Update: first posted 6/12/2014. This generated a lot of controversy then, and it still is. A number of new comments added since then claim to have seen fleets of these at a phone company and the Air Force, among others. One commenter says he has one, but failed to attach a photo. I’ve been accused of perpetrating a liberal conspiracy. Yet nobody has ever offered definitive proof. In the meantime, I did access GM Heritage Center’s definitive Vehicle Information Kits, in which they list every body style and almost infinite details. No sign of a two door wagon.
And then there’s this comment left a few days after it was first posted: “Hate to pop everyones bubble …I live n fla. And I built this car I have pics and the build sheet on it. One thing I wanted was to make as factory as possible and it seems it worked email me at daviscustoms65@yahoo.com. or call 4073140658.. Awesome to c it again “. That seems to rather seal the deal, eh?
Randy Thompson is the proud owner of this 1965 two-door Chevy II wagon. He posted a picture of it at “The Short and Odd Life of the Two Door Station Wagon” article, with this comment: I have recently become the owner of a factory COPO 2 door 1965 Chevy ll 2 door station wagon, ordered by the Air Force as a runway hatch, have great plans for it. My wife and I flew to Minneapolis and picked it up, we drove it back to Ca. in the S.F. bay area. car got a lot of attention at each stop on the way back.
Well, that was a stunner for me, because I have absolutely zero knowledge of Chevrolet building a two door Chevy II wagon. And it’s a bit hard to imagine them tooling up to do so just for the Air Force, as it certainly would have been cheaper to just buy the four door. Hmmm…
When I e-mailed him and asked for more info, this is what he wrote back: Paul, thanks for your interest, I myself had never seen a 2 door factory wagon, so when I saw on ebay, Had to have it! I dont have any paperwork for this wagon, but to see how this was assembled with all factory pinch welds its obvious this is not a backyard conversion of a 4 door wagon, on this one getting under the dash and look up you see the air force blue the car was delivered with. I’ve gone on GM websites and the have spec’s for a 2 door Chevy ll model 200 wagon, but they lump the 2 & 4 door wagon production together, so no telling how many were produced. also the rear side windows even roll down!
All the Googling in the world didn’t lead me to anything that supports a factory two-door wagon. But maybe I didn’t try hard enough.I did find the text of the original Ebay listing, but no pictures, from back in February of 2014:
1965 chevy II two door wagon, I know your saying they didn’t make them but I have done some research and they did make them for the military and government only. They were built on the copo fleet line and we’re called military runabouts. They came as two doors delivery wagons with glass only,not steel inserts for the side glass. I have had the carpet out of it and been under and all over it, the door jams floors and quarters all appear to be factory spot welds. From what I read they were taken off the assembly line as partially assembled 4door wagons and assembled as two doors on the copo line by hand,like 59,60 biscyane deliveries were. This wagon came from down south ,I was told it was an Air Force vehicle . It’s silver blue under the the dash and carpet,so I be leave it to be true. It has a wagon title and is pretty clean body wise . The only rust I found is in the driver side floor pan has rust and some one welded another floor pan over it. The rest of the body seems ok,it’s got crappy semigloss silver rat rod paint it’s no show car but looks cool and blows minds every where you take it. The interior is ratty the head liner sucks ,but got a new carpet. The wagon has a real healthy 406 sbc with aluminum heads torker intake and demon carb. Seems to have a mild stahl converter ,2500 rpm and a 10 bolt posi with Cal track bars. I was told it has around 500 hp but would say it more has mid 400 hp. It’s pretty fast fun little sucker to drive and sounds great. I haven’t had it very long and don’t no much about it as far as engine specs , sorry I got it late fall drove it a week or to and put it away for winter. Only selling it to put more money into my drag car ,got to go faster you know the deal. Listen I really don’t want to get in a debate about if this is a real two door or not, I have been building customs,rods,bikes,and race cars oft twenty five years and know what I’m lookin at. I did a lot of research and wrote what I found out,you can do the same. Look what normal chevy II wagons are going for , if you bought one and turn it into a two door your talking a lot of labor and money. So if you look at it that way it a win win, that’s the way I saw it when I bought it. The wagon also has original cragar gt rims with wide oval redline tires for that old school hot wheel car look.$500.00 with in 24hrs of the end of auction bank wire or postal money orders for payment, no title till the money clears, shipping is the buyers problem,but will help load. The pics I put up are all I have it’s in storage and really hard to get to,sorry. you can call me , no texts or emails 952-200-5518 Andy.
That didn’t exactly bring my BS Meter back in the green range. I’d like to believe it’s true, and am willing to, with enough evidence. I asked Randy to send me pictures of the bodywork, at critical places. He hasn’t, yet; but says he will.
Obviously, the bucket seats aren’t original, unless the Air Force really had some extra bucks to throw around. But the door trim is also obviously from a high-trim Nova. A two door sedan is of course what would have been used as a donor, if this was a custom job. And making custom two door wagons is hardly unusual. I can’t tell much from this one interior shot, but the weather stripping on the right looks a bit odd.
Pretty suspiciously odd.
Again, it’s not a very detailed image, but the area on that sill/rocker panel behind the door looks decidedly lumpy to me. My BS Meter is dipping even deeper into the red.
