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'77 Estate Wagon - New User


Guest TallGuyJoe

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Guest TallGuyJoe

Hello, new user Joe from St. Louis here.

I joined a month or so ago but haven’t had a chance to post about my project, I needed to get a few photos to add in my description. Photos always help in posts especially in resto projects like Adam’s Hulk which has been exciting to read about.

Anyways, my father and I have a joint project, a ’77 Estate Wagon. Why an Estate Wagon, much less a ’77? Well my grandfather bought the car new back in ‘77 and I remember many times riding in the back reverse seats when my brother and I were little and it has been in the family ever since. We originally thought about selling it, my mom didn’t want it taking space in their garage anymore so I thought I should at least find someone who might appreciate the car from a club instead of someone who would buy it and let it fall apart. I found the local St. Louis club and we decided to keep the car instead and join the club and make it a project. I don’t see too many wagons of any kind at shows so I figured it would be neat to have something different that strikes up conversations and stories from people who see it. It seems that almost everyone has ridden in a wagon at one point in their life which is something kids today have no clue about. We had it at a local display and my dad let kids sit in the back because they never had and didn’t believe their parents that people actually sat back there.

Luckily the car is in pretty decent shape overall. Most of the issues are the body with some rust and dents along with some trim missing. We are planning on getting it painted but I don’t know the companies that make the woodgrain. I heard 3M stopped a few years ago and that there are aftermarket companies but I need to look into that. The car has around 112,000 miles on it runs great, rides so smooth and is mostly original. The only new thing in the interior is the headliner was replaced awhile ago. Some of the seats are a bit faded and trim faded but other than that no rips and the carpet is in good shape. We figure once we get it painted it should be in pretty good shape for awhile.

We have met a lot of great people in the local St. Louis club. Adam is a cool guy and I look forward to checking out his project he has been posting about the last 2 years.

Everyone is real nice and helpful and its fun doing the couple car events we have been able to participate in so far. I have a 4 month old boy so I won’t be able to be involved as much as I would like but hopefully in the next year I can participate more. I figure to get my feet wet this year and see where it goes.

Here are a few photos.

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Joe

Edited by TallGuyJoe (see edit history)
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Joe,

Welcome aboard. It looks pretty nice. Until recently, I had wanted a "modern" old Buick so that we had some more amenities like seat belts - very important with your little one. You'll have a wrenching buddy before you know it. It's great that you kept the car in the family. Good luck with it.

If you have the urge, make the trip to Ames. I can show you the '54 wagon, if nothing else. Wagons do seem to be starting to turn up more and more at shows.

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How cool that car is. I see you have the Olds 403 motor. It's supposed to be a great engine, although I never had one personally and can't vouch for it. There's nothing like a wagon for going to out of town shows. Drive it a long time and feel free to ask any questions, no matter how weird they may sound. Lots of people here love to help out.

Welcome aboard.

Edited by JohnD1956 (see edit history)
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Guest TallGuyJoe

Thanks to everyone for the nice welcomes and compliments. Good to be on board.

Wish I could make it to national this year but unfortunately I will have to pass. I am sure I could learn a lot about Buicks (because I don't really know much about them now :)) but maybe next year or two who knows.

Thanks 75RivGS for the link and woodgrain information. I will have to look into that and see what I can come up with. Glad I joined the board, my first post and I have already recieved great information on something I will need.

Adam, after I sent you the message about posting issues, I went back and just posted nothing but text and went back and was able to modify the post and add the photos. I am used to another type of message board and this one is a little different so it will take be a bit to get the hang of it. Thanks for your help.

JohnD1956 there is nothing like road tripping in a wagon haha. The car actually has the 350 motor and runs great. I guess '77 was the first year they "downsized" wagons? I have heard the 403 was offered as well but I am still learning about these cars and the specs.

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I also need to find some trim like this:

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The passenger side is missing parts from a box that fell off a truck and smacked the car a few years ago. Gotta love people who don't tie their loads down the right way ;)

Joe

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I took a look at the Standard catalog of Buick for some information on this car Joe. Here's what I found:

There were 25, 075 Estate wagons produced. They came in two levels of trim, a basic wagon ( this would be yours) and a Limited, which had Electra sheet metal in the front instead of the Lesabres. The car is a Series "R", and that can be found in the vehicle ID # as the second symbol. The next two symbols should be either 35, for a two seat wagon, or 45, for a three seat wagon. The next symbol is a letter code for the cars engine. This is where the book is a little confusing.

Apparently the Estate Wagon could have any of the following motors:

Code "J", a Buick 350 motor producing 155 HP @ 3,400 RPM/ 275 Ft lb torque at 1,800 RPM

Or a code "R", an Oldsmobile 350 producing 170 hp @3,800 rpm/275 ft lb torque @2,000 RPM

Or a code "L", a Chevrolet 350 producing 170 hp @3,800 rpm/270 ft lb torque @ 2400 rpm

or a code "K", an Oldsmobile 403 producing 185 hp @ 3,600 and 320 ft lbs torque @ 2200 rpm.

They sure did not make it easy back then for getting parts.

the

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Guest TallGuyJoe

Thanks for the info John.

I looked up the number and like you said the car is an "R" and a 35 for the 2 seat. I wonder what a 3 seat wagon looked like? I thought it was 3 seat since it had a total of 3 bench seats but I guess not. Still new and trying to figure out this wagon stuff :)

Or a code "R", an Oldsmobile 350 producing 170 hp @3,800 rpm/275 ft lb torque @2,000 RPM

The Engine number is a R which is helpful since the sticker just gives the general 350 cu. in. 4 bbl. carb I always remember when I was a kid my grandpa told me it had an Olds motor in it and I was always confused since it was a Buick car.

The top part of the sticker I cut off on the original post but it said Estate Wagon 4 Dr 2 Seat Wagon and it's final assembly point was Kansas City, Kansas.

Thanks for the useful information. This board is great! I will have to find one of those books.:)

Joe

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Joe, your's is the first car in this era that I know of with an Olds 350. I can't say it's rare because of that, only that I know of no others. The nice thing is you can probably find a relatively cheap 1969-1971 Olds 350 on e bay or so and chances are it would be a bolt in operation to install. Those older 350's ( prior to 72) are hot engines.

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True Tex Riv. A 455 would put some rubber on the road alright. But unless you have a specific need, a 455 is overkill. And no one is throwing away 1970 455 olds motors as much as they will dispose of a 350 cheaply.

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Guest TallGuyJoe

Thanks for pointing that out in the sticker GRANNYS70SKYLARK. I feel like a moron not reading it all and noticing that haha.

That would be funny to put a 455 in it, it would haul for sure but just cruising around seems good enough for now. It would really haul the groceries

Joe

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