I’ve been driving by this field for several weeks now in order to take my daughter to Volleyball practice and keep seeing this car for sale. Last week when the floods hit up here in Northern Colorado, I thought that it might be a goner. However last night it was still there!…
I’d brought my camera just in case and figured fate had been tempted enough, time to take some pictures. The Olds looked better from the street (about 100 feet away), the closer I got through the muddy field, the more small problems I could see. However, for $1000 it looked fairly solid.
So what do we have – well, it’s a 1978, the first year of the downsized A-bodies. The sign says it has a Chevy small block, presumably one of the ones offered as an option when new. The wheels make it look fairly good, I’m not sure if I have ever seen rally wheels on an Olds wagon, if so certainly not color matched ones.
Luggage rack, hood ornament, even the rear wind deflector, it’s all still there.
When I looked inside, I saw something weird, the driver side seat and backrest is a totally different color than the rest of the seats. But the buttons in the middle are correct and it does not look like it was altered or repaired at any time. Just weird how it changed colors.
While taking pictures of the inside I tried to remember all the tips that Paul has verbalized here and tried to shield the light, but then I looked down and thought “Could it…?” Lo and behold, it was unlocked so I took the opportunity to open the passenger door and get a better picture! By the way, that purple/magenta color on the door panel appears to be the plastic changing color. The passenger side was the same way and it was not painted or anything like that.
I think GM’s rally wheel style has been on more cars than any other they ever made and it looks good no matter where it ends up. Those tires, on the other hand, have seen many better days…
A lot of Curbside Classics (both present and future) were lost here over the last week, this one somehow survived and is now waiting for its new owner. At that price, if it runs, I’d be surprised if it was there much longer.
I wish wagons this size were still made. The simple boxy clean style of this Oldsmobile always looked good.
This would undoubtedly have the 305 2-bbl. This Chevy engine was the top Cutlass V-8 offering in ’78. If you weren’t in California, who would’ve had a choice of the Olds 260 V-8. Standard was the Buick 231 V-6. The colors in these interiors did change over time.
In a bizarre CC effect I was looking at TTAC this morning and they have a post about a perfect slantback version of this car currently on ebay. With color-matched rally wheels to boot. I posted this article up last night well before I saw that post, weird how those things happen.
I commented on that slantback Ebay find post as well, which is now mysteriously gone.
Having driven the Aeroback version of this car, I want to go on record as saying that car and the word “perfect” do not belong in the same sentence.
I asked this question earlier, but I wonder if anyone knows. What is the first American car to offer an electronic digital display clock? Oldsmobile offered one for model year 1977 according to their brochures. Was anyone earlier than that?
What kind of “digital”? The rotating dial/moving numbers digital or real LCD digital?
For a radio, I would say the 77 Delco ETR radios, which were available on several of the GM B and C bodies. By 1978 Cadillac was offering a full digital display dash with multifunction trip computer on the Seville.
It became an option for the 1979 Riviera and Eldorado too.
Again the Buick with the 77-78 Cadillac steering wheel. Cool.
I like that wheel, too. It’s funny how for a few years Buick got a “hand-me-down” steering wheel from Cadillac. The 1977 Buick with tilt & telescope got the 1974-76 Cadillac 3-spoke wheel, which I like even more.
My Mom’s ’79 Riviera had that steering wheel. I think it is such a classy looking steering wheel. I thought it was so cool that we had a car that had the same steering wheel that the Caddy’s had used in previous years. It was funny how GM gave Buick’s high line cars the Cadillac steering wheel as a hand-me-down! I know that it was standard on the Riviera in 1979 and 1980. The only way you could get that wheel on a Riviera in 1981 was by ordering the tilt/telescopic option. It was rare but you would see an Electra/Park Avenue with that wheel too – once again you had to order the tilt/telescopic option so it gave you that steering wheel as well. The standard steering wheel in 1981 on a Riviera was the same steering wheel as the Regal, with the exception of the rim having woodgrain on it. Then Buick’s high line cars got their own new steering wheel design in 1982 (which is rather ugly if you ask me LOL)
I think Chrysler may have been the first with their electromechanical “digital” Chronometer clocks. Perhaps it was around ’72 or ’73 when they were offered in the big Chrysler?
I remember seeing some Marquis circa ’73 or ’74 with a similar unit. Despite being mechanical, these did seem to run a lot longer than the analog jobs did.
