Before the gas crisis of the 1980s, the station wagon used to stand as the quintessential automobile for growing American families. Since then, wagons have drastically fallen in popularity, as crossovers now hold the title of most-popular vehicle. However, this doesn’t mean that station wagons have lost their luster, and today, we’re taking a closer look at a 1986 Pontiac Parisienne Safari Wagon that’s been listed for sale.
Posted for auction on Bring a Trailer, this 1986 Pontiac station wagon appears to be in excellent condition despite being almost 40 years old. A Carfax report shows that there were no accidents or damages reported while the vehicle was registered in New York, Michigan, and Ohio, and notes that there is a gap in service history between October 1986 to August 2000.
Featuring a black paint job with faux woodgrain paneling, this Parisienne Safari Wagon is equipped with a chrome grille, chrome bumpers and chrome roof rack. Notably, the wood paneling was recently replaced in November 2021.
Unfortunately, the exterior isn’t perfect, as the rear bumper is missing filler, and damage to the right rear wheel arch is visible.
The highlight of this wagon is certainly the interior. The split front bench, second-row bench, and rear-facing jump seat are all finished in burgundy velour upholstery, while wood-look trim provides a striking accent with the doors and dashboard. Even for its age, this 1986 Pontiac Parisienne Safari Wagon includes a healthy compliment of equipment, including power-adjustable driver’s seat, air conditioning, remote-controlled side mirrors, and power windows and locks.
That being said, the cruise control and aftermarket cassette radio don’t work.
As for powertrain specifications, a carbureted 5.0L V8 gasoline engine provides the grunt, and was rated at 165 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque when new. A four-speed automatic transmission directs the power to the rear wheels.
With just under 100,000 miles showing on the odometer, this 1986 Pontiac Parisienne Safari Wagon is a well-preserved blast from the past. With that in mind, what do you think, dear reader? Is this station wagon worth buying? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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Comments
Let me start by saying that I love these old wagons (Buick and Chevrolet). I love older (70-90’s) cars. Yet I never really understood Pontiac and I’ve never owned one. Loved the GP’s from the 72-77 and again from the 81 to 85. Yet I always looked at Pontiac and found them to be confused. Do they want to be sportish or vans or wagons or what. I feel that GM truly killed the brand by making these wagons and Transport vans and Chevette clones instead of turning Pontiac into that true sports brand at GM in the early 80’s and sticking with that.
I’m not dissing Pontiac here. I’m saying GM messed it up. I’d love to own a Bonneville from the 70/80’s or one of those Gran Prix’s. They made some really plush interiors in some of those that I think were some of the nicest at GM. But from the mid 80’s on, they lost the way with bad leadership at GM.
Wagons of that time were so versital. My family had several. The ride great. Plenty of room. Great amount of storage even with seats up, unlike some SUVs with no room behind rear seat. Towing was great because they were built more heavy-duty than the sedan. For instance the wheel bolt pattern was 5×5. Four by eight sheet goods fit with tail-gate closed.
Dan B,
You really have to dig a bit deeper to truly understand how gm ruined this division. Bunkie Knudsen, Pete Estes and John DeLorean brought this division to life from the brink of extinction. Mid sixties Pontiacs were stunning examples of how a car division should design their vehicles. Even the brochures helped sell the cars with the beautiful artwork of Fitz and Van.
Bad leadership at gm? Those things go together like milk and cookies!
That bad leadership started with Roger Smith and F. James McDonald. Later to be exacerbated by Ron Zarella. They pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall and no one has had any real success putting him back together again, including Mary.
I had 2 Grand Ams. Loved them.
Jofa: I agree. Like I said, I’ve never really paid much attention to Pontiac, thus the lack of desire to do more digging. I’ve had family members who owned them, but not me or my parents ever. Because of my age and that lack of Pontiac enthusiasm in my past, I’ve only really paid attention to the few I likes and only from the mid 70’s till about the early 90’s.
