(first posted 6/19/2012. 2022 update: Last time I saw it a few years back, it was showing ever-increasing signs of deterioration from being stored outside. Too bad, as this car was almost showroom condition when I first shot it) How can I not trot out one of my better street finds to follow up on JPC’s superb 1948 Pontiac wagon CC? But unlike that gem, the B-Body is a well-known commodity hereabouts, so there’s no need to get loquacious. Anyway, the pictures of this pristine daily-driver Safari speak much more eloquently than my feeble words could. But there is a bit of story about this particular car; more like a snippet, actually.
I first stumbled upon this fine specimen in the summer of 2009, and it ran as a Capsule back at the other site. Its overall condition and state of cleanliness suggest it was an arranged and posed shoot, but I swear it wasn’t.
What was obvious from the Collectible Automobile magazine with a 1959 Pontiac on the cover, that this car was in the hands of a Poncho-phile. Duh!
My guess was that he’d found someone’s pampered wagon, who finally had to give it up. My guess was good.
I ran into it again in the Whitaker District, and decided to shoot it again. The owner came out, who was visiting his elderly father, and whose red LeBaron coupe can be seen in the driveway. I chatted with him, and he confirmed that he’d bought it from an old-timer, and that it had some 40k miles then. This was a year or so after my first shoot.
As is obvious, the second photo shoot (above) didn’t turn out nearly as well; it was shortly before I tossed my old camera, which was making all my shots look hazy and dull. The Safari-master has been driving it regularly since, and I see it parked in his apartment lot. It’s not just the camera; the car has actually lost a tiny bit of its luster sitting outside for several years now, which is a bit sad, but it is appreciated and well cared-for.
There’s still magazines on the back seat, but this time it was “American Station wagons”. Apt.
So we’ll switch back to the first photo set, and all you B-Body and woodie wagon lovers, please refrain from drooling on your touch screens at the sight of this tail-gate handle. I did not know that’s how they were done. Nice.
In the original post, I made the assumption that this wagon had a 140 hp Chevy 305 under the hood, because the Encyclopedia of American Cars said so. But some knowledgeable commentators convinced me it had the Olds 307. I take their word for it. And I stupidly forgot to ask to look under the hood. Next time I run into him, I will. And the mystery will be solved. In the meantime, just savor this well-preserved token of the end of an era.
Well, almost the end. The Safari wagon had its swan song in 1989. About 15,000 of these were sold in both 1988 and 1989. And how many are still left? At least one, anyway. And I get to see it regularly. Lucky me. But I’ll be happy to forward it your expressions of love and admiration.
Cars like this are what GM does best.
Did.
Those kind of cars are what GM”Did Best”. As far as I’m concerned mostof what GM puts out are “cookie cutter” versions of the same little plastic cars that Japan & South Korea stamp out. Nowadays cars all look the same,done with computer programs instead of talented designers like Harley Earle,or Bill Mitchell The days of design like the Tri Five Chevrolet Belair’s,or the 1963-1965 Buick Riviera’s. Notice that I called them a CHEVROLET and not a “Chevy”. The days of GM building REAL AMERICAN CARS, are I’m afraid,gone forever. They don’t even build station wagons anymore. Just iddy biddy cross over CUV’s that don’t even look like a car.
Stylists still design cars, but using computers as tools, same as they do with many other products. Sometimes the results are so bizarre & random, I question their sanity, as for example in the Chevy Spark I rented with its weird door panels.
I suggest that the imperatives of safety & low drag (for high MPG) explains what uniformity there is.
I really have a preference for the mid to late 60’s Pontiac Wagons, but the rest of them are starting to grow on me as time goes by. This one is a great looking car.
You have found the sister to my `88 Caprice! I daily drive mine, too, but I have nearly 222k on mine. And it does indeed have the 307 under-hood, same as mine. Honestly, the 305 would have been preferable, as parts for it actually exist. Hopping up a 307 is damn near impossible.
