Just as the better-known Chevrolet Nomad station wagon grew two extra doors for model year 1958, so did Pontiac’s Safari, or in this case what was now known as a “Star Chief Custom Safari”. Two-door wagons were still around but they were generally relegated to the bottom rung in the model line-up as opposed to the top. Today’s find is probably the first of these top dog ’58 Pontiac wagons that I have encountered or at least the first that I have been cognizant of, so let’s look this Riverside, California resident over. It is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $7,500 with one bid tendered so far.

The first feature of this wagon that caught my eye is the stainless tailgate strips. Where Chevrolet continued with its distinctive, seven strip vertical styling cue on the ’58 Nomad, Pontiac went sideways and placed four horizontally mounted trim pieces across the width of the tailgate. It may help to differentiate this Safari wagon from lesser Chieftan models but they just look tacked on. Of course, this was 1958 and the more chrome and stainless geegaws attached, the better. Overall, the images of this wagon aren’t very comprehensive but they do paint a picture of a California car that looks fairly sound and complete. There is obvious surface rust as the result of sun burned-through paint and the seller does advise that the quarters have experienced some rust-through. And speaking of geegaws, all appear to still be attached.

The interior is another matter. The instrument cluster has been removed, though it’s present, its useable condition, however, is unknown. The seats and door panels are shot, or at least as well as can be seen; the view is obscured with the typical box-o-stuff that seems to be mandatory equipment in old cars. It’s not possible to get a look at the floors so their shape is unknown. Nice to see is the presence of the original radio, it has been removed and is perched on top of the dashboard, but at least it’s present.

The only thing said about the powertrain (there are no specifics) is that the drivetrain is original. That being the case, the guess is that it’s a 285 gross HP, 370 CI V8 engine tethered to a Hydramatic automatic transmission. – that’s a surmise on my part. It’s safe to say that the motor, known as a “Tempest 395” has not run in many moons.

The seller offers, “The restoration project was started by the owner, but lost contact with the person who was restoring it for him and now has nobody to continue it. This is a perfect opportunity for somebody looking to transform it into a weekend cruiser or show car without having to start all the way from scratch. These wagons are worth good money when fully restored“. Considering how difficult it is to find a Star Chief Custom Safari that is as seemingly complete as this example (remember the comment about all of the extensive trim still being in place), this would be one to restore. Not to restomod it, or build a patinaed cruiser, but to return this wagon to its original station in life. Expensive to do so? Probably but when will you ever find another?