And although that work in creating the rear window surround looks pretty good from a distance, do I see little imperfections that also suggest body work?
Randy says he will shoot more detailed pictures when the car comes back from the tire store. That should really prove it one way or another. In the meantime, what do you say: Genuine COPO factory original, or Fake Custom?
My father’s paternal cousins were very proficient welders and would do things like this during the long Ohio winters of their teen years (late 60s – early 70s). However I have never beheld any of their creations in person to see if they were any good at making it look factory.
The thing I wish I had really gotten to see was they (according to family lore) created a “garden tractor” with an Iron Duke, manual trans, and narrowed car axle.
My BS meter just hit the peg too, if I saw some actual COPO or government requisition documents, build sheet etc we’d be going somewhere but like you, can’t see them getting a special wagon built for no apparent reason.
It would be interesting to see interior shots of the rear quarter panels, if they’re spliced or not.
That being said, looks like a nice car. I hope Randy enjoys it.
Its great all you arm chair experts out there have so many opinions about this car, What is not being said is that this car spent most of it life as a stripped out bracket racer, that’s why none of the interior is original . The other thing is there are production numbers on two door chevyII wagons that show a total of 1200 or so were built, secondly they were not referded to as chevyII two door wagons. They were called military runabouts only available for military contract and not for sale to the general public. they were built very much like the 59 60 sedan deliveries by hand on the copo line using apartialy assembeled wagon and elcomino parts to make them. If you have ever seen the workmanship on them it is crude at best and not up to todays standards. these were built the same way. SO there was no special tooling as they were slapped together with existing parts as partially assembled 4 door wagons and built to government spec. Why a two door? they were used to run packages and mail around not transport people. As for the history on this wagon Iknow it came from an airforce base in Fl. and was percashed at auction by a flower shop and used to deliver flowers. A local kid bought it from them hot rodded it and turned it into a race car and from there it made it to kentuckey and ohio. The issue is that as soon as copo is mentioned every one thinks you are trying to pass you ride of as some rare high performance super valueable chevy, but with the ecception of some big block legands copo was just a fleet service line building ordanairy fleet contract vehicals. There will always be nay sayers on this wagon because they are easy to build but this wagon is what it is and has always been, a two door chevyII wagon. YOU CAN SAVE YOUR EMAILS AND COMENTS I HAVE HERD IT ALL BEFOR.
Andy:
There’s a number of major holes in your story.
First off, the 1959 and 1960 Chevy Sedan delivery was a standard production model, shown in the brochures. Nothing COPO or “hand built” about it at all.
Second: All Air Force vehicles at that time were painted a dark blue, not the silver-blue you keep referring to. That silver-blue is a standard Chevy II paint.
Three: The Air Force had absolutely no need to pay a lot of extra money to have hand-built cars made. Four door wagons did the job just as well as two-door wagons; if not better.
The government back then was very cheap about their car purchases. A custom two-door wagon would obviously have cost much more than a standard four-door wagon.
Four: Chevrolet was not in the business of building custom bodies. There are zero examples of that. They were a mass producer. If someone had really wanted a custom bodied Chevrolet, like the ambulances, long-wheelbase cars, etc; these were ALWAYS farmed out to an outside coachbuilder.
Until you or anybody else can show some convincing proof, this story is absolutely not credible. Show us the builder’s tag. Let’s see some shots where the body was cut and welded. Some close-ups of the rear windows and such. Where’s the proof? There obviously isn’t any.
Paul you are a huge dippshit know it all. I have had a number of old Air Force wagons and trucks, both of the 60 chevy two door wagons where a light metallic blue and still had a if force on the doors of there original paint . They came an Az. base . I have had 4 old dodge trucks from a base in N.dakota and they where dark blue. I never said 59 60 two door wagons where not available to the public, but they where assembled on the copo line. As they where special order,they were not fully assembled on the assembly line. Last but not least company’s give huge price breaks to the government per vehicle because of the shear volume of the orders they put in. I work for a city and the price we pay for our service trucks and police cars are a third less then the public. For instance a new charger hemi cop package 19500 compared to a hemi charger r/t at 42500. Your basing your decisions on some very flawed logic because someone has what you be leave didn’t exist but did and does.
Hey Andy,
I think you’re right. And I also think there are around 63 million Americans who would be gullible enough to agree with us that the seller is telling the truth!
Insults just show immaturity, andy.
I had one in high school. 69 to 70.. In line 6 with 3 on the tree. The body was white and roof was maybe a teal. Hard to really pin down the color of that roof. My dad was career AF based at Hill AFB in Utah at the time. He got the car from an Airman on base. Not that I’m trying to add credibility to the AF side story, but I do find it interesting. If the car had ever been AF Blue then somebody paid way too much on a color change as there was no trace of it anywhere that I remember. I had a blast with that car, and would love to find another that wasn’t a rust bucket. I could probably come up with a photo of I dug around enough.
Hello Paul, I have gotten back to work on the 65 chevy 2 wagon, am able to send pictures if you would like, you have my email, let’s talk.
