FOR SALE! 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser survivor - Rocket 455 V8 - GM Clamshell - $13,000 

Any car with a 455 V8 is just plain cool!

My parents had a 1974, I remember it well. Got my foot stuck in between the rear jump seat. My father was an Italian immigrant and loved big American cars with big engines. He really liked the 455. In 1978 they traded it in for a new custom cruiser, my dad cursed the 350 for being underpowered. The ‘73 started my love affair with cars. I used to love the sound of full throttle while we would pass two cars at one time on a two lane highway. We lived in louisiana and took it to Colorado every year on vacation. You’ve got a great machine there pal, take care of her.

The 455 engine runs smooth 1976 was the last year for the 455 Oldsmobile big block love the chunky clicking sounds of the turn signals its so nostalgic

17:20 Best soundtrack for a ride like this! 😆 Ol Willie. Who needs a 747 when you've got the perfect land-based representative of a widebody jet!

My Mom had a car like that. We called it the Enterprise. I've always liked Oldsmobile because they were smooth and quiet.

Give that car some love, it deserves it. 💚

*Omg, she’s a BEAUTY!* Awesome find! Turn signals sound from another world. I loved it!

Aww man I was hoping to see the clamshell tailgate work! Granny and Granddaddy had a 1976 Buick Grand Estate station wagon and that was the most fascinating part of the car to me was watching the rear glass disappear and the tailgate disappear when Granddaddy would stick the key in it!

I owned one just like this only in red with cream interior. Drove and rode beautifully...

My father inherited a 70s buick estate wagon with the 455 rocket engine from his friend who passed away!! The friend was a funeral director who used it to transport bodies!! We used for trips to the beach and the drive in movies!! I would hate to have to pay to fill it up nowadays at close to 4 dollars a gallon!! It was fun to drive while we had it !! I think one of us kids traded it in for a smaller foreign car . Thanks for showing the video and bringing back the memories!!?

Awesome Clamshell wagon!! Love them. I grew up and learned to drive on our mint, loaded 76 Grand Safari with the cornering lights and rally II key colored wheels as optios. It had everything!! Cream with wood!! Today i own a maroon 76 caprice Estate in beautiful awesome condition inside and out. Maroon with red interior and wood sides. Never goes out in the rain!! It has the 3 seats and power gate and doorlocks.. but not completely loaded!! It has the 400 4bbl rebuilt and ac blows cold but i replaced Everything under the hood but the carburetor... my mechanic said its good. Dont touch it yet!!! Our Pontiac wagon had the 455.. same gas mileage on both. Thanks again for sharing your GEM with us!!!!! ❤

My family has that same model when we were kids. Brings back memories.

😍Oh wow, now that is a beautiful '72 wagon!!!!!!👍 Have always wanted one like that, nice find!! 🙂

455 is a greaaaat engine! Keep it forever

Love these big wagons !!! She sure is a beauty, & for 51 years old in pretty decent shape. That Clam Shell rear door certainly adds to the character! My folks bought a new 1974 Olds Custom Cruiser 9 passenger wagon in Oct 1973. Not much difference than your 72, grill, tail lights, & trim. It was non metallic light green without the wood grain. Had a medium green interior. There were 5 of kids & we needed the room. Traveled many miles on some great vacation in that big car. It had a 455 V 8 as well, but suffered from the emission & smog controls that your 72 doesn't suffer with. The gas mileage was 10 - 14 mpg, but the power was NOT as snappy as those per-emission models. The horsepower rating were down because of the emission controls, but these were heavy cars. My folks drove that car for years & well over 200K then donated to the church they attended & the last I new it was still at it with over 300K before it drove off into the sunset. These big wagons had some style & character about them. They could be a luxurious dressy ride for a formal outing, sporty ride to transport the team, or the lake side, canoeing, fishing, or camping & had the muscle to pull a big boat or travel trailer with ease, as well as a load floor & capacity to handle a home improvement project, no problem. The wagons that followed these certainly didn't have that character, or capacity. I have looked for this era of Olds Custom Cruiser wagons for years. All were extremely rusty, over priced, or both. So I've settle for a solid rust free 1973 Chrysler Town & Country wagon with a 440 V-8, 9 passenger rear facing 3rd seat, drop down gate / swing out rear door, beige with the wood grain. It got class & character as well. All these big wagons were used, & used, & used, & abused, & to find a solid rust free model is rare. Love you Olds. she sure has class & style. Best of luck with her, Hope that really unique clam shell window gate works for you. Thanks for sharing it has brought back a lot of good memories!!!!

