Good morning! It’s time to get back to work from the three-day weekend, but the good news is that it’s only a four-day week. Today we’re looking at a couple of long-roof people-haulers that you don’t see too often. But first, let’s see where you landed on Friday’s flatheads:
Looks like the Hudson wins this race. Honestly, I expected it to go the other way, based on the comments, but the Hudson’s rarity and electric-blue paint seem to have given it the edge.
In the mid-1980s, the minivan was just beginning its ascendancy in the family-hauler market. But every manufacturer made a station wagon variant of almost every sedan they made. Because of their utilitarian nature, most wagons got used, and used up. This makes them a rare sight these days, but here on the west coast where cars don’t rust, it seems there’s at least one good example of pretty much anything you can think of still kicking around. Today, I’ve found what was once a common station wagon, and a contemporary that was a rare sight even back then. Let’s take a look.
1985 Peugeot 505 S wagon – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: Turbodiesel 2.3 liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Woodburn, OR
Odometer reading: 193,000 miles
Runs/drives? Runs great
Peugeot diesels aren’t very well-known in the US, but in some other parts of the world, they’re legendary. This car and its predecessor, the 504, are still in regular use in Africa, particularly in station wagon and pickup truck form (yes, Peugeot made pickup trucks once upon a time). Peugeots are the cars folks can count on to get the job done, whatever the job may be, sure as Kilimajaro, well, you know. In the US, the Peugeot 505 competed against other midsized European cars, all of which were moving upscale in the mid-’80s. Hard thankless work was the furthest thing from its mission here; this car was meant for the affluent suburbs.
A rough, clattery diesel engine didn’t really fit the mission of an upwardly-mobile ’80s lifestyle, but if Mercedes could get away with it, so could Peugeot. Diesels had a brief burst of popularity in the US around the time of the second gas crunch, but US consumers lost a lot of confidence in oil-burners after the Oldsmobile diesel fiasco. But diesels not built by GM are actually very durable and reliable. This one runs very well, according to the seller, and has had a lot of recent work done to it to keep it running well. It still has a few issues, mostly electrical. It does have a small coolant leak, but the way the seller describes it, it sounds like it’s just the reservoir leaking.
Inside, the 505 fits the yuppie-mobile brief a bit better. This S model came with leather seats, but a previous owner swapped them out for velour. At least they’re in nice shape. And in the grand French car tradition, the 505 rides very smoothly.
The rest of this car is in good cosmetic shape as well. It was repainted about ten years ago, and it never had any rust. The seller swapped the US-spec 7 inch rectangular sealed beam headlights for the composite glass European ones, and installed 15 inch wheels from a newer 505 along with new tires. Owning and driving a car like this isn’t a casual endeavor like owning a Camry or something; you end up becoming an expert in the marque, and it sounds like the seller is eager to pass on their knowledge along with a ton of spare parts and service manuals.
1984 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon – $4,700
Engine/drivetrain: 305 cubic inch overhead valve V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Washougal, WA
Odometer reading: 188,000 miles
Runs/drives? Daily driven
But not everyone in the ’80s was turning to flashy European cars. For lots of folks, a new car meant a trip to the Chevy dealership, and if you really meant business, you passed right by the Cavalier and Celebrity and Malibu wagons and went straight for this big boy: the Caprice Estate. There are no surprises with this car: a cast-iron V8, a separate body and frame, a column-shift automatic, and a solid rear axle are all present and accounted for, just like they had been for thirty years prior.
This big Chevy wagon, introduced in 1977, was actually downsized from the previous generation. Not a lot; it’s about nine inches shorter than the 1976 Caprice and rides on a five inch shorter wheelbase. It’s still a big car. But more importantly, it’s almost nine hundred pounds lighter, which makes it easier for the smog-choked 305 V8 to haul it around. This one is said to run beautifully, and in fact this car is in daily use. Everything works including the air conditioning.
[Editor’s Note: Look at that ’72 or ’73 Vega in the garage! – JT]
It’s not perfect cosmetically; there are some missing trim bits around the rear bumper, and it sounds like the rear door handles don’t work. But for a thirty-nine year old car that was intended to haul kids to baseball games and on family vacations, it’s in remarkably good shape.
I guess you’d be looked at funny if you hauled your kids around in an ’84 Chevy Caprice wagon these days. It has no ABS, no airbags, no driver aids, and it probably crumples like tinfoil in a crash, at least compared to today’s safety-caged crossovers. But folks my age all spent our childhoods in wagons like these; we fought over the “way back” seat and rode around without seatbelts on and somehow lived to tell the tale.
Station wagons are essentially gone now, and no matter how much some of us might want them to, they probably aren’t coming back. You have to lift the suspension a couple of inches and slather the lower third of the body in matte-black plastic if you want to sell wagons these days. (Thanks a lot, Subaru Outback.) But what you can do is buy one of these, and say to hell with the crossovers. All you need to do is decide which one is more your style.
