1962 Olds Wagon

http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/3448593844.html

Certainly a fellow could walk away with this for a lot less than the asking price. Would this be a good wagon, I'm not too far from where it is.

 

I called and asked about it, I was hoping the interior would look as good as the body appears to but he said it's really rough. Only thing that will tell the tale is a look in person, as to floor pans and such.

 

Certainly a unique vehicle; can't remember ever seeing one of those!

With a "locked up" engine and a bad trans, it will cost BIG money to get it roadworthy.
Cool, but lots of work and $$$$

 

It all depends on whether the body's solid. If the floorpans and such are solid, i would say that's a good deal. Otherwise, I would pass on it. A '62 Chevy Impala or Bel Air wagon with a bad motor might run you $3k+.

 

The listing says "solid car". If the floor pans are solid and there isn't alot of rust on the body panels, you could get it running and roadworthy for less than $2k. A used engine/trans combo (350/turbo 350) can be had for less than $1500.

 

It does look solid, and I like the look of it. He'd probably go down on the price too. I could handle putting in a motor and tranny no problem, or having the originals rebuilt. As for the interior the guy said no headliner, lower door panels a mess, upholstery, etc. I wouldn't have any idea how easy it'd be to find and replace all that. It does seem safe to say that 4 to 5 grand at most and it'd be as sweet as a lot of five figure wagons I've seen.

 

We have a couple members that have the big 62 Olds wagons. Wonder if this one is a Dynamic 88 or the higher trim Super 88 model? 394 V8 and Hydramatic most likely.

 

Even with a bum engine and trans, this looks like it could be a good deal. That body looks good, the trim looks to be all there, and it is the nicer Dynamic88, not the Super. Drop in any Olds engine/tranny combo and you have a real winner here if the original is beyond redemption.

 

I like the looks of it better than that Falcon, and a project would be fun. I'd leave it as original as possible. As for interior decor, do they repro all that or would I have to hunt it down? Headliner, door panels, seats, etc..

 

You're on your own for '62 Olds parts. No one repops anything that I'm aware of, and certainly not wagon-specific parts.

 

I get the sense that availability might be an issue?

 

As far as 'hidden' sheet metal like floorpans, etc, I believe that anything from one of the other big GM wagons of that vintage would probably fit ('61-'64 Chevy Biscayne/Bel Air/Impala - some other sames; Pontiac Catalina/Bonneville/ Buick LeSabre) Trim items like door panels, dashes, etc are all unique to the Olds. Gonna be hard to find those. Also, the number of '62 Olds wagons actually out there is going to be pretty small. By comparison, lots of '62 Chevys. Determining just what you will need to locate, in addition to seeing how difficult it will be, should be a part of your decision process. I'm sure whatever you will need is out there - somewhere. You just have to find it - flea markets, place 'wanted' ads, etc. A lot of the Chevy stuff you can buy off-the-shelf as reproduced or 'New-Old-Stock'.

 

I could be wrong, but I would think the door panels from a '62 sedan would be very similar, if not the same. It might be easier to find a sedan to use as a parts car.

 

I believe the sedan lower doors are the same as the wagon, which means that the door panels should interchange. The upholstery is the same too, just the rear seat folding mechanism is different. The floor pans should interchange with the sedan too, but the rear floor is wagon specific. The Olds wagon body was made by Ionia, not Fisher, so I don't know just what will interchange with sedans, or even other G.M. Wagons. The good news is that the basic body shell was used for 61, 62, 63 and 64. The latter two use a different upper cowl with straight A pillars. The earlier ones used the curved A pillars, so different upper front doors, glass ets.

 

I called back, have to postpone trip until tomorrow, so I grilled him for more detail on the interior (he said he has no way to post pics, his son took what's on there). Sounds like the dash is good other than missing horn button, floors are solid, front seats intact and just need recovered, rear seating area he said was really nice. I'm thinking I'll turn this baby into a customized deer slayer.