One thing is clear about the proverbial barn find: you can never be sure what is hiding behind that garage door or steel building panel until it’s open all the way, with daylight soaking vehicles that haven’t seen the outside world in years. This collection of Buick Electra wagons seen here on eBay has been tucked away for years after being taken off the road in the 80s and 90s.
The seller claims his father bought all of these Electra wagons one at a time, with grand plans to restore each one. They all drove into his shop under their own power, but I’m not sure if that counts for much at this point. Each wagon wears the trademark wood veneer on the sides and the interiors are said to be in excellent condition.
There are only a few photos offered of the insides and they’re not very good. Still, it’s possible if the seller’s father bought these cars up in the late 90s that the interiors would have still been in respectable condition. And did anyone else notice that they are all blue? The previous owner was apparently a stickler for consistency!
The seller has listed a price of $5,450, which I’m assuming is for the entire collection – and seems like a fair deal if the Electras aren’t rusty. Sure, they aren’t terribly valuable, but they are useful and finding parts is a breeze. I do wonder what the seller’s father intended to accomplish by buying four examples of the same car in the same color! Would you expect to find this behind the barn door?
When properly sorted, these can be very nice cars to drive. Several companies can provide suspension upgrades for the GM B/C bodies, and more power is readily available from an endless array of vendors, whether you are sticking with factory issue Buick or Olds engines or swapping over to Chevy or Cadillac engines. Not a classic, exactly, but a blank slate with iconic style.
What a week for unusual collections! First the LeBarons now these! (FWIW I’d rather have these).
I’m not sure that there is much of a market for 5 off the road 1980’s Buick Electra wagons for $1090 each (must take all). Depending on where you live, transporting 5 cars could be a rather expensive proposition for non collectable cars.
I love wagons but was really hoping to never see a vehicle with faux wood grain again. I must have been traumatized by my family’s wagon, with the wood kit and green paint. I usually requested my dad to drop me off a block from my destination. The seller has pages of parts on ebay, I guess they are not worth keeping to part out either.
I had an 80 Park Avenue same color blue velour with baby blue top and moonroof and everything but leather, which was perfect from my perspective. Sadly underground parking mortally wounded it before I got it in 1988. Electric fuel cap, alarm, rear cigarette lighters and ash trays, power trunk, cruise, tilt, tele, pwr front seats, opera lights, hood signal indicators. My friends used to call it the pimpmobile. At the time the only vehicle I had ever been in that had pwr anything was gpops 1967 Chrysler Newport Custom.
He has a lot of buick parts, some older stuff. I’ve seen the wagons, maybe buy them for a couple hundred bucks apiece, get one running, drive it while getting the others running………
Perhaps these were initially destined for hearse duty…..
I concur…. Or some sort of taxi or livery.
Had one of these I bought for a song in 1997,only 86xxx on the ticker. Rode and drove like a dream. Power boost went out on brakes,did not fix,had to use two feet on the pedal to stop that beast. Sold it to a drywaller, as is and he was thrilled!
To compensate for their physical downsizing in the late 70’s, Olds/Buick/Pontiac full sized cars were equipped with unusually luxurious interiors for their price point, a trend that gradually receded by the early 90’s. Repowered with a modern crate V6 the dramatic increase in both horsepower and fuel economy would make them roomy and comfortable road trippers.
Only one wagon for me!
Ah, the family Truckster! Looked even better with Honky Lips written on the side! LOL
There’s enough velour there to choke a car club!
IN the 80s and 90s, I had a friend whose Dad collected 67 Ford Country Squire wagons. Only 67 CS wagons. And they had to have the 390 in them. I think he got up to 7 or 8 at one time. We ended putting one in a demo derby. The others returned to mother Earth but for the one he kept and actually finished restoring. It fell into disrepair eventually and is probably gone now too.
Idk If I’d go to the extreme of saying that these aren’t valuable. There’s a fairly good sized group of us that like the 80’s long roofs… I’d take the whole lot if I could afford it…
Having worked for a Buick dealer, I owned a few. A ’79 225, an ’80 Electra, and a ’84 Collector’s Edition LeSabre. Aside the 84’s well known crap 307 (rebuilt at 50k miles), all were very plush comfortable road cars. Kind of ironic as i just took possession of my Father’s two LeSabre Limited’s. A 2001 with 23,000 and a 2003 with 31,000 miles. Dad can’t drive anymore and i know it’s breaking his heart. He loves everything about cars and trucks and always has. He has kept these Buicks in immaculate condition. I put my cars out of the garage to put Dad’s Buicks in. Dad’s garage is empty now so he’s agreed to let me store both the DeSoto and the Type 1 there. Hopefully, he’ll go out and start them up now and then….memories :)
At least they’re parked inside.
