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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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!”
A beautiful looking automobile…thanks for another great article!
Great license plate and great car. I know Robert must like cruising the highways and by ways with the sound of ELO filling the massive cabin….
You said almost the exact things I was thinking of writing, Lynn. You must be a very perceptive and clever person! 😉
👍👍👍
That dash brought back memories of Dads Lesabre.
Agreed,My dad also had a Buick Le-Sabre when I was in high-school and I drove that thing EVERYWHERE! Looking at the cooling/heating controls,sure brought back memories for me,as I can even remember the “smell” it had inside of it! Lol. Ahhh,the memories!
This brings back memories. My dad was a Buick wagon man for decades. Loved riding in the “way back” as a kid. Took my drivers test in a mid 70’s Estate and dated my now wife in what must have been a ‘78. Dad did not like the “woody look so they were always plain sided and they were always earth tone colors, beige, brown, etc. because they “showed less dirt” between washes. 😄. Dad used his wagons as the article states, for hauling, camping, towing, etc. as well as a night on the town with mom or special occasion trips to restaurants for birthdays.
Situation is Such yours truly designed the Buick wagon while serving time behind the world’s largest walled prison. I was General Motors Jackson Prison Connect.
It’s amazing how the passage of time changes things. I’ve always been a “car guy” since my youth in the 70s, but was always into wagons & 4-door sedans. The ribbing I took for driving those – as opposed to “cool” cars such as Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, etc – was often annoying. I’m a big guy, so it was always only verbal… & from a distance too. (Actually, I liked the Mustang – the Mustang ll!). Now, all these once-oddball cars are hugely popular & collectable. I’ll hold my breath until I get an apology for past transgressions. (still waiting…..!)
We’re still reeling from a “big guy” saying he liked the rather smallish Mustang II – but I’m sure the apologies will come sooner or later…😉
I always loved the 1977-1990 Buick Estate Wagons, depending on the model, you either got the LeSabre trim or the Electra trim. I had a 1983 Buick LeSabre Wagon and a 1985 Electra Estate Wagons, both had woodgrain. These wagons look great with the woodgrain trim and the tailgate wind deflector and roof rack. The last year was 1990 when Buick just simply called it the Estate Wagon, I’ll always love the nostalgia of a Big Family Station Wagon, I grew up in the 70s and 80s and spent many hours riding around in Station Wagons. These are definitely a great classic and a collector’s car, I would drive a Big Station Wagon anyday over any new car.
This is an example of corporate platforms that were so good they got away with it.
GM got the late 70’s right in style function and size while retaining RWD.
While this was just a Caprice it still worked as a Pontiac, Olds and Buick.
Interesting you say that…the front door skins were common to all those cars. Chevies were concave at the very top, by the mirror. As I recall, Oldsmobile used a front fender that was different from that of the sedan (to match the shape of the door) while Buick used a small filler panel to match the door to their fender (or maybe the reverse). An interesting, virtually imperceptible cost saving measure.
I’ve seen the Buicks with a triangular wedge glued on to transition from the Buick fender to the Chevy door. (Notice the Buick’s front wheel opening is a rounded rectangle, while the rear is a Chevy radius. Later in this cycle the Buicks switched to the Chevy ‘radiused’ front fender.)
Beautiful car. Love that dashboard. I would rather drive this than any “SUV.” I don’t see wagons as having any less of the “U” than an SUV, and how much “S” is in the average SUV? How many of them are ever used for off-roading? Bring back the station wagon!
Totally agree on the dashboard. Absolutely the best of the B-bodies of that era.
I remember a friends parents had one of these but in blue. So large and roomy!
I still have a 1968 Ford LTD wagon same color combination as the Buick. Raised our four kids with that car. It has more room than most SUVs, great 390 2V. 15 to 19 mpg on reg gas. They were very popular, and now very uncommon to see. Not getting an SUV. I love that Buick!
I drove one just like that in driver’s training in 1978 in Bremerton. Hmmm.
Number one daughter sank down in the seat as as I ((Dad) would pick her up from cheer practice at the high school, and number two daughter insists that her Durango IS NOT a station wagon…
This all relates bake to the 1970 Kingswood Estate wagon I ( at least) enjoyed for nearly 300K miles and didn’t need a truck and a commuter.
Things have changed indeed.
We had a Buick Estate wagon, not sure of the year anymore, but it looked just like this. We traded in a 1974 Buick Century for it. We also had four kids to haul around. Never had a problem finding room. The rear door could open sideways or vertically. I always thought that was neat. Traded it in for a Chevy Caprice Wagon, with the diesel engine. Discovered that the Chevy had been sold new by a dealer less that 3 miles away from me to a place in town. We bought the Chevy from a dealer about 40 miles away. The paperwork had white out on it. Now that was the epitome of a bad deal.
My parents had a 68 Torino Wagon when I was a teenager. Buried the needle on that one. After we had kids in the early 80’s we had 2 Impala Wagons. A 77 and a 79. One was a 3 seater. The back seat unfolded out of the floor and the kids sat in it facing the rear window. They loved it.
Looks like the wagon Riggs and Murtaugh destroyed in Lethal Weapon 2!
They were beauties.