Love the optional analog clock in the Olds wagon. A more expensive option (UE8) was the rolley digital one. I find those a bit more bland and prefer the analog version. In ’82, the analog clocks in these had quartz movements in them and many of those are still running. They are somewhat rare though: most cars by that time were either ordered with no clock, the digital one, or an ETR stereo.
By the mid 80’s you started seeing “emblem plugs” replacing the clocks on the dashes of several late 70’s designed cars that used to have a clock, I remember the “Ninety-Eight” cursive plug in 80’s 98’s with the digital Delco ETR radio. As the digital display radio became more and more commonplace the in dash clocks started to disappear. All 1980 Cadillacs came with a digital display radio standard, so the clock in the strip of warning lights was deleted.
The Cadillac clock thing always irritated me. I drove those the first couple of years when the digital clock sat up next to the gas gauge in the high center of the panel. I understood how the electronic digital clock in the radio was a good thing. HOWEVER, the way they went for the next dozen years with a little black plastic blackout plate (even one that said “Cadillac” or “Fasten Seatbelts” or whatever it said) was utterly and irredeemably cheap. Howabout a temp gauge? or a compass? or some other kind of gadgety indicator that should only be found in the most expensive cars? But no, Cadillac kept that same dash into the 90s and put a little blank plate into every one of them.
When they added the digital dash to the Brougham in 1990, they finally moved the gas gauge into the cluster and the strip along the top of the dash was redesigned, eliminating the hole.
My biggest pet peeve of the 1980-198? Cadillacs!! Nothing spells class like a black piece of plastic with UNLEADED FUEL ONLY stamped in white paint (that smears off & makes a bigger mess when you are cleaning the dash with a damp cloth)….
it wouldn’t be so bad…but the TDC location irks me to no end.
That would be the 1973 Imperial. Chrysler made a big deal of it at the time.
I believe the first car to have a digital clock was the 1975 Imperial, if I am not mistaken.
EDIT: Ate Up With Motor is probably right, my car knowledge pales to his.
To be clear thought, it was this type of digital
Not like this, which came later….
Ohhh…. 1980-1 Trans Am! So CARMINE, did the T/As with this ETR stereo actually have TWO clocks? I must know.
Yes, they do, I have a 79 with the digital radio clock AND the clock in the tachometer, I call it “pacific” and “mountain”.
Wow, that is interesting…and I thought the only car with two factory clocks was the ’71-’73 Ninety-Eight LS.
I did not know the clocked-ETR stereo was available in ’79. Hmm, I also have a ’79 T/A. My car is missing its stereo and there’s no sign of a build sheet so I guess it’s time to order the PHS on it.
I don’t think it was a regular option on 1979 Trans Am’s, but it did come on the Tenth Anniversary,(hint-hint) the digital ETR radio did become an option in 80-81, the clock still was in the tach.
I wonder if you could get the 1982-83 Camaros with the digital Delco 2000 series AND the optional Rally Clock on the console. I imagine you could.
@Junqueboi: my Nissan Laurel has three factory clocks! Digital one up by the centre air vents; digital one in the tape player (yeah, I know, but it does have a CD changer and it happily accepted an aftermarket hardwired iPod kit); digital one on the satnav/TV. Of course the display backlighting bulb in the tape player is blown so I can’t see that one at night; and the satnav one is linked to JDM-only satellites so only reads 0:00AM in the Other Hemisphere. So I stick with the one that works 😉
Out of the many cars I’ve checked out over the years, none of the ETR-equipped ’82-’83 Camaros (most were Z28) had the console clock. I have nothing to substantiate this claim although I have a feeling these two styles were mutually exclusive. I wonder if any non-clock ETR stereos found their way into the F-body cars?
I was also thinking the early Z28s had the “U35” clock as a standard feature. I have a base ’82 Camaro with this option and it amazingly still works despite the intense heat of the Alabama sun baking the interior through the T-tops all these years.
NZ: Three clocks? LOVE it! 😀
Good chance it’s a 305 4bbl. Olds and Buick A/G bodies got this as option in 1978, but not Chevy, the engine’s parent. I never understood that. C&D had a road test of ’78 442 areoback with same motor.
But a few years later, the Monte Carlo SS finally got it.
Oh man. I love this body style in wagon form. It’s kind of the current object of my CC lust. But OMG, do I hate white cars! But it’s only $1000! Aargh! So conflicted!
You’ll love this one:
http://maaccc.com/node/98
Ah yes; saw that one on ebay a while back. And it’s even a Brougham!
But $15k? Good lord. Not in this lifetime.
Recurring vision of “The Family Truckster”, n’est ce pas?
