Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser 1989

I've owned a 1987 Buick Electra Estate wagon for years and now even with randomly driven wintertime the underneath would have needed a work to do, that there could have been the rustproofing done. with small kids I thought I really don't have 700-900 hours time, neither free space in garage for about 1 year time to do that.
So I started to search a better wagon. Easy task, take your pick? No, only after 2+ months searching I've founded about 1000 ads, and only 8-9 suitable wagons. And 3 of them were sold in front of me, and 2 of them to Germany.

But at end of January finally I found the Oldsmobile and immediately we negotiated a deal of the car. I was positively surprised, that I ended up a deal with a car-sales-company instead of a private seller. With company it was easier to do the practical issues, like paying the car etc when 5000+ miles distance..

Here's few pics of my Olds. Already 118tml in it's odo, but in California they must have quite clean roads, I am confused of the bottom of the car. How can it be so clean?

The underneath will be rustproofed by professionals and I really will avoid any extra drives in salted winter roads, even my intention is still to go with kids to grandparents at Christmas etc. fun winter driving. At summertime this will be a "holiday cruiser", well, it is Custom Cruiser after all!

Wow, that thing's a beauty!! I'm actually really jealous...

One thing I will suggest is to pull the carpet up on the driver's seat foot well and make sure that is nice and clean. B bodies are notorious for rusting under the carpet under the driver's feet.

Thanks for positive feedback, I like that! Hard work with searching gave the prize, so just keep searching the sales places!

I can and will check the floors ok, but with this particular car I am not very concerned of rust. The lower part of the doors are for example without exception more or less rusty in all these B-bodies as well is everything else of the cars I've seen of these, and with this there is nothing nowhere. Only the lower arms and the stabilizer bar - the totally unpainted parts had some light surface rust.

I think "I earned my coins" and made quite amount of work with rust issues with the Buicks I owned, pic here and the white was almost going to parts car, donor car, but the next owner did finish the floors to end after I had done the rear parts first and the later owner had the white car back to drive. The brown one I sold to one guy I know. At the price level I sold it was sure worth it and it's going to be kept totally summer car, which will keep it on the road also in the future.
Anyway from these two Buicks I had really clear, that were from these do rust... Behind the rear wheel there are FOUR layers of metal sheets and every kind of wet and stuff will be in between there - and all those four layers might disappear from few parts, in the worst case!

So now I have the 78 LeSabre coupe as well as this Oldsmobile and even these both are GM B body, they are not the same car. I really do like the GM B Bodies and with these I don't use my time under the car, but instead behind the steering wheel.

I like that Oldsmobile. A real cruiser alright. After working at Oldsmobile for 30 years and transferring to another division in 1996, I still miss the Olds.

It was a great place to work. Lots of good working people and a great product. A lot of pride in building them.

Thanks

One of the reasons I stopped driving the older B-Body SWs is the way they're constructed. if you take the trim off the A-pillar, the trim that runs down and forward toward the cowl, you'll find a seam underneath it and that seam may or may not actually be sealed. if it's not, your driver and passenger side footwells will get damp and soggy. Take preemptive action: pull the trim and seal the seam; I had to give up on one car because the base of the pillars rotted out. If just the passenger side gets soggy, take off the right front wheel, pull the fender liner back and reseal the area where the ECU plug comes through the body. By the time I finally found and cured THAT problem, it was too late for the carpet. Finally, leaks through a SW roof rack are obviously a potential problem but where does the water go if you're headliner is still good? Look in the wells beneath the spare tire on the passenger side and under the storage area on the driver's side. It's not uncommon for the drain hole to plug up so the body can begin rusting out from inside the vehicle.

The drain plugs as everyone calls them are actual locators for when the floor pan is welded to the body.

They are handy to use for draining the floor. It helps if their left in place.