Hi - random vehicle identification question...

I know he wasn't talking about clamshells having a fold out tailgate. But, I have never ever seen a live clamshell opened. I lead a sheltered life.
Altho jairus I can think of many other favorite things to do on a warm summer day.
But it's right up there while at a nice warm beach watching mature young ladies playing volleyball.

 

LAST one downuder with a 2 peace tailgate is gm product we know it as an EH Holden . If this what you are looking for try vintage street some great photo shotsprovided by others (they do good work)

 

wow - some awesome ideas here!

I like the Cutlass Cruiser - that's just the kind of thing I had in mind! The Malibu is also great! Thanks for all the resopnses! A great friendly community


It's gonna be good now I have some model names to search for - google image search is much easier when you know the name!


Thanks everyone!

 

@Krash Kadillak

I didn't know that those doors opened both ways! I kinda like the ones where the glass goes up rather than inside the door tho - I don't know why - I guess I'm just trying to find the car that matches the way I imagine it should be!

 

Different tail gate designs.......

Typical hinged design, where the glass was hinged at the top and the gate hinged at the bottom - it's actually still around, mostly on a few SUV's.

Next development was the 'retracting' glass, that would lower, either by crank or electric motor, down inside the lower gate. The Chrysler Corp. vehicles started this I believe, in the 1957 model year. This type of gate was common all through the first half of the 60's.

Next development was the so-called 'magic' gate, where the lower gate could go down like a normal gate, or swing to the side, like a door. American Motors was little late to the ball game, so their version went only one way - you had to order it! For them, your gate either went down, or went to the side like a door - not both!.
At first, the glass with these magic gates had to be lowered into the gate before you could open it as a door, Later on, they developed them where you could still leave the glass up and open it as a door.

Next development was the 'disappearing tailgate in the 70's, an exclusive product on the big GM wagons from '71 to '76. The glass went up, disappearing into the roof area under the headliner. The lower gate disappeared under the cargo compartment. These gates were quite complex, and necessitated a reconfiguration of all the stuff kept in the back - location of the spare tire, fuel tank, etc. Here's a video of one in operation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll-OsKw0mDQ

There's also the tried-and-true one-piece lift-up gate design. You'll usually find these on smaller wagons, although the fairly large GM mid-sized wagons from '73-'77 had them (Chevelle Malibu, Pontiac Lemans, Buick Century, Olds Cutlass Vista Cruiser)

 

hehe - that disappearing gate is quite something! It looks pretty fancy for a 70s car!
I quite like the look of the big old square edged cars – I figure once they started getting smaller and more rounded they kinda loose that edge that gives them the look I like – some of the older models were pretty big – not very sensible these days, but they sure look pretty special

 

I guess I completely forgotted to put an actual intro on (in clear violation of the rules) - I guess I've always been one for breaking rules - so I'll put an into here:

I'm Pete - I don't have a wagon - and I don't actually remember ever having one - but I grew up in the back of a pickup truck and I guess that's gotta count for something. I live in Europe now (wherever I hang my hat), and I'm writing a story about a girl that lives in the back of a wagon and runs her private detective agency from the back too - it's kinda based loosely on my own experience of living in the back of a car - but I want her to have a big old wagon that's like the ones I vaguely remember from being a kid back in Louisiana - I've got a clear image in my mind of the kind of thing - but I want to be specific - I want to know the inside of that car really well - so when I write about it you'd recognise it even if I didn't name it. The suggestions are really great - I'm now looking at google images and poking about looking for just the right one.... I doubt I'll be able to get my hands on the perfect wagon over here in Europe, they'll be kinda thin on the ground over here - but getting a bunch of pictures and some thoughts from those who know them well will let me bring the beast to life on the page even if I don't get to drive it myself