Great find! I’m glad it survived the floods!
I can’t imagine this one’s power windows (or power front windows, I should say) were that common on these GM wagons, even for the Oldsmobile version.
As I’ve commented on the Colonnade wagons, the bumper-integrated tail lights make the rear look incomplete. I still like the shape of these wagons though. And that Olds split-grille can’t help but make me smile!
+1 re the taillights on the bumper.
What always bothered me about the taillights is the backup whites were outboard only on 1978 and then moved inboard. This always made the 1978 A wagons look somewhat wrong to me. I assume the taillights were interchangeable across all model years and were just crossed to opposite sides after 78. I had a lot of ride tome in these as a kid, but always in Malibu form. We even had one with power rear vent windows. Don’t know what engine it had, but it could barely get out of its own way.
It would have had power rear door vent windows which are sort of cool the first few times you use them and then they become a meh item.
I hate the place the tail lights are on the A/G body wagons. I know that with the big tailgate that is the only place to place them but still it is a stupid place for them as they can be hard to see in some cars and to see them you have to look down rather then straight ahead like you should be so you don’t slam into the car in front of you.
I wonder if the tail lights in the bumper were the basis of the need for a CHMSL(aka the 3rd brake light)?
CC effect in action today! I was behind a 1978 Malibu wagon with these tail lights on IL Route 41. They were incredibly hard to see, especially from my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Even back in the pre-SUV era they would have been difficult to see, especially in bad weather conditions. Not the best design element … though I still find the overall looks of these wagons very nice, and it was great to spot one, alive and well, cruising along with an elderly gent behind the wheel.
I wanted one of those bumpers for my short narrow box 68 Chevy pickup; never did get one though.
Of course the purple magenta door panel is original, you need to follow your handy dandy “GM Plastiques of the 70’s ” color fading guide.
Chalky grey blue = blue
Magenta pink LSD = red
Applesauce beige = tan
Dust = white
Don’t forget: pond scum = green
Wow . . . The early years of A-bodies had some kind of plastic that discoloured/turned chalky. The later years didn’t. This must have been stored in the same place, a little old person’s driveway for years and years to get the exact same pattern of sunlight on it day after day. There’s so much potential in this! LT1? Buick Turbo 6? LS6? Diesel power? the opportunities are endless. Personally, I’d have to do a dark blue with woodgrain Di-Noc + Grand national drivetrain.
Actually that discolored plastic thing hung around till the end of the A-body RWD(78-81)/G Body(82-88) line. My 1985 Cutlass Supreme sedan and my old 1987 Cutlass Supreme had faded door panels.
I also had a 1980 Malibu that had faded door panels and the plastic was brittle
It must have varied, a friend of mine had an 80 and an 86 Cutlass, same time, same type of exposure to the elements on the same interior color, and the 86 kept its color much better.
This was the model that really hit the low point for GM interior trim. the previous generation had cheaper trim than the 68-72 cars, but compared to the 78-88, the 73-77 cars were bank-vault solid and made of high quality parts.
Even the B-bodies of this time had absolutely horrendous plastic trim that didn’t age very well.
The father of a high-school friend got the aeroback four-door version of this car as a company car in ’78. It was a dark red with this same color interior, so seeing these pictures, even with the color-changing door panels, brings back memories.
I’ve always really liked the style of these GM wagons, with one small exception: I never warmed up to the tail lights in the bumper. The back corners of these cars look bare without some sort of wraparound lights.
We had a ’78 Cutlass 4-door aeroback with the anemic 231V6/THM 200 combo. It held up pretty well, what with three teenagers learning to drive on it…but you needed to go downhill with a good tailwind to pass anything. We called it the Gutless for a good reason. I would have much preferred one of these…way better looking and a V8 to boot. They always drove and handled well – I hope it finds a good home.
The front seat was probably re-stitched with stock colored material. The buttons were probably reused. My aunt had a Buick Regal once the vinyl quarter top had to be replaced. It was in a very unique shade of blue that was popular with Buick in those years. The color could not be duplicated so the top was replaced with a navy color that contrasted nicely and you could not tell that it was not original.
It could be a chevy 305, but I think that its more likely the Olds 307. I could be wrong, but I believe it was available this year.
The paper says Chevy V8 which was the 305. The 307 was not available till 1980. The Olds V8(gas and not Diesel) was the 260 which hung out till the 1980’s before being dropped.
Not this early, the 307 wasn’t introduced until 1980.
