[Grizz1963]

I am just wondering if there were ever very many of these built.

Also, how popular are they today, or how many do survive in use.

It will help me assess how hard it will be to find some of the bits the car needs.
Trim, light lenses, name badges.





Thanks again guys.

[carguy66cars]

Took me several years to come up with all the N.O.S. wood grain trim for the one I had! Not easy to find and I have never seen another '71 woody in person! I know of one other out east, but not sure how many were made? Tail light lenses will be rough to find even used, they do turn up on Ebay once in a while. Few more picture's for ya!

Lyn.

[The Boss]

goatless had one - green too I think.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by carguy66cars

Took me several years to come up with all the N.O.S. wood grain trim for the one I had! Not easy to find and I have never seen another '71 woody in person! I know of one other out east, but not sure how many were made? Tail light lenses will be rough to find even used, they do turn up on Ebay once in a while. Few more picture's for ya!

Lyn.

I am grinning here.

You are a very cruel man

The lense will be real important as it means on or not on the road for testing.

Originally Posted by The Boss

goatless had one - green too I think.

Hopefully he will pop in and share too.

[BN]

Originally Posted by carguy66cars

Took me several years to come up with all the N.O.S. wood grain trim for the one I had! Not easy to find and I have never seen another '71 woody in person! I know of one other out east, but not sure how many were made? Tail light lenses will be rough to find even used, they do turn up on Ebay once in a while. Few more picture's for ya!

Lyn.

I love to see any old Pontiac saved. How would he restore the woodgrain itself? Seems like it would be very difficult.

[johnta1]

From what I can tell, 6,311 D36 style LeMans wagons made in 1971.
3,078 1971 wagons had Wood Decor siding.
But don't know if they were all for the LeMans or if it included Catalina wagons?



Diego probably has better info.

['ol Pinion head]

1971 LeMans Wagon production

Bodystyle 23536 (6 passenger)... 6,311
Bodystyle 23546 (9 passenger)....4,363
--------------------------------------10,674

[goatless]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Hopefully he will pop in and share too.

Mine was a '72. I posted a couple of pictures of it in the other thread with the Honeycombs on it.

The tail lights are the same '70-'72, but the lenses are still hard to come by. There is one on Ebay right now, but the guy wants big $$$ for it.

[Grizz1963]

Seen a rear light lense on EBay.

$350.00 plus shipping.

Criminal? Or just supply and wallet rape?

Car I am going to look at needs one.

Unobtanium?



Road trip still going ahead.

Cash out of safe = Check

Dealer plates = Check



Alarm set = Check

Paul Y ready = errrmmmm Check.

Cryptic-ish hint at approximately what next = See below.





And finally

Got a text from mate Darren Hardy at Unit Engineering and Signs to say my garage sign is ready.



Wish me well for tomorrow's trip.

[goatless]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Seen a rear light lense on EBay.

$350.00 plus shipping.

Criminal? Or just supply and wallet rape?

Car I am going to look at needs one.

Unobtanium?

That particular seller thinks all of his parts are gold. They're hard to come by, but they do come up.

Good luck with your trip!

[Ram4king]

Originally Posted by The Boss

goatless had one - green too I think.

Boy I wish I knew him when he had that car. It would be in my garage. If anyone knows of a nice woodgrain wagon for sale please PM me I'd pay up for one.

[carguy66cars]

Check the completed auctions, one sold few day's ago for $105.00 I think? Was going to bid, but forgot till there was only a minute left and had some kind of computer glitch and missed bidding on it! It was a pretty nice one too. I sold my extra set last year I think, but they do pop up just have to keep watching. I know one guy that may have a extra, I will ask him and let you know!


Lyn.

[goatless]

Originally Posted by Ram4king

Boy I wish I knew him when he had that car. It would be in my garage. If anyone knows of a nice woodgrain wagon for sale please PM me I'd pay up for one.

That one wasn't as nice as it looked in pictures.
I sold it for $5K 10+ years ago. I can ask the guy I sold it to if he knows where it is now...

[Grizz1963]

Thank you,for all the replies guys.


