Back in 1979, Wayne was looking for a full-size chevy Impala wagon to use as a family all-around hauler. After looking at a few Impala wagons, he came across this one owner 1971 Chevelle wagon.
The owner needed to get rid it of because he bought his wife a new smaller Toyota wagon. Well, there was no room for two cars, so he wanted to get rid of the Chevelle. He was hesitant to buy it as it had 100 thousand miles on it. He made him an offer, get this $225.00, he accepted, and that’s the start of his long love affair with this wagon!
He went on to put another 139,000 miles on the old girl over the years for a combined 239,000 miles on the original 350 and turbo trans. He had a spare 350 motor with 350 turbo trans lying around with about 70k on them. So he pulled the original engine and trans out to give it a good rebuild.
Using 11-1 pistons, new balanced rods, good hydraulic cam (480 lift) went thru the heads with z/28 springs, pushrods and cleaned up the ports a little; Clevite rod and main bearings, just a good, solid rebuild. This motor is now sitting on my engine stand, wrapped in plastic, waiting till he drops it back in.
The 1971 Chevelle wagon is a stock 350 that has been warmed up with a hi-lift (465 lift ) cam and lifters, Weiand single plane aluminum intake with a 1″ spacer, stage 2 quadrajet, along with Hedman headers, and a 2 1/2 “full stainless exhaust.
The 350 turbo trans has a shift kit in it along with a 2800 stall converter; bringing up the rear is a chevy 10 bolt with 4.56 gears. A Yukon posi, along with Jegs steel alloy axles; N M W ladder bars, and L-60’s on chevy 10 inch wide rims.
This 1971 Chevelle wagon has been good to him over the years, hauling plywood, sheetrock, the kids, whatever he chose to haul in it. It has never let him down. Just basic maintenance, tune-ups, oil changes, and brakes over the years.
As you can see, the 1971 Chevelle wagon is not a show queen, but a work in progress. He intends to get the body straight and some fresh paint on her as he continues to enjoy her. Believe it or not, he also has a restored 1969 396 Chevelle in his garage, and he’s had more fun with this wagon than any car he’s owned. It’s lots of fun!
