NICE Pontiac Grand Safari

Check this out - http://www.paulsevagmotors.com/used/Pontiac/1977-Pontiac-Grand+Safari+Wagon-a58443a04046381100d78139607a7640.htm

Seeing it brought back a ton of memories of "my" first wagon.

Ok one of my long-winded stories....

We moved from Amarillo texas to Tulsa Oklahoma in late 1977. I was 4 years old and Mom was pregnant with my kid brother. Our family car was a 72 Cutlass Supreme notchback coupe, 350, buckets and floor shift. Nice car, but Dad decided we needed a wagon since my brother was on the way.

Dad had always been an Olds man, but the woodgrain that looped over the wheel-wells on the Delta wagons turned him off. Off chance he read in a magazine that '78 was going to be the last year the true Pontiac 400 was optional in the fill size Ponchos. That deciced it.

Dad had a good job with Southwestern Bell, and decided to special order a "man's" wagon...even thought it was for Mom. He walked into Ernie Miller Pontiac and told the salesman exactly what he wanted....and the salesman said he couldn't have it!

Now remember I was only 4, but Dad loves to tell this story, so I know it by heart.

Here's the deal, the Bonneville Brougham offered a wild multi-shade cloth pattern for '78 on the seats and door panels. It was long rectangular blocks of tan, brown, black, and grey, called "Valencia Cloth"......very 70's. Dad wanted that interior in his wagon...and he wanted a silver exterior with dark wood trim. The dealer said he could not order a silver car with tan interior, it would just look wrong. Dad insisited, said if they wanted his business, they would have to order it that way.

Check out these seats, this is exactly what we had....man the drugs in the 70's must have been GREAT!





After some haggling, and the store manager trying to talk Dad out of it too, and Dad having to sign a letter saying he would not refuse delivery, they agreed to put the order in.

In addition to the odd colors, Dad ordered a LOADED car. He wanted every power option in the book, seats, windows, locks, cruise, basically a Bonneville Brougham wagon. He also ordered the 6.6 Pontiac 400, and told them if it showed up with a 403 Olds, he would refuse delivery, letter or not. He also ordered the tow package, full gauges, heavy duty cooling, and snowflake mag wheels. The car was almost $12K, more than a Corvette that year.

After waiting 6-weeks the car came in. The dealer called Dad at work, and asked if they could keep it on the showroom for a week or two! The silver with dark wood and tan custom interior was stunning in person. The dealer was shocked, but it got a ton of attention when they unloaded it.

It looked JUST like this, but with the wild interior above:



Dad wanted his car, but when he went to take delivery, he had a fit. He had ordered snowflake mag wheels, and the car showed up with wire wheel hubcaps. Also, he had ordered a tilt column and deluxe steering wheel, the one with all the wood on it, and the car showed up with a fixed column and base-level tan steering wheel. Thankfully it did have Cruise. Dad still had a fit.

The dealer informed Dad that the snowflake wheel open had been discontinued from the wagon line because of the weight wagons were designed to handle. The mags were just not strong enough. As for the tilt column and deluxe wheel, that was a factory mistake, and they offered to credit my father the option price. Dad was pissed.

After haggling a while Dad agreed to take the car with the fixed column, but he DID NOT want wire wheel hubcaps. The dealer offered to take some Rally II mag wheels off another new car on the lot, and Dad agreed to that. We had a new car.

Dad loves to point out that a few weeks later there were four silver over tan interior wagons on the Ernie Miller lot.

That Grand Safari was a great car. We hauled and towed with it, that 400 was a super engine, we moved to Denver in 1984 and that car would run off and leave just about anything when we went up in the mountains.

In 1986 Dad got transferred to New Jersey. The Safari had just under 100K miles, and was still in nice shape. He sold it to a neighbor down the street rather than ship it to New Jersey. He regretted selling it.

When we got to NewJersey Dad bought a brand new '86 Electra Estate Wagon. Silver over silver interior this time. It was fancy, and pretty, but the 307 was the only engine offered, and it was gutless compared to the old Safari.

Needless to say I grew up with wagons....and I would love to find an old Safari like that one we had....but the ones that show up now all seem to have plain vinyl interior and 301's in them. I want a 400 and that wild 70's cloth interior.

Always on the lookout!

-Mike

He're one more quick Safari story. Dad took delivery of our '78 just before Thanksgiving. We loaded it up and drove from Tulsa to Waco Texas to spend the holiday with my grandparents.

