1969 Buick Sport Wagon 400

Looking for any help!

What is the difference model-wise in a Sport with the side stainless trim and one without?

I found a 1969 Sport 400 which is medium rough inside (it would take a lot of work and new parts to restore but is habitable as is) and above average outside (smallish hail damage and a few paint chips on repaint job). Runs well. Power steering works well. Brakes sluggish. AC lacks working condenser.

Kind of above average but no cream puff.

What should I look to pay in this depressed economy?

TIA

 

Got pix? Only way we can tell you ANYthing is with a lot of pix of the wagon. Sorry...just the way it is. The more pix the better.
How about an intro in the Welcome Wagon section? Sure would like to get to know a little about you and where you are from.

 

1969 Sport Wagon pix

Here are what I have. Nothing of the interior, but it is rough: window trim rusted, plastic piece inside B pillar all cracked and gone (as are other plastic places). Didn't get serious enough yet to check floorboards and other places for rust but the window trim probably is a tip-off.

Are these kind of parts (interior plastic and trim) available readily or scarce?

How rare is the car itself? Once again, I know the exterior trim package denotes some model name. What is it?

Thanks again.

 

Is there a group on here that is dedicated to Buick wagons? TIA

 

By no means would I be considered and expert on Sport Wagons, but I do know when it had the windows on the roof, it was called a Sport Wagon and the flat roofs without the windows was known as a Skylark wagon. The "400" option gave you the better three speed automatic transmission; I think it might have been called the super turbine 400 trans and rumor had it the tranny was so good that Rolls Royce used it in their cars. That option package might also have given you a bigger engine. I know on the LeSabre sedan, it gave you the 350 with the 4 bbl instead of the 2bbl.
I'm thinking your moldings were a separate option as well, maybe part of a "custom" package. In another discussion thread, we were talking about how sometimes folks remove the wood from their wagons and leave the moldings, which leaves a questionable look. Such is not the case with the Sport Wagon. You could get those moldings without the wood from the factory. Interesting that looking through google, I found 2 '69 Sport Wagons; one with wood on top and the other with wood on the bottom. Any of you Buick guys out there know what's up with that?

 

Darn, tried twice to attach thumbnails of both of those wagons but it didn't take. I think my computer is not as capable as it once was. Probably should get the computer geeks in to check it out. They cleaned it up for me about two years ago and did a great job.

I think I may have figured it out. The 68's had the wood on the bottom and the '69's had the wood on the top.

 

Anyone know about parts availability for this wagon? And thanks for the info thus far.

 

Another one: this car says Sport Wagon 400. Does that mean a 400 engine? Is there also a 455 engine or are these the same? Thanks.

 

That wagon should have a 340-Hp 400 CID engine in it. The 400 was new for 1967 and its large displacement cousin was the 430 used in the big cars. The 455 was released for 1970 and, by then, Buick could put it in the intermediate sized chassis.

 

The 400 badge is indicative that it had the 400 option, which gave you the better tranny and did come with an engine upgrade but I'm not sure which engine it would include. It might have been the 400ci or perhaps it added the 4bbl to the 350. Sorry, but I'm not sure.
Conversely, the GS400 did mean it had the 400ci engine.

 

I parted out a 70 Old Vista wagon this spring and got over $200 for the interio plastic pieces. So I would say they are fairly hard to find.

Carmak

 

Did you have much left...window trim all around and especially in the rear...stuff like that? TIA

 

All of the metal interior trim in the rear was seriously rusty! I have most of the exterior SST trim. I still have the back half of the car but the front is gone.

Carmak

 

would you say that there is a general problem on this car with water leaking in from the glass above, then running down the inside of the rear windows into the trim and rotting it?

 

I would say there's most likely a huge problem with leaking around the windows on Carmak's VC.