Randy Thompson
Where did you find credible production numbers? The only mention of any 2 door Chevy 2 wagon I’ve seen listed no 4 door wagons produced, which is obviously a misprint. One of my uncles spent his entire adult life with the Air Force, was stationed at several different bases around the US, and never saw any 2 door. He saw hundreds of 4 doors, used for small package delivery. I converted one to a 2 door using a sedan for quarter panels, b-pillars and doors. The rear seat interior panels fit like factory, so it is very easy to make it look factory. I’m just not believing that GM ever made one-off cars like that. Definitely not 1200 as you stated. In 49 years of car life, people would have seen one before now.
Seeing is believing so they say! I had a 1965 ChevyII 2 Door Wagon 283cuin, 2bb, 5 lug, PowerGlide, Chrome luggage rack, dealership A/C that got 28mpg. I totaled it on the way to Mint400 on Byron turnoff & US95. I read an article in a Hot Rodding Mag.
titled 10 rarest Chevrolets and 65 ChevyIl 2 Door Wagon was #8 on the list and only 608 were made. Either way you research it I still had one, also it was one of the best Chevys made. do the math
My grandma had a 65 Two door wagon. Brown bench seat! The only thing I thought was an usual about it was the six-cylinder engine it a chrome valve cover. Copo?
In Canada only a two door full sized Pontiac wagon was available and sold for the 1960 model year – a model the USA did not have. Chevrolet frame and engine. GM Canada did make two door wagons for lineup slots that were not available in USA.
Therefore, is it possible that there was Canadian production of this vehicle (Acadian or whatever?) that made the body style easily adaptable to a USAF order?
But all Canadian fullsize Pontiacs at the time were based on the fullsize Chevrolet body, which came as a 2-door wagon through 1960. It wouldn’t have been that difficult for GM Canada to make a vehicle as a 2-door wagon if it was based on another vehicle that also came as a 2-door wagon. The X-body (Chevy II/Nova/Canada-only Acadian) did not exist as a 2-door wagon at all.
I’ve seen Chevy II station wagons, but I’ve never seen a two door station wagon. I don’t mind custom work, but I much prefer original, unrestored cars.
I was piqued by your comment bout preferring original, unrestored cars. I have a 1962 Pontiac Tempest Safari wagon, unrestored (except for the floor metal and carpet). I have had several people tell me to not paint it, as it is more valuable in original condition as a “survivor”. I am undecided. It would sure look nice with a fresh pain job. I drive it daily, just quite hard to find some parts for it.
He has the talk of a flipper down pat right down to the comment that the car got attention wherever it was. Sounds like he is building a sale and needs some free marketing. From what I see in those few pictures supports your BS meter which should be off the scale now.
There’s no way the USAF would have ‘commissioned’ vehicles. They would have picked the cheapest stripper sedan/wagon, specified blue as the paint and awaited delivery. Besides, no officer would want to struggle past the front seat getting out.from the back.
Ask for a picture of the Fisher Body Tag on the cowl and wait for the excuses…..
Gee, the seller chimed in over a month after the post and no photographic evidence. I’m shocked, shocked…
Doubt it’s factory, but could it have been a conversion done for the Air Force?
Oddly enough there appears to be a base factory price and specific body style number to reference on the VIN plate for a 65 2 door wagon.
http://www.oldride.com/library/1965_chevrolet_nova.html
edit…never mind, that probably applies to the Chevelle
It’s obviously a typo, because there’s no 4 door wagon listed! Typos are not a recent invention. And Body style 35 is the only number used for wagons; they would have had two different body style numbers if there had been a two door wagon style.
This would be a lot easier to swallow without the buckets, floor shift and the 406 V8. The fact that it has been messed with so extensively certainly puts the burden of proof on the person trying to prove its authenticity. I would think that these cars have enough of a following that if these were built for the MIlitary, there would be multiple Chevy websites that would mention them. Surely there is some sort of serial number registry available.
I share the suspicion of many that the serial number of this car might well come back to something other than a 2 door wagon. If I had to guess, I would suspect that a highly skilled body worker had a Nova 2 door sedan wrecked in the back and a wagon wrecked in the front and decided to do something with the good parts.
Yeah, it’s hard for me to envision the military ordering only one of anything other than a prototype for a multimillion dollar aircraft or tank or something.
I did a Google search and just found references to a 2 door SW Chevelle and some youtube videos showing custom made 2 door wagons. Also found this,
http://www.reocities.com/motorcity/downs/2779/novafaq.html
Take a look at the second question.
That’s because Chevrolet did make a 2-door Chevelle wagon in ’64-’65:
I found this…..
http://www.fastcoolcars.com/Classif/classifieds-403.htm
Nicely done, appearance is a wash at best vs. the stock 4-door, no way is that story true.
Nice car in any case .
We had various ex U.S.A.F. vehicles on the farm in the 1960’s and nary a one of them was ” silver blue ” , all were the dark blue everywhere , even underneath .
In Canoga Park in the late 1980’s I saw a guy making a 2 door Chevy II wagon (‘NOVA” was a trim option on the Chevy II Chassis) , his object was to make it undetectable from a factory build and IMO , he did just that , a nice car it was in the end .
This car is clearly bullshyte but if he likes it and is happy with what he paid , who cares ? .