Hi my name is Carmine and this car leaves me speechless! The car is beautiful looking and running. I have the same wide white wall tires on my 1984 Olds 98 Regency. It was the same size that the car had from the factory. It has 151,000 mi. I also have a 1987 Olds Customer Cruiser with the 307. It just passed 270,000 mi. The engine had never been open and it still runs and drives great. Last but not least my 1978 Olds Delta 88 Royale.. with the Olds 350. It is a 1 owner car that I was lucky enough to buy from the grandson of the original owner. She only has 33,000 mi. It was never taken out in any weather. I always say you can't go wrong with an Oldsmobile. I love yours and I wish I owned it. If you ever want to sell it let me know. But if I were you I'd keep it. Glad to hear that you're keeping it doors. If your looking for alittle extra power, do like I did to my 3 cars. Put on true duel exhaust from the manifold back. Use stock mufflers and don't forget the exhaust resonators at the end of the pipes. It will keep it factory quiet and it will give it a noticeable improvement in power especially on the highway. You can use a lead substitute but you don't have to. Just stick to using PREMIUM fuel. Yes they have lower compression engines but trust me always use PREMIUM. The little bit of alcohol won't kill it. I use Sunoco 94 ultra in all my Oldsmobiles. Last but not least use Royale Purple oil. It is fantastic. I noticed on avarage a 5 to 10 degree drop in my coolant temperatures. Feel free to contact me at any time for advice. Good luck with it. Enjoy it hang on to her.

My favorite wagon!!!!!! 😍 ❤️!!!!!! Beautiful 😍

This is a Bad A car, I'm an Olds man like my dad was and I love this car. It would make a perfect wagon to hall my musical instruments and I would be proud of it!

Growing up our family had a 72 Custom Cruiser, SD 455, trailer special in silver over fake wood. Damn thing was actually pretty quick for it's weight.

Nice find ... beautiful sunset

I owned the best 1982 0lds Cusrom Cruiser. Many great memories. Regreat I traded for a 1991 olds cruiser. 1991 was the best year for our family trips

Great to see, Liam. My Dad bought a cranberry red '73 new that we had for about 17 years but had no more than 54,000 miles in its use transporting us children around primarily. The Custom Cruiser was the most expensive station wagon at that time and simply loaded with everything. I wish I had the chance to drive my parent's just to get the experience of the legendary Olds 455. What did the car in were electrical problems. I suspect that a rust hole near the back window and locking switch for the tailgate was due to inadequate drainage resulted in water accumulating causing rust and electrical issues. I guess I am partial to the look of the '73. And the rear tailgate was a total party trick certainly. A very solid RWD car from General Motors "good ole" days.

The car ride is more comfortable than today's cars.

You're probably aware of this, but by 1972 these had hardened exhaust valves, so were designed to run on unleaded. I had two clamshell wagons and found the gate to be utterly reliable, but every couple of years it appreciated white lithium grease on the tracks to keep it moving at a proper pace.

These clamshell wagons have become like unicorns, the Oldsmobiles are a real beautiful car, probably my favorite for sure

16:30 Now THAT's what a turn blinker/hazard indicator should sound like when in use! Not all wimpy soft as on today's cars.

Ohhh man what a car. Thanks for showing it to us.

Well it’s a Olds. It’s basically a Ninety Eight wagon. I love the clam shell tailgate. Great vehicle. Oldsmobile was one of the most reliable brands.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I was 12 and my dad sold Oldsmobile and Cadillac's. 1972 we had that same car! The front seat should be a green broadcloth and the vinyl in the back was kid proof so they said. Wow, time flies!

What a neat ole wagon!

Those tailfins on it are really cool.