Of course,you can’t see the condition
of them in the pictures.
I was interested in one of these
that a neighbor inherited from his Father.
It was super clean,but only had the small
V8.I passed on it for some reason.
Hopefully someone makes an offer
& saves these.Sounds like the guy inherited
them,& needs to clear out the property.
I think there was something mentally wrong with this person. Maybe Alzheimer’s or dementia setting in at the time of gathering all the same car. Weird
How many, of what type does it become a problem?
Too much eggnog Steve ? Specific collections new to you ?
I put a set of AddCo sway bars and some good tires on a wagon of this vintage. My commute drive went down the notorious Page Mill Road in Palo Alto California. That wagon was sticky. On the way to work I used to say “hey can’t you get that Saab 900 S turbo out of the way? You’re really slowing me down here.’ You don’t need stiff suspension for good handling. You just need flat cornering.
My Dad had a brand New Buick Estate wagon in 1977 (no wood), he drove it until 1984 and traded it in on a Celica (his first “sports car, lol)……I’d love to have one, or all of these wagons. My Dad’s was a 350-4bbl OLDS, which was indestructible. I only drove it once, for about 10 miles before he traded it. I took my driver’s test in that new Celica in 84’…..I say get these running, maybe change the trans to an overdrive if they don’t already have it, and enjoy….Go wild with a Duramax install and really enjoy it…I HAVE contacted the seller about splitting up the collection, as 1 is all I need and $5k is more than I’d want to put into a “starting point” on an un-valuable vehicle(s)
Let us know how it turns out!
Looks like I may have to change my name to “WagonMaster” as I just pulled the trigger on these babies….
GN clone wagons would be cool.
You too can be an eccentric with one winning keystroke. Liked the ad write up with “It is a lot to understand”
nice fleet already for business (cabs, livery, ‘puter co…
I messaged the seller on eBay.
They have titles, and the price is for the whole collection!
If closer would not mind 1 not all.
I could use one of these. I have been thinking of buying an older wagon like one of these lately as a second vehicle. I’ve been finding that as I do more home improvement projects, something like this would be useful, plus it would fill my desire for an older car as well. I just really like these B-body wagons anyway. Too bad the cars are being sold as a group. It’s becoming more likely I will either end up just getting a truck, or a Crown Vic wagon of the same vintage as that’s what seems easier to find.
The obvious solution to this problem is a Cannonball Run type of movie where they transport Granny’s dead body back to Georgia for burial before it starts to putrify, all the while jumping bridges and doing spinouts while Granny bounces around in the back. You’re welcome.
Oh I dunno collecting numerous cars of the same exact type has merit. One dude in Arizona sold off 8 Mercedes 190 SL’s in various states of repair for $11,000 years ago when Ebay first got started. I still kick myself for not buying that entire collection. I could sell just one now for 11K in about any condition in a heart beat. I would be happy to own 5 each of some choice cars. 1965-68 Volvo 122S’s, 1961 Chevy Impalas/belairs/biscaynes, 72 Skylarks, 75 280Z’s, 79 Mazda RX-7’s to name a few. I just need more land and a swell shop to put them in. LOL
Better than a minivan. Miss the old station wagons. They never were status symbols, but they got the job done with no fuss.
I know this young man and I know his father and I grew up with him . He has a couple of barns with all different kinds of parts from the fifties sixties and seventies he was a Buick freak.
Seller was very easy to work with, I’ll be picking these up one at a time after the New Year. He says he has 10 Camaro’s, but his Dad was the Buick Fan. We had a chat about collecting “multiples” of the same car. We both agreed that if somebody had 5 Ferrari’s nobody would call them crazy, makes you think? These babies will be getting dragged back to Kansas, right smack in the middle of the country, so if anybody really wants to pry one out of my hands just let me know :-)
Just read this thread and glad someone close to Dallas, TX pulled the trigger on these babies.
I’d like to chat with you, WAGONmaster about your new fleet if possible.
johnraleigh@gmail.com
congrats