As you can imagine, Dad was proud of his brand new car. I remember we were not alowed to eat in it on the trip...and my shoes had to come off for fear I'd dirty the new seats.

Well we had car trouble about an hour into the drive. It seems in '78 GM put a mesh screen over the end of the tailpipe, and either something from the cat converter or muffler blew out and clogged the screen. The car could not breath. A trucker at a rest area handed Dad a tire iron and Dad punched a hole in it and pried it out. Car ran like a watch the rest of the way.

When we got to Waco, Dad parked the car at the end of the grandparents long driveway. Everyone that showed up for dinner would see it gleaming there. My grandfather and uncle were mightly impressed with it.

That night we had an ice storm. Well there at the end of the driveway where Dad had parked was a large wooden post with a heavy wood basketball goal on it. It was old, and either the wind or the ice got to it. In the middle of the night the house was awakend to a loud crash. The basketball goal fell over, onto my parents brand new car, denting the hood and roof and shattering the windshield.

My grandfather was mortified, and my Dad was crushed. That kinda ruined that Thanksgiving...

The following Sunday we drove the car back to Tulsa, shattered windshield and all. Dad wanted the dealer in Oklahoma he bought the car from to do the repairs, not someone in Texas. He wanted to make sure it was "right".

They did a super job fixing it. Dad made sure, you could not tell anything had happened.

Despite how our relationship with that car started off, it was a really good car.

Sorry for my long-winded tales!

-Mike

No need to apologize Mike as I for one enjoy your stories very much.Reminds me of my childhood
just much newer cars.Keep the stories coming Mike.
IMHO
Jim Gordon

I'm going out to buy a powerball ticket tonight. I'm in love.

But that white one does not have the disco interior.

One more update here since the memories are coming back. That '78 had woodgrain issues that GM fixed on the '80 and up cars. On those late-70's wagons the wood ran under the door handles where you put your hand to pull the handle, and also folded into the gas door opening and all over the gas door lid.

Over time, the wood around the door handles and gas door would shrink, pull away from the paint, and eventually tear. Dad was just SICK when the wood started pulling away from the body around the handles in the early 80's.

GM fixed this by triming the wood around those areas and painting those areas brown or tan on the 80 and newer wagons, rather than putting wood there. I remember Dad pointing that out on our new '86 Estate wagon.

They were wood crazy in the late-70's. Our wagon had matching wood on the sides of the roof rack and on the wing part of the rack above the tailgate window, and also all the way around the tailgate glass.

-Mike

Hahaha, one more thing, I showed my Dad the pics of that silver car above, thinking it looked JUST like our car. He said it was nice, but it sure was plain. I asked what he meant, as that is a Grand Safari, not a Catalina Safari, so it's basically a Bonneville.

He pointed out that our car had wide chrome trim all along the lower body below the wood, our car had chrome and brown bodyside rub strips on the wood along the middle of the car, and we had cornering lights on the lower front fenders. We also had a power antenna and not the antenna embedded in the windshield the base cars had.

Well EXCUSE me Dad! Ahahahaha!

-Mike

DAKTARI had a wagon????



Nick

phantom 309 wrote:

DAKTARI had a wagon????

Nick

Hahahahaha! No kidding! Man my friends made fun of that interior when I was a kid! Sadly I'd love to have it now, just because it was so wild looking and 70's-ish.

Laird called it the "Circus" interior, he said he expected clowns to climb out of the car....and he drives a Pacer now....need to bring that up.

Dad called it "Safari seats for a Safari wagon!"

-Mike

I really like those wagons....

A couple years ago I sold this almost immaculate 1987 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Due to getting diverted onto other, useless projects, I didn't have enough covered storage space for it and decided to sell rather than see it sit outside and deteriorate.

This one had a story. I was browsing my favorite eBay category..."salvage parts cars" and ran across this wagon which was in Morgantown WV, about 750 miles from here(also the birthplace of Don Knotts).

I could tell this thing was nice from the pictures. The seller said it started having carb/fuel problems and the original lady owner decided to trade it for a newer Olds. The seller wound up with it and still could not resolve the running issues.

I deliberated over it until the end date, then decided to bid even though I had no way to get it back home other than to drive it. I won the auction for the grand sum of $500.

The following weekend my friend and I loaded the car up with tools and a good spare E4MC Olds Quadrajet and headed north. We arrived just in time to eat and get a room. The next morning we met the seller and commenced to installing the good crab. To the seller's amazement, the engine fired right up and ran great.

