, but who knows.
I could see hungry cows chasing that baby with bales of hay in the back.

 

No one said the lights don't work or the previous owner was a farmer.
All I remember my son mumbling among other things he mumbles was about some new kit car can only be driven in daytime. From what I remember it did have headlights and was something in line with a Cord or Tucker type car. I was half asleep and worried about other things.

Eddie will have to tend his cattle during daylight hours only until you can figure this out.

 

Mike, whose the skinny guy that kinda looks like you?

I am not on here much anymore.

 

As you can imagine I got sidetracked on '78 Electra wagon project with the rebuilding of my Roadmaster, but will have updates soon. We're started removing the wood, and I found a really good roof-rack at the local salvage yard and replaced the one on this car that had some pitting in the chrome, and while I had it off we replaced all the rubber mounting nuts that hold the rack on. Tight as can be now.

Will post some pics soon!

-Mike

 

Well hurry up Mike. What have you been doing?

 

I feel the love...

 

I bet you folks will like this a lot. I should have posted these sooner, they're Really Cool Pics!

The person that found/saved our '78 Electra sent me these pics from the salvage yard, along with some from the day it arrived at his home.

New tires, gas tank cleaned, tune-up and such brought it back. I love knowing this one just avoided becoming coffee cans or 10 Hondas or something. SAVE THEM!!

Here the car is the day he found it, still at the salvage yard. They had just pulled it out of the rows and it was waiting at the front of the salvage yard for the tow truck. Black and Red with a 403....too good for the junkyard!

 

HA! It's there.
You probably feel many things, tired, relieved, and happy you have your wagon on the road again looking better than ever.

 

And here are the pics he sent me from when the car arrived at his home in Virginia:






I really like this car a lot, but it's going to take a lot of work to get the wood off, and it still needs a lot of love beyond that both mechanically and cosmetically, but I'd rather have this as a project with my son that him end up driving a Honda Civic in two years like the rest of his classmates. I just hope after we rebuild it...he takes care of it.

-Texas Mike

 

It's amazing what ends up in salvage yards. That was a good save. Really the wood looks like the only real problem, unless there are mecanical issues....which can always be fixed.

Great save!

 

Dare to dream!



1/5/2016 - Being me....I did clean the car from top-to-bottom. More wax to sand off later! Ha!




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I got all four tail light bulbs working. Two were burned out. It's the little things!


It's current home next to my Citation X-11 here in Round Rock Texas.


Eddie and Dad have started de-wooding the 78 Buick. What a MESS!

 

Wood removed vrs old wood...

 

Here's an interesting worthless fact that GM wagon nuts will get a kick out of. GM used the same doors on all the 77-79 B-Body wagons. To make them line up with the front fenders, like on our '78 Buick project, the added plates under the mirrors that curved out to meet the upper fenderline. It's how they made Caprice doors line up to Electra fenders. Bet you never noticed, right??







You learn something new every day! (if you're lucky!)

-Mike