Turquoise wagon images via oldparkedcars.com
At the age of 24, I found myself in a booming mountain tourist town. I was living the party life, and for a brief period did not have my own car to drive. Granted, I had an old car stored at my parent’s place in Winnipeg and was using my first motorcycle as a daily driver, but I knew I would soon need a beater to withstand the rigours of a BC winter. Every morning on the way to work I would drive by a car eerily similar to the one you see above. One day a For Sale sign appeared in the window and within a week it was mine.
While the above image is of a higher trim Impala Wagon, it has the same Tahoe Turquoise colour, the same peeling paint, and even has the same dinged up front fender, although mine was dinged on the passenger side. Mine was a little rougher around the edges and had a bit more rust, but you get the picture. Sadly no decent pics survive of my actual car.
The back story on my Bel Air was that a girl my age had bought it from a friend and had dreams of using it for camping and road trips in the summer. Reality soon quashed that idea as the transmission slipped badly and the manual steering was too much for her to handle. I looked it over, noticed the transmission fluid was low and that there was a small oil puddle under the transmission as well. A quick trip around the block confirmed a slippy Powerglide, but everything else worked as it should. Sure enough, all it needed was a bottom pan gasket and some ATF. I paid around $500 for it, and drove home in my first station wagon.
This car was a beast! I was used to spartan and primitive machines but this car was huge as well. It took a lot of effort to control this behemoth with manual steering and manual drum brakes. The stopping distance was huge, and I always had to give myself lots of space when following someone. It felt like it took about 10 turns to go lock to lock with the giant steering wheel and the incentive was to do so quickly if you wanted to minimize steering effort. I had an excuse to drive like an idiot! That being said, I was also governed by the carburetor that would hesitate if too much throttle was applied at once. I always had to strike a balance between too much throttle and stall, and too little and have to manhandle the steering. 
Image via barnfinds.com
This wagon was the base V8 version, meaning the “Turbo-Fire” 195 hp 283 cid V8, and had the aforementioned Powerglide automatic transmission and the rear facing third row couch with power window. I was shocked to find the power window still worked, although it required a second person to jiggle it if you wanted it to come back up on cold days. As the wagon became another party-mobile, all three rows of couches did see use, although with nine people aboard the suspension and severely undersized tires were pushed to their design limits and beyond.
I post the above pic from JPCavanaugh’s excellent CC of the Caprice Estate to illustrate how ridiculously small 14″ tires look on a 4100+ lbs car. While these appear to be low profile tires as well, I cannot understand how GM thought 14″ tires were a good idea on a 9-seat wagon (nine 170lb adults = 3/4 ton, and that’s without the beer). I am not alone as Paul has covered the under-sized tire issue here. All I can add is that this car handled like an elephant on roller skates with its cute 205/75R14 tires. Fun to drive; in a scary way. My Bel Air also had aluminum rims that drew the eye to its rubber inadequacies. I had planned to upgrade to 15″ steel wheels with dog dishes but I sold it before that came to fruition.
However, I did upgrade the rear coil springs with new heavy duty station wagon springs that were oddly available from Summit Racing. The old worn out suspension made the car too much of a low rider as I learned late one night on a rough and windy mountain road. Idiotic driving may have been a factor, but the end result was an exhaust system broken and dragging on the pavement as sparks rooster-tailed gloriously out the back of the car. Fortunately, Summit Racing also sold a clamp together dual exhaust system and headers that were quickly installed.
image via barnfinds.com
The 283 2 barrel motor proved surprisingly peppy considering the amount of heft it was tasked with moving. I did notice however that there seemed to be some valve float when accelerating up the steepest hill in the area. I suspect that may have been due to me burning unleaded fuel in an original motor without hardened valve seats. It was also easier on fuel than I expected, but it may have just seemed that way as I never filled up the tank due to it leaking when filled more than 3/4.
As for the Enigmatic Powerglide, it performed admirably despite the leaking. I did replace the transmission pan gasket, which significantly slowed the flow, but I believe the tail shaft continued to leak. At the time, the concept of a 2 speed transmission was foreign to me, but dropping it into L certainly resulted in quicker acceleration. The engine was never screaming on the highway either so I couldn’t complain. It was definitely antiquated for its time, and I would take a 4 speed over it any day.
The wagon performed admirably in tasks better suited to a truck. It served a bit of duty as a work truck for the roofing company I was working for one summer and also hauled firewood. You could get quite a bit of firewood back there, but again the stupid 14″ tires made it a little scary. As winter approached, I got a job as a Rural Mail Carrier as the construction boom in the area went completely bust. This job required that I provide my own vehicle, and I did so with this ghastly 40 year old station wagon. I got lots of dirty looks from the upper class vacation home owners who visit here from the city, whilst I deposited their mail in the community mail boxes. While it certainly had enough cargo space for all the mail, its fuel consumption was beginning to be a problem. I would have to downsize.