I Definitely would keep it. Just keep after the rust and try to fix the leaks. Especially in the tailgate. The sliders for the tail gate get misaligned. Its a little tricky but its doable.

Is this your pot o' gold? 8 track, score! Our family wagon was never this luxurious with no bells or whistles, I spent a summer in the third, rear facing seat travelling across the country, not sure if the tailgate window was open or closed, breathe in the exhaust kids. Great memories.

Just beautiful..I love that bodystyle..Great find

I drove a ‘72 Buick Estate as an airport courtesy car, fun to tool around in. It was Buick’s Electra offering to a wagon as the Olds 98 copy. Good luck with your project.

Beautiful Custom Cruiser 💚😈👍

I would love to have a round back wagon, unfortunately most around here have been destroyed in demo derbies.

I used to drive my employers 72 98 he bought it new loaded all you could get on one, 2door red of white damask seats ,this is the first wagon I've seen,at least the door panels are good,carpet and seats are easily replacd,no dents, I like it ,it'd be worth investing in .maybe later do more,it's getting older.😊

Dad bought a red/red one new. Took my friends and girlfriends to the drive in with it a few times (friends were not supposed to be in the car). He traded it in in ‘74 for a deep blue Pontiac Grand Safari wagon. Somewhere both exist on old 8mm film I still have

Very interesting find. Had a '72 350 rocket powered Vista cruiser as a winter beater (30 years ago when they were still considered disposable beaters🙂) -but I have never seen one of these 98 platform-based wagons, didn't know they even existed honestly. Be interested to see the updates on this project -I would definitely hold onto it if I were you. Its a very unique piece for sure that would grab attention at classic shows. Thanks for sharing - you are now a steward of history with this thing!!

Fantastic find i haven't see one of those since i was a kid in the 70s supr reliable love those classic Oldsmobile and those wagons are another version of the Oldsmobile ninty eight / delta 88 in wagon form

that is gem you have there.😘

I, too, have always been a sucker for the clamshell wagons. It looks like they ordered every factory option available except for cruise control on this one... although I was kinda' expecting FIVE ashtrays. 😤

I rescued a 70 Dodge Monaco Wagon...it's awesome. The back of the cars are like a work of art and functional 🎉

455 V8. Beast

I've always liked these '71-'76 Olds 98 wagons, it was a "luxury" wagon of the day - didn't see too many of them on the road when new and very rarely see one anymore. The only thing that I thought they should have added was the glass panels in the roof like the Vista Cruiser.

Big Blocks are fun, fun for the whole family.

More you drive them the hapier they are! Spot on perfect comment, . I have a 73 Black over Burgundy T- bird 429 4bbl and Im from Upstate NY , drive my T- bird until the snow arrives. Just found this channel subscribed Immediately. Thanx , keep ' em coming

A friend of mine has a 1975. The man he bought it from was the original owner, who bought it new in 1975 as his retirement car. It has a factory alarm, which is really cool for 1975.

Worked for Oldsmobile from 63 to 75 great car love the tail gate 455 v8 great engine keep it done sell it you will always love it

It's good you bought a car that was owned in Wyoming. Their winters are SO mild.😁😁😁😁

The front facing rear bench kinda caught me by surprise

Jesus we had one when i was a child in the late 80s...

I ❤ like american cars from 60'ies to 70'ies. They were still cool until 2000. Recently, i watched a CADILLAC from end 90. I said " WOW" !

She's a rare.classic, especially with the classic clam shell tailgate. If I was you I would keep her for sure.

Years ago my mom had a station wagon. It wasn’t an Oldsmobile. It was an Impala Station wagon. Total rust bucket but the engine and transmission worked fine. I remember going thru a car wash with my mom and because of the rust seals around the window leaked. I got totally soaked

That's a sweet car. Hang on to her, That even has the electric clamshell rear hatch.

This it going to show my age, and put on display what a movie geek I am, but I’m struck by the irony that this Oldsmobile wagon is Metallic pea green with wood grain. That was the color combo for the famous family truxter in National Lampoon’s Vacation. Now I know the Truxter was actually an over embellished Ford Country Squire, but here’s the Irony. The car that Clark and Rusty traded in for the Truxter was an Oldsmobile wagon! Although, it was a Vista cruiser, built on the same platform with Cutlass, as supposed to this fine example of a custom cruiser that shares the platform with the Ninety Eight.