This picture is of me autocrossing mine. Proof that the stock suspension (new shocks/springs) is still more than capable. So, the next time you hear someone moaning about the way these cars handle, point them in my direction. 🙂
That is awesome! What class could they possibly put you in, Jordan?
Class: American Dreadnaught… 😛
I’m thinking Ticonderoga Class.
Well, since no one has ever petitioned the SCCA to class it, it goes into F Stock by default. This is of course where the Mustang GTs and V8-powered F-bodies reside, which proves to be quite the challenge. Power-wise they obviously have the edge on me, but I use momentum to keep me somewhat competitive; I was within two seconds of a Firehawk last race. Obviously, he was not a good driver. I did however, manage to be quicker than a Volvo 240 wagon. I’ll take it. 🙂
That’s a mere cruiser; how about Iowa Class instead? They were a bit faster, too, at 33kt.
If you’re under mass cruise missile attack, there’s no substitute for armor.
Nimitz.
I have to find the video my friend took of my 75 Estate Wagon on the Sebring race track.
F****ing Awesome!
My wife had a 77 Olds Delta 88 Holiday Coupe, with 403 and FE3 suspension. That car always surprised me, as it handled far better than your average Yank Tank. After I got married, a friend of mine and I autocrossed a Dodge Omni, and it was jokingly suggested we take the Delta on the course. I declined, but after seeing your car, I now I wonder if we should have…
INDEED! I’m in the process of restoring/hot-rodding a 1979 Olds Delta 88 Royale Brougham coupe right now. No 403 for me (I went with a rebuilt and mildly upgraded 6.0 liter LQ4 and a 4-speed auto) but with your comment I am wondering if parts for the FE3 suspension are available…
Jordan, you were on my mind when I put this up.
I am honored! Thank you, Paul!
You can’t hop up your 307 Olds engine? Talk to these guys. https://www.oldsmobileclub.org/
It’s my understanding that all 1987-90 GM B-body wagons, including Caprices, were built on the same assembly line. Standard operating procedure for this assembly line was to use Olds 307s, and that is what was listed as being available in these cars.
1987-90 Caprice coupes and sedans, on the other hand (the coupes were dropped after ’87), were built elsewhere. Standard operating procedure for their assembly line was to use Chevy 305s, and that is what was listed as being available in these models.
The above having been said, I have heard claims of cars that “should” have a 307 but have a 305, or vice versa. So there may have been times when the above assembly lines used whichever of the two engines GM had available at the moment, even if wasn’t the one they were supposed to use.
All of the B body station wagons, Buick, Olds, Pontiac and Chevy all shared the same sheet metal from the front doors back…that of the Chevy.
My Dad’s 78 Buick Estate wagon had LeSabre front fenders with a small metal piece brazed into the crease at the top so it would line up with the Chevy doors.
Interiors were of course unique to each division.
We had the Olds 403 with a middling 185 hp, but a massive 320 lb.ft. of torque.
EPA 14/19
The Buick was the only ’77-’79 B wagon not to use Chevy front fenders. This was because Buick wanted to preverve the ventiports which meant using real Buick fenders. The panel near the mirror you’re referring to was there to mate the Chevy/Pontiac front door to the Buick front fender. Starting with the 1980 facelift, Buick no longer used portholes on the LeSabre, and the Electra/Park Avenue had only suggestions of four portholes in the side trim but they didn’t perforate the fender. Thus, the Buick could now use Chevy fenders too and no longer needed that metal panel to make the Chevy door fit.
Interiors were somewhat unique to each division, but from 1982 onward Pontiac used Caprice dashboards.
The Pontiac is the only one of these B bodies that I have not spent time around. The wagon would be one of my favorites. A great find.
As I’ve mentioned many times before my father’s employer utilized used B-body wagons for his salesmen. I think I’ve ridden/driven every make and model of the “box” B-body wagons during their production run.
