I’m not sure why, but the idea of a fast station wagon is strangely appealing to me! Yes, a two door muscle car is cool, but if you ask me a muscle wagon is just that much cooler. This 1970 Chevelle Wagon isn’t exactly a fire breathing family hauler, at least not yet. It has a 350 V8, so the options are endless, and it’s in good enough shape to be worth saving. Find it here on eBay in dry Henderson, Nevada with a current bid of $3,600.
Making this a true muscle wagon will take some work, but seeing as it already has a V8 it shouldn’t be too difficult to make it fast. With the right upgrades the 350 can be a powerhouse. Of course there is plenty of room under the hood for a big block (up to a 454)! So would you upgrade the 350 or install a big block?
The interior is really the worst part of this car. It’s definitely seen better days, but it’s complete and much of it could be restored. I can’t decide if I would rather have a bench or bucket seats in my muscle wagon! Which would you rather have?
I think this wagon could be a fun project! It won’t ever be worth serious money, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have some serious fun with it. Unless I could find a cheap big block and transmission, I would probably leave the 350 in it and just do some upgrades. I would even the exterior alone and keep it a subtle sleeper, but the beauty of a wagon like this, is that you can build it however you want! So what would you do with it?
Perfect victim for a sleeper. Possibilities are endless for that stock look and off the line grocery getter
#1 never buy a car with a tow hitch This car has been trashed. it is a repaint . this car is heavy so hot rod? I think not. Put a 340 in a Morris Minor, that is a hot rod
We had a 68 Malibu wagon we drove as a cab. 327! it went 325K before it sucked a valve. great car made lots of money.These cars have a saddle gas tank which lies behind the rear door. We put so much gas in that car, it wore a hole on the bottom where the gas hit when filling! A little JB weld, problem solved!
Small block
Nitrous
4:56 in the rear
Strip the interior for weight reduction
Take it to the strip and embarrass people
First order of business : Make sure it starts,goes and stops.
Secondly : Ensure it is presentable.
Lastly : Ditch those god awful 14’s and those (puke) wheel covers. My 70 Nova Dog Dish caps against painted rims would look better by leaps…..
At stock specs, it would be a more enjoyable ride with 15’s. Why any of the Big 3 used 14’s given the tech at the time is beyond me.
This is a really cool car. I’d leave the 350 in it; but build it with some good parts to make some great power. Probably a 383 stroker? The car has some good options, such as A/C and P/S and brakes. Hopefully that means the front brakes are discs? Probably would want to put a modern transmission in it, to get some fuel mileage. Lots of potential here.
Funny how you couldn’t give away the four door version of this car even with a V8, but the 4 door wagon is getting more desirable.
Didn’t Chevrolet call a model of the Nova a Concours later in the 70s?
Rick
Yes they did. It had a padded landau roof. I sold a few of them.
Nice paint job
Wow that interior is disgusting. Looks like a heavy smoker used this for hauling garbage to the dump. Poor paint, but nice color. Magnum 500’s or late 70’s Z/28 wheels would look great on this.
This body does not look “as straight as an arrow” to me. The panel gaps are very poor, particularly front left, and what’s with the almost new inner fenders under the hood when the rest of the engine looks like poop? I’m thinkin’ this was wrecked at some point. Not to mention lousy paint and fugly interior, the windshield is delaminating at the top. Be very careful here. Quicky flip.
I agree. There are tons of red flags on this car. It’s well past what I’d offer for the car, if I were to even make one.
rare SADdle interior
put an LSx in it and wait for the profanity, political rants and personal attacks
I had a ’68 wagon, same basic car, special order, V8, 4 on floor, heavy duty everything (radiator, battery, alternator, suspension, clutch) to tow horse trailer, but with economy rear axel, one of best cars I ever owned, good on gas when not towing, which was almost all of the time, handled very well, only issue was drum brakes that would fade if you were going over 60. One sail through a toll booth cured me, and luckily no one was stopped in front of me. Rusted out pretty badly when only 5 years old.
I absolutely love wagons! I have an 80 lemans wagon we call the LeMonster. 488 Pontiac stroker, th350, monte ss 3.73 position, monte SS sways and steering box, box lower control arms, air bags in coil springs, battery in rear, x-pipe exhaust, shaved lights and moldings, custom gto hood, buckets floor shift, aftermarket wheels, drilled and slotted rotors. Fast and fun totally!
Talk about rare. You can go years without seeing one of these! My mom got rid of her ’79 Grand Lemon to buy a brand new ’89 Mustang LX 5.0. Quite an improvement even with a lousy 4AOD. But it’s definitely cool to see what you’ve done with this unloved Ponti. These cars are hot rodders dreams now if you can even find one. No need to worry about originality; the entire plastic interior assuredly turned to powder before 1985. Right on dude!
#1 never buy a car with a tow hitch This car has been trashed. it is a repaint . this car is heavy so hot rod? I think not. Put a 340 in a Morris Minor, that is a hot rod
We had a 68 Malibu wagon we drove as a cab. 327! it went 325K before it sucked a valve. great car made lots of money.These cars have a saddle gas tank which lies behind the rear door. We put so much gas in that car, it wore a hole on the bottom where the gas hit when filling! A little JB weld, problem solved!
Not buying this as no hit & here’s why. In Nevada if a car is older than 10yr. they won’t issue a salvage title for “fender benders” when I say that is its never been on a frame straightener, I hope whoever bought it took a magnet with them especially around the taillights & looked to see if the hinges on the tailgate have been replaced.
Still have my 71 concours for 38 years now , got me to work , brought the kids home from the hospital , took it on many vacations over the years, never let me down . the wagon went 239k miles , started to restore it a few years ago; with new rings and bearings, hotter cam, aluminum intake w/quadrajet some cheap headers , a shift kit in the trans , and 4.11 gears , its no 9 second car, but its a hell of a lot of fun runnin mid to low 14s without breaking anything. Remember , this is a 350 pulling over 4000 lbs., and i’m not pushin it too hard. I also own a restored 69 BB chevelle that runs mid 12s , but for shear fun the wagon can’t be beat!