My mom got a new wagon every 6-7 years bought at my uncles Chevy dealership. A 62 a 69 and then this 76 with a 400 and the towing package manual clam. The 69 was my favorite as far as driving it.
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I'm glad a lot of you remember these cars fondly, and have reinforced my hunch that they'd be great comfy cruisers..
Falling down a rabbit hole while researching a '72 Polara Coupe I found this-
Felt it belonged here.
I only regret one vehicle sale in my life. 66 Delta 88, 2 door hardtop, bucket seats, console, 425 cubic inch "ultra high compression super rocket v8 use premium fuel only" it said on the air cleaner.
I really enjoyed that car.
In reply to dannyp84 :
They are road going sofas and really good at that.
Also, FWIW, my wagon was fine with "just" the 400. I wasn't towing, I wasn't racing. It was fine for cruising.
Did I mention never park your wagon on the street overnight?
California Rally Series Competitor Pete Morris left his 72 LTD wagon on the street; two transvestite bank robbers lost control of their car while fleeing from the police. Pete heard a load crash looked outside saw a car planted in the side of his wagon. He ran outside just in time to see two very broad shouldered and hairy woman fleeing the scene.
The very definition of malaise-era land yacht. Seems like a good deal at $6,000.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1034781960619185/
In reply to Duke :
That does seem like a pretty good deal in today's market.
Duke said:The very definition of malaise-era land yacht. Seems like a good deal at $6,000.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1034781960619185/
It's even that mint green.
I have no use for it but I want it
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
Exactly. I still do miss driving our wagon. Very relaxing.
The green hornet above is likely old enough to have a 460, but the last ones came with 302's. Not enough.
I'm internally laughing at my childhood programming, as my brain says, "Boy, if that was an Olds 98..."
Curb weight on that 77 Continental is 4800 lbs. A current generation Toyota Sienna weighs the same amount.
People always assume that old cars are heavy, but by today's standards they just aren't. Yes, 4800 lbs is a beast, but if a Sienna can move itself with a 3.5L V6, a land yacht can do it with a 7.5L behemoth, even in smog form.
Other comparisons you may not realize:
73 Ford Maverick 302 = 2850 lbs. 2019 Suby STI = 3500 lbs
67 GTO = 3450 lbs. 06 GTO = 3725 lbs.
71 Buick Riviera = 4200 lbs. 2016 Chrysler 300 = 4100 lbs.
That's right. A Chrylser compact weighs as much today as a Boattail Buick from the 70s.
Or, visually speaking, This:
Weighs the same as this:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Whatever you do, don't bring up the fact that some of those land barges with something reasonable (like a 2bbl 327 and a powerglide) could return 15-20mpg if the driver acted reasonably.
New cars are heavy because of all the safety gak, power seats and A/C.
Even in Canada, you can't sell a car without A/C anymore.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I'm not sure I'd consider the Chrysler 300c as a compact. It's the biggest car they make lol
In reply to yupididit :
You shouldn't. And you are correct.
It is a Full Size-
I was more referring to the apples/apples comparison. The 300 is a full-size car, but it's smaller in size than what they considered compact in 1970. You have to admit that a Riviera is a land barge compared to the Dinghy 300. Sorry I didn't make that part clear, but Cooter to the rescue with the data. In the muscle car era, they considered this a compact:
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Which is about half the size of a 300.
ShawnG said:In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Whatever you do, don't bring up the fact that some of those land barges with something reasonable (like a 2bbl 327 and a powerglide) could return 15-20mpg if the driver acted reasonably.
New cars are heavy because of all the safety gak, power seats and A/C.
Even in Canada, you can't sell a car without A/C anymore.
Yup. Old stuff isn't as heavy as people think by comparison. The fact that some of them are berkeleying 20 feet long and have 6 feet between the headlights just means that they are large vehicles and the associated weight that goes along with them.
People made so much fun of me on another forum when I wanted to graft in a full STI drivetrain in my 73 Maverick. They thought I was nuts for putting a 4 cylinder in that chunk of lead sled iron behemoth. Then I pointed out that the Maverick was 700 lbs lighter than the STI, and they still didn't believe me until I posted about 5 sources for curb weights of both cars. Everyone thinks they're so heavy, but they just aren't (unless they're the luxo barges like we're discussing.)
And, for the record... the 77 Continental above is 4800 lbs. A 2020 S63 AMG is also 4800 lbs
The Merc fills 200" long x 75" wide. The Continental does the same with 233" long and 80" wide. 5" wider, and 3 feet longer for the same weight.
A lot of the older cars length was just empty space for the sake of why the berkeley not? You had trunks that would fit a half-dozen beer kegs. And you had, in some cases, a good 2 feet in front of the engine before you got to the front bumper. Maybe more.
As for fuel economy, I once had a 69 Newport converti ble, 383 big block, automatic. With the top down, which is how I almost always drove it, it would get around 17 mpg. A '74 Plymouth Satellite I used to have, with a 318 automatic, would get almost 20 on the highway.
25 or more years ago, when P J Orourke was writing for Car&Driver, they did a comparison of luxo barges. The only part I remember at all was his comparison of the Rolls Royce to his grandmother's 64 Buick Electra 225. They were far too similar in many ways, but his "Handling? Not so much. Wet your finger, stick it in the spokes, and dial for dollars." has stuck in my brain for all those years.
I also learned that the cool kids call them Deuce and a quarters.
My first car was a 76 Chrysler Newport Custom, maroon with white vinyl top. Think Ricky's car from Trailer Park Boys, but in fantastic shape despite being almost 30 years old when I got it. I absolutely loved it and used it as my main car til I was almost 25. Once gas got close to a dollar a liter (2007ish) the 400/727 combo became a bit too thirsty to be worth it. Lean burn ignition sucked and I had to mess with carb constantly. Most comfortable seats ever and I slept full length on the back seat many a night. It had heavily assisted power steering, mediocre brakes, and was a terrifying magic carpet ride above 110km/h.
I always thought it would be great to stick the drivetrain from an LX 300c under it. Big brakes, 5.7 hemi and overdrive would be awesome.
If I ever found a mid 70s flower car for a reasonable price I would be sorely tempted. What's not to like about a plus size el camino?
It is funny that we think of old cars as heavy. Our old Galaxy 500 and my 2011 Outback wiegh the same.
In reply to dannyp84 :
I used to use a Buick wildcat convertible to haul my Jaguar Race car around. That big 401 with 445 ft pds of torque never had an once of trouble hauling it up and over the Rockies or Sierra Nevada's Ya, it cost me a couple of miles per gallon but gas was 32-37 cents a gallon.
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