Folks, please apologize my poor american english. I am a German guy, following this forum for quite a while. I am driving a VW Touareg as a Daily Driver and a Bimmer Z4 with performance upgrades at the weekends. I allways wanted to own and drive a 70ths station wagon and finally focussed myself on a 73'er Chevy Station wagon. Actually I am about to buy this wagon from the Netherlands but need your help. What to check on this car? Which parts are hard to find? Whats your opinion on this particular car? Any input is of help. http://www.usacarclassics.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=13191024 Any help is appreciatet. Regards from Germany Snowbird
Welcome Snowbird! Great looking wagon you are looking at there. We have plenty of Chevy guys with lots of helpful imput.
Welcome to the nuthouse! That is a beautiful looking wagon. I know there are people here with a lot more knowledge of these cars than I have, but since none have answered yet, I'll put in my tuppenceworth. Check along the bottoms of the quarter windows. It seems like that is a spot that rust loves to hide on these cars. Of course, check the spare tire well. It should, if it is done right, be painted black, not body colour. The bottoms of the doors and the dogleg between the back side doors and rear wheel wells is another place to look for rust. Mechanically, look to see that the maintenance has been kept up. Given good maintenance, if it runs well now, chances are there is nothing much going to go wrong with it. These are TOUGH cars when cared for. Have fun around here, and don't be shy about joining in the discussions. Never worry about your 'poor American English'. You speak as well as many of our members for whom English is their primary language. Besides, we can understand you, so you are a leg up on many of the others!
well i dont know about your 'american english'...but its pretty good 'canadian english' to the board man...good luck with the hunt
Der Motor ist ein bißchen klein für den Wagen und der Preis etwas hoch (The engine is somewhat small for such a big vehicle and the price is rather high)
Small engine? Must be German humor.... As for the price... it does seem high. I would make a lower offer and see if you can get a deal. But considering the good looks... and rarity of that model in Europe... it might be right. Depends if you can afford it, the taxes and the fuel later.
That's exactly why I choosed this username I spent 2 weeks every winter in Florida for at least 15 years. So I got used to the American way of living and enjoy it very much. My dream is to extend these stays up to 3 months after my retirement So yes, I know people call these guys Snowbirds and I surely want to become one!
I know it's not a bargain. On the other hand: It looks like nothing is missing or has to be replaced. You know that chrome-trim. interior and shields are hard to find and expensive in Germany. So it could be worth a look. I don't care about tranny and engine. This can be fixed anywhere and is not an issue. Engine-size: I just want to cruise with this beauty. I don't think it needs a 454. If I want to race, I take one of my daily drivers. They perform better anyhow...but they fail when it comes to this special feeling (think about the smell of oil, plastic, rubber, etc). If you are into old American cars you know what I am talking about
You could get that same car somewhere in the States for much less money. Shipping it in a container along with gallons of engine oil and brake fluid which cost a fortune in Europe would help recover some of the shipping loss through windfall savings Small block in a full sized wagon must be American humor. How is that big fat piece of iron supposed to get out of its own way? Either big block or no block at all, in my automotive bible
@Hanswurst respectively Plumskloh (by the way: cool nickname ) Surely you will find better deals in the US. But I don't want to buy scrap and I hate the idea of driving a station wagon, we would call "Tex-Mex-Style" in other words filler & chicken wire We all know that this kind of cars is not only driven by collectors.
This wagon has been seen here before... I think it was the one that was originally in Georgia USA? One of the members here had mentioned once about buying it. It is a beauty. It is actually a '73 Caprice Estate. Chevy stopped using the Kingswood name in '72.
