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Muscle Wagon: 1971 Plymouth Satellite 440

Classic wagons can vary widely in types and styles, but if you are on the hunt for one and fancy something with a bit of attitude, then maybe this 1971 Plymouth Satellite Custom is just the vehicle. It packs a bit of a surprise, and would certainly be capable of hauling the kids, the dogs, the luggage, or towing the boat or caravan wherever you wish to go. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of $14,995 for the Plymouth.

Finished in Sno White with a Gold Leaf Metallic insert on the hood, the Satellite presents very nicely. The owner admits to the fact that the car does have some surface rust spots, but these are pretty difficult to see in the supplied photos. I did notice that the front valance has been damaged at some point, and the repair hasn’t been that great. The chrome roof rack is a practical touch, while the combination of the Rally wheels and the Plymouth decals give the wagon a bit of attitude. For practicality, the Satellite is fitted with a tow hitch, so the boat or caravan can go where you go.

The interior of the Satellite presents extremely nicely, and there will be little for the next owner to do inside the car. The front door trims have been cut to fit aftermarket speakers, and these are hooked to a JVC CD player that is hidden in the glove compartment. I think that the covers on the seats might be fairly new, and their colors don’t tie in with any of the color combinations that would have been available on this car when new. The owner does make mention of air conditioning but says that it isn’t hooked up. However, a peek under the hood reveals no sign of the compressor or hoses, so I’m not sure what the story is there. Otherwise, it just looks clean and tidy, and well suited to a person with a larger family.

Now we get to that surprise that gives the Plymouth that bit of attitude. Nestling in the engine bay is a V8, but this one is a 440ci, which was something that wasn’t available in the 1971 model year. Backing this is a 3-speed TorqueFlite transmission. It isn’t clear where this 440 came from, or what its specifications are. However, given the history of the 440, I believe that 300hp is probably a pretty safe and conservative figure when it comes to power output. That should be enough to meet all of your towing needs. The owner says that thanks to the dual exhaust, the engine produces a nice growl. He also says that it starts easily, drives nicely and that the transmission shifts smoothly. It all sounds really promising to me.

I think that the thing that really attracts me to this Plymouth Wagon is the fact that the exterior presentation gives some hint that this is not your average Satellite, but it doesn’t shout out exactly how potent it potentially is. The presentation of the vehicle is really nice, and it will offer the next owner some real versatility. With the ongoing popularity of classic wagons, this is one that I suspect will probably sell fairly quickly.

Comments

  1. Avatar CapNemo

    The door panels are what has been cut to install the speakers. The trim is fine. Learn what you’re writing about.

    Like 8
    • Avatar Oregon_Guy78

      Ouch, that’s harsh C Nemo

      Like 29
    • Avatar Boatman Member

      Adam refers to the door panels as “Trims” Cap. First time on Barn Finds?

      Like 19
    • Avatar Jamie

      That was harsh Nemo. They are doing the best they can. No one is perfect

      Like 20
    • Avatar bobk

      If memory serves, Adam is Australian. The Brits, and most of their one-time colonies, have different naming conventions for parts of cars.

      Like 1
  2. Avatar bobhess Member

    That’s a slick car. Like Adam said, a little bit of everything done to it to make it run good and look good.

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Steve R

    I think there is more than surface rust lurking beneath that white paint, if so, what seems like a good value at first glance, isn’t. It’s a cool concept, but the condition should determine its price.

    Steve R

    Like 3
  4. Avatar JOHN Member

    Please lose the “Plymouth” logo’s on the quarter panels, otherwise, pretty cool wagon!

    Like 23
    • Avatar Mikey8

      That is the first thing I thought when I saw the car get rid of that corny Plymouth sticker on the side.

      Like 1
  5. Avatar Fred W

    Agree on the logos, get them off of there. I would find out what year that engine is. If it is a later model, low compression, low HP motor, you might regret your purchase. HP dropped from around 375 in the late 60’s to 255 in the late 70’s (Police version).

    Like 7
  6. Avatar David Ulrey

    Cool wagon but for the love of heaven, no Brady Bunch references on this one. Please.

    Like 4
  7. Avatar Dave Suton

    Paint it green and add it to the Brady Bunch house. Maybe Greg and Marsha can get a speeding ticket in it

    Like 7
    • Avatar David Ulrey

      Just couldn’t resist huh?

      Like 1
    • Avatar William Babyak

      Better idea: Paint her black and white, outfit her as an LAPD Field Supervisor unit (“L-Wagon”(, as seen in ADAM-12.

      Like 1
  8. Avatar Dave

    What? No 4 On the floor conversion? Not yet anyway.

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Troy s

    Plenty of power, plenty of room, plenty of car. Fuel cost will get old if driven daily but that’s not the point of this vessel. Just a cool ride now from a car that at one time was incredibly common on the highways.
    Curious as to what year that 440 is.

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Roy Blankenship

    Everyone seems to love to rag on the low horsepower ratings of the 70’s, I hope some of you remember that they went to NET ratings in ’71-’72, which lowered the numbers considerably. A ’72 LT-1 350 was rated at 330 gross hp (with 9:1 compression), the net rating was 255.

    Like 5
    • Avatar Dave at OldSchool Restorations

      @Roy, The rating method had little to do with the anemic post 72 engines that were EPA smog compliant. Do you think the Cosworth Vega was a dog because of what hp rating was used ??? no, EPA restricted ALL the performance efficiency of ALL mid-late 70’s engines.

      Like 0
  11. Avatar Butch

    Marsha Marsha Marsha! 😜

    Like 8
  12. Avatar Comet

    See above. What John said.

    Like 1
  13. Avatar David Ulrey

    No No No!

    Like 1

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