We let it warm up and checked for leaks, then drove around town for a while to see how it ran. Everything seemed good, so we followed the seller to his house in Grafton to do the paperwork and pick up a few spare parts.

Anyone who has been through that area knows how many hills there are, and it was clear right away that 307 was really struggling. We HAD to get on the road and head back, so we took off. Down we came through Charleston and Huntington, with the wagon down to 2nd gear on every hill.

Around Huntington, I felt a couple misfires and about the same time heard a chime(this had the warning chime system for low fluids). I couldn't tell what light must of came on because someone had blacked them out from the rear with paint, but I guessed GAS even though the gauge more or less said 1/4 tank. Remember that misfire later.

We tied up for the night in Winchester, KY which was about halfway home. I forgot to mention that they had loosened the headpipe to relieve what they thought to be a clogged exhaust, so not only was I dealing with no power, but a loud exhaust too.

The next day we traveled the rest of the way home with no issues....almost. About 15 miles from home, I turned off the parkway onto a 2-lane highway. Just as I did, the engine sputtered and nearly died..then picked back up again. By that time I was tired, my right foot was aching and i was determined to get home, so I pressed ahead. The further I went, the more frequent and worse in duration the sputtering spells got, until finally I traveled the last 5 miles home at a top speed of 35mph. Any faster and the engine would starve.

What the heck..the gauge says 1/4 tank???

A few days later I installed a new fuel pump, which did nothing to help. I opened up the carb and it was clean as could be. I replaced all the rubber lines, still wouldn't go faster than 35mph.

Finally, out of ideas, I pulled the tank, and then the fuel pickup. There it was..a crack about 6 inches from the bottom. That was the cause of the starvation. When the fuel dropped to a certain point the pump started drawing air. Replaced the pickup and it ran fine, but still not much "power".

That one I had an idea about already, so whipping out my timing light, I discovered the timing set 5 degrees AFTER top dead center. Adjsuted the timing and it ran like a champ!

This car drove great, cold air, all the options, those neat Oldsmobile chimes. The guy that bought it from me drove it home to KC, Mo and as far as I know still has it.

I'm going to buy another one before they go extinct.

Great stories guys and Tyler when we finally meet,please remind me.I will gladly give you a swift kick in the rear for selling that beautiful OCC wagon. By the way,did you polish the trim
around the woodgrain or was it already like that?
Jim

wow carbs and timing lights. the kids on here will be confused.

Man that was a pretty Olds you had!! Pretty wild about the fuel issue. Good deal that you found it! I don't blame you for selling it rather than keeping it outside to ruin. And at least you know where it is now!

I agree with everything you said about them. They rode good, drove well, the chimes were funny, and they were a pretty design, even if the 307 was gutless. I always liked Oldsmobiles.

The amazing thing was, I actually used to tow quite often with my Custom Cruiser. As gutless as it was, it towed really well...then again Texas is mostly rolling hills and flatlands. That said, I towed in 3rd, not overdrive, and while it took a little time to get up to speed, once there it could hold it fine.

My longest towing day was from Austin to Dallas then to Houston and back to Austin. I drove from Austin to Dallas with my tow dolley, picked up a wrecked Chevy Celebrity from a friend, towed it to Houston, and traded it for a Citation 4dr that I turned into an X-11. Hahahaha!




Other than the lack of power and somewhat ugly (but TOUGH!) seat fabric, I really loved my OCC!

As always - that's a cool story and all, but who in the hell buys a wagon to haul their family, then make them take their shoes off to ride in it.

I'm not saying you're dad is an asshole - but that was a seriously asshole move.

Bewber wrote:

As always - that's a cool story and all, but who in the hell buys a wagon to haul their family, then make them take their shoes off to ride in it.

I'm not saying you're dad is an asshole - but that was a seriously asshole move.

Let me add myself to the asshole list. I often make the kids take their shoes off before getting in any of our cars..... Which is why the carpet looks like it did in the above pic of my Custom Cruiser and in my current Roady.

Gotta keep the toys clean! Like father like son!

-Mike

If the shoes aren't allowed inside the car, whattya do, pull a non-carpeted shoe trailer?

Jeez, things could turn ugly after a barefoot day at the beach,..

nick

Bewber wrote:

If the shoes aren't allowed inside the car, whattya do, pull a non-carpeted shoe trailer?

They're allowed, just not if they're muddy or wet. If they're dirty the kids toss them in the rubbermaid tub I keep behind the 2nd row seat. I don't even have to really ask them anymore. Training! It's the same thing my Dad did with my brother and I as kids.