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
having spent my youth in the way back of both its pontiac and buick stablemates, i have to go with the pug, since ill be the one driving and not flipping off rando cars in the back.
I’m a big fan of Peugeot so 505 all day, but the 305 caprice holds no appeal to me. A Buick roadmaster with the 350 would be a very different story
My parents sold our ‘84 Caprice station wagon when minivans from Chrysler brands became de rigueur (and also because, after years of hauling us between DFW and Memphis at least 4 times a year both ways, its poor transmission was on its last legs), and I’d still, without a doubt, jump at owning one of those again rather than the Voyager we got afterward.
Pug all the way! We got those with 3rd row seats in the early 90s althought they were gas engined if I’m not mistaken. Always wanted one as a dedicated road trip build
The lighter and the cigarette in the Caprice… automatically disqualify it. Although I am curious to know what cassettes those are…
The Peugeot definitely has style, but that Caprice wagon is an icon. The color-matched drink & cassette holder on the tunnel was icing on the cake.
Spent over a decade in the back of various GM Wagons. I appreciate them but have never even been in a Peugeot. So going to hold my nose hope febreeze gets rid of Petrolia oil and vape smoke and vote for the P Wagon.
Peugeot all the way. I have fond memories of my mother’s 1981 ish 504 estate (wagon) in the mid 80s. I’ve driven a 508SW for the last 8 years, probably as a direct result.
The Peugeot would strike up some more interesting parking lot conversations but I voted Chevy in the end. Today’s another example of us needing a BOTH option!
Didn’t need to read the description today, just clicked the Caprice (no offense intended, Mark – you’re doing good things here every day)
The Peugeot is more interesting to me. So that got my vote. The Chevy with the 305 probably isn’t much faster than the 505 either.
Peugeot 504- “The Lion Of Africa”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJInwDV0shY
I drove a Chevy Caprice in Highschool. Yeah, I was pretty cool. Of course, the salt had already done a number on it by the time it was passed down to me.
I gotta go with the Pugeot though. It’s a bit more interesting than the old Caprice.
Peugeots have always been a little weird. Parked left of their own oil stain. French charm I guess.
Damn, I actually love both of them and have always liked them even when I was a kid and they were new. Damn. Chevy I guess. Sure, parts for the Peugeot will be harder to source, but it’s really down to hating diesels.
Caprice wagon. My grandfather had this in blue. It seemed to move effortlessly thanks to that 305.
The 305 needs to be retired to boat anchor duty in favor of a 5.3 and an automatic with more gears. But the column shifter must be retained, even if it is just a selector for an electronically shifted transmission.
Heh. I’d keep it “period correct” and find a junkyard C4 donor car.
There is a precedent:
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a42721137/1983-chevrolet-caprice-wagon-corvette-chaser/
I’ll take the Purr-show, I had a 504 with a 4spd stick in the UK and it was a joy to drive, tight yet forgiving of bumps and no wallowing. It had an Tardis-like interior capacity and I drove until the head gasket blew. Only thing it lacked was a 5th gear, 75 mph was a little buzzy.
My best friend’s cool older sister had a 504. It was an odd but quite nice car. I can’t remember how/why she ended up buying it, but after a hail storm blasted through the neighborhood, it became known to all as “La Waffle”.
If ever there was a car begging to be an LS swapped sleeper, it is that Caprice.
While the Pug would be fun-ish or at least novel in the flatlands, the Chevy looks like a really loaded example — the closest thing to a full set of gauges (temp and vacuum gauges… or ‘gages’ in GM-speak) that you’ll find on a full-size GM car. I wonder if it’s an F-41 car, which would make for pleasant handling, by today’s standards. Rear bumper fillers missing isn’t as obvious on the wagons as it is on other GM cars of its time.
The Caprice is the sensible choice… well cared for, easy to work on and find parts for. But I loved those 405s and 505s when I was kid and it was the last days of Peugeot in the US, so I voted for the 505 today.
Finding parts for the Peugeot at AutoZone might be tough, but putting them on might not be the nightmare some might fear.
As a kid, our neighbor had a sedan just like this – same color but maybe a manual. She was very fond of it and kept it on the road for as long as she could drive. After her husband died (he had an interesting ride too, a ‘70s IH pickup with plates that nodded to his time as a cop: EX CU), she did all the Pug’s maintenance herself – including a belt change – well into her 80s.
I always liked the full size US wagons. If I had the money and space I would take it.
Definitely taking the Chevy.
We had a ‘84 wagon like this in light brown with the fake wood grain and it was a fantastic road trip beast. We had 4 kids, so putting the older 2 in the rear facing jump seats would keep everything relatively peaceful, so none of the kids had to be touching each other. My wife would yell “incoming” and hurl strands of licorice over her shoulder to keep them subdued. Good memories.
Peugeot because I can never pick the normal choice and I hate myself when it comes to cars that have easily obtainable and affordable parts.
Username checks out