GM big Wagon 66 to 70

[billbuickgs]

I have a 70 Buick Estate wagon , same body as Chevy Kingswood Estate and Pontiac Safari .

I'm having problem with the 2 way tail gate , swingout won't unlatch .

The wagon sat with the rear window slightly down causing rust .

Window go up and down , tailgate folds down but no luck with unlatching

the swingout gate.

The handle moves slightly but not enough to open the latch .

Any ideas ? ( I don't have a body manual to trouble shoot .

Thanks ,

Bill

[Frank DuVal]

With the  tailgate open in the down position, remove the cover panel to see inside. Lubricate everything you can. Note, you will need to raise the window to do this well. IIRC, there is an interlock to prevent you from doing just that. IIRC to defeat the interlock you need to latch the two latches  (upper right and upper left). Do have someone hold the window when it is open in the now horizontal position, as gravity is not your friend now. Hence why there is an interlock!

 

To open as a swinging gate, the latch on the left side (upper only , there is no lower left latch) needs to be latched. If it is only half latch, right lower will not unlatch, as it is interlocked to the lower right latch, again,, IIRC.....

 

Congrats on a 70 Estate Wagon. Still have the 10:1 engine? Only year of production for it. When I overhauled my engine in the 80s, only 8.5:1 pistons were available. Rats.....

[billbuickgs]

Thanks for the info .

A problem that I caused yesterday , I remove the electric switch on the right upper tailgate

and decided to see if the window would still work . It went down but won't go up .

I have an NOS switch , now to get it installed .

I see you have a 46046 , really great wagons !

Will keep you posted .

Thanks again ,

Bill