-Nate
Cool car, but tally my vote in the “fake” column. I just can’t believe that there could be a completely undocumented body style, made for no apparent reason. The simplest explanation is usually correct.
However, even a thorough exam of the car might not prove it either way. Any discrepancy could be explained away as “it was limited production, that’s how they made it.”
Paul, I’ve been around bulls and know what they smell like and I think I smell one here. That roof line doesn’t look right-of course, the angle of a picture makes a difference, but all of the pictures here look like the roof is angling down just a little till just about even with the back of the front door, then it appears to angle up and go straight to the back. Looking at the ’65 Chevy full line brochure (trigger alert: they are all ’65 Chevy’s you could get lost in there) the roof line of the 2-doors angles down, the roof line of the wagons goes straight back. I like the idea someone took the front of a two door and welded it to the back of a wagon and built a hybrid. Which is a neat idea, why not just be honest about it?
Also, even if the seller represented it as a COPO product when the present owner bought it, it would inspire more confidence if they just said, “So, the previous owner said this was X. I’ve never heard of anything like that, but I thought it was neat, so I bought it anyway.” A series of factual statements, a reasonable disclaimer, and much less potential for people to get snitty about representations.
look at the side window frames they are from a 4 door wagon or car factory would never of done thiem like that
The difference between the front and rear overhang is even more emphasized with two doors.
If it were a true government-spec car, there would be a government property tag riveted somewhere on the dash, or at least the rivet holes. An Air Force vehicle would also likely have the remnants of the ubiquitous flight line/runway safety decal on the dash or driver’s sun visor.
Back in those days a typical “runway hatch” (perhaps he meant “hack”) was a Dodge or IH pickup. A base, wing, or division commander usually got a stripper model full-sized sedan or wagon, usually signified by having a white painted top.
They still get them today, only the distinctive AF blue paint was replaced sometime in the ’90s with whatever regular factory color is closest to it….
Ah, the AF blue and white staff cars. My dad was an AF pilot, and one of my best memories as a child was when they were deploying overseas once, the base commander, a General, let me and my brother ride in his blue with white vinyl top Plymouth Acclaim (oh yeah). He drove us, at fairly high speeds as I recall, on the runway next to the plane (C-141) as our dad took off, so we could wave to him through the plane’s windscreen.
Neat!
Collector Car Stereotype #54-The casual bullshitter, they guy who swears his uncle got a factory 454 Vega in 1976 because he knew a guy who knew a guy who emptied the trash a Lordstown.
LOL,it’s like the little old lady who ticked the wrong box and got a hemi Valiant!
I got into an argument with someone much younger than me who swore the ’67-’69 Camaro Z/28’s came with a 350.
“Well I seen so many of them…”
Uh, yes, they were either swapped in or Z/28 badges were slapped on a regular or SS Camaro.
I tried to explain about the SCCA Trans-Am series in those days, how the max engine size was five liters (305 cu. in.) and Chevy created a 302 V8 to run in the series.
Then, as an olive branch, I offered that starting in 1970, Z/28’s DID come with 350s…in the form of the infamous solid-lifter LT-1.
“But only Ford made a 302…there was NEVER a Chevy 302! And I know a ’69 Camaro when I see it!!! I KNOW WHAT I SAW!!!”
Ever hear the adage…”Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig?”
Yeah…one of those moments.
Exactly…..the best you can do to any of those crazy statements is to go Fargo on them.
“Wow? Really? Ya don’t say…..thats neat….you had a factory 73 Dart Swinger Hemi with air conditioning….must have been some car…cool…enjoy the show”
Wait till the guy’s out of earshot and then comment on how much of a dumbass they are.
I have seen picture of 4 a door Rambler American wagon turner into 2 door model. The side stamping is the same size for 2 and 4 door models. The 4 door unibody side stamping was cut at the welds and a 2 door was put in place,
There is a ’64 American done like this somewhere also. The guy who did it documented it pretty thoroughly on The AMC Forum. Basically he moved the B-pillar back to accept the long door, then used the 2-door sedan rear side windows. All the pieces to do it already existed.
Now that is really cool.
+1
In my “75 years of Chevrolet”, by Georges H. Dammann, first published in 1962 in the Crestline Series by Motorbooks International, I read, about the 1962 Chevy II :
“Some production lists show the Series 100 and Series 300 Chevy II wagons to be two-doors vehicles, or to be available in either two or four door styles, yet the author has not been able to find any proof that a 2-door Chevy II wagon was ever produced in 1962”.
Even if the author didn’t find any picture of the car, he did find some production lists mentioning it.
This being written in a book, long before the golden age of internet BS & hoaxes, the 2-doors Chevy II wagon might not be an unicorn but an actual vehicle built by Chevrolet.
Oops, I see we’re talking about a 1965 wagon here. If “75 years of Chevrolet” mentions there might have been a 2-door wagon in 1962, nothing is said about the following years.
But if (BIG IF) the factory HAD built some in ’62, and a high-profile fleet buyer/government body asked for a short run on the same basic body a few years later? Hmm…..
Did Fisher Body work that way?
