GEARMAN69

Has anyone ever done this? Just random thoughts of the fairly simple custom touch would make a good look maybe ?? I am familiar with early 60's full-size Pontiac 4 door hard tops (called Vista ironically) Bonneville "Vista" typically and Catalina's.. Those cars just looks the in between body between doors is just sawed thru and cutoff covered in the trim. I guess if you had the donor Cutlass it might be cool to do it, Thoughts?

Olds64

I know there were hardtop wagons made by Oldsmobile in the 50s. I think they used the Fiesta name when it was a hardtop wagon.

It would be a very cool project for any later Oldsmobile Wagon. Too bad wagons and hardtops are becoming more rare.

Funkwagon455

You don't think that those beautiful flowing fender lines and voluptuous hips are not cool enough?

GEARMAN69

No they are great lines and this would not change em at all ,it would look good I bet

Funkwagon455

For clarification, specifically what year range are you talking about? I've foolishly assumed that you were speaking of your Matador red car..

GEARMAN69

I was referring to our 70 style but I am not going to do it to my car. More of thinking out loud. Would really take one scoring the rare donor car first to mate up to a rare wagon.

jcdynamic88

if you could do this i think it would look great,i thought that the rear door on a wagon was longer than the rear door on a cutlass

GEARMAN69

The Vista Cruiser rear doors and WB is longer but not the flat top it is merely a 4 door sedan wagon same doors and WB

joe_padavano

The fundamental problem with this concept is that wagons aren't hardtops. Even if you remove the doors, there is STILL a B-pillar that goes all the way from the rocker to the roof. Now you aren't simply swapping doors, you have to change the B-pillar, which is a major structural undertaking. Then you have to get the correct roof rails and keep in mind that wagon back windows are shaped differently than Holiday sedan back windows. Regular wagon rear door windows will be too small, so now you have to make custom curved glass for the rear doors in addition to the custom roof rails. Good luck with that.

Can you do all this? Sure, but frankly, this is waaaaay too much work for very little effect. If you must have a hardtop wagon, get a 1957 Fiesta.

GEARMAN69

Ok Debbie Downer , you bring up a valid point on the back windows wont work if the sedan and wagon glass is different on the rear doors.

joe_padavano

joe_padavano

By the way, if you simply remove the B85 trim and paint the door frames and pillars black, you get 95% of the effect without the work.

Olds64

When I was reading the above posts I was thinking about the 71-76 Custom Cruisers. I suppose it would be that much harder making a hardtop Custom Cruiser because they are just as rare as Fiesta wagons now. Speaking of, when was the last year for the Fiesta hardtop wagon? 65-70 B/C body wagons weren't referred to as Custom Cruisers were they?

Actually, I recently saw a 58 Fiesta wagon for sale near LA. It was a good running project that must have finally sold. I also saw an early 50s tin woody for sale in the desert SW. It must have sold also... anyways.

joe_padavano

They were referred to as "nonexistent".

GEARMAN69

Wasn' familiar with the Fiesta wagon... AWESOME !

Olds64

BTW, I love the flag hitch on the back of your wagon! How do you secure the flag pole in the hitch? I have a homemade flag pole mount in the back of my truck.

GEARMAN69

Thanks I did that once when I was drag racing it with the Pontiac 455. I used a threaded barbel with screw ends in place of the ball on the receiver and stuck PCV over it.

Olds64

Oh yeah! That's pretty quick too!

Bfg

Buick also offered a Hardtop wagon for 57 and 58 called the Caballero.

Funkwagon455

Pete Lohr at Einstyn.com has fantasized about this as well with his '70 Chevelle wagon. Although his photo still shows outer window frames as well as vent windows.. He has this photoshopped pic on his website. I'd agree with Joe that the work and expense to pull this project off far exceeds the cool factor. To do it right would not only be a whole lot of fabrication, but an enormous expense with the aft tempered glass. Ultimately, there would only be a (small) select few that would even notice. Focus your efforts and cash in other areas. How many factory Matador red flattops were produced?? Albeit not many.. Also, yes Buick built an equally beautiful Caballero wagon, they are gorgeous!

GEARMAN69

That's concept looks good but as I said I wasn't doing to mine rather pondering on what one would look and not anything actionable on my end . I hope just maybe mine can get paint this year. Just a driver quality not a frame off job.

Koda

I think I'd almost take the *** end of a wagon (roof, C pillars, quarters) and the front end of a 4 door hardtop (roof and all back to C pillars) and splice the wagon quarters with an edge just behind the C pillar to the same edge on the 4 door, and that would get me up to the roof, which I would join somewhere maybe like where the halo trim ran on the vinyl top. Speaking of which, I'd vinyl top it to hide the narsty fab work.