Up for sale is this very well preserved 1973 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon. This was a one owner car for 38 years until it was acquired by a collector last year. Always garaged, the car is in an incredible state of preservation - it wears all original paint, glass, chrome and trim - and all of it is in excellent condition.
The car is well optioned; it has A/C, cruise control, 3rd seat, tinted glass, tilt wheel, power tailgate and a roof rack. On top of it all it's powered by the mighty 455 Rocket motor. To say that the car has long legs is an understatement, this is definitely a highway cruiser that has power to spare. The survival rate on these clamshell GM wagons was low, as they aged the combination of the big block motor and beefy wagon construction made them a favored choice for demolition derbies. Among the survivors still out there, excellent examples are rare. Here's a chance to own a really stellar example of a 70's icon, the classic American Station Wagon.
Click to enlarge any of the photos below, a link to a slideshow of all the enlarged images is available at the bottom of the page.
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Having original paint eliminates a lot of guesswork about a car's past, what you see it what you get. This car presents extremely well, you can tell it's been garaged and cared for. Finished in "Cranberry Red Poly" the paint still shows good gloss with no faded or baked out areas. The body panels on this big barge are unbelievably straight, just very impressive in person. There are ZERO rust issues anywhere - no bubbling, no blistering, no problems. The car rides on a set of nearly new Hankook Optimos.
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Body panel fit is excellent throughout, all doors close with a precise 'click'. The woodgrain siding is in terrific condition with no peeling or fading anywhere.
This wagon always seems to draw people in to talk about it, and most of them have a story about "the one they had growing up" (even if it wasn't a Oldsmobile!). The sheer size of this wagon sets it apart from the plastic econoboxes you see today. At 19 feet long and weighing in at over 5000 lbs, GM wasn't kidding when they labeled these "full size".
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There are 2 flaws on the car; one is at the rear of the driver's side quarter panel, what appears to be a garage type incident that occured at low speed. As you can see there's a tweak in the siding and a tiny bump-in on the tail light bezel. A NOS bezel is included with the car.
The other flaw is a one foot area of paint checking directly behind the rear door on the driver's side. Neither item is very noticeable and doesn't seem to take away much from the big picture.
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The bumpers on this car look like new, but they're original, never having been rechromed. They are as straight as a pin and sparkle like new. The tail light lenses are similarly preserved, clean and clear with no cracks or fading.
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The front end has picked up some rock chips along the way, reflecting 39 years and 86K miles. On an original paint car I give this type of thing a pass.
The front bumper is arrow straight with excellent chrome and no damage. The grill is crisp and the chrome headlight surrounds have no pitting. In fact all of the chrome trim on the car (door handles, side mirrors, etc) have no problems with pitting, they all look fantastic.
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All of the glass is in great condition with no chips, scratches or hard water spotting, they're all crystal clear. All of the anodized trim surrounding the windows is like new with no clouding or scratches. Window weatherstripping and seals all look great.
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The roof rack is in terrific condition. These wagons were designed by styling guru Bill Mitchell. They may not be as iconic as his split window Corvette, but they definitely have their own look.
The clamshell tailgate was introduced into the GM lineup in 1971. For those that have never witnessed a clamshell tailgate in operation, it's pretty trick. The glass slides up into the roof, and the bottom panel disappears beneath the car. I've heard just as many "wows" from adults as I have from kids when operating it. In the 4th photo you'll notice the "Ziebart" sticker.
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Ziebart was started in 1959 and its name became synonomous with rust proofiing. Many new car owners opted to have their car "Ziebarted" shortly after purchase. This wagon was brought in less than a week after purchase and this process is partly responsible for the state of condition this wagon is in today. You'd never believe it unless I told you, but this car spent 38 years in Michigan. I think the folks at the Guiness Book should reserve a slot for the "most well preserved Michigan car" record, specifically for this wagon. This was a fair weather car, never brought out in the snow or winter months, and the combination of Ziebarting, judicious use, and unfailing owner care is responsible for the time warp vehicle you see here today.