Having said that, for some reason the Parisienne is my favorite, I don’t know if it was the oh so Brougham hood ornament, the seats that were comfy without being pillowed velour, or that the Pontiacs seemed to have better stereos than the other Bs, but dang I love me some Parisienne…
I should mentioned that I am in the process of buying a steel-side `84 Parisienne wagon 🙂
The mother of my best friend happened to have a 1984 Parisienne coupe as her last car (she died very young a few years later of kidney failure). She was an Oldsmobile woman and never liked the Parisienne as well as her Oldsmobiles. Her comment to her daughter was; “It just doesn’t feel like my Oldsmobile.” Her daughter’s reply? “Of course not mom, its a Pontiac.”
According to my friend that car sat for over a decade after her mother’s death until her brother needed a vehicle. New battery, new tires, cleaning the carb and some fresh gas, and the old Pontiac started right up and drove away.
I think the base Custom Cruisers had base 88 Interiors and didn’t necessarily come with the Pillow tuft. And the later Buick Estate ones don’t have the tuftiest of pillow tops. I think I’d take the Buick version out of all of them, since their dashboards don’t seem as “tall” as the rest of them.
The problem with B-bodys is that if you didn’t get the power seats the non-adjustable base model seats were basically “on the floor” and made it hard for anyone not 6ft + to see over the dash.
Good thing I’m 6’2! The Parisienne has power seats, but my Caprice does not.
Yup, B Bodies without power seat were not the most comfortable things. I wonder why they did that? Guess it made for a huge headroom stat.
Ayup. I drove a ’77 Impala once with the base interior and I had to look UP to see out of the car. In about 2 miles I could feel it in my neck.
Try as I might I cannot see any difference other than grill/trim etc between this and the 77 Impala wagon I owned in the late 90’s.
Of course it had a 350 and every time I changed something (wheel bearings to shocks) there were two choices. Mine always used the same thing the pickups did. I had a 100 mile daily commute then and, of course, gas was already expensive. If I had been able to endure that I would still own it and there would have been a few exercises in futility (cars too fragile for me) that I would not have taken. I gave it to a local kid and never saw it again.
I prefer this to a minivan because it is so robust. Constant chatter about changing transmissions etc in them, but these wagons just kept on running. If you happen to own a gas station any of the big three had something comparable. Liked them so well that I have a yard ornament that looks like a 57 model. Haven’t given up yet.
The Pariesenne was built in Oshawa on their export line and was practically a carbon copy of the Caprice. The ones built in Canada all had 305s in them; this is not a bad things since it is very cheap and easy to add power should it be desired.
One poster claimed the Olds 307 can’t be hopped up; in fact it can. Another 50 hp is very easy and still reliable. More than that the windowed block will start to cause trouble. There is a large selection of Olds hi-perf stuff here, including the 307:
http://www.mondellotwister.com/PartsIndex.htm
I didn’t say it couldn’t be hopped up, it’s just nowhere near as easy as a 305 would be. Price-wise, hopping up an Oldsmobile 307 can be quite expensive as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love my 307 and this would be the 5th car I have owned with one, I just know their limitations well.
And intake, cam and dual exhaust for a 307 wound’t cost a lot more than the same for a 305.
Last I checked, and mind you, this was awhile back, Modello parts were quite a bit more expensive, and they were really the only ones making aftermarket parts for the 307.
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofe307.htm#E307 307CIDEngineDetail
Ain’t much you can do to a Olds 307, cept try to turn it into the engine that was in the 442s, that will get you about 40 extra hp. One of the big problems in my mind is that the 305 SBC started out from the factory with a 30 hp advangage on the 307.
Actually only the early Parisiennes were made in Oshawa, the 1982- 1984 models which were virtually identical to the Caprice. After 1985 the production of these cars shifted to the US. I believe this coincided with the change to using the 1980-81 style quarter panels in the 1985 MY.
