1978 Buick Estate Wagon: When Family Haulers Had Style

I grew up with station wagons. Heck, I came home from the hospital in one. And though my parents had Volvo stations wagons, in various trims of 240 and 740 models, I still had a soft spot for the big domestic woody wagons.

Robert Reed

Just on our block, there were two 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagons, one in a dark metallic brown, and the other in what I believe is the same color seen on today's featured '78 Buick, owned by my friend Robert Reed.

Robert Reed

GM's 1978 full-size station wagons were only mildly changed from 1977. That's because '77 was the arrival of the downsized big GM cars, from the lowest-priced Impala two-door to the Cadillac Fleetwood limousines.

Robert Reed

Downsizing was a big deal at the time. While there were the usual folks worried about the change, and missing GM's Nimitz-class full-size cars from 1971 to 76, the new rolling stock proved popular-so much so that Ford shrunk its own biggies for 1979, except for Lincoln, which got a one-year deferral.

Robert Reed

The new cars were certainly smaller. The '76 Estate Wagon was 231.8 inches long with a 127 inch wheelbase. The all-new 1977 Estate Wagons arrived in Buick showrooms sporting a 115.9-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 216.7 inches. While those numbers don't seem so wild on paper, in person, it was quite a switch.

Robert Reed

The '77s came in a two-seat ($5903) and a three-seat version ($6078). Production total for both models combined was 25,075. As previously mentioned, the '78s only had minor changes, the most noticeable being the new grille.

Robert Reed

The '78 now was cataloged as just the two-seat version, with the three-row model now being simply an option instead of a separate model. Base price was $6394. Curb weight was 4063 pounds and 25,964 were built for the year.

Robert Reed

But of course, being a Buick, there were lots of options and accessories, perhaps the nicest being the Limited trim option, which Rob's wagon has.

Robert Reed

Per the 1978 Buick brochure, the Estate Wagon Limited included "… 55/45 notchback seats, power windows, a custom tilt steering wheel, a luggage rack with air deflector, chrome-plated road wheels-even the same front end styling treatment as the Electra, and more."

Robert Reed

I always loved the instrument panel on these, especially the silver-faced gauges. The matching analog clock was also very cool. It was only recently that I realized the clock was an option, when I saw a '77 LeSabre sedan with few options for sale online and it just had the wood trim panel above the glove compartment.

Robert Reed

Getting back to the featured car, here is a little background on it from Robert. "This wagon was sold new to a military (Navy) family from Chuck Haselwood Buick in Bremerton, Washington. It is "tan" with "colonial walnut" and tan cloth interior.

Robert Reed

"It was owned by the same family in Bremerton until 2010 when a collector in Vancouver, Canada purchased the car. I became friends with the collector and let him know I would be most interested in purchasing the wagon if he ever sold it.

"I had been looking for a nice 77-79 Estate Wagon for over ten years. We stayed in touch for several years and finally in July of 2023 he reluctantly sold it to me.

Robert Reed

"These are so hard to find in nice condition. These wagons were workhorses purchased to be used for hauling children, building supplies, or towing boats and campers. Nobody ever thought to put a low-mile wagon away for its value as a future collectible. They were the SUVs of their day.

Robert Reed

"I have been fortunate enough to have owned some nice classic cars over the years, but none of those has ever gotten the amount of attention this old wagon gets! It was uncool to have to drive Mom's wagon to prom. Now days it is just plain cool driving one of these!"

Robert Reed

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