I am considering buying a 79 Catalina Safari wagon. http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Pontiac-Catalina-1979-Safari-/74015453?_tab=1&_trksid=p2047675.l2644 Anyone have a link to a resource on specifications on one or any thoughts on this year safari? I am especially interested in length since the wife has said a full size 60s wagon is to big for her to drive (70 Townsman) Thanks -hope to have a new addition to the garage soon.
That is a nice clean wagon! I would suggest have your honey take it for a test drive if her wanting/needing to drive it is important. My honey will drive my G body Olds but won't drive my full size Buick because of the size...... Good luck, it is a very nice example.
We picked up a '77 Bonneville 4 door for my teenage son. The '77 is the same body style as this '79. His has 30,000 miles now and is a very nice driving car. While these late '70s Pontiacs are still very large cars by todays standards, they are significantly smaller and more maneuverable than the late '60s and early '70s big cars. I do have a '69 Bonneville wagon as a point of comparison. This '79 wagon looks super nice... well, except for the fact that it came with a Buick motor. That might not be an issue for you, but for a dyed-in-the-wool Pontiac guy like me, it's a bit of a bummer. Anyhow, I say go for it! It's even a nice color combo. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima
I have an 80 Catalina Safari that also came from AZ. I believe that's it's been kept inside. The weatherstripping doesn't appear to be cracked, the paint isn't faded, and the interior is probably not sun bleached. Mine was to some extent, but I only gave $1200 for it and it had ton's of new parts on it that saved me some bucks and I have to paint it. They don't drive like a big car. The 350 is a plus. Mine has the 301 which screams above 35mph, but won't get out of its own way below that.
Sorry, don't have a link for you, but I would think these are slightly shorter than the mid-70's clamshells. My 78 Estate Wagon is over a foot shorter than my 67 Electra convertible... not a wagon, but on the full size frame. My 78 EW handles a lot better than the big Electra, and feels a lot smaller on the road to me. You can also easily see all 4 corners so parking is not a problem. I agree that the Buick 350 is a huge bonus. Nice car, hope you get it! I would expect bidding to get between $4500 and $6K for this one.
Overall length is 215.9" Width is 80.00" Link to wagon page from 1979 Pontiac 'Buyer's Guide' brochure: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/pontiac/79_10.html Here's link to main page for brochure website I use. From there you can search for any brochure (They don't have every single one, but quite a few): http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html Good luck with your prospective purchase. I love my '81 Bonneville Safari. Marshall
A bit of trivia if you didn't already know it. Decoding the vin number: 2L35x9x105224 2=Pontiac L=Catalina 35=4 dr. wagon X= 5.7L 4bbl Buick engine 9=1979 X=built at Fairfax, KS plant 105224= numbering starts at 100001 so this car was the 5224th car built.
Then you'll need to keep looking. The difference in exterior size between a 1970 Chevrolet Townsman and a 1979 Pontiac Catalina Safari is so small as to be negligible. If your wife finds a '70 Townsman too big to drive comfortably, she would undoubtedly find a '79 Safari to be no better. Wheelbase: 1970 Townsman: 119 inches 1979 Safari: 116 inches Overall length: 1970 Townsman: 216.7 inches 1979 Safari: 215.9 inches Overall width: 1970 Townsman: 79.8 inches 1979 Safari: 80 inches The '79 Safari is a tiny bit shorter (0.8 inches) and a tinier bit wider (0.2 inches).
They are, by about 10 inches. A '73 Pontiac Safari is about 226 inches long versus the approximately 216 inch length of the '79 Safari. If the OP really wants to get a wagon for his wife, but she doesn't want to drive something full-size, he might be better off going for something in the intermediate size range. As an example, a '79 LeMans Safari/Grand Safari is 197.8 inches long, which is 1.5 feet (18.1 inches) shorter. These are nice-looking wagons, too. From the '79 Pontiac brochure:
I looked it up based on the information from a previous post. What I really need is a Chevelle.thanks!
That Catalina is Gorgeous! The Buick 350 is also the most fuel efficient engine you can get. If you didn't buy it, I hope whoever did appreciates what they have there. If it was you, you got a GREAT car!
My '81 might be an inch or two longer than the '79, because the grill (and bumper) stick out a bit more. I've got a 'standard' 2-car garage, and the Safari barely leaves me room to get into my house through the man-door on the back wall. I've got about 1 foot to spare.
