Want something big and bold and useful? Ever consider one of the full-sized station wagons of the 1970s? These are cars that have been hot in the collector hobby for a while, though the fever is now cooling while the crazy money pursues Broncos. Given that fact, this might be the time to have a look at a wagon, like the 1975 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser seen here on ebay. It’s available for bid, and we have it on our radar thanks to tipster TJ, with the current number sitting at $7700 with two people having weighed in. If you get involved, and you win, head to Cassopolis, Michigan, to load your family into the four-door with the clamshell tailgate.
Driving this car puts you immediately into a zone of cool that grows from the way these models have been used in movies. Think about the famous station wagons of film and television history. The Griswold Family Truckster. The Ecto-1 of Ghostbusters. The Ford Country Squire of Harry and the Hendersons. Each has a kind of outsized charm, becoming a character in their respective films every bit as real as the actors who drove them. You can read about the top ten of the genre here if you’re keen.
What do you get with this particular model? Nine-passenger seating. A 455-cid Olds Rocket V8 with but 71,000 clicks on the odo. The deliciously named “Buttercream over Mahogany” color scheme. Fender skirts on the rear. A spoiler (“airfoil”) mounted up high at the rear. Acres of brown vinyl upholstery, and, gotta love it—crank windows. This is a true throwback to the era when everyone in the northern climes piled into one of these at Spring Break and headed for Disney World in Florida for fun and to escape the snow.
The ad brings out an interesting point. Many people have never even seen one of these, let alone gone on a trip in one. The thing is, as the ad also points out, there aren’t many big wagons left. This one-family-owned unit is all ready for you to find a long road to somewhere, though. It has had a good deal of attention paid to renewing the mechanical bits like the brakes and rubber parts. And it has been run through a tire shop for new shoes. Does that ease of use act as a temptation? There’s an audience for this car—everyone who ever got shunted to the “way in the back” section as punishment for sibling misbehavior or because a bunch of family and friends were on board. Isn’t it about time that you lived those days over, or lived them for the first time?
It’s seems like of all the GM clamshell wagons I see the least amount of Oldsmobiles. This is an excellent example.
I remember going to Elementary School with a kid whos parents had a blue one. Even back then you didn’t see these very often it seems. I remember the Chevys with the Clamshell gate the most. I’m pretty sure these were built on the Ninety Eight chassis and that 455 is a huge plus moving all this weight around. These must’ve been a great way to travel on a family vacation. I see a hitch too, I’m sure this would’ve made a great tow vehicle too. Back then you could get a factory tow package on Eighty Eights and Ninety Eights, 455 4 barrel factory dual exhaust and posi rear too if I remember correctly. They towed very well.
Imagine working on that tailgate after it stops mid-stride.
My dad’s favorite of all the cars we had – 1971 Custom Cruiser. And circa 1977, the bottom tailgate had an issue where it wouldn’t retract all the way. It was going to cost about $500 to fix, so he opted for a new car, and immediately regretted it…
Between parts and labor my clam shell cost about $2000.00 to get it working correctly
Just for the record, we always called it the “way back”, and was seat of choice for us kids, as far away from the old man listening to the ball game as we could get. This, in ’75, was still the preferred method of travel for a family. Airplanes were too expensive, and still falling out of the sky, this was it. Ho-Jos provided the grits, Bob Bodett ( Motel 6,,,SIX BUCKS!!!) the roof and this new fangled “innerstate” thing,,,no stopping!!! Might be a tad thirsty, but any travel today will cost ya’, may as well go in style. Great cars to the bitter end.
Actually, it was Tom Bodett, and we’ll leave the light on for ya.
Thanks, the site has improved, but still no edit feature on the early access. It’s tough to believe rooms were actually $6 bucks and it’s competitor the Super 8, was $8.88 in 1974. Amazing they still made money.
A friend and I stayed at a spanking, brand new Motel 6 in L.A. in 2003; the best thing that I can say about it is, it was spanking brand new! LOL!! :-)
BTW: It wasn’t $6 bucks then, either!! :-)
I remember these mostly for a Volvo magazine ad selling their wagons, they showed one of these behemoths and it read, “if you’re tired of wrestling with a beached whale, if you’d like to lose about 1000 pounds, try one of our wagons on for size..”. The point was made, those things were almost too big even for back then. I do like the disappearing-into-the-roof rear window though. As for this car, you need the big 455 to help it along. A friend of mine used to have the Chevrolet version with a 350 and it couldn’t get out of its own way.
They also had an ad that said something like, “Why buy a Volvo wagon? Because Mercedes doesn’t make one.” Mercedes finally got the message and started producing wagons.
I tried to find a copy of that Volvo ad on the internet, I didn’t. However, I did find several old commercials where they compared their wagon to the larger ones of the day and they were just as funny. Thanks for the post Terrry, I got a good laugh out of the commercials.
Being sold in Somewhere, Michigan….with a Kentucky license plate?
welll that SOLD fast
We had 2 Ford wagons,a 59 and then a 63.Then at age 51 my dad traded the 63 on a new 67′ Mustang Fastback,289,3-speed stick.No air,ps or brakes.Just a AM radio.
A ’63 Glaxie wagon is one of the hottest wagons ever..
your Dads got got taste
Clean wagon here Just add dual exhaust. A lot of work done it and I like the 455/400 drivetrain.
Wow-wee. This is a whole lot of a good thing. Back when air-tilt-cruise meant loaded. You’ll be smiling when you’re getting double digit fuel economy. I admire their salesmanship but the actual color “mahogany” was ’76 only. This one is Sable brown. I like her.
That 455 was a dog smog proof to death
as has been said a thousand times :
the engine base is there, the cubes. Its up to the owner to call Summit and order the performance goodies; all bolt on, no big deal.
Its the rarity, the condition, the foundation, practicality, and the marvelous back hatch that is what this is all about.
No boys, its not a drag car, but does have enough torque (real power) to pull a house down.
A ’63 Galaxie wagon is one of the hottest wagons ever..
your Dads got good taste
this was the killer wagon if properly optioned along with the Buick estate wagon. looks like they got the price for it. if so, that was a good buy
My brother and I always got stuck having to sit in the very back of the station wagon looking out the back window. One time we took a trip to Grand Canyon and since my Grand parents were visiting we loaded all the luggage up on the roof rack. Well about half way to our destination,the rope tie down that my Dad used,let loose and we watched the brand new Samsonite luggage tumble like Evel Kinevel at Ceasars Palace. We all spent an hour picking up all the stuff that came out of our luggage. That was the last time I’ve been to Grand Canyon. Then on drive home to Phoenix,my brother got to see everything I had in my stomach. He was so pissed,he swore he’d never ride in the back again. Great family memories…..huh.
How many of those tree shaped air freshners were hanging in the car to get rid of the aftermath of your “episode”? 😆
Waaay back when I worked at the GM garage someone bought one of these ,,red with a blue interior,,never figured that one out
I waited all night for my comment to post, and when I finally left this site so I could use my ‘phone, it vanished. Very sad for me.