More likely that production list was just a mistake. And one that probably was used by the owner in his claim that there is some mention of two-door wagons on some GM document. I’d say a screw up by a low-level clerk than there being actual production two-door wagons for which no other documentation exists anywhere else.
“More likely that production list”.
It seems there were several of them since the author used the word “some” and stated that some of them mentionned “two-doors vehicles” while others indicated that the wagon was “available in either two or four door styles”.
Yet, I reckon that there could be mistakes on many production lists.
So, will we ever find the truth ? Anyone in for a “Raiders of the lost 2-door wagon quest ?
Since 1962 was the first year for the Chevy II, it’s possible they had planned to do a 2-door wagon, but dropped it before production started. This happened somewhat often back then, like with the ’57 Rambler Rebel brochure/owner’s manual listing a fuel-injected engine option that got dropped before any series production cars were built with it.
If that’s the case, I’d say it’s possible that Chevy did build some pre-production 2-door Chevy II wagons, but odds are they were crushed back in the 60s without much fanfare and there’s no way they built one three years later. Possible, but not too likely – usually in situations like this, someone would have heard about it or have had memories of it.
When I was a youngster a gentleman in our neighborhood had a Pontiac Tempest 2-door station wagon as his “fishing car.” I cannot remember whether it had horizontal quad headlights (indicating it was a 1964 model) or vertical (1965). It was about 10 years old at the time and not “pristine” by any measure. The owner had fashioned some racks which he screwed to the interior roof supporting structure of the car to hold his fishing rods (the headliner was, of course, missing). The car was an icky, faded green but even then I could imagine it restored and painted nicely. Incidentally, this same neighbor restored a 1965 Mustang convertible (light blue with matching ‘pony’ interior) at about the same time. His three daughters all enjoyed riding, and later driving, that car.
Ok its a little rough in some spots, having seen a factory modified HD Holden panelvan with extended body factory jobs like that are rough the van was owned by a restorer I asked if he had done it the reply “if I’d done it you wouldnt be able to tell” he was creating an Aston Martin from sheet stock when I walked in. Govt order 2door wagon like they give a rats about the finish. Its obvious how it was built its who by that is in question.
Most Air Force vehicles were painted a particular shade of dark blue those years, certainly not a light metallic blue. I have seen similar vintage Chevy pickups that were U.S.A.F. ‘COPO’ jobs that were painted that blue right from the factory, not repainted before delivery. Does this by it self prove anything? No, it does not. But when you analyze a vehicle like this, the best thing to do is add up all the inconsistencies.
this is a sweet car..but around here there is a very well done Nova El Camino, looks to be a 66-67….just saying.: )
I find it implausible that the Air Force would spec order a 2 door for anything.
BS
If this vehicle was an Air Force vehicle it would have been painted “Air Force Blue” and would of had a stripper interior. During my time in the Air Force, I saw a lot of blue station wagons, but no two door models. However, I do recall seeing a two-door 1965 customized Chevelle station wagon in a car show many years ago. The owner told me they were originally built for a phone company as a work car.
force
You could buy 2-door ’64/’65 Chevelle station wagons right off the showroom floor. They’re in the brochure! No special order was necessary. This fact could be a good reason why the 2-door Chevy II wagon was never made. They had the 2-door Chevelle, which was only a bit bigger.
Nope
The story is not believable in the least, BUT, whoever built this one-off should get lots of points for doing it right, i.e. relocating the B pillar and using coupe doors, and using a C-pillar design that COULD have been how GM would have done it. There are way too many cars out there where people just took a 4-door wagon, filled in the rear door seams and called it a day, and the proportions are all off with those.
Those front seats look very ’64 Corvair to me, although to be fair a lot of GM bucket seats from that time period are very similar.
Not sure if it’s the real McCoy,on the other hand the British armed forces had Triumph make a 500 flathead twin which was never sold new to the public.
I’ve seen a Mk1 Zodiac turned into a 2 door coupe by using doors from a convertible and moving the B pillars back.A lot of work it also had a 302 Ford and auto box,I’m sure it was built by the Harris family in London and was in a few magazines
Yeah seen one done here using lengthened doors quite well done when finished but I saw it at the pre filler stage rough as.
I’d file the ’62 Chevy II 2-door wagon along with the 1970 Monte Carlo convertible…maybe it got on a spec sheet or mentioned in a sales brochure, but the car never actually happened.
This ’65 makes for a nice fantasy, though. PT Barnum, call your office!
Now the “COPO” tag is getting tossed around for anything ‘special ordered’. The seller put that in there for internet search engines, and to bait someone to look at the ad.
I agree that the Chevy II/Nova 2 door wagon is like the MC ragtop, 1975 GTO, and 1973 SD455 Grand Prix. Planned but never built.
Obviously didn’t come from the factory like this, but was there not a sedan delivery version of the Chevy II? Could be one of those with windows in place of the panels…
Good-looking car in any case, best to just cut the BS and call it for what it is, a very nicely done custom. Do like the gunmetal cragars (?) also.
Not a car guy but and Air Force guy. In the 60’s the USAF did not special order vehicles. They would not order a specialty vehicle whose job could be done by a stock vehicle.
