Between 1964-72, the Vista Cruiser was a high-end station wagon wearing Cutlass Supreme trim. These wagons had fixed-glass, roof-mounted skylights over the second-row seating area with sun visors for said passengers, and a raised roof behind the skylight, and lateral glass panels over the rear cargo area. The name would continue for another generation after this, but without the unique roof treatment. This pair of Vista Cruisers are both 1972 models and are at a different stage of needing work. Located in Lake Wales, Florida, they’re available here on craigslist as a pair for $15,500, but the seller will split them up if you talk turkey. Another great tip from Barn Finder Pat L.!

Oldsmobile would build 762,000 cars for the 1972 model year of which 300,000 were the mid-size Cutlass, which was continuing to grow in popularity. But the specialty wagon, the Vista Cruiser, only accounted for about 8,000 assemblies. Buick was offering the same wagon as a Skylark using the name Sport Wagon but lost the skylights for 1970-72.

The seller found both these wagons in long-term storage and continued to work on them until resources to complete the work dried up. The blue one is said to be closer to fruition than the yellow one, and it looks like a 442-tribute wagon in the works. Both cars are said to be solid underneath and originated in the South, although that isn’t necessarily a plus for surviving. Boxes of parts to keep the work going will come along with the deal. Let’s look at the attributes of each wagon.

Vista Cruiser (Yellow)

This wagon has a 455 cubic inch V8 engine that is said to run. And the motor is paired with a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. It was a factory A/C car, but that stuff is not connected. It has a new battery and fuel filters along with a decent set of tires. Everything seems to work but the paint is chipping and peeling and there is rust brewing in some of the sheet metal.

Vista Cruiser (Blue)

The exterior of this one looks far better than the other car and it may have had woodgrain side paneling that’s no longer present. However, the interior is in worse shape and a lot of time and energy will need to be devoted there. It’s equipped with the less potent 350 V8 with an automatic, but it doesn’t yet run. This wagon also has factory air that’s not hooked up. It has good tires all around as well.

These wagons seem to stand on their own merits as far as restoring them is concerned. The asking price would be a lot for one of them to be used as a parts car, and not much would be gained from using one to help the other (except maybe swapping motors). Perhaps buy both, decide which one to keep, flip the one of lesser interest and if a profit can be made, roll it into the remaining Cruiser.