Man, that thing brings back some memories. My Dad worked at the local Chev-Olds emporium in ’78 and they sold a lot of these things. I worked there in the summer and on weekends and washed quite a few of these while the salesman finished up the paperwork with the new owners. The colour of the interior plastic pieces didn’t match then either, but not quite so drastically. I do recall that after the first few were sold the word from the boss was that any wagons ordered for stock had to have the 305 due to the number of customers unhappy with the gutless 260. One customer had a 350 Olds installed in place of the 260 after the warranty was up. I’ll bet it moved right along. For some reason the cheaper Malibu wagon wasn’t nearly as popular at our dealership that year.
Depending one what state you were in, the 350 was still an option on the A-body wagon, I believe it was the Chevrolet one, but there was an Olds 350 in the 1979 H/O Cutlass.
I guess you probably could get a 350 in Canada. I recall an el camino coming through with a 350 4 speed, and Dad had a Malibu coupe with a 305 4 barrel 4 speed as a demo for awhile. I saw it around my home town now and then when I visited right up until maybe 10 years ago.
I wouldn’t mind having that wagon, but Colorado is a little too far away for a weekend road trip. And Mrs tiredoldmechanic might not agree…..
I remember this was the era when Olds just sold the hell out of everything (except the Aerobacks, Omegas and Starfires). Our neighbors got a blue ’78 Cutlass Cruiser in dark blue with the woodgrain. It had color-matched Super Stock wheels and sport mirrors, and looked pretty sharp for a wagon. It wasn’t quite as well equipped inside as this one, though it did have power locks and a split front bench. Not sure what was underhood, but I suspect the 305. I think the Olds just felt worth the price premium versus the Chevy to a lot of folks in 1978. The Malibu interior didn’t come across as well as the Cutlass, and there were still “premium” brand values associated with Olds.
I think the car served our neighbors well, though it was replaced in 1983 with a Toyota Cressida. The GM hemorrhage was beginning…
Oh, these awful cars with the stationary rear windows and cheesy bench seats.
This (the 1981 version) was the car I drove when I got my license, in 1985. My parents had an ancient Torino wagon, and in 1983 traded it on an ’81 Cutlass Cruiser. Build quality was indifferent (as was the norm in the early ’80s), but overall it was a great car, although it did have the “gutless” 260 V8. My mom picked this car over the V6 Malibu version because that one, she said, “just didn’t have any pickup”. If only she had tried the 350…;)
To me, these are the perfect sized wagons. A good running OLDS 350, overdrive tranny, & hwy gears (which it already has), you could see +20 mpg if it was tuned good.
Ah, the GM fade. The interior of my grandmother’s ’79 Lemans turned several different shades of pink. Along with the cigarette burns and the scorching red vinyl it was the hottest thing on wheels.
How about the interior of this ’78 88 Holiday coupe I found last year? The armrests and seatbacks have changed from red to magenta.
Ah yes, now that’s a beauty! Same shade of colors on the feature car.
“I think GM’s rally wheel style has been on more cars than any other they ever made and it looks good no matter where it ends up…”
You do realize each of the divisions had their own version of the Rally wheel? Well, Cadillac didn’t, but you get the idea. Oldsmobile alone had three (very similar looking) steel versions. Not to mention the aluminum wheels from throughout the era.
The attached picture is my favorite Oldsmobile SSIII wheel, like the ones on my now-wife’s 403 powered Delta 88 Holiday coupe… 🙂 One of the cars we wish we had back…
I think those are SSII’s
Correct. SSIIIs were chrome.
I know these cars (especially the Aerobacks) don’t get a lot of love, but I’ve always liked them. When compared to the contemporary Fairmont/Zephyr/Fox derivative, these cars seemed more solid and durable.
For $1K, I should be on the road to Colorado to pick this up, but I’ll have to let this one pass.
These are a notch above a Farimont, remember the Fairmont was a Maverick replacement, which was a Falcon replacement, so the Fairmont was lower on the totem.
There was a $639 difference between the base price of a 1978 Chevrolet Malibu and a 1978 Ford Fairmont, which wasn’t a minor sum in those days. As Carmine notes, these cars competed in different classes.
Ford used the Fox platform for the revised 1981 Ford Granada/Mercury Cougar, which DID compete directly with the GM A-bodies. It’s my understanding Ford also made some upgrades to the basic structure to give it a more solid feel. The GM entries – particularly the Cutlass and Regal – bested the Granada/Cougar in sales by a wide margin.
The Fox Thunderbird too, which was aimed straight at the Cutlass/GP/Regal/Monte Carlo bracket too.