ALL GP “General Purpose” vehicles were painted Strata Blue. In hot weather climates the Base Commander could authorize the vehicle roof to be painted white. The USAF ordered bottom of the line stripped down vehicles — in bulk.
ALL vehicles had an approved nomenclature plate attatched identifiying it as an Air Force Vehicle, it’s designation and Manufacturer. All vehicles also were required to have specific stickers on the dashboard (eg. Airfield Tower Light Signals and later models seatbelt requirement stickers)
When it came to specialty vehices such as Structural Firefighting vehicles they went cheap also. Usually off the shelf 30 day delivery stuff.
Hate to pop everyones bubble …I live n fla. And I built this car I have pics and the build sheet on it. One thing I wanted was to make as factory as possible and it seems it worked email me at daviscustoms65@yahoo.com. or call 4073140658.. Awesome to c it again
Well, you didn’t pop my bubble.Hence the title “It’s A Fake”. But the owner’s bubble sure needed popping.
Where are the construction pics? The best way to close this out would be to post proof of the build… I believe it to be a home build but saying so without proof is like saying it’s a COPO without documentation…
I own a 1964 and a 1965 chevelle two door wagon.
All chevelle two doors were special ordered and would not be built unless ordered.
That is why there was less than 4000 wagons built.
It was not a assembly line car.
So I think that it is posible the nova wagon was made in the factory.
I have seen Randy’s wagon and looked it over to me it is factory
BS. The 2 door Chevelle wagons were standard productions items; no need for special order. They shared a lot of body parts with the El Camino, which is why they bothered to offer it at all.
Can’t speak specifically to this situation but lots of stuff that GM considered for production didn’t actually make it to the assembly line.
By way of example, look at page 317 of the 1966 “Chevy II Nova” assembly manual, which clearly shows the storage provisions for a wide bolt pattern wheel very similar in design to the old Pontiac 8 bolt aluminum brake drum option with images for “all except wagons” and “wagons”.
The title box at the bottom of the page identifies the image as “Aluminum Brake Drum Equipment (Spare wheel & tire stowage), but there’s also a box in the middle of the page with bold black “CANCELLED” in it. This was obviously an option that got pretty close to production but got cancelled at the last minute, or the images wouldn’t have made it into the assembly manual.
The assembly manual for my old ’65 El Camino had sections regarding components specific to the Z16 big block option, too – that would suggest that at one time the 396 was planned as an El Camino production option, but there’s never been an indication that GM built any.
I just watched the movie ” Zodiac ” and there is a Copper or Bronze colored 62 to 64 Nova Sedan delivery , So i went looking for more info , that led me here ! I have owned all kinds of sedan deliveries since 1969 , and still have my first one now , I owned 3 Pinto deliveries that had no portholes and only a tray for passenger seat, came from Canada , were built for telephone company. So anything is possible ! They say they never built 50 Oldsmobile deliveries , I owned one of 12 , about 10 years ago , had a couple of Pontiacs also
The one in the Zodiac movie is a four door! The rear door handles are clearly visible.
The one in the movie looks better proportioned then the 2 door wagon posted here , had to go and look again !
What about Canada, any ideas? I remember seeing one behind a local garage better than 40 years ago now. Really awful green with green interior pretty beat. Asked garage owner why it was sitting there and he said guy didn’t pay his bill and he was keeping until he did. It was there for a long time so I guess he didn’t pay. IIRC it even had the 4 cylinder in it
And 3 on the tree.
What’s the VIN? If it’s a factory 2door wagon an example would be 511315000001. First digit is the year (5=1965) next three are the model (113= Chevy II 100) next two are the model (15= 2 door wagon, 35= 4 door wagon). I’ve worked in GM parts for over forty years and have owned 28 X body cars of 1962-1967 vintage and know for a fact there were never any 2door wagon X bodys produced.
1964 and 1965 Chevelle 2 door wagons do exist and were model# 15.
I don’t remember if it was an SD but I drove one of the sales guy’s 1973 Grand prix 455 demo and it was fast.
Of course it’s a fake. 1959 and 1960 sedan deliveries were based on production 2 door wagons, which were offered to the general public and parts readily available. It would still require tons of fabrication to pull a 4 door wagon off the assembly line and make it a 2 door. While the doors would be easy (they are from a 2 door sedan), the other sedan pieces would have to be installed on the wagon body and then the roof and quarter panels would have to be one off pieces. Not very cost effective. Even if they gave price breaks to the military, it was for high volume orders. One off cars would not be ordered in high volume. The military and government did get some special concessions occasionally, such as sedan deliveries with windows and the like. But again, they were easy conversions using production parts.
I also find it hard to believe the Chevelle two door wagons weren’t built on regular assembly lines. They were not special order and the parts for them were not custom made.