You should have seen how he was when he bought the '79 Corvette!! He kept a cloth diaper in the glove box to wipe the dust off his baby after he drove it. AHahahahaha! As kids my brother Dave and I were instructed to keep our hands in our laps when we rode in the Vette.

phantom 309 wrote:

Jeez, things could turn ugly after a barefoot day at the beach,..

nick

Yeah well I'm not quite so anal with my cars as my Dad was!

Flasheroo wrote:

Great stories guys and Tyler when we finally meet,please remind me.I will gladly give you a swift kick in the rear for selling that beautiful OCC wagon. By the way,did you polish the trim
around the woodgrain or was it already like that?
Jim

It was that way originally Jim. And yes, I wish now I hadn't sold it.

Mike, I didn't catch what year that white OCC is, but it must be an '88-90 because I see some differences between it and my '87-

The white car has the DIN-style stereo, my car still had the 2-shaft stereo although it was electronic with yellow numerals.

The white car has cornering lamps and the fender-top signals, which mine did not have.

The brown car had oil, temp and volt gauges located in the space beside the steering column..2 on one side, one on the other.

The white car has a different style wood on the dash. Mine had a "burled-wood" pattern.

Come to think of it, the Olds Cutlass made that same wood-trim changeover, but a couple years earlier.

Did your OCC have the auto-leveling rear suspension?

TylerW wrote:

Mike, I didn't catch what year that white OCC is, but it must be an '88-90 because I see some differences between it and my '87-

The white car has the DIN-style stereo, my car still had the 2-shaft stereo although it was electronic with yellow numerals.

The white car has cornering lamps and the fender-top signals, which mine did not have.

The brown car had oil, temp and volt gauges located in the space beside the steering column..2 on one side, one on the other.

The white car has a different style wood on the dash. Mine had a "burled-wood" pattern.

Come to think of it, the Olds Cutlass made that same wood-trim changeover, but a couple years earlier.

Did your OCC have the auto-leveling rear suspension?

It was a 1989 model. I loved that thing...was stupid for selling it. Sold it to buy a black '95 Supercharged Park Ave Ultra that turned out to be terribly unreliable....sad!

The Cruisers got the newer big GM radios in '88 or '89, and the dash and door pull wood changed from burled to the lighter color wood the same time.

That car was WAY loaded, but did not have the optional gauges below the speedometer. I always wanted to add those, but could never find a car in salvage yards that had the gauges and the lighter-colored wood. Was always on the lookout.

I really liked the cornering lights, the fiber-optic upper front fender lights for the signals, high and low beams, and the car also had fiber optic signal repeaters above the rear window in the headliner itself, which I've yet to see on another boxy wagon and was way-cool. You could see them in the rear-view mirror. My kiddo loved them.

In addition both fronts seats were full-power with controls on the door panels, it also had heated power electric mirrors, dual driver and passenger lighted vanity mirrors, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror. Sucker really was loaded, but no it did not have the air shocks in the back, which was FINE with me. I had KYB's on it.

-Mike

Mike, I know what you mean about the shoes, lol. I don't make anyone who rides in my car take their shoes off mind you, but one time when I took the extended family out for Mom's birthday I wish I had. I parked the OCC on the street in front of the restaurant, and unknown to me there was a big pile of clay mud washed up in the curb gutter! When my Mom, sister and Grandma got back in the car that night in the dark, they all slid in from the curb side door. The next morning I looked in the car, and saw my nice red back seat carpet looked like the sidewalk in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater! Though if I ever have kids, I'm just going to buy a vinyl seated, rubber floored 1A2... Interior dirty? Get the hose.

Lynol wrote:

Mike, I know what you mean about the shoes, lol. I don't make anyone who rides in my car take their shoes off mind you, but one time when I took the extended family out for Mom's birthday I wish I had. I parked the OCC on the street in front of the restaurant, and unknown to me there was a big pile of clay mud washed up in the curb gutter! When my Mom, sister and Grandma got back in the car that night in the dark, they all slid in from the curb side door. The next morning I looked in the car, and saw my nice red back seat carpet looked like the sidewalk in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater! Though if I ever have kids, I'm just going to buy a vinyl seated, rubber floored 1A2... Interior dirty? Get the hose.

Ahahaha...yes. And I only make the kids take shoes off, not adults....unless we've been to the lake, or the ranch, or the park, or......well....nevermind.