After buying another beater to deliver the mail, I didn’t know what to do with the wagon. My Gremlin soon joined me in BC and suddenly I had two cars, a truck and a motorbike to cram into three parking spaces I shared with my two roommates; who also had their own cars. Something had to give and the wagon was put up for sale for $1000. A few weeks later an Aussie who worked at the ski hill bought it and moved out to Whistler, BC. I wish I had kept this one; it wouldn’t have been too hard to restore and I’m pretty sure it met a bad end with its new owner. Oh well, it wouldn’t be the last old wagon I owned.
I like wagons and have owned several but the first was a very rusty 68 Holden Kingswood 186 cube with powerglide roomy fairly comfortable absolutely no performance thanks to having only 2 speeds and very little horsepower, first went on interminably and when it finally dumped into top the engine basically died the pall of blue smoke that followed it every where was a contributing factor but I absolutely hated that powerglide trans.
I kept seeing a ’67 Impala wagon just like that, in a tiny, out of the way village in Scotland this summer. Not the sort of thing you expect to see there.
Of course I didn’t know what it was, and had to google it.
Very cool, I reckon the raked look suits it, maybe just a little lower in the rear would be even better.
That Granada Gold example in the advertisement is identical to the one my parents bought new. The wagon was a bit of a lemon, we kept that wagon for only one year before frustration with constant trips to the dealership prompted a trade for a new 68 Chevy Wagon. The 68 was much better and was kept until it was traded for a 72 Kingswood.
The wagon in the pic posted to illustrate the “too small” 14″ wheels appears to have 15″ aluminum 1986-88 Monte Carlo SS wheels on it…?
The owner knew the point Nelson was going to make, and changed the wheels out for the photo. 🙂
In the early 70s, a co-worker needed some money and I offered to buy his nearly 10 year old Impala wagon (a ’66). Even with just over 100,000 miles on it, that car ran like new/was “whisper quiet”.
I put new tires on that car and remember it as having huge tires, certainly the widest I had seen in quite awhile….but, then, my other car at the time was a TR3.
I didn’t know as much about cars as I needed to know and thought my “new” car had a cracked block. Turned out it had a leaking water pump gasket or water pump. I gave the car back to the seller after paying half of the purchase price.
Luckily, “my” Impala had a 327 and Powerglide, with power steering and brakes.
I knew Ford was notorious in the 60s for selling wagons with 4 wheel drum brakes, and even WITHOUT power assistance, but no power steering in a wagon this big seems incredible. I guess Chevy/GM really wanted you to sell you that more expensive Impala….if not Caprice wagon.
Howard, power steering was optional on all popular-price full size American cars until 1971 or so. I once drove a ’69 LTD with the 390 V8, three-on-the-tree, and manual steering. That was a beast to park!
Power steering on local GM cars was available from 65 onwards but seldom specced until 71 when GMH adopted the awful F body front axle assembly with the steering box ahead of the axle making the steering overly heavy at parking speeds. Finger tip light like UK Vauxhalls had been the norm untill then.
I’ve driven several 60s Fords, and have never run across anything bigger than my sister’s near new 67 Mustang that didn’t have at the very least power steering. Pretty much all had 4 wheel drum brakes and no power booster.
To me, most surprising was a nice, 10-12 year old 67 Fairlane station wagon with a 390 and automatic transmission. It had power steering, but no power brakes and 4 wheel drums. I couldn’t believe it had a hitch and had been used for towing.
Reminds me of the 1969 Chev Townsman wagon my dad had. Car had more faults than a dog has fleas.No wonder he switched to the Wagon Master, and never looked back.
I really do miss my dads 1973 Mercury Colony Park wagon. And to think, in this day and age, the 460 could easily be made to run like a muscle car, and the chassis to handle like it was made in Europe.
I am not sure how I never got a big American wagon from the 60s, because I have always liked them so much. A 67 Chevy would be a nice one to have – simple, easy for parts. And these were good looking, too. A perfect beater for a young guy trying to get a start.
1967 is my favorite second only to 1965.
Last family wagon we had was a ’65 Bel Air. It was purchased new and if it had a 3rd seat, it was never used. It was the first family car we got which had AC. By ’66 it was traded in on a new ’66 Beetle and soon after a new ’67 Continental joined the family fleet as well. Lots of good memories of the family road trips in the ’65.
