What's Wrong With This Picture: Vista Bruiser Edition

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: March 8th, 2010

what s wrong with this picture vista bruiser edition

As tipster starbird80 notes, “you see the strangest things on eBay!” But a Vista Cruiser Coupe (or is that a shooting brake)? Surely not…

Strangely, the $5,000 reserve was not met… meaning it might not be too late to make this piece of history/homemade hack-job yours.

#3WTP #Coupe #VistaCruiser #WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

Edward Niedermeyer

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3 of 26 comments

Porschespeed on Mar 08, 2010

@Starbird, There were a few factory 455 W30 Vista cruisers. Don't remember how many, but I think it was less than 10. But, they really did make them.

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- Starbird80 on Mar 08, 2010
  
  The particular example I'm thinking of was a factory 455 with 4-barrel (thus the Rocket designation) but didn't have the W30 package. The seller noted he'd put the hood on himself for looks, and still had the original hood. Those factory W30 455 VCs may have been limited to the ones built as support vehicles for the Indy 500, as companions to the convertible as pace car. I think only one is still known to exist. I've always said there should have been a 442 wagon, using the VC body. Saw a picture of one online once but couldn't confirm it was a factory build. One really rare car if so. [EDIT]: here's the 442 wagon I was thinking of: http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/1972_Olds_Vista_Cruiser_442.html. The owner claims it is one of three built in addition to the 6 Hurst/Olds VCs for Indy (http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/1972_Hurst_Olds_Vista_Cruiser.html).
  
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MadHungarian on Mar 08, 2010

In 1970, the Cutlass platform came in THREE wheelbases. All coupes has a 112 inch wheelbase. For sedans, it was 116, and the Vista Cruiser wagon stretched all the way to 121 inches, which was actually two inches longer than the full size Chevy wagon wheelbase of that year. The extra length was necessary on the Vista Cruiser to permit a front-facing third seat, to take maximum advantage of the Vista windows. It also permitted Olds to market the VC as almost equivalent to a full sized wagon, since there was no wagon in the 88/98 line at the time. I can't say for sure what wheelbase this job has, but it could be the coupe wheelbase, and if so that would explain the extreme awkwardness of line, and would also mean the three rows of seats are all jammed up against each other, which is sort of what it looks like in the last photo on the eBay listing. Definitely the answer to a question nobody asked.

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ToolGuy I do like the fuel economy of a 6-cylinder engine. 😉