Hey, everyone. My name is Kevin and I am yet another newbie to this page. I was Googling for some information on older Oldsmobiles and I came across this site. I'm 25, so I still have LOTS to learn about cars, especially Oldsmobiles. I'm hoping I can pick up some valuable knowledge from this page.

Now, about my car. I am the proud owner of a 1990 (barely a classic, I know) Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon. The Custom Cruiser line ran from 1970-1990 with very little change, and my 1990 was the last produced with this particular design. The following year, a new line of Custom Cruisers began with larger fuel-injected engines and a more rounded contour on the body (this new line only lasted for 2 years).

I found this baby on Craigslist a little over a year ago and jumped at the opportunity. It only had 84,*** miles on it and was a 3rd owner. It had been well maintained and I got it for a steal. It's white with vinyl wood grain siding and light brown interior with 3rd row seating. The dash has matching "woodie" paneling and the tailgate has the classic dual-hinge operation. Under the hood, I have a factory 307 5.0L V8. I wish it was a 350; 4,600 lbs is a lot weight to pull around.

Anyway, that's about it. I'm sure I'll be jumping into threads pretty soon and getting to know everyone. Glad to be here!

 

By the way, I should probably go ahead and explain my screen name. My car was originally bought from a dealership in Pinehurst, NC called CLARK. It still has the original dealership logo on the back door, and when my best friend saw it he made a reference to Clark Griswold from the National Lampoon Vacation movies. So that day, we dubbed my wagon "The Griswold" and the name has stuck ever since.

 

Pictures are soon to come. Haven't quite gotten that far yet.

 

Welcome, Kevin. You might want to review the Custom Cruiser genology to make note of the substantial difference's from 1971 to 1990.

 

Thank you. I would definitely like to know specifically what was changed over the years. I've seen various differences in the trim and siding for different years, but I don't know specifically what years these changes were made. I've only done minimal research, but I'd definitely like to learn more. I'm really glad I found this site.

 

Welcome aboard

 

Partly correct. The first era of the CC wagons ran from 1971 (not 1970) to 1976, and that was the era of the "clamshell" tailgate, where the window went up into the roof and the tailgate disappeared down into the floor. The more conventional tailgate appeared beginning in 1977, and from 1977 through 1990, the design was essentially unchanged.

The 1971 Custom Cruiser marked Oldsmobile's re-entry into the full-size station wagon market after producing only mid-size wagons based on the Cutlass line from 1965 to 1970. That was the era of the raised-roof Vista Cruiser, which was actually offered beginning in 1964 and lasting through 1972.

To be completely correct, the first use of the term "Custom Cruiser" actually dates back to the 1940s, and it was applied to a high end 98 that was not a station wagon.



Here's a photo of what your car looks like:





Now here's a photo of a clamshell-era wagon. It's mine, and I never miss an opportunity to post of a photo of it!





Here's a photo from the rear showing the tailgate in the closed position.

 

Welcome to our site! Can't wait to see pics of your car!

Jaunty..... That's just a gorgeous car!

 

Thank you.


To finish the thought on the '40s era Custom Cruiser, it was offered in 1946 and 1947, it was called the Custom Cruiser Series 98, and it was offered in 2-door convertible and 2- and 4-door sedan versions.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me, Jaunty. And that is one sexy wagon you've got there. I've heard about/seen the clamshell wagons before, but I never understood how they got their name. I'd be interested to see exactly how that tailgate operates. It sounds very unique. I get lots of OOHS and AAHS whenever I show someone my tailgate with the dual hinge operation. It's one of my favorite features. I'm gonna get outside right now and snap a few pics to post on here. Be back soon!

 

If you think THAT impresses the crowds, try showing them a clamshell in operation! They just shake their heads in wonder. The little kids, especially, love to watch it go down.

 

You know, by owning a station wagon, you are "eligible" for membership at stationwagonforums.com. (Actually, you don't really need to have a wagon to join up.) It's a good site with about as much activity as you see at classicoldsmobile.com, and a number of members here with wagons are members over there as well. You get, of course, all wagons of all eras showing up there, but that's where much of the fun is.

 

Welcome to the site.

I like the screen name too.

The 307 you have was the only motor ava in that car, however you can swap it if you wish.

You also have the 8.5 rear end and the back of the wagon was designed around hauling plywood (don't know the size I think it's 4x8) and all the wagons came with that type of dash. The 80-90 CC's are the same in the front clip and dash as the Delta 88 from 80-85. My delete plate is actually from a 86 CC wagon

Enjoy your stay

 

OK .. show us a picture of it as it goes from closed (already pictured) to open..

 

All ya gotta do is ask!


Here's partly open:





Here's all the way down. I don't actually have a wide shot of the tailgate all the way down, just these close-ups giving a better view of the interior.








I took the above photos after I had finally gotten the car all put back together. Below are two photos of what the rear of the car looked like the night I brought it home.





In this one, you can see the motor for the tailgate on the left side. Griswold was asking what the mechanism looked like.





All the parts were there, but the previous owner had disassembled the rear interior to a significant degree I think because he was trying to trace some wiring problems that cropped up after the car came back from being repainted. Unfortunately, he took ill and set the project aside for what turned out to be about two years before he finally died of cancer. His family, who sold the car to me, didn't really have any idea why he had taken the rear area so much apart. But, fortunately, he saved and labeled everything, and, with a little help from the '73 body manual, I was able to piece everything back together, including solving the two electrical problems I had come across and that he had undoubtedly been pursuing. One was in the wiring for the taillights, which were constantly blowing the fuse, and the other was the rear tailgate motor, which was stuck due to a bad electrical contact at the rear switch.

I cleaned and painted things along the way. I originally took possession of the car in January 2010, but it wasn't until April of that year that I finally had everything back together along with having installed new carpet and getting the front seat reupholstered.

 

Jaunty75, thank you for showing me that. I still don't understand how it works, but it's a marvel to see. The thing I like most about your clamshell tailgate is that everything disappears so there is no door or window to get in your way when you're trying to load stuff in the back. I also like how your third row seat faces forward. Mine faces backward, and for those who get carsick easily like me, it's not the best seat in the house, so to speak.

 

You could be an ad man for Oldsmobile. That was exactly how it was advertised back in the day.

The tailgate slides down into a compartment under the rear floor. Because of that, the "trunk" is very small.

In retrospect, the mechanism worked ok, but the biggest problem apparently was clogging of the drain holes in the tailgate compartment. Water would collect in there and rust out the compartment.

When I was a kid, we had first a '71 Custom Cruiser and then a '73 (one of the reasons I wanted to have this one). I remember the tailgate compartment on the '71 filling with water after a rain. You could hear the water sloshing around in there, and when you put the tailgate down and back up, it would come up soaking wet.

As I said, 1971 was the first year for these, and there were some bugs that needed to be worked out over the years. We never had that water problem with the '73.

Also, the rear window on all wagons of this era was power-operated. But the tailgate could be had either with electric motor operation, as my car has, or manual operation where you would turn the key in the rear keyhole to unlock it and then grab a handle to lower or raise it.

 

Me too. In fact that was a big selling point for that style when they introduced it. Welcome to CO.

 

Here are some pictures of my ride. I posted these earlier in another thread, but I thought I'd put them up here, too.





























As you can see, The Griswold could use some body work and restoration, but even as is I absolutely love my car.

 

If it didn't need at least SOME work, it wouldn't be any fun!