"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
10/02/2020 at 14:01 • Filed to: Oldsmobile
5
30|
"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
10/02/2020 at 14:01 • Filed to: Oldsmobile | 5
| 30 |
Everybody’s obsessed with the Vista Cruiser, but I’ve just discovered the glorious machine that is the 1973 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser:
AND I LOVE IT. Most American wagons from the seventies just look like ugly malaise lumps with tacky fake woodgrain. Sorry, I love wagons as much as the next guy, but they just do. Except this one. This one is simply beautiful, and somehow the fake woodgrain on the sides just
works.
It think it’s partially because unlike most others, the woodgrain here isn’t just a big rectangle tacked on. It changes shape with the rest of the styling, and feels like more of a styling feature and less like a tacky decoration. Also, that shade of green paint is amazing and complements the woodgrain perfectly. But it’s not just the styling that I love, there’s also this:
Which works like this:
Although in that video they really need to oil the dang thing, geez...
This is peak tailgate. There’s no cooler tailgate than that. I mean, sure, if the motors burn out then that can’t be fun, but still! As far as gimmicks go, this is fantastic.
They of course made Pontiac, Chevy, and Buick versions of these, but none of them had styling as elegant or pretty as the Oldsmobile version IMO. You can still argue that the Vista Cruiser’s fancy roof windows make it cooler, but consider that by 1973 all that the Vista Cruiser name bought you was some awkward styling and a sunroof:
Not even the cool roof windows. Just a sunroof. And a small one at that. For shame, Oldsmobile! But at least they made up for it by making the Custom Cruiser.
Just looking at it gives me flashbacks of road trips I’ve never been on...
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:09 |
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Those are sweet. My grandma had a massive Ford with fake wood vinyl sides. I need to figure out which model year it was. Pretty sure it was a 78, I was born in 78 and she had it in 1984 for sure, I would bet it was this exactly, I remember the headlight covers.
Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:10 |
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Very Car. That super cool tailgate mechanism is why they are now so rare. Any collision damage and you just need a new car. Mind you all wagons are rare, because they were so useful to families painters, carpent ers etc they all got driven to the last mile.
and 100 more
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:11 |
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We live in 2020. Damn near light years ahead of the 70's, technologically speaking.
Why, in the everloving fuck, do we not have tailgates like this literally everywhere?
ibRAD
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:12 |
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I’ll take it. Does it come with the 455?
Chariotoflove
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:13 |
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This is the exact car, c olor, and model year that I grew up with and was my first car when I got my license, except that our upholstery was a matching green vinyl. I have used these exact pics before when waxing nostalgic about it on this site.
One thing I remember my parents telling me is that it started out this glorious green, but there was some problem with the paint that caused Olds to respray it. T he new color, although it had the same color code, was a much paler, bleh green with which I became more familiar.
I don’t care. I loved it, and I mourn the loss of its brethren from our garages and driveways.
For Sweden
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:14 |
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May I present the Pontiac Catalina
WilliamsSW
> ibRAD
10/02/2020 at 14:20 |
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I’m pretty sure that the Buick and Olds wagons came with the (Buick or Olds) 455 standard. Pontiac came with a 400, 455 optional, and I think you could get a tree-fiddy, 400 or 454 in the Chebby.
Frankly, you needed the 455 to get that pig moving. Well north of 5,000 lb, those are *still* the heaviest cars GM has ever built.
ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:28 |
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WilliamsSW
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:29 |
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That clamshell tailgate was standard in all 71-76 GM full-sized wagons. As a kid born in ‘68, I am very familiar with it - though we didn’t have a wagon until 79.
The Ford magic door tailgate is pretty cool, too, but not as cool as the clamshell.
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WilliamsSW
> Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
10/02/2020 at 14:32 |
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So much this - I always forget, but if you were a painter or carpenter in the late 70's/early 80's, you drove one of these. Beat to hell, covered with paint splatter, springs sagging to the point where the back bottomed out over literally any road imperfection, random dents everywhere.
But yeah, it was one of these, maybe an occasional van - not a pickup truck.
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ibRAD
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:37 |
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Here’s a nice example. YOLO
lone_liberal
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:38 |
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Love it! I have to admit that since a Gran Torino was my first car I have an affinity for this:
Goggles Pizzano
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 14:43 |
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I’ve always loved those two lines inboard of the wheels. So distinctive, and as you’ve mentioned a standout accent in the time of malaise. If you were to put full wheel covers front and rear, the car would still have a powerful stance. It’s like the car’s been
carved from a single piece and the wheel openings were cut last.
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Jim Spanfeller
> ibRAD
10/02/2020 at 14:53 |
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The Chevy versions appear to have been available with the 455, so I imagine these are as well.
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Jim Spanfeller
> Chariotoflove
10/02/2020 at 14:55 |
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Man, you grew up with an awesome car.
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Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
> WilliamsSW
10/02/2020 at 14:55 |
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My painter buddies rocked 80 GM wagons before they switched to astrovans this century. Maybe until 2005.
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Jim Spanfeller
> and 100 more
10/02/2020 at 14:56 |
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I guess because in a rear-end collision it’s difficult/expensive to repair. I don’t care though, I still love it.
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Jim Spanfeller
> For Sweden
10/02/2020 at 14:56 |
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I still prefer the Oldsmobile, but the Catalina is a very close second.
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Jim Spanfeller
> 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
10/02/2020 at 14:58 |
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Ah yes, Ford’s “rectangle all the things” era ;)
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Jim Spanfeller
> lone_liberal
10/02/2020 at 15:00 |
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Those definitely have the look of a muscle car that went full wagon.
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Jim Spanfeller
> ibRAD
10/02/2020 at 15:03 |
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Daaaaang. Price is a little high, but the car looks to be pristine. And that’s a nice color, too. Too bad I don’t live in California... or have the money... or the space... Sigh.
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Jim Spanfeller
> ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/02/2020 at 15:03 |
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ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 15:08 |
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Oooo
Thats very nice!
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Chariotoflove
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 15:13 |
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We drove it to the last mile. Good for towing the horse trailer too.
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ibRAD
> Chariotoflove
10/02/2020 at 15:28 |
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Ha. I was going to say imagine hauling the horse trailer with a modern family car but then I remembered that a modern family car is a 3/4 ton pickup.
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Chariotoflove
> ibRAD
10/02/2020 at 15:44 |
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Even bigger where I live in Texas.
Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 15:48 |
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Wagon Queen Family Truckster or GTFO.
BEER4Bonnieville
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 16:18 |
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We used to call them Vista Bruisers back in the day.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Jim Spanfeller
10/02/2020 at 16:56 |
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Yeah that tailgate is cool. How reliable are they?
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Jim Spanfeller
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
10/02/2020 at 19:53 |
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Not sure. I imagine it’s like power windows and the like, where it can go wrong given enough time. But I would assume you could just replace the motors if that happens. These were also available with the lower half being manually closed and just the window being electric, which I imagine is more reliable.