1964 LeSabre Station Wagon question

[Barney Eaton]

I had a call from a BCA member in Washington looking for information on his 1964 LeSabre SW.

We do not have a Tech Advisor and a little research indicates 1964 was the last year for full size wagons for several years.
1964 was the year that the Sports Wagon was introduced in the Special/Skylark series.

He is looking for a parts source, etc. He did not have a specific part that he was looking for.

Any of you have a '63-'64 LeSabre wagon?

[rocketraider]

Barney, there was a 63 Invicta wagon here in town that I tried for years to get, and the old curmudgeon who owned it wouldn't budge. When he died 3 yrs ago, his heirs sold it to the quickest junkyard they could get the cash from- didn't even bother trying to sell it to anyone who would appreciate it. It was in very nice shape too, and had rear washer/wiper and remote mirror.

Olds and Buick big wagons from that time were uncommon when new. I don't even remember seeing many full-size Chevrolet wagons, though there were a load of Chevy II's. Ford had the wagon market here sewn up.

[Wildcat65]

Same frame as the 64 Wildcat, since they were using the
Nailhead in 64. They even used the "464xx" series designation. Interesting year!

[Barney Eaton]

I did some research last night... 1964 was the last year for "full size" Buick wagons until 1970. The Sports Wagon filled the gap.

Chevy, Olds, Pontiac all had full size wagons up to and past 1964. The Olds and Pontiac wagons had the same wheelbase as the Buick so were probably the same body.
Reading the info about the Chevy in Standard Catalog of American Cars... it implies that the Chevy had a 120 in wheel base while the other had a 123. It may be that the Chevy cars had 120 and the wagon had 123 like the other GM wagons...but the info is not clear.

Does anyone have knowledge about interchangeability...
Do all the 1964 wagons share the same suspension, rear end, etc?

[Centurion]

Barney, Olds also discontinued the full-size wagon after 1964 (until 1971). The Olds and Buick full-size wagon bodies were constructed by Ionia Body Manufacturing rather than Fisher Body through 1964, and differed in many aspects from the Chevrolet and Pontiac wagons.

Each of the GM brands utilized its own chassis design at the time, so the '64 wagon was uniquely Buick.

Since the car's owner is in Washington state, I'd be happy to help him connect with local BCA chapters or other nearby owners of the early-1960's Buicks. Feel free to pass along my e-mail address from my profile.

[imported_Pete Phillips]

I have a few parts to fit '63-64 full sized Buick wagons, such as NOS exhaust parts. Also have some 1963-64 dashboard parts and a replated 1963 front bumper, if anyone is interested.
Pete Phillips, BCA #7338
Sherman, Texas
pphillips922@earthlink.net