Found on eBay: 1969 Chevy Muscle Car Station Wagon

As many of you may know, I have a thing for station wagons, so it’s not totally unexpected that I use “station wagon” as a search term on eBay. And look what I found today–former Motor Trend editor and current ESPN commentator C. Van Tune’s 427-powered 1969 Chevy Kingswood Estate. Continue reading…

C. Van Tune was the journalist who gave me my first big break as an automotive journalist, tapping me to be the editor of the Autotronics department in Motor Trend from 1995 to 1997, until I became the editor of Car Audio and Electronics. For that I will always appreciate his support. Now that the full disclosure is out of the way, let’s take a look at Van’s muscle wagon.

Unlike the non-Cobra Jet 429 under the hood of my Colony Park, which is strangled by a two-barrel carb, this is a fire-breathing four-barrel 427 big block. It was built for a GM executive, J. A. Stansberry of the Salt Lake City zone office and spent most of its life in Idaho. It currently has 60,812 documented miles with a single repaint over the last 39 years.

Van has not forgotten his editorial roots and has written extensively about this beauty so no need to repeat all the details here. Suffice to say, this is a fully optioned car, including Cadillac-style air conditioning complete with the build sheet and might very well be the only such surviving 427-powered 1969 Kingswood Estate in existence.

I agree with Van’s assessment that big block station wagons are poised to be the next big thing in “affordable” collector cars and hope this auction sets a new benchmark for ‘69 full-size, big block woodies, which certainly won’t hurt my Colony Park as I am considering selling it. Besides 427-powered Chevys and 429-powered Country Squires from the late sixties, consider that Chrysler built many 440-powered Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth station wagons, and I’ve seen more than one 401-powered Rebel, Matador and Ambassador wagons. If you’re thinking of pulling a vintage Airstream, think about a big block wagon as an alternative to a ¾-ton heavy duty pickup.