Rear brake shoes and a muffler were needed immediately after purchase, another muffler was needed when the bad breaker points caused a huge backfire that split the first new muffler apart at the seams!
One flat tire on the first Wisconsin road trip.
The drivers door electric window motor died.
The heater motor was inoperative at first, due to a bad ground.
Literally bought out of a junkyard in North Dakota for $200 in 1988.
Car had come from Virginia so the body had no rust.
The biggest type of Olds ever made, 455 V8 with 4 barrel carb weighing in at 5260lbs EMPTY.
Eight passenger, but I removed the rear most seats for more covered storage.
Car wasn't used much for about 5 years, stored outside at a friend's farm through -35 degree winters. In 1993, I realized that I didn't have a big car to haul stuff to sell at a car show in Wisc, so I took a battery and fresh gas to the Olds and it fired right up. Did fluid changes and headed for Iola, 14 hours and @650 miles. Went all the way to Chicago and back with nothing worse than a flat. Did this for 3 years, '93-5. Drive it for @2000 miles in 2 weeks, park it for 50.
Got rather upset at the idiots at the car show that wanted to buy it for demo derbying.
Approximately 17mpg highway, city...well...
Bought a trailer hitch at the junkyard for $10 that only added to the usefulness.
7.5 liters trying to breathe through a 2" pipe makes for one LOUD hiss! Dual exhausts and headers are in the future.
Long wheelbase make for a very pleasant highway ride and the 455 makes it seem much more nimble than you'd expect for all it's gargantuan heft.
If you want to carry seven other people, pull a trailer, and not lose momentum on hills, this type of car is for you!
"Dual exhausts and headers are in the future."
- Good idea! The 455 Olds will not run OK with a single exhaust.
You'll find a few other reviews on here of people who really like the 1970's station wagons. That seems to be a niche that is no longer being filled, phased out in favor of the mini-van. Those old station wagons are like a low profile Suburban, with a ton of cargo and people-hauling space, but without the "truck" ride.
They are also safer given their lower center of gravity, unlike all SUVs today.
If only one could still find them! They are a great rarity now - very few left. We used to have a 1972 Olds Vista Cruiser with a 350, but it wasn't road worthy. My brother bought it for $150 for a 'field car' - we just used it around the farm.
Had a 1972 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser from 1979 to 1982. It was the best car I ever had. Towed a stuck Ford Bronco out of a deep sand dune in Texas. If you folded down the 2 rear seats, a twin size mattress fit perfectly. Raced a Trans Am, and won. Due to the rear side windows distorting my view while backing up, I bumped into the outside frame of a garage. An 8-foot crack in the brick face was the damage to the house, the car only needed the brick dust blown off the rather huge rear bumper.
What a car!
God I miss the old days when they made the large station wagons; you sure rarely see the 1971-76 GM's clam shell body station wagons around these days, which is very unfortunate; those cars remind me of the simpler days of my life. I would rather own a Classic Station Wagon over a minivan or a SUV any day.
I would definitely recommend getting a dual exhaust on your wagon.
I just bought me a 1972 Custom Cruiser about a week ago. I have always been attracted to the bigger cars, yet with the crazy ridiculous prices in fuel cost, I almost overlooked this beauty. I bought it from a very nice elderly lady who her husband has been the original owner of the rarity since day one on the lot. It only has 105K original miles and the body and interior is in mint condition as it was garage kept. Unfortunately, the nice gentleman ended up with a sickness and the family was forced to sell. The day I test drove it, the car was spitting and misfiring. The car ended up dying on the side of the road. Fortunately, I knew where to look for the problem and I ended up replacing the coil. It ran like a champ since and I really love the power this big car can produce. I was originally thinking about selling it to a collector, but in the short time I've had it, I am falling in love with it. I can't believe it runs and looks as good as it does. It seems that every where I drive it, someone approaches me to talk about how good it looks. I really has awesome lines. I try to think back to my childhood days and I can't even remember seeing one of these before. I am trying to reseach how many were actually made.
I was given a fully option loaded 1972 custom cruiser back in 1983. At over 5000lbs. car would spin rear tires for 10 to 15 feet with posi-traction rear end! I once mowed over a 4`` diameter tree at 40 m.p.h. and did not even dent the bumper! Scrapped car when transmission failed. (car was nice shape, but I was 20 and not into wagons). I have been looking for another, but have only seen 1 and it was in poor shape. Can`t even find them in junk yards up here. (Northwest Pa.)
I bought my 72 costum for 500 dollers it sat for 4 years new gas it fired right up
never had a problum sence.
I had a 71 and a 72 when I was 16. Drove the 72 for five years. Sold both when I bought a new car. Would love to have one now, but can't find one in good shape or one that's close by and not across the country.
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