I think swapping in a nice 455 Olds W30 engine would make this a snappy performer. Match it up with one of those trick W27 aluminum rear-ends: http://bangshift.com/blog/racing-junk-find-the-8500-oldsmobile-rear-end.html
Full power.
The great thing about old GM cars from these parts, like my fiend’s Cadillac, is so darned grey and rainy that UV rarely has a chance of damaging anything. Sure, the interior plastics of this car are off but it’s like 35 years old!
This would make a fine daily driver if you were willing to bring it up to snuff. I’d likely budget an extra $4000 to make it tickety-boo. That would include a nice 305 with a Edelbrock and cam, etc. Probably going to need a new front end, but all that stuff is cheap and easy to do on these cars.
My folks had the Buick version of the wagon when I turned 16, so this is what I learned to drive on. These were truely awful cars in many respects, but so were their peers. Remember the high early failure rate of “metric” transmissions? the cheap, cheap, cheap interiors? The good points would be decent visibility and space utilization. They handled fairly well too (at least compared to the competition). Oh, GM could sure build an A/C unit.
But the “chrome” accents quickly revealed that they were foil on plastic. The rear windows were fixed (and all the vent windows did was create wind noise). Fit and finish was awful, and the squeaks and rattles from the tailgate could drive someone insane on a long trip. As mentioned above, plastic components turned to dust in a few short years.
Sorry. GM’s B bodies may be curbside classics, but the early A bodies were junk.
I owned the same body style wagon as an 82 Pontiac Bonneville. Mine had the diesel and was a good car. I traded it at bout 80k, which was when the diesels started to puke. Otherwise, the body was solid and was great on road trips.
Only thing worse than the back seat of a g-body sedan is a g-body wagon! Or should it be the other way around. These were just a little on the small side for my B-body tastes. Actually these were A-bodies still in ’78.
I never had a wagon but had an ’83 Bonneville. Interior materials weren’t bad, I never had an issue with the plastics chalking, or even a crack in the dash. What I did take issue with was the gigantic trans hump. The footwell was comfortable, I mean I could at least reposition my legs on a long trip, but it seemed so cramped. To me the car was more of a commuter car than anything I’d buy for easy cruising or fun. They try to be big cars, but there ain’t nothin like a B-body.
i want this car!
Seems to be a lot of hate, but I have nothing but love for these cars, fixed rear windows, fading plastic and all. I’ve had two Malibu sedans (still own one) and I’ve always liked the wagons too. For $1K I can’t imagine this one sat too long, especially if everything worked as indicated in the ad. Heck, I would have been tempted at that price.
As to the plastics, dark tan will sometimes turn pink, or sometimes lighter tan. I know where both can be observed in the same car, in fact. My ’82 was a truly curious case though–when I got that car in ’02, the paint was totally shot. Badly oxidized, faded, surface rust, the works. The rear bumper chrome was also pitted. Both of these suggest a life lived outside in the sun and weather. However, the interior was nearly perfect. A couple small dash cracks, but virtually no discoloration on any plastics, the seat fabric was still in fine shape, even the carpets were relatively nice. That one always mystified me. Perhaps dark blue was the most fade-resistant color?
My dad almost bought a car just like the Olds in the pics above. He was a long-time Olds guy, and when my sister came along, it was time for a wagon. He ended up in a Malibu Classic because the Olds guys wouldn’t build him one with a 4-speed. THe shifter BARELY cleared the front bench seat, if Mom was driving and the seat was pulled forward. He also got the 305 because he liked to tow campers. We pulled a pop-up camper all over the country in it. I learned how to drive in this car (and blew out the clutch… I got better!) The rear doors didn’t have roll-down windows, which I thought was unique until I got my minivan (I swore I’d never get a car like the Malibu that the windows were fixed, and look what happened…) THe cargo area was all metal, which was kind of entertaining when we took the dog places, and he slid around back there around corners. WHen I was a teenager, I had a spoiled friend with an IROC, and when he totalled it I planned on buying the engine/5-speed off him for the Malibu and my dad suddenly decided he was gonna sell the Malibu to a freind. That guy promptly totalled it in a drunk driving accident. I remember ours being reasonably solid right up until it got sold, at 10 years old and nearing 200K.Very little rust, too even though it spent its life in Wisconsin and Illinois. My dad was kind of a nut about maintenance though, being an Army motor pool guy so I’m sure that helped it live longer. I keep thinking about finding one like it but I haven’t seen one with a manual ever.