1978 Pro Touring Oldsmobile Cutlass Wagon G-body like Malibu

Oldsmobile Cutlass 1978 Description

Wagons are cool. G-Bodies are cool. Pro Touring is cool. But a Pro Touring G-Body Wagon is incredibly cool! This 1978 G-body Cutlass wagon has a unique combination of super rare factory options, and has been professionally designed and built by the owner/ builder of Pumkinator, another famous Pro Touring G-body Cutlass wagon that has been featured in several magazine articles and in SA Books' "GM G-Body Performance Upgrades". Read on for all the cool details!
Why it's Rare- 1978 was the first year for this lighter weight platform for the Malibu, Cutlass, Regal, etc. The 350 c.i. (5.7L) 4 barrel carb Chevrolet small block engine was only available for the first 2 years in the G-body, the 305 (5.0L) being the only SBC V8 option after 1980. Mostly reserved for the 9C1 Police option Malibus and some specialty El Camino packages, the higher horsepower VIN code L 350 engine was typically only seen in other G body cars that were special ordered direct from a dealer's special order option list. This Olds Cutlass Cruiser was one of them that came direct from GM with that L code engine. Along with that it came with the factory Rallye gauge package including the tachometer. Also making it rare was the copper hue paint code and the ultra rare Aztec style interior upholstery pattern. Other factory installed options included both engine bay and lower front frame bracing, a 7.5" 3.08 rear axle gear ratio rather than the typical 2 series gears, factory dual exhaust style tailpipes, A/C, cruise control, tilt steering column and remote operated driver's rear view mirror. The rear axle has since been replaced with a heavier duty positraction 8.5" 10 bolt but we still have the 7.5" 3.08 rear should the winner want it.
What makes it better- This car was purchased by us at 89,944 original miles. Everything on it was completely original outside of some tune-up and maintenance items and the upper radiator hose and fan belts. The car was a dry climate western states car, wears the original paint and we bought it because it was completely rust free with no apparent accident damage or repairs to the body. It still had all the original hubcaps and trim still intact.
What are the upgrades- After driving as is trouble free for about 4,000 miles, the car underwent a complete Pro Touring suspension overhaul. Front Suspension includes SC&C's "Street-Comp Stage 2 Plus" package including SPC adjustable upper control arms with Delrin bushings and Nascar severe duty screw in style Howe tall ball joints, Howe severe duty tall lower ball joints, and special progressive spring rate urethane bump stops. Complimenting these upgrades are CA Chassisworks' Varishock aluminum body single dial adjustable performance valved shocks, Speedtech Performance geometry correcting tubular lower control arms with Delrin bushings, MOOG 5660 lowered 600# spring rate coil springs, new Moog inner and outer tie rods, idler arm, center link and Hotchkis billet tie rod adjuster sleeves, F41 large diameter sway bar with urethane bushing end links, and heavy duty wheel bearings, new seals and brake pads replaced late summer 2016. Rear suspension upgrades include an '86 Turbo Regal 8.5" 10 bolt positraction rear axle with 3.42 gears, Hotchkis lower control arms, Spohn adjustable upper rear control arms with Rotojoints, Eibach lowered springs, Varishock single adjustable shocks, driver's side preload "Drag Bag" air bag, and F41 package sway bar. Overall suspension drop is about 2.75". In the photos it looks lower on the driver's side because it is parked on a slight incline, it normally sits level. The car has been professionally scaled, suspension dialed in and performance aligned at Speedtech Performance. NEW Wheels and Tires were installed at Speedtech Performance in late November, consisting of 18x9.5" Vision wheels wrapped in Nitto's newly released 275-35-18 NT555 G2 Ultra High Performance tires on all 4 corners. The inner fender lips have been rolled up for rear tire clearance. It does not rub. Drivetrain Upgrades for the engine are 8mm performance spark plug wires, Q-jet carburetor overhaul and tune by Speedtech Performance, K&N 14x4" high flow air filter, electric fuel pump conversion and new power steering pump. All emissions equipment has been deleted (completely legal where we are located), high flow 2.5" exhaust and 40 series Flowmaster. Transmission upgrades include a TransGo shift kit, Hughes HD series torque converter and transmission cooler. Interior Upgrades include a Grant GT steering wheel, self dimming electronic temp and compass display rear view mirror from a 2003 Tahoe, Dashskin leather grain full ABS dash cover, carbon fiber style dash panel inserts, Pioneer Blue Tooth CD player with USB port and 600 watt amp with Pioneer 5" rounds and tweeters up front and twin Rockford Fosgate 12" shallow mount woofers in a custom professionally quality box. The windows were professionally tinted last year with 35% on the front windows, 5% on the back doors and rear side windows and 20% on the rear hatch window. Exterior Upgrades include swapped in '78 442 Cutlass Salon grilles and the factory original paint has been professionally buffed. Under the car plus the bumpers, door handles, and all trim have been painted semigloss black, 1/4 panel stripes added and diamond cut HID headlights installed.
