"Brad, I just picked up a really sweet '64 Dodge 880 Custom wagon. It's a four-door hardtop, and it's in great condition! I think I can have it done by the Nats cruise. You want it for the week?"
So began our trek from Memphis, Tennessee, to Columbus, Ohio, in Rick Bottom's slammed and duo-toned '64 sta wag. Of all the vehicles we piloted on the cruise, Rick's wagon generated the most conversation, and the most positive feedback. Sporting a stone reliable 383/push button combo, decent gears in the back, and five feet of open air with the side windows down, the wagon was a blast to drive. We've made the trip in everything from convertibles to Rams, Darts to Durangos, and Prowlers to 'Cudas, and this was by far the most fun.
Rick first saw the car sitting on a used vehicle lot in his home town of Mendota, Illinois, but drove past it several times, thinking the car was easily a $7500 vehicle because it was in such good condition. One day he happened to be passing the lot and saw it going on a trailer, so he stopped to ask about it. The owner of the lot said they hadn't been able to sell the car, and were going to stick it in a barn for a while. Rick wrote a check on the spot for $3000 and drove the all-black wagon home. Rick's been told that there were only 1639 six-passenger 880 Customs made in '64 (the "Custom" being different from the more common Coronet by virtue of its hardtop styling), and they sold for around $3400 new. For people with really large families, a nine-passenger model was also available.
Once Rick got the car home, he started its transformation by rubbing out its original black paint and two-toning it by adding the roof's magenta. The seats were then delivered to Trent's Trick Upholstery in Baltimore, Ohio, where they were retro-fitted with adjustable lumbar supports and reskinned in magenta cloth with a leopard-print border. A cruiser needs tunes, so Rick picked up a Pioneer head unit at WalMart for $140 and added Pioneer under-dash speakers, a Rockford Fosgate Punch 150 amp, and a 10-inch Bazooka Tube sub woofer that was collecting dust in his shop. A Moon Eyes water temp/oil pressure two-gauge combo with matching dash-mounted tach finishes off the driving amenities.
Next on the list for cruising reliability was the engine. Rick pulled the 90,000 mile 383 to freshen it up, adding only a Comp Cams Extreme Energy cam, springs and lifters, a new water pump, MP electronic ignition conversion, Weiand intake, Demon carb, and MP valve covers.
"Other than gaskets, I really didn't even touch the bottom end. It's got the stock bore and fresh paint, but that's it," Rick said. Exhaust is handled through stock manifolds and MPRP mufflers and tips. The 727 P-Button was likewise freshened, with the trickest parts being fresh gaskets. Lowering blocks were installed on the tired rear springs, while the torsion bars up front were twisted a few turns for the right stance. Rick finished the car with 17x8 front and 17x11 rear American Racing torque thrusts with BFGoodrich KDW rubber in sizes of 235/45R17 and 285/40-17, respectively. Want to know another great thing about station wagons? Huge wheel housings-the rear wheel/tire combo fit without any modifications to the springs, frame rails, wheel wells or fender lips!
There are still a few things on Rick's list he'd like to take care of before any more long cruises, such as a radiator-fan shroud and air conditioning, but other than that, he's happy with the car as it is. "We have so much fun with this car, and it's great to have a car we just use," Rick said. "We'll go to Menard's for something, and when we come out, there's a crowd around the car. It's a blast."
We couldn't have said it better.