"New" '77 Estate wagon project in Orlando....

This is my third wagon in a row, but my first GM in many years. Apparently FoMoCo wagons have a powerful magnet that attracts crazy drivers.
They totaled my Country Squire, and a few years later my Colony Park.
So now I have acquired a complete, unmolested, almost rust free 1977 Buick Estate Wagon.
Under the hood is a sweet running Oldsmobile 403/4bbl. It runs and drives great, so at first I'll just have to replace the carpet, fix the cracked dash pad, and paint the car.
Oh, if anyone has a drivers side taillight for a 77-79 Buick or Chevy laying around, I could sure use it.
Now about those GM power windows.......







Before I bought it; check out those skinny belts!

Nice score! A lot of us really liked those old brick wagons. More pics.

nice wagon, now you need some factory mag wheels .... another wagon nut in florida

Five spoke Buick rally wheels WOULD look nice on that car.
I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for some.

BTW, the car came from your back yard: Oxford FL (near Wildwood).

Nice score, ESP with a real engine in it (the late 70s sucked for performance)

Will keep an eye out in the local yards when I go...

I've got a set of mid 80's electra wagon taillights. I know they bolt onto the 77-79 wagons (my dad had a set on a 77 catalina safari) , but I'm not sure if they fit the body lines exactly perfect.
Also, theres a 77 bonneville safari in a yard near me that still has the taillights.

Wow, thanks for the reply, Kevin!
I think they may be the same.
Here's a pic of the rear:


See how the horizontal trim carries through the middle of the tail lights? Pontiac lights just wouldn't look right, but Chevy ones could work...

PM me with a price if you want to sell the Buick parts.

Nice car! I'm surprised you've have power window issues. I have a 79 Electra and the windows rocket up and down, super fast!

And I agree, it needs chrome Buick Road Wheels.

As for the tail lights, they all exchange on 77-91 boxy wagons. I'm sure you can find a good set.

Keep the pics coming!

-Mike

Welcome to the gang and I am sure with the vast amount of wagon knowledge overflowing around here,tailights wont
be a problem.Sorry to hear about your wagons but better a ford than our beloved GMs.Not sure about your lug pattern
but think yours are 5X5 like ours so wheels should be easy.
Welcome Again!

Thanks to all for the warm welcome.

My drivers window and tailgate windows need a bit of help to get up to the very top.
(insert fluffer/Viagra joke here)
Is this just a clean and lube thing, or what?
Is there a sticky or a walk through on window lift repair here somewhere?
Are windows on bricks and later models the same?

Windows aren't the same on the box and bubbles. Clean (brake cleaner/degreaser) and lube (white spray grease) the tracks and the windows should work a lot better. If they go up or down crooked, you have broken sliders. Easy and cheap to fix.

Welcome

AlmostaBuick wrote:

Thanks to all for the warm welcome.

My drivers window and tailgate windows need a bit of help to get up to the very top.
(insert fluffer/Viagra joke here)
Is this just a clean and lube thing, or what?
Is there a sticky or a walk through on window lift repair here somewhere?
Are windows on bricks and later models the same?

The 77-79 cars were strong and fast power window motors. GM, to save weight (and money I'm sure) redesigned the window motors and tracks in 1980 and those are much weaker and slower. The tailgate one especailly is way underpowered for the weight of that glass. If I were you I'd head to the salvage yardor get on CarPart.com and try to get some original GM replacement motors.

Good Luck!

-Mike

I sprayed some silicone into the lower part of the tracks, and the drivers window is 99% improved. The tailgate window improved some.
When I get time, I'll pull the door panels off and do a proper clean/lube and see how that works.
I'll also soap, scrub and rinse the door panels and armrests with a hose while they're off.
And glue the armrest covers back on.
35 years of dirt and sweat just won't wipe off with a spritz of Simple Green and a wet towel.
Today I managed to get the first two layers of grime off the steering wheel. I was happy to find it in excellent condition, except for the years of sweat and grime.
I sprayed the engine with Gunk, and was surprised to find that the Oldsmobile engine is painted Buick blue, with a matching distributor cap.
I was expecting Oldsmobile gold.

I found a pretty good sized chunk of somebodys tail light in a parking lot yesterday, so with some cutting and gluing, I think I can make the left side light legal and not too ugly. The other one has a scrape, but that will buff right out.
Its a start....

If you still want the taillight, LMK. I found the left side one.

As for cleaning the interior, I've found that goop hand cleaner works great. You use a stiff toothbrush and work it into the vinyl (scrub in little circles) and it lifts out the dirt (it turns brown/ black and then you wipe it off with a cloth or towel). I've used it on the vinyl door panels in my caddy and the panels in my safari van with excellent results. It also works as a leather cleaner/ conditioner.
Just do not use it in direct sunlight as it will bake in before you can scrub it and wipe it off. It will discolor the plastic temporarily (2 days or so) if it bakes in, but then the color will return to normal.

looks like someone replaced, or modded your tail gate, thats an 85-90 center mount brake light in your tailgate.

The engine is GM "corporate" blue, the correct colour for the year.

very good Jay, olds went to corporate blue in 74 or 5, not exactly sure, then in 1981 the 307 was black, and they dropped the 350

Welcome AlmostaBuick.
When servicing the tailgate windows on my two wagon, I found the guide tubes on either side had rusted as well, which I remedied with emery cloth, and the glass retention nuts had loosened as well. Wish I had found that one sooner, scratched my perfect glass that way the day I bought it.

That's a pretty sharp looking old wagon. If only they still made 'em like that today...back when cars really looked like cars. I like the wheels you have on it now.

I checked the VIN online, its a K code Olds 403, not a 350 as I thought.

Vroom!

The drivers window quit completely.
I'll have to pull the panel, and if my luck holds, I'll probably find corrosion on the wire connector. (crosses fingers)

There really seem to be almost no mechanical issues with the car, so once the monsoon season is over, I can install the new carpets and start prepping it for paint.