As for the 307, in 1985 small port swirl port heads were introduced which pretty much eliminated any chance of a performance increase. Although the 1980-84 307’s had traditional sized ports on their heads, most Olds enthusiasts agree the best performance upgrade to the 307 is to replace it with a 350 Olds. Even the 307 HO (Vin “9”) was a dog, by far the slowest G-body performance car.
I ran into an ’89 Caprice Estate wagon some time ago and was suprised to see, it too, Olds 307 equipped. That’s when I found out that late ’80’s runs of all B wagons were Olds powered. Someone may help me out here – wasn’t the 350 an option in these wagons (extra grrrr for trailer towing duty?) . . . Yes, I’d love one of these. Also, if I am not mistaken, I believe the Caprice and Buick Estate wagon made it into the 1990 model year. And, I don’t know, but where were these B body wagons assembled? The B sedans of this era were usually from Arlington, Texas. Were the wagons Oshawa assembled?
B sedans were also built at Oshawa for the entire 1977-1996 run, although later on most came from Arlington as space in Oshawa was more devoted to SUVs. The 350 was gone as of 1980.
The Pariesenne was Canada built only. It went to the USA when the Pontiac dealers there complained that the didn’t have a large car to sell. Any one I ever saw was very nicely assembled and they all had 305s.
I didn’t know they made B’s at Oshawa until 1996? All late B’s I’ve seen have the “Made in Texas by Texans” Arlington assemby sticker, I thought that the Luminas and what not were all that Oshawa was making in the 90’s.
I thought some of the Bs were made at Willow Run…
I think just the 1991 and 1992 models were made there. They closed the factory after that. It’s still there, mainly used as storage, and has weeds and small trees growing on the roof in places! If I don’t forget I will try and take some pics of it when I go down there next week, it’s just a couple of miles from where I stay when I am in Ypsilanti…
“Any one I ever saw was very nicely assembled and they all had 305s”.
No, they didn’t. We owned an ’86 Parisienne Brougham sedan with the 307. I had thought it was the 305 until our mechanic informed me it was actually the 307. Considering he owned a 305-equipped ’89 Caprice, I think he knew what he was talking about.
That is quite correct. Many 1986 Parisienne sedans and Safari wagons switched over to the Olds 307 mid way through production. Every 1987-1990 Caprice Estate wagon also had the 307. Ditto the 1986-1990 Brougham, all year 1981-1990 Buick B-body wagons and the Olds Custom Cruiser.
One very quick way to tell in two seconds is to look at the 8th character over in the vin. if it is a “Y” then you have the 307. If it is an “H” you have the LG4 305. If you have the hood popped open a real quick way to tell engines apart is to look where the oil is added to the engine. If its in the middle of the valve cover you automatically have the Chevy motor. If its in the front in a tube next to the alternator and smog pump its the Olds motor.
As far as hopping them up far more power per dollar can be had with the Chevy Small block. Notice that the 305 was 25 HP stronger than the 307 in 1986 and 30 horse stronger thereafter right up until 1990. 1985 was the last year that GM spent any development money on the 307 engines with the roller cam and lifter setup, the swirl port heads, redesigned intake and smaller exhaust ports and a new computer program. The changes made for 1985 were mostly for drive-ability and fuel mileage with the end result giving sharper low end response but less top end breathing.
The 305 in contrast was given continual changes throughout starting in 1985 when it got a bump in compression due to a changeover to the former L69 flat top pistons, more agressive spark timing map. It also gained a tuned port injected version with 215 HP in the F-body cars. 1987 saw a switch to the center bolt down ribbed valve covers on the LG4 which drastically reduced leaks along with intake manifold to head bolt redesign for improved sealing, a new electronic distributor and a change over to roller cam and lifters and 5 more horses. This engine was re-dubbed the L03 that same year and given TBI and swirl port heads and this engine replaced the LG4 after 1988 and was in production until 1993. Note that the aforementioned TPI 305, which was dubbed the LB9, made up to 230 HP and 300 torque in it’s later years whereas as the HO code “9” 307 Olds maxed out at 170 Hp and 250 torque up until the 1990 model year as a rare option on certain Cadillac Brougham limos.
