I just saw this down on Washington Street. Since it’s for sale and is such a highly desirable and rare item, and I need to run, I’m going to have to the quickie treatment on it; the ten minute (or less) CC Capsule. And, no; I don’t get a commission. It’s just my public service announcement to all you bubble fans.
I’ll jump right to the sign and let it do the talking. The only thing missing is an asking price.
Only the Olds version had the sky-roof, right? So why didn’t they use the venerable Vista-Cruiser name?
My book says the Chevy 305 was standard and the 350 optional. And the Custom Cruiser was a two-year wonder only, so it missed out on the LS-1 engine that late-stage Caprice fans so admire.
Got to love the big booty on these wagons. GM sure knew how to make these things look even bigger than their fairly modest 116″ wheelbase might suggest. That’s several inches shorter than the old Vista Cruiser.
But than that had a forward facing third seat, unlike the rear facing rumble seat here.
So let the (virtual) bidding begin. Who’ll give me a thousand….
$1000 would be really sweet.
Recourse to the Classic Car Mall site mentioned on the sign shows that the owner is asking $7,500 …
http://www.classiccarmall.com/adDetail.aspx?ID=770
$3,750, tops. Not rare enough, it has almost 150K miles on it, it needs a new suspension, and it needs a full detailing inside and out.
The Roadmaster wagon got the sky roof too. Still dosen’t explain the lack of a Vista Cruiser though..
That’s a lot of cash for that bad boy, “rare” or not.
$3,000 if the guy delivers it to me in Gallup, NM. Yeah it’s RARE yeah I freaking love Oldsmobiles, but I’m not crazy. Low miles would be 30,000 in my book and it would be more valuable if it had a color contrasting interior. Saw a white one on eBay a while back and it had a red leather interior, that was a LOOKER!
I have a soft spot for these wagons, having owned the previous B-wagon (’87 Caprice), but I wouldn’t pay anywhere close to $7500 for one in this shape. Now, a near-mint Roadmaster? Maybe.
Not a dime. I despise these land barges. They took everything that was good about the ’77-’90 models and threw it away, returning to the excesses of the ’71s. Just look at the wheels – those are light truck tires, because these things weigh about 4,800 pounds. And that interior, with all that guaranteed-to-crack plastic and standard-issue GM cloth upholstery, yuck.
The Caprice/Impala actually looked less bloated for the last couple years, after they ditched the skirted rear wheels, but then GM killed the cars in typical fashion. I stopped taking Chevy seriously as a brand when the Lumina became their flagship.
Be still, my heart! How much would I pay? Well, let’s see how much I have in the bank…I like it because it is an odd ugly duck. Sort of defiantly retro, the last of a dying breed….and no fake wood!
Is this the only color that Oldsmobile painted these Custom Cruisers? Every time I see one of these in person, or for sale online, it’s this same blue color. This is also the color that was featured in the brochure.
I always thought it would be interesting to put some of the pieces of the Custom Cruiser onto a Caprice sedan to create the final rear-drive Olds sedan that never existed.
We just had one of these go through the auction last Tuesday. White one, garage kept immaculate, but a ‘service engine soon’ light and 137,000 miles.
It went for $2300 plus the buyer’s fee. Around $2480 altogether. The wholesaler who bought it told me he wholesaled it for $3000 the next day.
I thought about getting it. But I still remember getting perfectly good Roadmaster wagons for half the price only a few years ago. Since I bought a perfectly fine Roadmaster sedan for only $500 a while back (it only needed an alternator) I decided that the Cruiser had already hit one hell of a lick after it was bid up to $2000.
Great cars but lord what a price premium… and the price of gas is just going to make them more expensive. With all the ‘contrarian’ thinkers at the auctions, even the unpopular stuff gets bid into the sky.