I am a dithered, so I do change my mind more than once a day.....




Back at home after a great day and mini road trip out with Paul Y, just over 200 miles.

The preamble to this little road trip is founded in my 2016 being a bit of a mess. So I have possibly been looking for a fix or my general mood.

I have had some amazing support from the likes of CraigRK, JohnnyBravo, Paul Y and a variety of people on the various forums in different countries who read the various threads I contribute to.
There is also Miss Katy who does not necessarily understand or care too much for the madness of wanting an old car........ But she also said that I should do what I felt was right for me?

In May last year I saw an online advertisement for a 1971 station wagon, one owner, V8, Sunburned California Patina, P/S, A/C, Auto, P/B all sorts of goodness where it was in America. At that point I had a wife and a truck to get back onto in the garage, despite knowing she wanted to leave. I just loved the look of the car, but was not in the market for one.

Fast forward to November after my US road trip and my mood was a bit low, the truck was not going far very quickly and I started to look for a fix.

I Found this ad on Rods n Sods

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/veh...%A35800-467209

I found myself going back to look at the ad every few days........... know the feeling? I really liked this car.

On Old years day, my lodger gave me notice for end January........ this meant that my mortgage repayments were going to go up by 30% and I should not be even thinking of cars n toys.
Ohh, and of course I am a contractor, so job security is not ideal.... poop.

Just after Christmas I noticed the price had been lowered.

So I called the seller in San Francisco for a 30 minute chat from my mobile.

Still dithering about whether I should even consider buying this thing, I ended up speaking to an ex girlfriend from 10 years ago whose council I seek from time to time as she is a bit brutal and also quite blunt but always honest. She made a few valid comments and asked a few questions.

What value do you place on having that car?

ITS A TOY.

Do you think you deserve it?

ERRRMMMM?

How do you reward Rian for his hard work?

NOT SURE I REALLY DO

Will it put a smile on your face?

HELL YEAHHHH !!

Well imagine how wonderful it will be when you start doing things to please Rian?

She told me her car's brake pressure sensor needed replacing recently. The washing machine had broken down. And said " I am a single woman, looking after two children on my own with a mortgage to pay.....

Get my point ?"

If I make the statements above my life's narrative then I will be a grumpy old woman...

All this stuff is just part of life honey.......

The opportunity has opened up for a lodger with whom you can have a more rewarding experience....

Go look at the car and buy it if it is right.



So that brings us to today's road trip.

I met Paul at a predesignated spot.



I had taken along two 6 litre jerry cans and bought fuel to put in the car for a decent drive and road test.

Paul checking up on his world........



Then we drove over to where the car was stored.

Greeted by Dennis, an old fan of trucks and wagons, he rebuilds a lot of stuff and one of his new additions is this one owner low mileage F250 that had a camper shell on all its life.



His workshops are a dream, that is all.



I decided to not post loads of pics of all his toys but rather his latest resto project........ of course it's a pickup truck.

Can you guess what it was before?



Then it was on to the car we had come to see.

1971 Pontiac Lemans Sportwagon

Dennis drove it out and then onto the ramp so we could look under it and inside in the daylight.

And here is the kicker, the video clip below shows what happened today, the first time in his life......... not funny, but shows how easy things can change. We fixed that in a few minutes.

CLICKY LINKY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc-6QAvT-bc

Paul Y did the whole mechanical check and we found the car has many new maintenance parts etc, he will be along later to describe what he saw.







Back end with two way tailgate with electric window.



So after two hours with Dennis and Paul, I decided to walk away from the car, as it does not completely blow my hair back.

I am gutted that in the end it was not what I needed or wanted, but when Paul logically asked me "If you look at it from your kitchen window in the morning, will it make your heart beat faster and will it make you want to take it for a drive"

My answer honestly was that I did not think it would like the Chevy truck does.


[font size="5"][font color="e61982"]Now for the mathematics.[/font][/font]

At the advertised price of £5250.00 for a one owner V8 car which we both believe has really only done 31k miles if you look at the minimal wear on its controls, the fact loads of maintenance parts have obviously been replaced as needed over time. Trainsmission and engine oils are clean. All controls, lights, hooter etc worked when we went through them, the engine is smooth, transmission changes smoothly........

