1990 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser review from North America

I do all my own maintenance on this car.

Replaced the starter.

Replaced the alternator due to bad bearings.

Replaced the intake gasket due to coolant leakage.

Replaced the ignition coil - the windings in the old coil were weak.

Rebuilt the carb - needed new throttle shaft bushings, so I overhauled the carb while I had it off.

Replaced the all four springs - front springs were sagging, one rear coil cracked.

I love this car. It has been fairly good to me so far. The previous owners did not look after it that well, so a lot of the work I did was to fix their problems.

The car has an excellent body, but the paint is terrible. I am going to have it painted in the spring.

Overall, very reliable. It has never left me on the side of the road. Pretty economical for its size. I average well over 20 MPG. I can get over 600 km's on a tank of fuel.

The car rides very nice, and handles like a typical boat. The emergency handling is very good though.

Very roomy, lots of head and leg room. I am 6'4" and this is one of the few cars I am comfortable in. Lots of cargo room, couldn't own a car with a trunk anymore, they're all too small!

Power is okay. If you know how to use the little power you have the car is fine. No rocket by any means! It is geared too fast (2.93 rears, 0.67 Overdrive), but it does cruise at high speed very well and economically. Hills are not good for this car. I'd like to put a 403 Olds in the car eventually.

Tranny is a weak point. I change my fluid yearly, but it is too light for a car of its size. This tranny is original though, no work done to it so far.

I over maintain this car, and it has given very little trouble. As I stated, most of the trouble I have had was from the previous owner's abuse. But considering a typical 12 year old car, it is way above average. I am slowly improving it as time goes on.