Like many auto manufacturers, Chevrolet has long been inclined to recycle model names; for example, this Greenbrier wagon would have been a Corvair van as recently as 1965. For 1971, however, it was simply a trim level for the Chevelle station wagon. This example is being sold on eBay in Yucaipa, California, and while it’s not as rust-free as you might hope a California car would be (there is rust in the “lower front fenders and passenger side toe board”), it’s not a bad place to start. You also have a chance to be the first bidder, as nobody has yet met its twee $1971 opening price.

The Greenbrier was the mid-range station wagon option, slotted between the base Nomad and the top-of-the-line Concours. All wagons except Nomad had a standard V8 engine (the 307), but our featured wagon has the optional 350, available in a 245-horsepower two-barrel or 270-horsepower four-barrel tune. The seller doesn’t mention which version this wagon has under the hood, but I’ll guess it’s a two barrel based on the angle of the fuel filter. The seller does say that the engine ran well but now needs some ignition repair inside the column, and I’m not sure just what to make of that. You can see the optional air conditioning components under the hood, so this wagon was clearly bought as a middle-of-the-road family hauler.

Those days, however, were long ago, as the basic black vinyl interior will certainly need a complete restoration, from the cracked dash pad to the sliced-up upholstery. Is that a rubber mat on the floor? The column shifter controls a sturdy Turbo 350 automatic.

Although some Chevelle wagons could seat nine passengers, this one is the base six-passenger model. You can see in the tailgate jambs that the original paint was “Placer Gold,” but the exterior was resprayed long ago in “Ascot Blue.” While I love medium-blue cars, I think I’d like this one in the original gold; it somehow befits early ’70s trends in decor.

This Chevelle is parked right between being a restoration project and a driver as it sits. I’d have no problem driving it with its “not-bad-for-where-I-live” rust issues, but I’d certainly want to fix up the interior in an effort to convince my lovely bride to ride in the thing. The steering column issues are probably benign but I am always leery when someone says that a car ran until recently, when *insert problem here* popped up. At its current price point, however, you have to expect some serious gremlins, and even if you decide to make it run and drive, there will be plenty of nights and weekends in the garage in your future before you can do so reliably. Still, it’s good to have a project, and nothing short of a pickup is more usable than an old station wagon. You might get a deal on this one; let us know in the comments if you pick it up.