[north]

I’m in good spirits because I’m finally filling in a hole in my collection, a LeMans Safari.

Found it thanks to a friend who spotted it in North Carolina on CL.

Nice two owner accident and rust free 47,000 mile car that is pretty much a survivor (untouched interior and mechanicals) except for a color change (originally Champagne) repaint and incorrect wood grain redo.

For now at least I’ll leave it black since all the jams were painted and I’ve got other repaint priorities. A challenge will be to find a rear inner hard plastic trim panel. It dry rotted as do all gold hard plastic bits for some reason. If anyone knows a possible source please let me know.

Option wise it is typically optioned with a 350 2bbl, AC, TH350, power drum brakes and steering etc.

An interesting tidbit is the trans is a TH350 which is the first time I see one installed on 350 2bbl with AC. Normally the auto trans 2bbl A and F bodies in 69 were built with a th350 without air and a th400 if they had AC. Strangely Pontiac charged the th400 at the th350 price ($205.92) when installed on 2bbl cars but at the correct th400 price when installed on a 350 HO or any 400.

I suspect the then brand new th350 had production limitations so to balance demand they used th400 on some applications till production levels allowed broader use of the th350. This wagon is very late production, august 69.

Anyhow I’ve been looking in earnest since 2005 so glad I finally found one, this is only the second one I’ve seen for sale and the last since 2007.

4th photo is from the 69 wagon brochure, shows how far off the replacement wood grain is. I order a sample selection from stripe man. Looks like the have a very close pattern available.

[Greg Reid]

Wow, that's a good looking wagon, correct or not!

[will slow gto]

Very cool North! Man, did Pontiac have something for everyone in 69, or what?!?

[Drag Star Le Mans]

That's a great looking Safari. I saw a few pictures if it on a different site a few days ago. Really really nice wagon!!!

[einstein]

That would be my daily driver!

[Gastiresandoil]

Saw it for sale, loved it, glad it went to someone who will preserve and take care of it.

[will slow gto]

I assume you’ll get a PHS at some point. I can’t think those rally 2s came on it new.

[north]

I did get it already, over 20 factory options. Unlike the big wagons you could get rally 2’s on the midsized wagon but this car was built with the deluxe wheel covers. Those rally’s are 7” and have mid 70’s caps, rings and lugnuts.

I have a minty set of deluxe wheel covers, I’ll probably put them on this car.

[Greg Reid]

I just got a news feed about this car on my phone... Of course, the normal errors are present throughout the story..lol

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/t...il-202150.html

[north]

That’s it. Article is a bit wonky. The A body wagons in 69 were offered with only two engine choices, the one bbl six with 175 horse or the two bbl 265 horse 350.

No Sprint six and no 4bbl (HO) 350. Duals were not offered on these A wagons either.

[will slow gto]

What are those little brackets between the rear coil springs? Also, that might not be a BOP 8.2 rear, or at a minimum, the inspection cover is different… Still, super solid car with a VERY nice interior

[north]

Boosters for what may be saggy rear coils. I’m not sure about the diff. The housing looks right but not sure what the deal is with the cover?

[Greg Reid]

I remember those brackets. You can flip them around and use them to pull the coils together also.

[north]

We used to call them spring busters because if you hit a pothole they’d snap the spring right where they are clamped on it.

[tallrandyb]

Originally Posted by einstein

That would be my daily driver!

No doubt! That'd draw a crowd away from many GTO's at a show. Cool!!!

[north]

I e always wanted one because of how the wood paneling brings out the beautiful lines of the 68-69 A body.

[tallrandyb]

Originally Posted by north

I e always wanted one because of how the wood paneling brings out the beautiful lines of the 68-69 A body.

Agreed, it looks like you have a GTO buried inside the Safari body!

[north]

The mid sized wagons seem to have had really a bad survival rate. I think a percentage of the big wagons were bought by well to do people as a cottage car or a tow car for a boat or camper and it seems some of those survived. The midsized wagons (the stretched vista cruisers and Buick sport wagons excluded) on the other hand probably were almost exclusively bought by tradesmen, company cars and young families that used them up till they were metal shredder bait.

[Greg Reid]

I've always liked a smallish station wagon. I remember when I was 16 or 17 years old, someone in my hometown had a '64 ?.. Rambler wagon. Light turquoise with factory tinted windows and aqua interior. I always liked it.

[thepontiacman]

Nice Find! You don't see those any more.

You needed another '69.