If you consider £2000.00 as shipping, then you know you are getting this car at bicycle money.

I am gutted, but it's not right to be the next Grizz car.

So this pic that I created a week ago in anticipation, will just be that, a pic.




Now go find me a car.......... or truck or something.

[Grizz1963]

I have quoted Paul Y my partner in crime from today.


[quote author="@pauly" source="/post/2278402/thread" timestamp="1483902809"]Don't know about checking my world, more like doing a stock take on the inside of my eye lids....

Anyway... as I was recovering from a 620mile drive conducted over 12 hours the previous day I was slightly less...buoyant... than normal but feeling pretty damn privaliged to be asked on a Grizz road trip. I mean, come on, there are 105 pages of adventure! so being asked along for a small part was all the reason I needed to drag myself from my pit.

Well that and STATION WAGON.

Rian has pretty much covered Dennis, a really nice chap with very interesting toys. Anyway.. STATION WAGON.

When I first saw the Ark Royal nestling in its dry dock I was pretty much sold on it. A really genuine, honest original car that was wearing the battle scars of the previous 46 years with pride.

The small challenge with the ramp meant that we spend 30 minutes doing our best Magiver getting it back where it should be and also enabled Rian to get his first 'seat time'

Ok so photobucket is being an [img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2009/11/fox_60.jpg"], will insert photo later

Later



Looks right at home....

Showed around 31k on the clock and I would not be surprised if that was genuine.

All,of the controls, contact surfaces etc looked great, no wear.. the doors closed with a new car clunk plus the door gaps were spot on and no play in the door hinges.

A quick look underneath showed a pretty much prestige undercarriage. A little wear in the steering, but probably an advisory rather than a fail, engine was a little wet but nothing to worry about.

It looks,as if there has been money spent on it -fuel pump, radiator, pads, alternator etc all looked recent.

Engine oil looks fresh and the auto fluid was clear and clean.

Tyres are good. Got it back on the ground and had a play. Everything works! Even the aircon was cold! Radio sounds like you would expect and the CB lit up.

The über cool rear tailgate worked as it should and the power windows went up and down all be it slowly.

Bad bits are the rear floor needs some attention due to the leaking rear window.

It needs window and door seal.

The interior is a bit cracked

There is a few dents and a little rust on the tailgate and lower rear quarters but nothing major.

I would have bought it but I knew Rian was not.



In fact if I had the £5k it would be now sitting in my drive to replace my wife's modern daily. She might be my ex wife but you get the idea....

So, in closing. If you want a wagon. Buy this one. Spend £500 on seals, shocks and steering. Drive, enjoy and then hit with the lowering stick, Astro Supremes or the 17" Honeycombs - bag it, clear coat it and sort out the seats.

Some one needs to buy this. Before I find myself living out of the back of it....

P. [/quote]

[carguy66cars]

If it were still in the state's I would be all over it, looks like it is in pretty good condition overall? Hope you find something that you can't live without! Maybe after thinking it over you will be back and buy it?

Lyn.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by carguy66cars

If it were still in the state's I would be all over it, looks like it is in pretty good condition overall? Hope you find something that you can't live without! Maybe after thinking it over you will be back and buy it?

Lyn.

HeynLyn,

You are right, I could still change my mind.

I have done it before.

Just off to bed and sleep..... who knows what way I wake up

[Squidward]

Love the car, and love the story!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Squidward

Love the car, and love the story!

Thank you very much for all the responses guys.

In the end I decided that car just was not for me, multiple reasons.

I still think it's an awesome deal for someone in the UK.

31k miles and one owner cars are not that common. And at the price, it is cheap here.

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/veh...%A35800-467209

[erikgto]

Guys,

Thank you very much for this write up.
It pretty much sealed the deal for me.
I'm going after her.
Just need to figure out a way to get her home to The Netherlands) but I'll work it out!

Cant wait to see her in person!!! :-)

Erik