I just watched two documentaries (Roger and Me and Who Killed the EV) and there were some very interesting things I learned. I never really liked Roger Smith back then when I was selling GM, but it seems he was a total D-bag.
Have station wagons fallen out of favor? I think they just ride a bit higher with awd capabilities now.
Pontiac’s problem wasn’t design. We had a Pontiac G6 hard top convertible in 2007. The design of the car was spot on…ahead of its’ time. The issue was application and construction. The car rattled badly and fit/finish was disappointing.
Pontiac as a brand was working with Holden and had great power and innovation with the G8 and Solstice. Again…ahead of it’s time.
We I herited my father-in-law’s 1988 Bonneville Woody. Posh interior for sure. Ride was like a 1955 ChrisCraft (that is to say, very floaty).
And the gas mileage was incredible! 8 mpg!
Needless to say, we didn’t keep it very long.
Yep, Pontiac was “ killed off” purposely, as was Oldsmobile. I thought that Buick would have been next,
but China is “floating it”..Cadillac is to Chevy as Lexus is to Toyota. That seems to be the ultimate goal.
As far as Pontiac’s hay day, you need to reach back to the 60s. The 70s and 80s led to the demise. GM
was paying little attention to giving buyers “a reason” to choose this brand… it was “meh”…
But starting in 1959 with the advent of the “wide tracks”, Pontiac finally hit its stride, and it lasted all
of 12 years.
I think the division was successful from 1984 on with the “We Build Excitement” mantra. The FWD Grand AM and Grand Prix- cars in the heart of the market at the time- easily outsold their Olds and Buick counterparts.
The engine under hood of the car shown is an Oldsmobile 307 not a Chevy 305 so power ratings would be 140 HP and 255 LBS FT of torque. Apparently during the 1986 model year production of all remaining B-body wagons, the Parisienne and the full sized Cadillac Brougham all switched to the Arlington Texas plant and all switched over to the 307 engine to cut costs.
The 1980’s was a very mixed bag of confusion over at Pontiac. They couldn’t seem to figure out if they were luxury or sporty or utility driven selling everything from Fiero’s and Trans Ams and Bonneville Broughams along with these B-body wagons with their cushy velour pillow tufted interiors like a high end Buick or Oldsmobile. By the time they seemed to figure it out in the 2000’s with a bent on sporty cars like the Solstice, GTO and G8 the plug was pulled.
307 engine was quite underpowered for a wagon of this size. I drove a 89 Pontiac Safari wagon just like this one for work in the early 90’s. You’d have to floor it to get it to move. Fine on flat highways but nowhere near enough power on the hills around Pittsburgh. Great riding car otherwise.
Agreed with Joan. I loved Pontiacs in the 60s, as Grand Prix, GTO, and Firebird breathed life into
the brand. It lasted a short while, as these hot sellers were no longer designed to be very special.
You have to ask yourself, why was Camaro and not Firebird reinvigorated. The writing was on the wall.
That’s an easy answer. There wasn’t enough room in the marketplace for both.
You have to be trolling with this..
In ’92 I left my SVP position with a very large mall developer and bought a defunct residential subdivision. Since I was on my own I needed a truck. My wife jokingly said I couldn’t spend more than $1,500. I found a loaded ’84 Caprice Wagon and bought it for $1,400. It functioned as my truck, field office and perfect hauler for grandchildren (they called it the Mormon Assault Vehicle-we live in Utah) as it held 8 adults or 4 adults and 6 small (double buckled) grandchildren. The car was made fun of by many but received respect as nothing ever broke and a certain amount of love from subcontractors and family. The car contributed many projects until someone blew the transmission in mid 2000. I’d love to see a resto-mod version with a LS3+++.
Love everything station wagon with the current housing inflation, been thinking about turning one in to a mobile tiny apartment with a rooftop air conditioner and a inverter with a small generator, but I’m currently homeless thanks to my ex girlfriend
Your ex girlfriend was wearing the pants?
