Almost 20 feet of cool, this 1974 Pontiac Grand Safari may be as eye-catching a 1970s station wagon as you’ll find. I have no doubt that driving this car in public would almost cause a crowd to gather anytime you stop for gas or groceries, with many photo opps and selfies being taken. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Guttenberg, Iowa, and they’re asking $28,500, or you can make an offer. Thanks to Zen for the tip!
Pontiac offered a somewhat lower trim Safari wagon (is that redundant?), the Catalina Safari, which came with a standard 400 V8. It was also available with woodgrain accents, so sometimes it’s hard to tell without the badging that reads Grand Safari whether it’s the top (with standard 455 V8) Grand Safari or not. I don’t see a flaw in this car inside or out, and the seller has included dozens of photos, so please click on the eBay link and check out the photos. The first-generation Pontiac Grand Safari was made for model years 1971 through 1976, the last year for the big wagons for GM, for the most part.
Speaking of checking things out, here’s a 1974 Pontiac brochure showing the whole lineup, and even better, here’s one showing just the three big Safari wagons available, the LeMans Safari, Catalina Safari, and top-tier Grand Safari. Sporty isn’t exactly what most people think when they see a 19+ foot long station wagon, but being a Pontiac adds to the mix, and those Rally wheels are great. I believe this color is Fire Coral Bronze.
You sharp-eyed viewers who are also auction fans may recognize this car; it recently sold at a Mecum Auction for $17,600. That seems like a much easier price on the wallet, but if I knew anything about car-flipping, I wouldn’t be eating Pop-Tarts. As expected with a car having fewer than 60,000 miles, the interior also looks fantastic. This car will easily seat a dozen teenagers for drive-in movie night. Not legally, of course… The seller includes a few underside photos, and it doesn’t look quite as nice as the topside does, but hopefully it’s solid. The back seat looks perfect, as does the rear cargo area and the third row seating area.
The engine is Pontiac’s 455-cu.in. OHV V8, which was rated at 215 horsepower and 355 lb-ft of torque when new. Power is passed through a THM-400 automatic transmission to the rear wheels, and this is an 11-11 car, as in 11 seconds to 60 mph and 11 mpg. Unfortunately, the selling dealer doesn’t mention how it runs or if everything works, but I have to believe that it runs well. Any thoughts on this beautiful big Pontiac wagon?
What a beauty!! The rims, the color combination, the 455, everything about it. Somebody went heavy handed with pen when ordering this one. To put things in perspective, if memory serves me right, our ’70 Olds Ninety Eight had a 126 inch wheelbase. This wagon is 127, so, this definitely is a big car, and you need that torque of that 455 to haul it around. Scotty is pretty much on the money with the 11-11 ratio. Maybe it would be a bit quicker to 60 than that, but with emissions controls already starting to choke it down probably about right. Thanks Scotty.
Driveinstile, I just checked on wheelbase & the ’70 98 also has a 127″ wheelbase regardless of model.
Except for delay wipers, (am I picky?) this wagon sure is loaded up including cornering lamps. The driver door looks a little rough on the bottom seam but may be just surface. Other than that it’s virtually new inside and a great color out with the wood grain.
Not all “shaggin’ wagons” are vans.