I am building an ’83 Malibu wagon as a modern Nomad. It has coupe doors, El Camino door glass and the front section of a coupe roof and El Camino B-pillars grafted in. The lock post is, of course, moved back and a section of the coupes quarter panels fill the space where a portion of the rear doors were. I did not use the little triangle windows from the El Camino though since it wouldn’t look right in a Nomad. I am not too worried about it looking factory since it is a pro-street vehicle. I guess I could try to convince people it came with 18.5 inch wide rear tires, a Ford 9″ rear and a 800 or so horsepower engine.
lol this is all funny how much hate there is amongst car people almost like listening to librels from san Francisco .well I too have a nova 2 door wagon still in military blue paint all original down to the section numbers on the body and cannot register it as there has never been a title to it. it was left at an old air force base in big spring called web airforce .I got it free only if I hauled it off .so I did but so far cannot get it reg as they tell me its a military vehicle .so to all you haters you should be ashamed and move to the bay area where you will blend in
How about a picture?
I used to own a 2 door Nova wagon. I sold it in 1982, I sure wish that I still had It!
A very small number of two-door Chevey II wagons were made for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
Evidence? Citations? Proof? Pictures?
I fixed a japan trans. once
I saw one in Trenton Mo as a kid . It was white and an old lady drove it . Last time I saw it was in the early 80s it looked new then .
Update: attached is an image snip from GM’s archive of Vehicle Information Kits, that describe in great detail all body variants as well as other build details. No sign of a two door wagon.
It’s interesting that they don’t list the number of passengers for the wagons. I guess that’s because there was no limit to the number of kids you could cram in the “way back”.
Cool looking car. Don’t know if it’s a special thing for the military or a custom job since nothing is verified either way, but I think it’s a custom job
Would love to see something like this done with a late 70’s Nova or even better a Granada ( could you imagine how many more brougham touches could be added).
I can’t believe this is still being talked about!
Unless there’s a plate similar to this riveted to the dash, it’s fake
The C-pillar seems enough to make it clear this used to be a four-door…it would look as it does only if part of it was once the top half of a door frame.
At a car show one time I saw a two-door Chevelle wagon, it was either a 1964 or 1965 model year. The owner had extensively customized it; he told me it had originally been built for a phone company.
While I was in the Air Force and stationed at Davis-Monthan AFB 1970-72, many of the vehicles in Air Force use where-if I remember correctly-68-69 full size chevrolets-all four door models and an occasional wagon. They were all painted Air Force Dark Blue and I never saw a single two door wagon.
As previously stated, 2-door CHEVELLE wagons wagons were regular production offerings in model years ’64 and ’65. No surprise there.
I saw a two door Chevy 2 wagon once. It was an unforgettable experience. I was in a parking lot when this ultra rare Air Force blue wagon pulled in. A huge hairy guy wearing an Air Force uniform was driving it. He said his name was Lt. Bigfoot and that his car was special ordered by the Air Force. This car was 409 Chevy powered and got 46 mpg. Lt. Bigfoot couldn’t talk for too long because he had an appointment with the Loch Ness Monster. I still have a paper clip AND a marble that he gave me to commemorate this meeting. Complete total proof. I’ll send pictures as soon as I find them. FOX News can verify all of this.
That’s crazy talk; the Lt. Bigfoot _I_ know only gets around in a 2-door black helicopter. I’d show you video but it got erased when that EMP “accidentally” went off in my neighborhood.
Hey, would you look at my shiny little pen here while I put on my sunglasses.
(flash)
“There was never a 2 door Chevy II wagon”
Most of us will agree the wagon was “built”, just not by GM. I was a GM partsman in the late ’60’s and the catalogues are still online. I’m attaching a snip from a 1965 parts catalogue listing for quarter panels for Chevy II’s. You will note there is only one part # for wagons, with no mention of a 2 door wagon.
Well, this was an unexpectedly entertaining read on a grey and wet COVID afternoon, especially on something about which I have no knowledge or opinion nor intention of gaining one or forming the other.
(Must say, though, the fact that Davis Customs is a real company with a website and phone number so does seem rather definitive, but that’s close to expressing the opinion I said I was not going to form about the concluded view that I haven’t got).
Gem Whitman mentioned – some years ago – above that the Brit army made Triumph produce a flat twin that wasn’t sold to the public, so I will throw in this little tale. In the ’60’s, my old man worked for Perkins Diesel in Aus, and one fine day, a rather large parcel was delivered. After enquiries with the truckie as to what on earth it was, they found inside the crate a Perkins something-or-other engine, complete. The something-or-other engine was one they no longer made in that form. After some kerfuffling in the records and on the phone, it transpired they’d sent it to the army for evaluation in a tender 7 or 8 years before. The army had now concluded that Perkins would not be winning the contract. This was a good thing, as they didn’t make it any more. A bad thing in that it had taken the brass 7 or 8 years to conclude the tender process.
Military ordering isn’t reputed for efficiency.
And there are tales abounding of what amounts to the NIH syndrome, either that or the bureaucratic scrambled egg order. Non-car guy CO: “We are NOT wasting money on four doors when two will do, and I am ordering the smallest Chev in base form.” Ok, then. Orders obeyed, bill finally comes in from GM at twice the expected cost – not GM’s problem, naturally – the non-car officer who ordered it has moved on (promoted, most likely) and the cost, well, the cost is buried deep in the books, with Washington yet again wondering why military things always turn out so much pricier. And behold, a batch of misbegotten factory Chevs begin their strangely-birthed lives….no?
Well, it’s no more or less credible than the many other tales above.
Not that I have an opinion.
