WHAT IF OLDSMOBILE HAD MADE A 442 WAGON IN 1968?
Back in the decade that culminated with a pair of Americans walking on the moon and Jimi Hendrix’s plugged-in, distortion-filled, psychedelic rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, the humble station wagon was just a family car. While there were a handful of sleepers that could be put together with some judicious selections on the options list of some cars, fast, sporty wagons have much more of a 21st century vibe than a Sixties muscle car thing.
However, as an answer to the question “What if they made muscle wagons back in the day?” may we present this modified 1968 Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser wagon, currently offered on Hemmings Auctions. With its “442” badges and Super Stock I wheels, this many-windowed wagon packs a muscle-car-appropriate 400-cu.in. V8 under the hood with some go-fast parts bolted onto it.
Based on the A-body Cutlass sedan, but with a 5-inch longer wheelbase and a foot longer overall, the ’68 Vista Cruiser is remembered as the ultimate family car for its generation. Available in two- or three-row configurations with seating for up to nine people, the Oldsmobile wagon is also remembered for its generous use of Di-Noc woodgrain applique on the exterior and the additional glass panes in the roof that gave credence to the “Vista” part of the car’s name.
Like the rest of GM’s A-body lineup, the Vista-Cruiser benefited from a wholesale redesign in 1968 that featured more curves and the use of a single piece of glass above the rear passengers that had previously been a two-piece setup. The woodgrain for 1968 also flowed over the wheel arches, extending its reach from previous iterations. The result was a more contemporary-looking wagon to compete against Ford, Mercury, Mopar and all the other GM divisions making intermediate-size wagons
Oldsmobile advertising, playing on its own name, pitched its cars in 1968, by suggesting the customer “Drive a youngmobile from Oldsmobile.” Magazine advertising for the Vista-Cruiser declared, “Young buyers never had it so good,” and featured a family of five standing proudly behind their new wagon. The ad copy detailed its commodious accommodations, “smart appointments all around,” its “surprisingly modest price tag,” and engine options.
Standard on the Vista-Cruiser was a two-barrel, low-compression 350-cu.in. V8 rated at 250 horsepower. An optional high-compression, four-barrel 350 carried a 310-horsepower rating. Also on the list were a pair of 400-cu.in. V8s. A two-barrel 400 that was built for economy and paired with tall highway gears produced 290 horsepower and a prodigious 440 lb-ft at a reasonably low 2,400 rpm. The top offering was a high-compression four-barrel 400 that promised to deliver 325 horsepower and that full contingent of 440 lb-ft of torque, albeit it as a slightly higher rpm.While the original specs of the engine can’t be determined via the VIN or that casting number, the big-block Oldsmobile V8 now under the hood of this longroof Vista-Cruiser breathes through a Holley four-barrel mounted atop an Edelbrock manifold. The engine bay looks particularly clean and is topped by an air cleaner from a 442, mimicking the badges affixed to the fenders.
These modifications and the car’s restoration all were performed before the current owner purchased it. This well-equipped wagon features map lighting, power windows, power steering, power brakes and air conditioning that is said to still blow cold. That late-sixties green exterior properly contrasts with an equally Sixties white vinyl interior that appears to remain in excellent shape.
Upgrades inside include a Pioneer CD head unit with modern speakers installed and a set of auxiliary gauges mounted below the dash. The added dials are for oil pressure, coolant temperature and volts. The black carpeting--with "442" callouts up front--and white headliner both also appear to remain in excellent condition as well.
Oldsmobile didn’t build a 442 wagon and while it might not replicate that entire muscle-car experience, this 1968 Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser station wagon still seems to have ticked all the right muscle car boxes: big engine in a mid-size chassis, modified intake system, and cool wheels with raised white letter tires. The wagon platform perfectly straddles the cool factor and muscle-car sleeper in one package.
Head on over to Hemmings Auctions to check out this unique wagon.