The car comes with an impressive assortment of original literature, including a build sheet, first registration, dealer paperwork and a complete range of owners manuals in mint condition. Also included are the car's original wheels and hubcaps, still in good condition.
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The interior is like stepping back in time, it's completely original and totally mint. The seats, carpet, headliner, dash - all of it is untouched and just as nice as can be.
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Everything here works correctly; lights, signals, horn, wipers, etc. The A/C was recently serviced and blows ice cold. The heater, fan, and plenums also all work correctly. For instance, on these cars there's an indent just to the right of "Cold" on the bottom lever which changes the amount of fresh air into the car, and it's working just as it's designed to. This car was optioned with cruise control, it also operates correctly.
The gas gauge and speedometer show accurate readings. All interior and dash lighting works.
The rear window and tail gate remotes work on the dash and at the key. The radio has been upgraded to an AM-FM cassette, the original AM radio is included. An iPod jack has been installed in the ashtray and professionally wired directly to the sound system. All lighters and ashtrays in this car are unused, the interior has no adverse odors.
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Taking a look under the dash and in the glovebox shows untampered originality. The carpet and floor mats in this car are in terrific shape, with no sun fading or stains. The dash is entirely free of cracks, usually there's one or two around the defrost vents even on the nice ones, this has none at all.
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Great door panels, all windows wind smoothly, all door locks work. The condition of the weatherstripping in this car will impress you, it's all original and still soft and pliable.
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None of the seats show wear, splits, or scuffs - they're like new. A nifty mechanism allow ingress to the rear seat.
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The third seat easily folds flat, the seat structure underneath looks brand new. The headliner is in super condition with no sagging and no rips. This wagon has seat belts for 8 passengers, there are shoulder belts (tucked up at the headliner) for the front passengers which don't appear to have ever been used. Also of note are the plastic trim panels on the inside of the window pillars. These were prone to color fading and cracking on GM cars from this era, but the ones here are perfect.
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The seats fold flat to create 184 cubic feet of space! The GM wagons from this era ('71-'76) were the largest station wagons of all time.
The rear gate area shows good weatherstripping and no rust issues. The gate and window open and close swiftly.
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Clean and original jack storage area and spare tire well.
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This wagon runs and drives just as good as it looks, I can say with confidence that you will enjoy driving this car. The 455 Rocket V8 was just tuned with new plugs, wires, cap, points and rotor - it's at the top of its game. Has a super smooth balanced idle and of course loads of power on tap. The big 455 produces Hand of God acceleration and torque, it will make this large vehicle move in a hurry if needed. As you can imagine it's really at home on the freeway - set the cruise control, stretch out and fingertip steer this land yacht to the horizon.
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Nice original touches are found throughout the engine bay. The car has recently had a new radiator installed, cooling system flushed, transmission serviced, A/C system charged with R12, and all fluids safety checked. The car floats down the road like only a 127" wheelbase automobile can. It has good steering response and braking power, tracks straight and shifts smoothly.
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The undercarriage shows the quality work done at Ziebart years ago, still appearing fresh after 39 years. This is no rattle can job, this heavy duty coating is what's kept this wagon so incredibly well preserved all these years. I've inspected this car very closely and have found no rust issues anywhere.
I recently had the muffler replaced and noticed that the old one was original to the car, with a date code of 4-73. I took a picture of it for posterity. The remainder of the exhaust is factory original, another signpost of what has to be one of the most original GM fullsize wagons remaining in the world.
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Click here for a slideshow of all of the enlarged images.
$14,000 or trade up or down for similar quality vintage cars, original or restored. No projects please unless they are really rare. Click to send me an email. I'm open to trading this car towards a collector vehicle of a much higher value and paying the difference in price, so if you have a high dollar car you want to sell, and like this wagon, Email me.