Hey all, I am new to the board, and wagons in general. I am knowledgeable about cars in general, but really just getting interested in the wagon scene. I have a qustion specific to the clam shell GM's from 71-76. A friend and I were having a heated debate over the term "9 passenger" in reference to the Safari and Grand Safari models. It seems as though several web sites refer to the 3 seat models as 9 passenger, yet there only appears to be 2 seat belts for the rear most seat. Can anyone help clarify this please? Perhaps someone has some GM manuals with reference to the 9 passenger seating arrangement? Any and all input is greatly appreciated!
to our wagon train imperial man I've wondered the same thing myself, when there are only seat belts for 8 people. My 1976 dealership brochure makes no mention of passenger capacity, only 2 or 3 seat options.
Technically they are 8-passengers... most wagons are. Thats like the older Ford wagons with the dual-facing rear seats are referred to as 10-passenger wagons, but only have rear belts for two... again, technically these are only 8-passenger wagons, but like the GM clamshell wagons, most can fit three on the 3rd seat... especially smaller children and back in the 70s, most people didnt use the seat belts anyway.
Another thing to think about is that if you have to strap your big ole mother in law on the roof, your wife would probably take up two spots in the front seat. Making it an 8 passenger wagon. Or you could always stick the MIL in the cargo area of a 6 passenger/2seat wagon. Then you technically would have a 7 seat wagon. Good thing about the clamshell is you could lower the tailgate from the drivers seat, go in reverse, and with a nice hard brake, deposit her nicely on her front lawn, without ever having to step out of the vehicle. I, of course, am just trying to help you'll out, as my MIL is a sweet angel, a personification of all that is heavenly, gentle, and precious Now I have known MILs so nasty that you would stick them solo in the third seat, and after a few minutes it would be a one person wagon, as any other passengers, and the driver would simply get the hell out of that wagon rather than sit with that sort of a stinky, nasty MIL.
we used to get 6 kids in the back seat + 3 in the way back and 4 in the front. 13 passenger!! no one wore seat belts: a seat belt was mom's arm swinging over to you on a short stop with a lit cigarette hanging from her lips it was the 70s, no one cared
Ah the good old days. We packed 6 of us into a 5 seater 73 Laguna S3 454 when I was a kid. Was great when dad would get after it and toss us all over the back seat.
Thanks for the replies guys. It pretty much sums up what I was thinking, that they were technically 8 pass., but you could cram most of your neighborhood in if need be. lol. Thans again.
Yes and no my CE that I use to have stated it was 9 passenger and had 3 seat belts in the back, so I figure the 9th person was a cop hiding so he could pull you over when you did something wrong.
This friend wouldn't be someone by the name of "Jon" would it? LOL. There is a similar debate going on on another site. Over there someone mentioned that in their brochure for a '73 Pontiac it mentioned being a nine passenger model. I just looked at the one for my wagon, and I didn't see anything like that mentioned in mine. Just my.
Actually, it may have some relevance to the other discussion you mentioned. If the other board that you are referring to is "Wecrash". I'm not on that board, but a friend of mine is, and he is the one I was arguing with. Maybe I need to go scope it out.....
Ford has always referred to their E350 Club Wagon as a 15 passenger. It has 4 across the most rear bench, 3 on each of the three mid benches and then two bucket seats. I always thought it was kind of misleading because actually, it's a 14 passenger plus the driver.
I just checked that place out and OOOO I had to leave before I signed up and posted my mind about how they are buying and smashing damn nice and savable wagons. Glad they did away with the wagon class out here. There is no longer a wagon allowed in the demos at the 4 local demos events.
