King Bee: 1969 Chevrolet Kingswood Wagon
Whenever I see an AMG’d Mercedes SUV or an M’d BMW SUV, I think “Why would you buy such a thing, think of the cool CARS you could have bought instead? (although they are probably leasing it)”. I wonder if 40 or 50 years ago, petrolheads thought the same thing when a big block station wagon rumbled by… Find this 1969 Chevrolet Kingswood Wagon for sale in Puyallup, WA for $8,000 via craigslist.
The Kingswood was the upmarket wagon for the suburbanite on the move. The second generation, like this car, was only available with one of 3 V-8’s. This car is said to be one of the rare 427 cars. The ad says it is numbers matching if you are into that sort of thing. The optional L-36 V-8 was quoted by the factory to have 390hp. This one is putting the power to the ground with a 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic. Seller says it smokes a bit and they think the valve guides are shot.
Inside, things are a bit scruffy, but usable. Since CL doesn’t offer Smell-O-Vision yet, you will have to show up in person to see how usable it is.
Seller says there is a bit of rust and more work to do. They apparently are done with what they want to do (i.e. spending money) and have been trying to sell it on and off. Makes you wonder since they purport to have all the documentation to back it up as a rare 427 Kingswood, what the issue is.
See a better wagon for Mrs. Brady to leave snakes in front of Sam’s Butcher Shop? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Gianni is Daily Turismo’s Pacific Northwest correspondent.
Now THAT is a wagon. Love it.
It needs a fan shroud. Without the shroud, it won't pull enough air through that fancy new radiator to keep the engine at the right temp.
GM offered the big engined V8s in wagons so that the Dad's could enjoy at least a semblance of power when they were alone in the car, or needed to make a point by mashing down on the loud pedal when he needed to let everyone in the car know he was pissed off! Or, was that just my dad?!
Then, when their kids were old enough to drive it, there was always one smartazz who would flip the lid on the air cleaner over, to get a little more air and a whole lot more noise out of it when he'd the floor in mid-1st gear to generate some amazing, if only momentary, shock and awe to some unsuspecting (unimproved) small block driver. Or, was that just me?! Big block wagons haul the family and provided a generation with some of the best drive-in memories ever!
Yeah, friends felt sorry for us, until we revealed the benefits of long roof ownership. Even at $0.43/gallon, they were more expensive to drive, but the big blocks definitely offset for any inconvenience or lack of cool.
This is the exact year, model and color combo of the car I took my driver's license test in and enjoyed many late night shenanigans with.
[image src=" stationwagonforums.com/forums/media/1971-buick-estate-wagon.244/full?d=0" width="600px"/]
This one is just down the hill from me think he dropped the price from $8500 but needs a lot of TLC.
Smokes a little? I bet it smokes a lot every time you stop the gas pedals and light up the rear tires!