Ian's Boxy Wagon

[ianmcc]

Greetings from Calgary!
Just picked up a 1979 Country Squire wagon for $0.08 per pound or $500!
It's a 351W with the Holley carb and a boinked rear tailgate and broken rear glass (ugh!).
Me and a friend went out and with six new Autolite 26 plugs (the others will have to wait) and a bunch of gas and had it up and running in about 15 minutes.
Judging by the receipts in the glove box it was last on the road around 2003.





Ran great but a little hard to start at first. Also has a seized front drivers caliper that was smoking like crazy once I got it on the driveway.

I am going to need a bit of items so I will be trolling the For Sale ads. Anyone in and around the Southern Alberta area with a stash of parts?

[Arquemann]

Nice wagon!

With a tune up and maybe a carb rebuilt / cleaning she'll be tearing up the streets in no time.
Aside from a tailgate and glass, brake parts and such are cheap and readily available from RockAuto.

[kishy]

Yesssssss another ratty box wagon roaming the streets

That thing is just...chef's kiss.

Logistically, getting things from me to you is pretty impractical and expensive, but I'll watch for a wagon locally for your glass - they do turn up here (in Detroit, not Windsor) pretty often. You could try posting in demo derby groups on Facebook; a lot of those guys remove window glass non-destructively so it's an option to maybe find the glass cheap.

[friskyfrankie]

The grill alone might be worth the money - congrats and best of luck with it. I love to see folks take "throw aways" and make them functional again. The ultimate in recycling!!

P.S. Will have to flush the fuel tank and check pump and lines. Same with brakes.

[WagonMan]

I have 4 rear windows........in Connecticut. WagonMan

[87gtVIC]

Nice score. Id run it just as is...with proper rear window of course. Looks like a fun ride.

[ianmcc]

I found a complete rear wagon tailgate (wrong color and no wood grain) about four hours away and a heated glass about 3 hours away. Looks like a road trip for future Ian.
We looked at the gas gauge (below empty) and decided to givver and dumped all the gas we brought into the tank and hope for the best.
Forgot to check on the coolant before we left (checked it en route and she built pressure and wasn't empty).
Also leaking a bit of oil from the PCV valve-if it leaks oil she has oil!
All the other levels were good-trans, PS and brake levels all good. Resisted the temptation to try out things like the radio and heater controls until I got it home.

[Tiggie]

20 years is a long hibernation! Imagine how minty it was that long ago.

[ianmcc]

Future plans include going through the entire braking system and possibly replace all the hard and soft lines. Thinking about a rear end swap but it has 2.26 highway gears so that should stay for now.
And all the rubber lines under the hood, carb kit and new fuel pump. But really its just going to be a level one tidy and get things in order first.

[ianmcc]

And since I was concerned about driving on flat spotted tires I had already bought a set of 15" steelies and tires to replace the 14" pizza cutters (does come with all four original hubcaps in the back.
And since I want to DD the behemoth I also picked up a set of 15x7 Explorer wheels just because.

[Hearsesrock427]

Wow, a woodgrain trim car without cornering lights/ditch lights! Can't remember the last time I saw one optioned like that. Best wishes on your journey of ascension to the panther master race!

[ianmcc]

Well there is so much broken glass inside the tailgate that it is easier to vacuum it all out with the motor and regulators removed. That gives me a chance to see why the motor wasn't working.
Pulled it all out (drilled out the rivets) and found the motor wasn't so bad and worked when bench tested. So checked out the interlock switch and with a minor adjustment I got the dash switch and key switch to activate the motor. Result!
Next is to install the new old glass and check on alignment and guide felts and make sure I have a working defroster.

[ianmcc]

So I have an issue while replacing the rear tailgate glass. I was able to get the motor working and the dash and lock also work. But there is a loose rod attached to the inner handle that appears to be a lockout for the inside handle. Unless the lever is activated the handle won't open. So I figure the glass being lowered triggers this rod. But I have no idea where the bent end goes. And there is a plastic retainer that looks like it goes into a blank hole but again no idea where. The lever is currently on the drivers side but that may be wrong. These are the best pics I could take.

[ianmcc]

Any advice? Pics if anyone has them!

[Kodachrome Wolf]

When the window travels down, it goes into that hook end of the rod and pulls the rod down allowing for the inside handle to be used so the tailgate will flip down. When the glass is raised, the hook just kinda hangs out.

As far as the retainer, I'm not terrible sure.