That's not a manual tailgate. The motor for the tailgate is broken! They were all powered on those wagons. When he turns the switch for the tailgate it only unlocks now. They weren't designed to be shoved down or pulled up like that. The handle he's pulling the tailgate up by was only there in case of motor or battery failure so you could close the tailgate. The window could be closed with a small plastic tool from the inside. This guy is simply an idiot!
@@kingofalldoughboys To put it as gentlemanly as I possibly can, you are or were unfamiliar with the manual tailgates on these 71 - 76 Clamshell Wagons. They exist, although when I look at different Clamshell Wagons for sale, I usually see the power tailgate more frequently. The window is always automatic, regardless if the tailgate door is automatic or manual.
Excellent explanation and video of an unusual tailgate setup! I have a 1973 Custom Cruiser with the electric gate but it's inop. a 1973 Safari or Grand Safari is one of my bucket list cars. Have a good one.
That's why so many of these cars were sold. GM reigned among the Big Three in terms of innovative engineering and attractive designs that families wanted.
+MrTheHillfolk The man who owns (owned?) it got the insurance money, kept the wreckage and put it up for sale as a demolition derby car. It's literally cheaper at this point to buy another one, the last time I heard he had his eye on another Buick Clam Wagon local to him.
I was a kid when my dad bought a beater 74 Impala wagon, and I thought I remember his tailgate dropping like a friggin rollercoaster! maybe I'm wrong or maybe that was a common problem after they wore out?
@@boggy7665 Fabulous demo derby cars too! Yea I know this won't be popular with most of you. They are though! Alot of these wagons were sacrificed for racecar chassis too, as they were the only modern full framed car with leaf springs.
My best friend's mom had a Buick wagon with the power clam-shell, rear door. I thought it was cool, but I was always uncomfortable getting in and out of the back of the car, for fear it would close on me. I had never seen a manual one before; that's pretty cool. Another thing I remember about that Buick wagon is that it had an extremely smooth ride; it was as if it was floating above the street.
Thanks for posting this. I had no idea they operated this way. I'd never noticed the AMC Pacer like wrap around rear windows. That was something for the early 70s.
Thank you for the video. I was raised in a 74 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon. We had the automatic tailgate. I remember seeing somewhere (this was in the late 1970s or early 80s) A person had this manual tailgate and the bottom part slid down real fast instead of operating automatically….I never forgot it. I also noticed on that person’s wagon there were these dials around the key slot which our wagon did not have. Now I finally got to see how this works. It took me 40 years - LOL
So many memories.... thanks for sharing. I grew up with a 76 Pontiac grand safari..... I remember, as a kid, working that clam shell tailgate so many times.
We had a red '73 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser with woodgrain. Ours had the power back door. Our miniature Schnauzer jumped out the back window with her leash on while we were rolling down a residential street. Luckily it was fastened to the inside somewhere, but left her dangling for a few horrifying seconds by her neck. I was aghast at that scene from Vacation because it happened to us 9 years earlier!
I had the '73 Catalina version, I bought it in the mid 80's as they were still around. That Tailgate was the coolest thing I'd ever seen or had . My car had lots of rust , but the tailgate never failed me. with both forward seats down the back was 5 x 9 ' . The only issue with the model was if it got rear ended and the tracks messed up, it could not be fixed. I sure wished this kind of thing came back
I didn’t even know they MADE a manual one.., I had never seen one before... I guess I had seen mostly just Oldsmobiles and Buick’s and a few Chevys... but all had the dual electric tailgate. And I thought all of them were that way. Now I’m smarter than I was just a few minutes ago! Thanks for sharing!
thx for showing the manual version...you generally only see the power version. I wonder if the average 70's housewife was able to manhandle that tailgate as it looks to take a little upper body strength to yank it up. conversely, I also wonder if the power version could be opened at all manually, if the motor failed. good stuff!
Had a 76 Caprice wagon. All the mechanisms for the glass lift were shot. I used to wedge a piece of rubber from an old traffic cone base between the roof and the window glass th keep it closed tight!
It was a good thought but I never cared for it. It was more convenient to have a door that could drop down like a tailgate to give extra room if needed
The drop-away door must have had some kind of counterweight mechanism. I remember these, learned to drive on one. We had it for 10 years. I remember the curb weight was right around 5000 lbs. '73 Impala with the 400 small block. 9 passengers. Saw a RU-vid demo of the 3rd seat in a '76. I recall the one in the '73 was more elaborate. The seat cushion in the '73 covered the cabbage and it dropped away when you folded the back down. In the '76, it was cut away over the cabbage and fixed in position, didn't move when you folded the back down. So maybe in '73 they were '9 passengers' and in '76 they were '8 passengers'?
@@patrickflohe7427 Our '73 had a cushion that covered the hump over the rear diff., and the seat bottom retracted when we folded the seatback; in the vid of the '76, the cushion was cut away & it did not retract when he folded the seatback.
That's a kewl setup, it must have been a bit difficult for the Designers/Engineers to explain that system to their upper management and beancounters. ;-) It sounds like the track needs some maintenance?
I am restoring our 73 Pontiac Grand Safari wagon and I can not get the tailgate window to function. Do you have any literature on the repair of the clam shell tailgate? Thanks
Check the Station Wagon Forum, there's probably something there. If you can't find it by searching the forum you can register, introduce yourself and ask about it. I'm a member there, people there own these cars (though not me at this time, I never had one so far) and will gladly answer your question.
I’m sure someone has a manual with the electrical schematic, but I’m betting it’s either a bad switch or chaffed wiring. Follow the wires & look for damage.
When I was a kid we had a 73 Caprice Estate wagon with the powered gates. My crushed guitar case can attest to the lack of safety features as shown on this manual version. At least I didn't have to keep going to those stupid guitar lessons.
Slight? I saw a forum post in 2015 or so about a 75 that got rear-ended by a drunk while parked, and the owner just got the insurance money and put the shell up for sale after stripping its parts.
Fun fact on these is that the rear bumper doesn't attach to the frame, it attaches to the body. Big trouble in a rear hit. The frame ends right at the rear leaf spring mount to leave room for that wonky tailgate.
When the nylon gear ⚙️ in the roof wears out you have a nightmare finding another one and another nightmare trying to find someone to install it. Why not use brass ? The reason is that GM wants it to break down !
The window motor turns a cable and you can disconnect motor and connect drill to cable. reverse the drill direction to make window go the other way. The motor is in bottom of spare tire well.
as a man I would rather have the manual gate...less stuff to go wrong. but i don't see a housewife of 1976 with fingernails managing that gate very well
Ford wagons were way better. No battery power to gain access to the load floor! Imagine your hands are full in a rain storm? Snow? Wind? Any combination?
Pros & cons with all 3 of the big 3's wagons. GM & Chrysler full-size wagons knocked the hell out of those Ford Country Squires! Only 71-76 for GM though. The other years were pretty weak too. A rust free Chrysler wagon was from the mid 50's on up. Especially the 60 n up unibody ones. Omg imagine if there was an Imperial wagon 😱