Speaking only of the Pontiac wagon featured in the article, it appears the entire lower portion of the dash including the radio, HVAC controls and more has become detached from the main, or upper, dash panel. It also appears to be broken up on the drivers side. ???
Yes, the dash is punched, someone tried to haul lumber!
Yes, the dash is punched, someone tried to haul lumber!
Must have tried to fit the whole tree in! I believe the entire dash will need to be replaced. It’s not an impossible task.
Had a ’73 Kingswood Estate (454), ’76 Buick Estate Wagon (455), and an ’82 Buick LeSabre Wagon (307). Loved the ’73 and ’76, not the dog-slow and ugly ’82!
I had a ’78 Olds Custom Cruiser wagon with a 350. I loved it & thought it quite opulent with all of the options it had. Then it was totalled in an accident. I bought it back from the insurance company, repaired it and put 80,000 more miles on it. Then someone pulled out in front of me. His truck & my car were both totalled. Again I bought mine back from the insurance company & repaired it. It looked good but a car can only take so much. The constant little problems forced me to sell it. I’m sure it was a much nicer car to drive with the 350 than the later ones were with the 307s.
I was never a wagon fan, but bought a used ’80 Parisienne 4 door sedan Brougham with SBC 305ci engine and TH350C trans and the ultra low 2.14:1 rear axle ratio off the back lot at the dealership I worked at, for less than $3,000 CAD in ’86.
Sitting next to it was an ’86 for ~$26,000 in almost identical condition. That one had the 350 ci SBC.
Mine only had the 7.625″ rear axle and 9.5″ rear drum brakes compared with the 8.626″ and larger brakes on the near new vehicle it sat next to.
We used that as our family vehicle until 1999 and while acceleration from standstill wasn’t exhilarating, 25+ mpg (Imperial gallons) was, with the A/C on full, up hil down hill, loaded for vacation. 6 way power front buckets (armchairs) Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS), C68 fully automatic A/C and much more.
“B” body Parisiennes were a level up above Caprices of the day, as was always the case with GM badge engineered models. More money for more features that couldn’t be had on Caprices.
From the early days, Bonnevilles were US models and Parisiennes Canadian equivalents.
As noted, the wagon in the photo clearly has some interior “defects” in the dash area and has the Olds 307 ci engine, since the familiar Olds engine oil filler cap is clearly visible front and centre.
Also, the 305 ci SB Chevy used the TH350C 3 speed trans, while the Olds SB Olds 307 ci engine is paired with the TH 200R4 4 speed trans as called out in this wagon.
Both were nominal 5 litre engines, so looking under the hood was the quickest telltale.
Most Olds barely drove off the transporter at the dealership, flooding the catalytic converter with enough raw fuel that it glowed red. A new set of spark plugs was always needed.
BTW, you can just see the dirty orange diagnostic connector just behind the A/C accumulator on top of the HVAC case. Preliminary testing of electrical for ignition, starting, charging and also the HVAC electrical testing could be done there using a tool that plugged in and a multimeter.
I still have my Snap On Tools jumper. The diagnostic connector was ahead of it’s time and technician usage and was widely used from Chevettes across the entire ‘later ’70s-mid ’80s model range.
FWIW, it’s surprising to even see a wagon these days, because many ’70s-’80s wagons ended their lives in demolition derbies and hit to pass oval racing in the ’80s-’90s.
I can’t imagine the performance of this tank with a 140 h.p. Olds 307 engine, a 200-4R overdrive transmission and a 2.14 differential ratio. All of these are individually fine components but combined and used in a full size station wagon??? I am restoring, for show, an excellent 60,710 mile Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham with an Olds 307 c.i. engine, a 200C.transmission and a 2.14 differential ratio. I have never driven it & have owned it since 1992. I’ve been concerned about how it might perform and that’s without overdrive and in an intermediate size car. If that wagon had a tach they could eliminate the “x 1000” on the face of it.
If someone wants a hot rod, they can build it.