I can’t remember off the top of my head when they stopped making B-bodies in Oshawa, but they definitely weren’t made there until 1996. I thought Oshawa production ended for the b-body in the mid to late 1980’s. By 1996 MY the B-body was made exclusively at the Arlington plant. This is why when GM decided to switch that plant to SUV production, they ended the B-body production since no other plant made them at that time.
I guess sometime I will need to shoot and write up my own personal CC. One of only 2,947 Colony Parks produced for the final model year, 1991. The classic American station wagon ARE a uniquely American vehicle. Nothing quite like it the world over, and harkens back to a very different era.
Like the look of those whitewalls on Keystones. Klassy!
Nice! My grandparents had one just like this, same color and year. My Grandma loved that car!
I was rather fond of it myself…
Hey, nice Chevy!
LOVE it! If I could talk my wife into driving one of these instead of her Grand Prix…or the Terrain Denali she has her eye on than I would be one happy guy!
I had a girlfriend in High School whose mother drove one identical to this one. Her father drove a 88 T-Bird turbo coupe, and this was in 94-96, so they weren’t exactly brand new. Always nice cars to be in though.
What a sharp wagon. I rarely see these Pontiac wagons around here.
One of the CPAs for my Dad’s office had one of these, It was an ’87 Safari. White with the woodgrain (of course!) and I believe a maroon interior. Although Norb’s firm was in suburban Chicago, he bought the wagon here at Horst-Zimmerman Pontiac-Cadillac in Rock Island, as it was directly across the street from our office. It had been a demo and he got it for a very good price at the end of the model year.
He was still driving it in the late ’90s, though it was getting a little rusty by then. Around that time, I helped his son Mike (also a CPA) buy a friend’s late husband’s mint condition burgundy ’91 Roadmaster Estate Wagon. Both father and son really liked their B-body wagons.
There used to a clean Safari wagon of this vintage that would sometimes show up at the office park my friend used to work in, the owner could have been a Leslie Neisen body double, we never knew who he was, but we used to call him Mr Retro, his other 2 cars were an equally pristine mid 80’s Cutlass Supreme Brougham coupe, black with red leather seats and a really nice early FWD Park Avenue, I think he might have also owned a woody LeBaron convert too.
Growing up my family had an 87 Olds Custom Cruiser. Seeing this brings back many memories of riding in that. We bought it from my grandparents. Within 10 years it was gone as it was a lemon. I remember my dad replacing the motor in it in the early-mid 90s. Ours was maroon with wood paneling.
I wonder if that door handle actually works like it’s supposed to. I remember those had a high failure rate in Michigan.
Ours didn’t have the 3rd row, which made me kinda jealous of others who had that. But it was great on a vacation where we could bring EVERYTHING with us and still have plenty of room. One of the few cars that made my mom’s next car, a Chrysler Concorde, seem small!
It’s nice seeing this one featured again.
You might recall that I made mention of how I used the rear 3/4 shot as a screen saver for quite a while, I might have to do it again.
This car begs for an LSx swap. I know it wouldn’t be original but the original V8s in these things were low powered boat anchors.
Hello paul!
Is it for sale?!
Thanks
Gorgeous Safari! We owned a Parisienne sedan when I was younger, but even at the time “(’97 to ’02) I don’t think it was quite this nice.
There’s one in my old neighborhood in Richmond as well, still in service, street-parked and a little worse for wear but the owner must be doing something right! This photo is from early 2012, but I drove past it two weeks ago and it still looks about the same:
I never knew Pontiac made the same style mirrors as the 1986-90 Chevy Caprice on their wagons, I always thought Pontiac still used the bullet style mirrors on their wagons at the end of its run
This is a nice wagon it looks like new. And the wood is nice to.
