Sweeeeeet wagon!!! I actually would prefer the dog dish caps over full covers. Nice find!! And.......
I never rode in wagons because my dad never had one nor any of my friends that I can recall. Something I never really thought about before is how inconvenient the tailgate concept of that time was. Having to lower and raise the window each time you open the tailgate seems odd to say the least to someone like me with no wagon history. Mine has the power tailgate window which means if the battery were dead or the mechanism failed you were out of luck. Not to mention in my nordic end of the world having frozen windows (even with new cars today we spend half the winter driving around with frozen side windows that can't open from ice forming between the glass and weatherstrip). The manual system with a combination keylock and crank must have been even more irritating. Manual or electric I think about the amount of salt-sand-ice grime that builds up around the back of a car and wonder how long these mechanisms stayed functional in norther climes. I can see now why the tilt up tailgate became so popular (unless you have a low ceiling in your garage). I'm itching for spring so I can get a feel of driving a wagon and using (gently) it's added space.
Older Wagons I'm from the midwestern USA. I can only remember a few station wagons as a kid. Mostly the neighbors on the road behind my parents house. They had two boys the age of my brother and I and two older girls. Mr Elliot was a no nonsense city cop yet at times he almost seemed human. He'd take me, my brother and his kids for rides and on picnics in the 1950 Plymouth wagon and later the 60's Chrysler product wagon. Probably another Plymouth. I cared so little about those wagons I can't even remember what it was. But enjoyed riding in them. Or was sitting next to the older daughters why I liked the wagon? Other than those two station wagons our own 1955 Chevy was all I've really rode in. Of course a 55 handyman wagon does not have the third seat and I couldn't drive from there anyway. As far as the two piece window/lift gate, it's really no problem as long as we remember to put the glass upper section down first. The lower gate keeps the upper from being opened when it's locked. Driving with the upper hatch open is not the greatest or recommended but I've done it. My introduction to station wagons was accidental. I was looking for a tri-five sedan delivery when I kept seeing my wagon while on my way home from work one cold snowy winter. I stalked it at followed it home.
