5000 pounds of metal (vintage wagon content inside)

So, a dumb yet related question: Why are we so attracted to wagons?

For example, which is cooler?

And I admit that it's a close race.

The wagon. You can haul the keg, with ice,and have room to crash after the party.

One of my best memories of my late Dad was him and his prized 1977 Dodge Aspen station wagon. Dad was a engineer and rarely made any sort of mistake. I have no idea why, but he would haul a wheelbarrow on the top of it for whatever unknown reason. He would then forget it is on top of the station wagon and pull it into the garage and Wham! it crunches into the house.

He would get absolutely boiling mad; and after a long long while would shake his head and begin to smile. In a day or two we would get a laugh out of him. He incredibly did it a couple of times. As little kids it was shocking when it happened and the end of the world must be close.....but it never came, people recover, things can be repaired, and goofy old Station Wagons make some of the best memories.

Cool story. We never had a wagon growing up--pretty sure my parents loved me, though. Oddly they just bought their first wagon 2 months ago.

You can haul stuff with them, they can be an impromptu camper, they can carry all your friends.

Really I don't know, I think it is just a nostalgia thing for most of us. "regular" people obviously don't share our affliction or we'd still have them available in the new car market

When I was 5 we travelled across Canada hauling house trailers with another family. They had a fine wagon (don't recall what) that their son and I could play in the way back. There was tons of room it was awesome. Later I had many good times with young ladies in the way back tail gunner seat between late night commutes between parties/bars. Now I like being able to haul my messy dog or race tires and equipment with room for passengers and whatever and don't have to put up with the terrible handling of a van or SUV. I think mainstream car buyers are missing out big time.

Small wagon update: We noticed some coolant underneath it last night. So, loose connection or blown radiator? I'll check it out after work today.

I'd guess just overflow, I filled the coolant return tank to the brim when we picked it up.

That way my first thought, too, but the overflow was pretty empty.

Growing up a friend's Mom had a mid 70's Grand Ville with an ordered 455. Green on green. It was a slug, but when you hit passing gear at 80, sparks would shoot out of the tailpipe.

Check for a weepy water pump.

914Driver wrote: Check for a weepy water pump.

That's kinda what I was thinking. A water pump is like $29.

Is that fuel economy gauge just a manifold vacuum gauge with good/bad areas? Or is it just an inclinometer and the only time it gets out of the red is when you're going down a steep enough hill?

Why are we so attracted to wagons?

Nostalgia combined with an inherent manly man obsession with efficiency and self reliance(?) same reason (I think) there's a zombie craze...and why I sell the E36 M3 out of these huge relief maps of our area; chicks look at them and see nothing. Dudes see them and picture their armies marching over the mountains. Or go "When the whole thing goes to E36 M3 and the interwebz fail, I'm going to load this huge map, my family, a bunch of food and beer into the mighty fencebusting, foe-outrunning, bench-seat for road-bloweez when mama finally realizes how awesome I am boozewagon, and roast the tires on that motherberkeleyer into the goddamned sunset."

Or: "It's the family truckster Russ."

Or: The whole "sleeper" thing.

Or: The "rolling couch" thing...though there are a lot of other non-wagon choices in that segment.

Or: Maybe that's just me. I like oddball E36 M3, and find beauty in function/form and simplicity. Hence (I think) my lust for a slant-6-turbo 4 door valiant in the most hideous colors available.

Regardless of why, I think they're berkeleying cool. Nothing like Teeing up on some mouthbreather in a smart car who's thinking about cutting you off in traffic and mouthing "I'LL WIN" as you blow by.

Good talk.

poopshovel wrote:

Why are we so attracted to wagons?

Or: Maybe that's just me. I like oddball E36 M3, and find beauty in function/form and simplicity. Hence (I think) my lust for a slant-6-turbo 4 door valiant in the most hideous colors available.

http://stationwagonforums.com/forums/gallery/showimage.php?i=9818&c=

David S. Wallens wrote:

914Driver wrote: Check for a weepy water pump.

That's kinda what I was thinking. A water pump is like $29.

If you replace the water pump, make sure to install the coolant divider plate that comes out of the timing cover back on the way they came off. A common Pontiac mistake is to install those incorrectly or not at all, which can make the car overheat. Also, there are small rubber sleeves that you might want to replace while you are in there if they turn out to be junk. On a car that old that has had minimal service, this might be the case.

I got mine here for my Trans Am:

http://www.bopengineering.com/pontiac_replacement_parts2.shtml

Go about halfway down the page.

Gasoline wrote:

That might be the craziest looking piece of AWESOME...ever! Gorgeous!

JThw8 wrote: You can haul stuff with them, they can be an impromptu camper, they can carry all your friends. Really I don't know, I think it is just a nostalgia thing for most of us. "regular" people obviously don't share our affliction or we'd still have them available in the new car market

The number one selling segment of the new car market is station wagons...but...
As typical with generations, we did not want the same and did not want to seem old so we had to do it different, perceived as "better."
The SUV and Minivan combined are the new wagon. With Scion, we even convinced (or tried to convince) the youth that a wagon was cool.
No longer does the third seat face backwards but you still hear people clamoring for the need of a third row.

Viva la Wagon!

sethmeister4 wrote:

Gasoline wrote:

That might be the craziest looking piece of AWESOME...ever! Gorgeous!

When I bought the Dart last weekend I made the mistake of asking,So what else is For Sale?

^I bet that's an expensive window that it's missing.

Woody wrote: ^I bet that's an expensive window that it's missing.

Said he has it....I'm asking for pictures/proof. No window would absolutely be a deal killer.

You may remember my bargin $100 1957 IHC pickup with the broken windshield?....but seller ordered one and it is at the glass shop - Wrong! Did not fit! Bob's Classic Glass has it, shipped for close to $500. Now my $100 truck is a $100 truck with a $500 windshield! Now, watch me break it installing it.

And looks like the leak is coming from the radiator. Damn you, pressure tester, for revealing the bad news.

On the plus side, those hub caps' days are numbered. Thank you, eBay Motors, for having such a wide selection of cool, old stuff.

In reply to David S. Wallens:

Please tell me that you picked up a really nice set of Pontiac Rally II's.

Gasoline wrote:

sethmeister4 wrote:

Gasoline wrote:

That might be the craziest looking piece of AWESOME...ever! Gorgeous!

When I bought the Dart last weekend I made the mistake of asking,So what else is For Sale?

AAAAACK! Is this the guy in Ballground that had all the Mopars on Craigslist? What's the story on the Dart? GIMME GIMME GIMME!!! And yes, that wagon is teh secks.

David S. Wallens wrote: And looks like the leak is coming from the radiator. Damn you, pressure tester, for revealing the bad news. On the plus side, those hub caps' days are numbered. Thank you, eBay Motors, for having such a wide selection of cool, old stuff.