One of the strangest vehicles that ever came out of Oldsmobile, in my opinion anyways, was the 1979 Hurst/Olds Cutlass. Priced to the moon (it cost several thousand more than a more powerful and better optioned Pontiac Trans-Am), fitted with a 350ci Oldsmobile engine and optimistically referred to as a W-30, the famed callout from the 1970s, it was the Oldsmobile take on what we’ve come to know as a “Decal GT” car…all looks, not much in the way of backing it up. If you look at it for the time period, it was a solid offering, with 175 horsepower and 275 ft/lbs of torque going through the DualGate-shifted TH350. That being said, 1979 wasn’t exactly the height of power and the Hurst/Olds, while legit, was still more of a plush cruiser than it was a muscle machine.

That all being said, the white and gold color combination on a 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser station wagon is…well, to be fair, arresting. We don’t see many Cutlass Cruiser wagons around, mainly because if they haven’t been hacked up into race cars by now, they’re long gone or they are still sitting in Grandma Ethyl’s garage awaiting it’s next trip into the sun. More often than not, I tend to mistake the Cutlass Cruisers (and the four-door G-body Cutlasses) for their B-body relatives due to the flat nose, instead of the “shovel nose” look that the 1981-up Cutlass two-doors got. We are digging the W-30 special wheels and the gold two-tone paint, and the later-model Hurst/Olds “hoodscoop” looks pretty good too. By far and large, it’s still a 307-powered Cutlass, but it’s a G-body…the sky is the limit. Some of the parts needed for a floor shift conversion are coming with the deal, so if you want to put together your very own Hurst/Olds wagon or phantom 442 wagon, it’s all here. Either way would be a win.

This wagon is a project car put together by American Warrior Garage, a by-veterans-for-veterans non-profit who use hot-rodding and technical work like metal fabrication, welding and other automotive trades to benefit veterans who have an interest in cars. They cleaned up the wagon to sell as a way to raise funds to finish up their workshop, which they hope to have ready for an open house in September. On our Rough Start basis, the cost is pretty much eaten alive at $4,500, but a little creativity goes a long way for a G-body, and while you’re saving up for the big build, you have a right-sized station wagon that will be as reliable to you as you are with the upkeep. Sounds like a winner to us!

To learn more about the American Warrior Garage, CLICK HERE.

Craigslist Link: 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser