When it comes to station wagons that offer enjoyment for the entire family no matter where they’re sitting, the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser with its elevated roof and skylights certainly deserves a shout-out for including the rear occupants as part of a fun travel experience.  It’s pretty cool too that Olds thought to provide a pair of sun visors for the second-row passengers!  There are some other good points here as well, so if you’ve been considering adding a vintage wagon to your fleet, this 1965 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser here on Craigslist might be worth checking out.  It’s a California car, presently located in San Jose, and it’s still wearing both of its black plates.  The seller is hoping for $8,000, but he’s also added OBO, so perhaps he may be open to considering a lesser amount.

Barn Finds reader Rocco B. spotted this one and sent us the tip, so we’d like to express our gratitude for his kindness in doing so!  It seemed like a really good idea to create a sky view to help pass the miles for kids on long trips, which just might have eliminated some of the “are we there yet” questions during the period these family haulers were popular.

Some background the seller provides about the Vista Cruiser is that he got it from the original owner, and it’s low mileage for the age, with only 78,000 miles on the odometer.  The body is mentioned as very straight, and while the sheet metal looks pretty good overall, it’s not entirely without flaws, as there are at least a couple of small areas where some light rust is starting to peek through, such as on the tailgate and the passenger side quarter panel.  However, the exterior seems solid for the most part, and I’m guessing it wouldn’t require an extensive amount of work to get this Olds ready for a fresh coat of paint, should the next owner choose to go that route.

The seller is also upfront in stating that the interior is showing its age, but for being original and having spent nearly six decades fulfilling wagon duties, I wouldn’t expect it to look a whole lot better.  One of the nicest features to find in here is the third seat, which actually still looks pretty good, and once both rear rows are folded down there’s a substantial amount of room for hauling back there, which this one’s certainly been no stranger to.  Wonder what happened to the missing rear panel covering?

The 330 cubic-inch Jetfire Rocket V8 is stated to be the original engine, which the seller says is running great, and it’s backed with a 3-speed automatic transmission.  If you’re OK with the cosmetics, this 1965 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser seems like a fun wagon to drive around town and just tinker around with, or perhaps investing some energy into taking the appearance to a higher level might be time well spent.  What would you do here?