Oh man these are pretty! Id love to get me one. You can now join aswoa and show it off in their next meeting. Love your new ride. Enjoy!

OMG, We had the same car, loved it..

My family owned the 1973 model, the most expensive wagon GM made AND was more expensive than most Cadillacs. They drove beautifully. We had an issue with the fiberglass lined gas tank, which made its way into the engine clogging everything.

I find it amazing that GM had the money to use a shorter wheelbase on the essentially similar Chevy. Not sure that the extra couple of inches really made any difference in the interior room. Perhaps it was just a selling point. BTW, according to specs that are available now, the Chevy 454 made more HP than the Buick and Olds 455s.

SWEET !!!

That thing's as quiet as an electric!!! 😎😎

With a sled like that I'd give priority to the brakes. I've had a couple 70s vehicles where the brakes worked but something still wasn't right and it turned out to be the proportioning valve was bad. Also if the fuel filter was clogged with rust I'd check the tank to see where all that came from.

What a great car! Love these old wagons ❤

From back when cars were the size they should be. Please restore this well and DON'T let it go to a demolition derby. Those guys would give an arm to get a hold of this and use it in a demo derby. They LOVE these wonderful old wagons (so they can destroy them -- and they're getting harder and harder to find).

Dang, I love the whitewall tires! So many people put black walls on, but they look terrible!

1971-76 custom cruiser was a 98 station wagon.

I knew I guy in high school, back in the mid-80s, that had a Custom Cruiser in the exact same color, with the 8-track. His parents stopped using it and gave it to him as his first car. We loved piling a bunch of people into it and cruising around in it, but the fuel economy was atrocious! He bought his older brother's Dodge Colt so he could actually afford to go places.

Beautiful car, it's is worth it...RIP Oldsmobile.....

Awesome look!

My Dad had a 72 Delta 88 with 455. Engine & Trans bulletproof. 8mpg city/18 mpg highway.

The 72s had reflectors above the taillights, that little body-colored piece that's attached and makes the tip of the rear fender "straight" I guess you would say. That's how you tell the difference between the 71 and the 72 from the back. I don't know why this one has 71 rear 1/4 pieces...

The valve guides wear out in the 120k mileage range ( might start to smoke a bit on start up) as far as the air conditioning goes it could be as easy as replacing the dryer ( the moisture makes them crap out) overall she's a beaut Clark!

Totally awesome! Keep it going :). Ps, had a 75 grandville, same brake light issue. Just need to center the proportioning valve. You tube vid can help :).

if you hold the brake pedal down hard for a few seconds it should reset your warning light. nice car enjoy it!

I’d check the parking brake, that the pedal is releasing all the way. Also, the light might just be grounding out.

If you don’t have a center armrest, I would upgrade front seat to one from a ‘72 Olds 98 Regency before reupholstering.

Love to have one fall in my lap! But in Michigan if it did it be disinterested rust ! Sweet ride .

you can find all of the spec's; last yr for high-torque was '70. To trust it driving is to change many things; all fluids, hoses, belts. New motor mounts and tranny mount drop the gas tank and get it cleaned. Ask around for availability of water pump and alternator. or get new brushes for alt. potentially better front seat in bone yard somewhere

As this was posted 3 weeks ago you've probably been told to hold the Parking brake release,and pull up on the pedal to turn off the brake warn light.GM's did that all the time.The spring doesn't pull hard enough for the last bit to hit the switch.Nice ride.If it isn't a fuse,then water around the key switch at the tailgate rusted it and the contacts are poo.