Identical wagon thrashed here:
Am I the only that gets bothered when people automatically refer to a 3-row wagon as having a 9 passenger seating capacity? The 1977 to 1996 B-Body wagons have a maximum of 8 seatbelts in a 3-3-2 configuration. Were there ever any wagons with 3 seatbelts across the 3rd row?
Also, wasn’t the Olds 307 in the B-Body only available with the 200R4 transmission?
Yes I agree that it is bother when people call these cars 9 passengers. The same when people call the Ford wagons 10 passenger. As far as I know all full size three seat wagons had official capacities of 8 passengers.
And yes the video was incorrect about the transmission. The 307 was only available with the TH200-4R for an auto overdrive. While you could get the TH200-4R behind a Chevy or BOP engine the TH700R4 was Chevy engine only. I wasn’t surprised at how tough this old wagon or how decent it did off road. I was surprised that out dragged that Dodge van though as those Magnum engines had decent power while my 307 Olds powered cars were by far the slowest and most gutless V8 cars I have ever owned.
Lovely wagon. I wonder how a VT-VZ wagon would look like with this woody treatment?
Do I spot a Caprice interior in there? The steering wheel and column shift lever are nice touches.
Wow. Me likey! We always had offbeat cars when I was growing up…..an early 70’s Suburban gave way to a 1976 Volare Premier wagon with woodgrain and plaid seats, then a new 1979 240D my mom drove into the early 90’s, which gave way to an Acura. So we had OK rides but in the 70’s & 80’s the B wagons seemed to be in everyone’s driveway but ours, and I liked them so much as a kid. So much room (compared to the Volare) and horsepower and cold AC compared to the slow and never quite cool enough 240D, which worked its heart out trying to get out of it’s own way for a dozen years (but was as reliable as the sunrise). I love this wagon and would drive it every day, which would horrify my 9th grader in the drop off lane I’m sure. I tried to buy a one owner Colony Park of about the same vintage from an elderly neighbor for about a year…..and of course she gave it to her grandson, who immediately trashed and then totalled it. What a waste. Silver with woodgrain and dark red leather. It needed paint, but not much else to look showroom new. But the GM B’s of this vintage were king of the hill for sure.
Nice to see this one come around again. I’m starting to think that one of the best things about these ’77-92 B/C/D bodies is their rust-resistence. I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of anecdotal examples of rusty ones but even the real left out on the street for 30 years beaters that you see in Manhattan just aren’t that rusty. It’s really pretty impressive.
Nice repost. I believe I ran across that Safari one day travelling on the 105/125, eastbound. We chatted for a bit when we got to the signal at 52nd St. Here’s what I was driving…….
If you really want a Pontiac Safari that looks like nothing else, may I suggest the 1970 model?
I lived on the road in an 1987 Pontiac Saffari Staton Wagon that was gifted to me while on tour from 2010-2014. Last weekend I went back home and got her running again for the first time in 3 years. I background work in the movies and I hope she can join me. First I will have to paint her in a classic for and not her present artist form. This car is my home and holds a big part of my heart. Thanks for the article.
I rode in one of these once, a teacher I had in middle school in the mid-90s had one like this and she brought the class on a field trip in it once.
I was in the DC area recently and was surprised at the paucity of CC’s compared to my hometown in California. But I did catch a B Body wagon in full vinylastic display, though it was an Oldsmobile version.
Here on the East Coast, CC Hunting is much more of a challenge!
And incidentally, one of the more unusual things about this Custom Cruiser you found is its license plate – a District of Columbia Historic Motor Vehicle tag is pretty unusual. This particular license plate was issued about 10 years ago, so its owner likely registered the Olds as a Classic as soon as it hit the 25-year mark.
It’s nice to see one with velour instead of vinyl.
My mom had a 1963 Town and Country station wagan. It was sold to someone back east. I would off liked to keep it, but my sister decided to sell it.