“Dippshit know it all” – laugh, did I…he’s gonna burn callin’ PN that…….
IKR?
Today I learned that is IS possible to misspell dipshit.
How did I keep missing this?
I love this!
This is one of the best threads ever!
The CC gang and the awesome impostor – this is like reading a post about a controversial painting the owner claims is a rare DaVinci. All the guys were here – except me. Alas! My loss!
And yes – it will take years of research and happenstance to collect enough information to determine a final verdict.
My gut immediately said “FAKE!”
The reason is that while nicely done, the window treatment doesn’t look right. It doesn’t look like a factory job. It looks like a well done “hand-job”, instead.
A very nice vehicle – but not real.
And I cannot believe someone thought they could call Professor Paul – that!
I mean, what a rube!
I don’t care how much you disagree with Paul – his credibility is earned.
1. You can Google ‘2-door Chevy II wagon and quite a few images will pop up. I see at least one at every decent-sized car show I attend. These have ALL been BUILT from 4-door Chevy II wagons. Fact is, as conversions go, it’s a fairly easy job for a skilled body man. All you need is your 4-door wagon, and a corresponding 2-door sedan donor car with decent doors. Depending on how you handle the pillars, you might have to have the quarter glass specially made.
2. If Chevy made 1200 of these for the Air Force, where is just ONE vintage picture showing a 2-door Chevy II station wagon?
3. If some Air Force bean counter told Chevrolet they needed 1200 Chevy II 2-door station wagons, then the Chevrolet bean counters told Mr. AF bean counter how EXPENSIVE it would be, making CUSTOM 2-door wagons…….wouldn’t the Chevrolet bean counter just sell the Air Force a 2-door CHEVELLE wagon, instead?
– Nice story, but that’s all it is.
The whole bandying and bullshitting each other about two-door Chevy II wagon really hit home for me about my first car, 1971 Alfa Romeo 1750A Berlina.
A several years ago, a guy was asking in the Alfa Romeo forum whether 1750 Berlina with automatic gearbox ever existed or not. I chimed in that it did exist and that a very small run of 1750A Berlina (249–251 or 252, depending on the sources) was produced in early 1971 shortly before the end of production. Lot of commentators didn’t believe it existed.
I uploaded the photos of my 1750A Berlina and its dashboard as well as close-up photo of model decal in the rear. A scanned cover of automatic gearbox operating manual from the manufacturer was also uploaded. The bullshitting suddenly stopped, and a more cordial discussion followed.
Fascinating post! I note that someone above from Davis Customs said they built the feature car. There is a Davis Customs on Facebook, with a huge number of photos of cars they’ve customised. No 2-door Chevy II wagon present but they do have a number of photos of them customising a BMW 2002 2-door sedan into a 2-door wagon…
No one has discussed whether it’s a later built South American model? GM and Ford and Chrysler all kept building older models for SA years after they were discontinued in the US. Perhaps this was one of those, adapted to two doors to suit local tastes, or cut costs for a more price-sensitive market?
It’s a custom build, GM never made a Chevy II 2 door wagon
This car is fake.. I am the one that built this car.. I live in fla. And I have all the build pics of this wagon. Do a title search Jason Davis will show up as a owner. When I built it I painted it hot rod black and painted the inside and jams silver. And I installed a 63 grill u can contact me at Daviscustoms65@yahoo.com
When I was a teenager I use to have ten Chevy II’s/Nova’s the year’s 1963-1976.
Two were my driver’s a 66 SS Chevy II 327 4 sp and my 66 Four Door winter beater 2sp PG 194 Inline 6cyl, the rest were for selling part’s.
I was always looking for Salvage Yards in South West Michigan that had Chevy II’s.
One Yard in particular had 5 Chevy II’s with one Station Wagon I was very interested in, I wanted to buy the 1966 Chevy II SW but the owner of Perkins Salvage Yard in Oshtemo would only sell part’s off of his Salvaged Vehicle’s.
The Station Wagon was a 1966 Chevy II “Two Door” with the 2sp Power Glide and the little mouse 283 engine. It was Blue on Blue with factory Low Back Bucket Seats and the 2sp Auto Console, the Second seat was a typical bench seat, it had the Steel 14″ 5 lug wheels & Dog Dish Hubcaps with the Green Tinted Windows and the front Windshield with that cool Blueish Sun Shade in the top part of the glass.
I dreamed about that Chevy II SW for many year’s.
If GM had made a SS Chevy II Station Wagon this would have been one, but it had no SS badges just the usual V8 Chevy II Station Wagon badges.
Several of my high school Buddies and I would make the trip over to Perkins Salvage Yard on many weekend’s, we would try and talk the owner into selling one of us that sweet little Two Door Chevy II Station Wagon.
I never seen another one like her, that Chevy II was an “A Title” the owner had been hit in the front passenger side very hard and the Chevy II was totaled then sent to Perkins Salvage Yard and there she sat until as many parts as possible was sold off of her, then the little Chevy II SW was crushed for scrap when the scrap price went up the owner would crush his older parted out vehicles and make a trip to the highest paying Scrap Yard.
I will never forget the first time I set eye’s on that sweet little 1966 Chevy II Two Door SW, it was in 1977.