I made previous comment forgot to mention i have 5 wagons oldest 50 mercury 56 nomad 56 corvette engine 66 Mercury 67 new Yorker 2 one 33k and one 73 k Best lead substitute marvel mystery oil add to fuel i use in all my wagons other equipment and trucks Use Delo 30 in summer 10 30 winter or 15 40 Use A/C Delco filters or Wix or Napa Gold (made by wix ) Never Never use fram filters They ruin engines ...### now as far as Brakes you have 3 Rubber brake hoses ## Change them ASAP average life 8 years on them max change and flush brake systems ... fuel economy add dual exhaust helps ... buy parts at napa for best quality Awesome wagon thanks for sharing this 😊👍 what state are you located

Great car ! Rolling restoration. Learned to drive in one of these (a ‘73). Won’t be a hard sell…I’d snap it up in a minute.

The old Station Wagons were the best & most practical vehicles in their time. They rode like Limos & they had payloads like 1/2 ton pickups with RWD & great towing capacity. The Olds Vista Cruiser & the Buick Estate Wagons with the 455's were the ultimate Wagons in luxury also. These new SUV's are a joke in comparison. The Station Wagons were better in every way except for gas mileage.

My dad had the 72 2 door it would smoke the tires for a whole city block

Vomit green that is a 70s color for sure make sure to get 4 docking cushions... lmao 😅😊

Change the points,and the condenser. That allows it to fire. The electrical area.

I explained to someone that these clam-shell wagons were at least one foot wider and 3-4ft longer than a 2020 Subaru Forester. The only thing the Subaru had on these wagons was height, and definitely better handling.

That thing is cool

I love it😊

I always loved the look of the full-size SUVs (err, sorry, station-wagons...but really, what's the difference besides the platform they're built on?) of GM from '71-'76, regardless of make. I always thought they were *the* best-looking wagons ever, and one of the best-looking cars in general from the '70s. The very streamlined profile, the slant back with the wraparound curvature of the windows, and of course that cool tailgate mechanism all were decisive factors in my love for them, be they built by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, or Oldsmobile. If Cadillac had jumped on the bandwagon back then (maybe their first-ever "Escalade"...?), that would have really been something! I remember wanting one of those as a kid, but my grandmother would not hear of it...probably because she still sorely remembered her experience with a brand-new 1960 Kingswood she had been convinced into buying. Of course, the Kingswood of that year had nothing looks-wise on the Kingswoods that would come about 11 years later. I would still like to acquire one of those as part of a personal collection, though I think I might prefer one from the Buick division; I just like Buicks best of all the GM makes.

Back in 1980 or 82, my pops being a cheap bastard and would bargain until late night for good deals suddenly came home with a family wagon just like this (exactly like this). We affectionately nicknamed it the "avocado" my brother and sister (under 7 years old) would ride in the back with the seats down so we can play as my pops drove us to the Valencia flea market. After a few days of ownership we all decided it was time to wash this chariot of beauty. As we processed removed the back space tire, we noticed several "brick" type bags hidden near the spare tire. My mom being the most courageous one of the family tore into these "brick" bags, and discovered to be weed lots and lots of weed. Now that I'm older, I realized why my pop got a very good deal. Oh and the weed, mom put is in alcohol bottles and used it for sore muscles. 🤭1980's good times!

An awesome looking car. I think something like this makes the most functional tow vehicle for whatever you bring into a show or a swap meet or track the only problem with this thing really is not the 455 V8 it's probably getting like 14 mi a gallon. The problem is you don't have OverDrive that's the only thing you need. With just 3rd gear I would just say probably investigate getting a new or different rear-end you know a rear-end with like taller gears like 3.23 or 2.91 or something like that so this way you can cruise at highway speeds in 3rd gear and still get about about seventeen miles a gallon if you're using this to toe. I mean that's what I meant for you to tow the car to a another car show and then you can sleep in this car cuz you can put a cooler in the back you can put extra tools in the back and put in the ice chest and a pillow and a change of clothes. And then you can sleep in the rear.

as kids my mom had 2 of these a green 72 like that and then she got a blue 73 for $75 !!! which she had a long time the only thing my mom put into it was a starter and brakes she got rid of it for something a bit better on gas by 83

Love it ! Great Great Find. There's 1 around here but yours appears in better shape

You found a rare car😮

Not sure of this, but I think I read somewhere that this vehicle was built on a pickup truck frame. If so, no wonder it was so large and 5,000 or so pounds.

Keep it it's nice

Looks like the GM version of the family truckster