I need help identifying the make and year of my old family wagon

For ages I have been trying to determine what my parents drove the year I was born (1968). My parents have only vague memories of their old cars from 40 odd years ago- Low and behold an old family film popped up, and there is one shot with my parents cars in the driveway.
My mother used to talk about owning an old Rambler- and I'm pretty sure the white sedan in this circa 1967 photo is the Rambler- but what year Rambler?

The big mystery is the wagon- the lighting in this image is poor- so nobody in my family rembers the make and year of this station wagon- My mother thinks it was a Pontiac, but a sibling swears it was a Chevrolet. Is there a way to tell by the overall shape and roofline the make of the wagon? This jpeg was pulled from a circa 1967 family home movie.

Any gueses as to the year and make of this wagon in this picture? This is an old family mystrery i hope to solve...

Thanks!

 

definitly looks like early '60's Pontiac...just guessing maybe '61 or '62.I'm sure one of the Poncho guys will know right off!

 

Well the Rambler Classic 4 door sedan is definitely a 64. So much of the wagon and its grille are hidden that its a challenge identifying it. At first I thought it was an early Pontiac Tempest. The 61 Tempest had ridges in the hood that could match those in the photo. But the full size 61 Pontiac had almost the same ridges in the center of the hood, and the A-pillars are looking like they could be curved at the bottom rather than straight, so my guess is a full size 61 Pontiac Catalina or Bonneville wagon. From the angle shown, the roof lines of both the big and little 61 Pontiacs look the same.

 

I'd have to agree...
Roof line and rear quarters look like a Corvair but the peak in the hood, where the sun is reflecting , makes it look like a 61 Tempest. The windshield on a Tempest doesn't curve like that at the A pillar tho. Also, making the case for a mid or full size, the length of the front overhang.

 

I agree it's not a Tempest.
I think it's a 61 or 62 Star Chief or Catalina wagon.
It doesn't look like it has stainless trim on the door headers, so it's more likely to be a Star Chief.

 

This is a tough one, I think. I thought Poncho at first glance but I'm not sure what we are perceiving as a hood crease is nothing more than a hood ornament. Could be a hood crease behind it, though. The thing that confuses me most is that it does not appear to be a wrap around windshield. Wouldn't that indicate a cheaper wagon? Like a Corvair or Poncho Astre? But the front end doesn't match those car I don't think. The other reason I think it could be a lower end wagon...read smaller...is that it's not much longer than the Rambler, if at all. I'm thoroughly confused by the lack of a wrap around windshield. The whole top of this wagon says smaller and lower end wagon to me, but, I don't know what it is??? It COULD be a Rambler.

 

I was initially thinking it was a full-sized Oldsmobile - probably a '62, then I looked close at the size comparison between the wagon and the Rambler. Looks like the wagon is smaller. To me, the front end says 'Oldsmobile', so this is my pick......'63 Olds F-85:

 

Thanks for the help everyone! I suspected it was a Pontiac- my father always bought Pontiacs- the wagon prior to this one was a cherry red 1961 Pontiac Tempest wagon- that one sadly got wrecked when my father 'brushed' the car against a fire hydrant

 

Then again...you might be right...I was thinking Pontiac, but it does look like an Olds

 

my guess- 64 pontiac tempest wagon

 

I agree.. the body, windshield and roof lines match this perfectly

 

I don't think the station wagon was a Rambler- According to my mother, the only Rambler they owned was the white 4 door sedan.

I'm thinking the wagon *might* be a Pontiac- my father always bought Pontiacs. In the early 1960s, he had a Pontiac Tempest wagon, in 1971 he bought a Pontiac Firebird.

Note this photo from about 1965- my older brother in front of my parents cherry red early 1960s Pontiac station wagon. Does this look like a '61?

The blue wagon in the photo replaced this station wagon (which had a mishap with a fire hydrant)

 

I think 1tire and jmt had it right. It's a 1962 Pontiac Star Chief Safari!

How could a family forget one of these?!





The windshield's curving posts, and height up into the roofline fit.
The roofline is an exact match.
The straight edge of the hood/grille with the center prow fit.
The fender/hood cut line placement fits with the extreme outward placement of dual headlights.

David

 

Yup, looks more like the 62 rather than the 61...it is that hood nose bulge

 

I think you may have nailed it, thanks! I wish I could remember the wagon. I do know my folks traded it in in '72 when they bought the '72 Dodge Monaco wagon. Who knows, maybe my family's old Pontiac wagon is now in the hands of a collector (or long since crushed into a cube and melted down)