1979 Safari Wagon, Beautiful Unrestored Survivor, Tow Your Gto Or Trans Am! Az. on 2040-cars

This classic 1979 Pontiac Catalina Safari Station Wagon is an original, unrestored, survivor in amazing condition. It came from the estate of a retired small town school teacher who always took great pride in her wagon and it shows. The car was always garaged, carefully maintained, and just babied its whole life. I really like wagons and bought the car with the intention of keeping it forever but circumstances have come up which force me to sell my Safari wagon.

The Pontiac still wears its original paint (code 77 "Carmine" red) which gives the car a very classy appearance. You should note that the correct color can be seen in the photos that were taken in the sunlight. After about 5 minutes, the clouds moved in and the photos make the car look almost maroon! The wagon has the optional "Bonneville" deluxe interior in "Camel Tan" just like the car in the dealer brochure. Again, the photos show a range of colors for the interior depending on the lighting and whether the flash went off but the correct color is like the rear seat photo or the brochure picture. With the walnut accents on the dash and door panels, the interior is beautiful and with the Carmine exterior, this is a very striking wagon and I get compliments on it whenever I take it out.

This Safari wagon is well equipped with the optional 350 4bbl engine, air conditioning, tilt wheel, deluxe interior and wheel covers, cruise control, AM/FM stereo radio, power steering and brakes, power door locks, third seat, luggage rack with air deflector, controlled cycle wipers and so on.

As mentioned earlier, the Pontiac came out of the estate of a retired school teacher. The odometer shows 20,325 miles and at first you might expect that, given it is a 35 year old car, it must be 120,325 miles. But she sure does not look or run that way. The interior and brake and gas pedals show no wear as can be seen in the photos. If you look down the oil fill hole in the valve cover, there is NO deposits of any kind...it looks shiny new. The front end is tight and the transmission shifts as it should. The engine is quiet, strong, and uses no oil. The wagon still has its original Guide headlights, Lof glass, Goodyear spare tire, and plug wires. Finally, the title is a box "A", actual mileage title. I have been in the car hobby all my life (I am now 61) and I feel, as does my mechanic, that the mileage is correct but without being able to talk with the original owner, it is just our opinion.

The Pontiac has always been maintained and has received a recent tune up, new belts and hoses, water pump and thermostat, and so on. I just came back from an 800 plus mile trip and the car performed flawlessly. I would not be afraid to drive it anywhere.

The Safari is in great shape but there are a few flaws. Mechanically, all the major accessories work fine. The air conditioning blows ice cold and the heater/defroster work as they should. The wipers, lights, turn signals, radio, etc all work correctly. The cruise control is not currently working. My understanding is that the box was bypassed because one of the cables broke but it will work if it is hooked back up again. I never use cruise so I never fixed it. Cosmetically, the wagon is exceptionally nice but being an unrestored car, there are some flaws as you would expect. The original lacquer paint still shines nice and looks good but there is the normal checking on the top surfaces as occurs with old lacquer paint. There is also the typical bird and sap stains in the paint as well. There are some miscellaneous dings, chips, and scratches with the worst being on the passenger rear quarter behind the rear wheel. There is a scratch about 10 inches long that has been touched in and a crease about 6 inches long down low. Most of the dings are "soft" and could be removed by a paintless dent person. I just never found the time to do so. Finally, the original owner had a CB radio antenna mounted on the top of the drivers side front fender and that 3/8" hole has been plugged with a painted plastic plug. Since I have always been a believer in the saying "a car is only original once", I have avoided doing any paint work. Besides, as you can see from the photos, the flaws are minor and the car looks great! There is no rust on the wagon, including in the spare tire well. The undercarriage looks very nice with only minor surface oxidation in areas (see photo). The Safari gets compliments all the time and will be appreciated by those who like an unrestored car.

I have always liked Pontiacs and have owned several GTO's, Trans Ams, and Firebirds over the years. I originally thought of putting a set of Rally II wheels on the wagon (they were an available option) to give it a more "muscular" look but being a purist, I decided to leave the car as it came from the factory. Besides, the deluxe wheelcovers on the car are in very nice condition and they are attractive as well!

The Safari wagon is much rarer than the Ford wagons and it seems like you see fewer of them than you do the Chevy, Buick, and Olds wagons as well. The early station wagons have become very collectable in recent years and unrestored examples in this condition are a good investment for not a lot of money. Wagons tend to bring back happy family memories of picnics and summer vacations to many people who remember the days before cookie cutter minivans and SUV's. This Safari seems to bring smiles to all who see it and I hope the new owner carries on the pride of ownership that this car has enjoyed it's whole life. It deserves to be preserved.

The Pontiac is located in Payson, Arizona, (85541) which is about 75 miles northeast of metro Phoenix. I will assist in any way I can in getting the car delivered to you. Please note that although I currently do not have the car advertised locally, I do reserve the right to end the auction early if bidding seems sluggish so please do not wait until the last minute to bid to avoid the disappointment of finding the auction closed. It should also be noted that, although I have done my best to accurately describe the car, it is, of course, sold as is without any warranty.

Please feel free to email or call me (928-468-7060) with any questions you may have. I can usually be reached most afternoons and evenings.

Thanks for looking!