Overall Condition- The more recent photos shown were taken in late November after the 18" wheels and tires were installed. We have been driving the car for about 2 years and have put on about 16,000 miles, the odometer read 89994 when purchased. The suspension was upgraded after around 6 months, a new (not reman) lifetime warranty power steering pump was installed around 12 months and the drive train upgrades done early 2016. The new 18" wheels and tires have less than 1200 normal street miles on them and have not been raced at all. (*Note the lightweight forged mesh wheels in the racing photos are available for separate purchase to the high bidder but are not included in the auction. The wheels on the car in the photo having the suspension tuned at Speedtech are not for sale.) The heater blower motor, thermostat, and coolant was replaced this past December. The paint is original. Although it has been buffed to restore the shine, it has some mild 38 year old natural weather checked patina on some portions of the body that receive the most sunlight such as the roof, hood and top of the tailgate. There is a mild amount of small paint chips in the front, at the fuel filler door, and a few here and there on the car. Examples of this can be seen in the up close rear tire photo. There are a couple small door dings on the driver's side and there are 3 small dents below the license plate on the tailgate. There is NO RUST on the car anywhere, and besides the weather checking the paint has not thinned out, peeled, or failed anywhere. Overall it is a nice 10 footer. All doors open and close smoothly and quietly, no hinges drop, and all the weatherstrip is original and seals correctly except for a small piece that had be torn off on the pass rear door, as seen in the pic. Windows all function properly and the windshield is clean of cracks or chips. We did not receive a door key with the car so we replaced the door locks with a new black set and have a new black tailgate lock/ handle that we have not installed yet but it will be on the car when shipped. Everything on the car functions properly including things like gauges and cruise control. The only inoperable part is the A/C compressor was seized up when we bought it. I have a spare good used compressor from another car that will come with this car, however being that it is winter time and hard to properly test function I will not be installing it. The factory condenser is still in place and all A/C connections were capped and sealed off when the bad compressor was removed. The dash is now black as our intentions were to convert the whole interior to black. The front bench seat upholstery has a couple splits on the passenger side but all the foam is in great shape. The center fold down arm rest works perfectly and is in good shape. The back seat is tear free, in good shape and folds down properly to extend the cargo area. A full size spare is located in the spare stowage area in the back near the tailgate and is in very good condition. The door panels are in decent original shape, however some of the plastic is sun dried, faded and has some light scratches (as seen in the pics), but it is sturdy and not falling apart. The top vinyl on the back door panels is faded a bit. The lower carpet on the door panels is not original. The headliner material separated from the backing and was falling down so we removed the material. The backing is still in place and in very good re-upholsterable condition. The winner of the auction will also get the black headliner material we bought but have not yet installed. The rear interior panel surfaces are a bit faded, mildly sun dried and have some mild scratches. They are not brittle at all and are in fine shape to be upholstered or restored. The carpet is tan color and heavily stained where your feet go. Although it is in functional physical shape it's ugly and beyond cleaning, we had planned to replace it. The shocks for the rear window need to be replaced, they droop when you open the hatch glass. The roof rack has been removed however it is in good shape and will come with the car, and I can easily reinstall it back on if requested by the auction winner. The carburetor choke works properly and the car starts easily even in cold weather. It runs great, has plenty of passing power, the transmission operates fine and it drives around town and on the freeway without issues. We have used it in several SCCA vintage car class autocross events and it does very well, is responsive, and handles great. The relatively stock engine makes plenty of torque to have a lot of fun moving through the course. Bolt on a set of autocross tires and you're set to go racing. This car would be a perfect candidate for an LS/T56 swap, which was our plans but something else is taking it's place. The car is for sale locally and I reserve the right to cancel the auction at any time. If it does not sell locally the highest bidder above the reserve will win the auction. If you win the bidding, your required deposit is non refundable. If you win, make a deposit and then bail out you will lose your deposit and I will relist the auction.
This car is is very unique, fun to drive, has some great parts on it and has been very popular at shows and events. Please bid according to what you feel it is genuinely worth to you. PLEASE do not bid randomly just to find out where the reserve is set, people that do that ruin it for all of us. Good luck!