Changed rear brakes.
Replaced battery.
Replaced one tire.
Changed oil, added Lucas addative.
Added Trans fix by Lucas.
Adjusted Belts.
I was looking for a minivan to take take our family on a trip to my parents. After looking at all kind of junky vans, I saw
this rather ugly wagon on the back row of a small car dealer. The first thing my wife said was "you are not serious".So of course I looked it over real good and called about it, asked the price and condition and almost fell out. I was surprised to find that it only had 16000 miles on it, and he was asking $1000.Man I fell in love!The car is in absolute perfect condition except the paint. It had sat on the lot for a very long time, not a very cool car to most people. So after a good wash,compound rub, and waxing its very passable. The car handles great on curvey roads, perfect on the highway, and decent in city. Good gas mileage, no smoke,ticking,etc.The car is very comfy, for me and all of my family. I plan a tire and wheel swap soon, and tinting all the windows with limo tint. I just hope the tint doesn't make the car look like a hurst. By the way the reason for the low mileage is because the car was for the pall bearers of a funeral home.
The 1989 Cutlass Sierra Cruiser is a cute and cool car. I just recently bought one. I agree with you it is cool and handles really well. My kids like to ride in the very back of the wagon with the seats facing backwards they love it. Great for drive in movies like when I was a kid and eating popcorn. The seats fold down nicely and smoothly given to added comfort. Very spacious and comfortable ride. I need a few repairs such as Shocks, paint job and a dent on the door never the less it is a excellent running car. I happy with it.
The review is for the full size rwd Custom Cruiser, not the fwd Ciera model.
Big difference.
I just wanted to update this review. It now has 27,000 miles and has needed nothing, but a blower fan (32.00) installed. It has been a dream to own and drive, and averages 20 miles per gallon if you are easy with it. I had the windows Limo tinted
which makes it harder to drive at night, but is nice during the day. Also a nice CD player/amp and speaker box (10's) makes the ride even better. I am debating whether or not to put 20" or 22" tires and wheels on it. Can anyone tell me if this change would hurt or help my cars ride and handling. Maybe feedback from other full size rwd car owners would be greatly appreciated.Thanks.
Just to make a wheel suggestion, you might consider replacing the stock steel wheels and wire wheel hubcaps with 15-inch aluminum sport wheels off a 1981-1990 Buick station wagon.
These wheels were actually offered on the 1990 Olds wagons, but are a rare option, and the stock center caps are impossible to find. You will still retain the ride and not get steering wheel wonder/walk that larger wheels/tires create, and also not wear out your suspension, and will improve the looks of your car a ton.
In many cases the clear coat is peeling from these wheels. Get some paint stripper and brush it on, then let it sit a while. Spray off the thinner with a water hose and the clear coat will be gone, showing a shiny wheel. If you polish and wax the bare wheel with Mother's polish, they will look fine and will not tarnish. Two years and mine still shine great.
For center caps, hit Ebay. Order a set of 1980-82 Corvette chrome center caps (cheap). These will clip on to the Buick wheels just fine, then order some Olds Rocket wheel center decals, like what come on the Olds Rallys (Super Stock II) wheels used from the late 60's through the mid 80's. These are also cheap on Ebay.
Just stick the rocket emblems over the Corvette flags, and it looks totally stock. Lastly, add a set of chrome flat bottom lug nuts, and you wagon will look wonderful.
Between the wheels (you can still find these in salvage yards cheap), lugs, and centers I spent around $150 and totally changed my wagons looks... while still keeping it basically stock. I did install a set of raised white letter Radial T/A tires, instead of white walls. Think they look great and make the car look a little "younger".
Oh, a good tip, get some 3M weatherstrip adhesive and glue the centers on. They will clip on, but I never trusted the plastic clips to hold.
Keep in mind these cars use the big bolt pattern hubs, so wheels off most sedans don't work. Other options are the chrome 15-inch Buick "road wheels" used on full-size Buicks from the 1960's-1980's, and the full size "truck rallys" used on 1970's-mid 80's Silverado and Suburban 2wd trucks bolt on.
In my opinion, the aluminum Buick mags look best, and still retain the "stock" Olds look. Add a comment if you want some pics, always glad to share. I also added a stock leather 80's Olds 442 steering wheel to my car and dark tinted out my windows as well. I own the white over burgundy '89 Cruiser also posted on this site.
Good Luck! -Mike.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site