dogfish

Hey y'all,

I'm considering buying a 75' Olds 5 passenger Vista Cruiser. I love old tuna boat station wagons. I would prefer a 50's Chevy Brookwood or something but their rare and expensive in driveable condition.

The Olds may not be a "classic" per se but as a 36 year old boy any car that is 30 + years old sort of is to me. I think I can pimp it out pretty good someday and they want $2500(I'll offer $2k) which seems reasonable considering it's a one owner car with 125,000 miles, virtually no rust/blemishes and everything works, cruise, A/C, etc. Initially I'll use it as a daily driver in my construction business while thinking about ways to make it cool --- maybe. I'm thinking black it all out, lower it or air bags, tires and rims, shave it, stereo and engine mods.

It has a 350 in it. What can anybody tell me about this engine? Are there performance parts readily available for it? Is it similar to a Chevy 350? How do the Olds transmissions hold up?

Thanks in advance.

joe_padavano

The engine is a 350 Olds motor, which has exactly nothing in common with the Chevy 350 (except for the distributor cap and rotor). The transmission, on the other hand, is the venerable Turbohydramatic 350, which (except for the bellhousing bolt pattern) is virtually the same as the one used in Chevys.

Olds64

That car would look cool with SS wheels and tinted windows. We look forward to seeing pics.

dogfish

Hey again,

Is that all the responses I get? Joe you sound like you know your stuff but all I feel like I got from you was almost "exactly nothing". Couldn't you give me a tip or two on which direction to go if I decide to modify an Olds' 350? Where to look for Olds bolt-on performance parts, if there are any?

Olds 64' I totally agree. As far as pictures go, that could be awhile?

joe_padavano

While nowhere near as plentiful as small block Chevy parts, all the usual speed equipment manufacturers sell parts for Olds motors. Edelbrock and Offy sell intakes, all the cam manufacturers sell cam shafts, all the header manufacturers sell headers, etc, etc. Start with Jegs or Summit, though use their online catalogs as their print catalogs do not list everything they sell. Beyond that are the Olds specialty houses such as Mondello, Dick Miller, FCR, etc. Browse this site and you'll find much more info.

Oldsguy

If you are going to rebuild the engine you migh want to go over to Realoldspower.com. They have a specific forum for engine builds that has many, many posts by many members describing their builds. Usually they title them with some guidance like "My 350 street build that runs on pump gas" or something similar. Lots of engine builders over there. As far as general ideas go, just throw out some of your own and then we can get started. You might want to start a different thread on exterior color for instance. We have an active thread right now where a member asked "Red or Gold?". If you find a particular wheel you wish to use, let us know and we can give you our opinion. In general, I would say a Vista Cruiser is a really nice longroof car and the window in the roof is specific to Oldsmobile only so you have a keeper. Lowering it with bags, cutting coils, or even hydraulics is an option but would have to be considered after you choose your wheels and tires (wheel well clearances). Blacking out the windows is a nice touch, I have seen a mid 90s chevy caprice done that way, if your state allows it. And finally, welcome to our site.

dogfish

Thank you guys! Now I feel like I'm learning something from y'all. Great information!

Bad news. This 1975 doesn't have a roof window. Were some made with one or were you maybe thinking of a different year?

Again, I appreciate it.

joe_padavano

Starting in 1973 it was called the "Vista Vent" and it was optional.

Oldsguy

Thanks for that clarification Joe. I thought if it was called a Vista Cruiser then it had the window and if it did not it was called the Custom Cruiser. Nice to know.

Olds64

I thought the small station wagons without the top window were called F85 Station Wagon, or Cutlass Cruiser. Custom Cruiser was always used for the full sized station wagons. In the 90s the Custom Cruisers actually had the top window... go figure?

joe_padavano

The Custom Cruiser name was used on the 1971-up full size wagons. The 73-77 A-body cars were still called Vista Cruisers whether they had the optional roof window or not. The VC name was dropped in 78 (along with the window) and the cars became just Cutlass Cruisers.