I have a fondness for these B (?) body wagons. I remember my folks having bought the Chevrolet Caprice version new back when this model first was available. The looks of the Olds version in my opinion are a bit more questionable, but cool none the less. I love how the tailgate one these could be folded down, or opened longways like a regular (albeit huge) door. The LT1 is a dog and a nightmare, I’d love to tear it out and replace it with an LS1/LS6 with a 4L80 behind it.
In this condition, I’d go $2000 max. They really aren’t that rare, at least not yet, I have no idea what the owner is smoking.
“I have no idea what the owner is smoking.”
HINT: This is Eugene.
Roadmaster wagons are still all over the place down here in FL and they’re in old person, garage queen shape.
Further proof that every car is a curbside classic to someone.
… lots of lo-mileage RWD Caddy Broughams, too.
Custom ordered a 96 Roadmaster wagon. 1 0f the last 50 built. Tastefully modded it, stuck on some GS emblems and messed up a lot of minds. Black, wood delete, chrome steelies – hi rise intake hood, etc. Iranian taxi drrivers in Boston would chase me down trying to buy it. Would pick up my wife often at the airport – always allowed to park in the livery only area – lol.
Pop had a ’71 Custom Cruiser, so I do have a soft spot for the Olds Wagon. I really dig the early – mid ’90’s full size GM wagons; Olds being the rarest (and sharing the “Visit Cruiser” roof with the Buick Roadmaster).
Unfortunately, the Olds was saddled with the four-barrel 305, which, performance wise was ‘adequate’. I’d get the Olds for the rarity and like most bloggers, LS1, etc. etc. etc.
The only C.C’s of this vintage I have seen in the flesh have been this blue color or the burgundy. At least this vintage Olds would see possibly 20-22 mpg on the highway with a light foot. Dad’s ’71 C.C. with the 455 4bbl Rochester “once” saw 14mpg (55 mph highway driving). Entertainment was kicking in the secondaries and watching the fuel gauge ‘wobble’ as it drank down fuel at 700 or so CFM . . . .
Getting back to THIS Olds, I don’t believe 4800 pounds is correct . . . more like 4000. That’s still light weight compared to today’s “compact” CUVs . . . . (and probably gets better mileage too). For comparison’s sake, an ’85 Buick LeSabre (Olds 307 powered) fully loaded sedan I had weighed 3850 . . . with fluids.
Ah, memories. A friend in high school had one, either a ’91 or a ’92 with the 350. Unlike this one, it was white with gray lower body, and alloys instead of these rather pedestrian wheel covers. Not a bad-looking car. It already had over 200,000 miles on it when he got it in ’96…his Dad did a *lot* of driving for business, and my friend was given the Olds when Dad upgraded to a Thunderbird for his next work car.
That car was amazing for simply transporting large numbers of people wherever we needed to go (it helped that he was one of the first in our class to get his driver’s license). Never drove it, but it felt reasonably fast off the line with the 350, and man was that blue velour interior comfy, even with a carful (I remember at least 11 on a couple of occasions). Developed some electrical gremlins as it aged (refusing to lock was a common one), and had one odd incident where, upon shutting one of the rear doors, the window simply fell outwards and shattered on the pavement, but all in all it was a very good car. It had made almost 250,000 by late 1998 when its life was ended by an accident.
Good memories of these cars. Not $7500 worth of good, but good just the same.
Looks like they put a slickened version of a
1976 b-body wagon onto an a-body frame!
Proportions are all wrong – be it an Olds,
Buick, or Chevy wagon.
The 91-93 , olds custom cruiser roadmaster & caprice wagons are exceptional rides, ,all come stock with front police sway bar , back one was available on cadilac funeral versions . rear police bar can be piggy backed onto longer wagon control arms .with the addition of Impala SS 17 inch wheels & goodyear eagle 235-55 r17s pursuit tires they are onshakable on any corner I’ve put my caprice into. The 350 TBI motor will get car to 60 in 8.5 seconds with 3.23 axle ratio . olds & Buick had instrumented dash with 7,000 tach from the factory. Gas mileage 21.5 at 65 ,23.5 at 50