Dollar Store John Wayne – 1971 Pontiac Grand Safari Wagon for under $6,000

By Cody Clark

Make / manufacturer: HUGE. This 1971 Pontiac Grand Safari Wagon is a once-in-a-lifetime find in The Dalles, Oregon for a cool $5,800. Clocking in at 19 feet and counting, huge is the only way to describe this car. Designed as Pontiac’s flagship model with cues from both the Bonneville and Grandville, The Grand Safari was a car of very few compromises. Perhaps that’s the reason John Wayne owned one

. 

This particular example wears a mint green hue speckled with many spots of rust. The bright spot is the original badges and the fact that this car was used as a daily driver for many decades. Somehow this small planet of a car didn’t drop any hubcaps in the last half a century. 

But this pirate ship has seen better days. An ill-fated fix has left a few bolts floating around the flexplate of this car. While it doesn’t affect driveability, it’s still a time bomb. A title lost to the sands of time might make this car a challenge to register. Perhaps this Pontiac

is scary enough on the outside that prying eyes would choose to leave you alone. At 5,300 pounds, this car could also push any police roadblocks out of the way.

Whether you give this car a museum-ready treatment or sit in the scratchy woven seats as-is, there is no denying that this car is a miraculous find for many reasons. It’s worth talking the  current owner down to a dollar-per-pound deal and enjoying for another 50 years.