Manual steering in a full size station wagon. . . you have my sympathy. Last winter, my steering pump was out and gearbox binding, fluid pouring out of a sector shaft seal. Needless to say, parking at the grocery store in tight little spaces designed for smaller cars was interesting (nerve wracking)!
It is too bad that full size wagons are so under-appreciated, they really combine the best of both worlds: towing / hauling like a truck, with the room and style of a big sedan. Not top heavy like an SUV. . . Maybe its just the Californian in me, but I don’t think any modern vehicle can compare to something like this. Glad this Chevy wasn’t the last wagon you owned : )
Try driving a manual steering ’67 Dodge Camper Special with a 10′ cabover camper and hauling a 21′ boat. Gives new meaning to “Armstrong” steering.
. . .No thank you :-p
Loved your writeup! I’m a rural post it in Alberta, ran full sized Caprices for most of my career! You still in the postal game? Always nice to run across one of the brotherhood…
Hi Doug, I got out of the Postal game about 5 years ago. They kept dumping more work on me with no pay increase, but I’ll reserve that rant for elsewhere.
Are you the guy with the Matador for sale in Wetaskiwin? I spend too much time on Kijiji and saw a Matador for sale that looks just like the one I believe you wrote about a little while back. Please say no, cause if it’s true I might feel compelled to buy it.
He’s the very same. He even wrote up the Matador in 2013. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/my-curbside-classic/in-defense-of-the-1974-amc-matador-sedan-the-bullfighter-gets-a-bum-rush/
Speaking of undersized tires, that was one thing my dad rectified real quick with our ’64 Impala 3-seater. Spec was 8.00 X 14, which corresponded to somewhere around F or G78-14 or 205/75-14. Those, by the way, were the largest tires available on any Chevy that year.
He upgraded to J78-14 or 225/75-14, which filled the wheel wells much better and was only one size down from the L78-15’s (235/75-15) on our ’70 Buick Estate Wagon. That size remained standard on big Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Caddies across the board through 1976.
I’m almost certain the blue car featured here is my friend’s neighbor’s car. He’s in the process of building a garage on the back of his house to store the car and work on it. In the meantime, the wagon gets parked for a day or two at a time on random streets in the neighborhood. It is just as cool in person with a cool owner to match.
Right on! When I first found those pics I thought it was the exact same car as mine. I compared it with my one terrible quality surviving photo and saw his car has different Impala trim and had the same fender damage but on the opposite side.
The best looking 65-70 Chev. In turquoise. And it’s a wagon. Life doesn’t get much better.
Great post, Nelson! I had you pegged (incorrectly) as a strictly-AMC guy. 🙂 I always thought it was a little wacky how full-size Chevy wagons of this era featured a rear panel which was an approximation of that of the sedan, using the same taillights. I don’t know why this didn’t look right to me.
Thanks Joseph. I usually trend towards the weirder orphan cars but I must confess a love for late 60’s GM full sizers, especially the Chevs and Cadillacs. Always had a thing for wagons too, probably because they had all disappeared by the time I was a kid so they add to the weird factor.
I always thought the rear panel seemed off too, but I don’t know what else they would/could have done. My car also had 2 strange “steps” that jutted out from bumper on both ends. Never could figure out what they were for, they would have been useful for accessing a roof rack but mine never had one.
Those rear bumper steps were used on 9 passenger models, which had the rear facing third seat. They in theory were supposed to help with entering and exiting that seating area. My Dad’s best friend had a 65 9 passenger that had those same steps. As a kid, they seemed to work well for getting in and out but I’d imagine anyone over 4 feet tall had a lot of bending to do to get in or out. These steps would be replace in 1969 with the “walk in wagon” step. A part of the rear bumper actually swung out with the tailgate when it was opened as a door, leaving a step to access the rear facing seat.
I saw a picture of a tire mounted on the wheel in an old car magazine it was for a 58
Lincoln great big tire but a 14 inch could this have been the heaviest car with a 14 inch
wheel How many people drove these at 110 mph and blew the cheapo tires right out!
Looks like the same color turquoise as the ’68 Impala my family had when I was a baby. (Too young to remember but pictures survive…) I also always liked the ’67 grille treatment. Sounds like a fun car, and it must have woken up quite nicely with the headers and duals…
Big old American Station Wagons were always great , both for kids and adults who had things to carry and miles to go .
My epic party wagon was a 1968 Chrysler 9 passenger beast , V-8 dead AC , the works .
GM really had it right with their ‘ Saginaw Squish ‘ power steering ~ no need to feel the stinkin’ road , just fingertip steering thankyouverymuch .
Powerglide slushboxes were amazingly durable but depending on the engine , vehicle weight and final drive ratio could be miserable to drive .
-Nate