AWD Vista Cruiser conversion?

[Omicron]

Something I've been pondering is how cool a Vista Cruiser would be with the utility of a modern AWD or 4WD vehicle. Has anyone ever heard of someone converting a VC to AWD?

[Oldsguy]

It would be totally possible, but not sure how easy it would be. Would you start with a different chassis that was already AWD or modify the Olds?

[Omicron]

Originally Posted by Oldsguy

It would be totally possible, but not sure how easy it would be. Would you start with a different chassis that was already AWD or modify the Olds?

I dunno Dan, I'd probably study both ways. My first thought would be to see if a modern pickup chasis might fit with minimal modification, thereby bringing with it modern brakes, suspension, tranny, driveshafts/halfshafts, etc. That failing, I'd look at what AWD cars could be found for cheap then perhap adapt the critical components piece by piece. I suspect the former way might be easier and cheaper, and just eyeballing it, a short to medium bed, king cab pickup might just be close to fitting.

[Eddie Hansen]

A friend of mine bought a 67 camaro, he actually mounted that on a blazer chasis for 4 wheel drive, that to me was such a waste!! but it wasn't my ride , I think that mounting the vista body on the existing chasis is the way to go, just weld in the body mount brackets etc , I guess the key would be wheel placement, and width even if you had to use say an s-10 etc , on the other hand I have seen many an el camino that has been converted, and i imagine the same process would work for the vista cruiser, excuse my ignorance on the same vein of thinking, are there Olds wagons without the vista roof? I think i saw them but would love to someday find a 69 cutlass type...
I always thought ( dreamed) of making a panel delivery out of a wagon ( albeit it was buying a lemans wagon and converting it with gto parts, I would leave the back doors and shave the handles...

anyway would love to see the results of your conversion...

one pick of an el camino conversion i found is below

[The_Jeremiah]

What i would do, is just swap out your front suspension for something that was an independant front with 4 wheel drive. you will most likely end up getting a lift for the front and rear though. It might be a lot of work, however i would love to see it done, good luck !

[J-(Chicago)]

That is a cool thought Eddie.
My buddy and I will try and splice a 61 Mercury with a rotted floor, onto a 76 Lincoln floor and frame this summer. Going to try and make chicken salad out of chicken Sh1t.

[Eddie Hansen]

sorry about the stupid question regarding the wagon, of course they did ... what a ma-roooon.

[Eddie Hansen]

Well i keep thinking about the vista cruiser wagon, had a fun thought abnd used a photoshop type program to get an artists rendering, ( me ) I guess it could look pretty cool... I took the el camino pic above and combined it with a vista wagon pic I found on the net... a little rough but not too bad

[Omicron]

Now we're cookin here! Guess I'm not the only one who's a little intrigued with this idea.

Originally Posted by The_Jeremiah

What i would do, is just swap out your front suspension for something that was an independant front with 4 wheel drive. you will most likely end up getting a lift for the front and rear though.

You're probably right. Question is, from what?


Hmmm.... just had another thought: I wonder if the front wheel drive guts from a Toronado could be made to work? Couple that with the stock rear end, and a modern 4x4 transmission... hmmm.

[Omicron]

Originally Posted by Eddie Hansen

Well i keep thinking about the vista cruiser wagon, had a fun thought abnd used a photoshop type program to get an artists rendering, ( me ) I guess it could look pretty cool... I took the el camino pic above and combined it with a vista wagon pic I found on the net... a little rough but not too bad

Now that is pretty cool. Imagine the looks you'd get in something like that! Not sure I'd go with the big old mudder tires, but the concept is right.

[Eddie Hansen]

I would check the measurements from a blazer, I think some of the small size blazers also had coil springs in the rear, ( might help to change front and rear to keep things simple for brakes etc?
I am just thinking out loud here... oh-kay maybe just talking out loud, I haven't done this just throwing out ideas...

[Eddie Hansen]

ummmm why waste all that room in the back??? buy two toronados !! lol.. one motor for the front and 1 for the back, i remember reading they did that to a tornado once it was 4 wheel drive, I think it is still around in sweden or something..

[Redog]

^^ It's in the musuem in Lansing, I saw it last year.

Are you looking to make an AWD or a 4WD. I'm thinking like the little Evos and STi that are rolling around today.

I heard about a VC running in the low 13's, with an AWD converstion is probably could get into the very high 12's, considering the extra weight involved

[Omicron]

Originally Posted by Redog

^^ It's in the musuem in Lansing, I saw it last year.

Are you looking to make an AWD or a 4WD. I'm thinking like the little Evos and STi that are rolling around today.

I heard about a VC running in the low 13's, with an AWD converstion is probably could get into the very high 12's, considering the extra weight involved

Thinking more along the line of making it as practical as a modern SUV from a traction standpoint, not really going for pure performance. (I have my 442 for that ) So yes, my first thought was adapting the front and rear suspensions from a Subbie, problem as I see it would be the weight would just be too much for that. That's why I started going down the path of a pickup truck, or perhaps a AWD crossover. Guess it depends on what I can find in auto salvage yards if/when I get around to this someday. For now it's just an interesting theoretical exercise.

[Oldsguy]

I was thinking along the lines you described Paul, practical. Therefore I don't think it would look as radical as the photoshop idea although that IS cool. It would have to be a little lower with more realistic sized tires/wheels. I just hate the idea of using Suburu running gear though. Wouldn't there be some way of using a transfer case from a GM product with the existing 455/TH400 drive in the car? Maybe you would have to raise the body off the frame a few inches at the most, modify the suspension accordingly and keep the same frame. You might have to convert to a set of bucket seats to accommodate the additional hump in the drive train tunnel area. Just a though.

[HotRodHearseGuy]

Originally Posted by Oldsguy

It would be totally possible, but not sure how easy it would be. Would you start with a different chassis that was already AWD or modify the Olds?

I have a 1972 Olds Vista Cruiser here in Texas and had thought about the same idea. My thoughts were this, finding a wrecked Bravada or even a Cyclone or Typhoon, this would give you the transfer case and transmission and all the front suspension items. Instead of throwing the body onto a truck frame, incorporate the truck suspension and drivetrain pieces (minus the enginebecause you'd want at LEAST a Rocket 350 under the hood) into the original car frame.

I have worked out some of the details and after I get a couple of other projects completed, I am seriously going to look into the feasibility of this working.

Frank Redmond

[joe_padavano]

Wow, sounds like we've all been thinking the same thing. I was contemplating using a Toro oil pan, differential, and stub axles since this setup bolts to the bottom of an Olds motor. Of course you'll need to relocate the crossmember to clear, which means you'll need a Toro front motor mount as well. You'll need to adapt S10... er, Bravada spindles and torsion bars to make room for the front halfshafts. The rear axle is stock except the ratios need to match. Use the Bravada full time AWD transfer case.

[HotRodHearseGuy]

I hadn't thought about the Toro stuff, but that has potential also. I would think that using something after they downsized would be better, this way you would have better chances of matching up the track to the Vista. There are still a lot of Bravada's in the salvage yards too.

I have used the complete drivetrain (minus engine) from the Bravada's before when I was building Oldsmobile conversions on S-10's trucks because of the AWD vs the push-button 4WD of the S-10's. The AWD system on them is pretty straight forward and think that would work on the Vista. The biggest issues would be mounting the transfer case and retaining the "factory" road height.

[Omicron]

This will be so cool if and when someone does it!

One thought I've had is that the Bravada tranny will likely not handle the torque of a big block, so perhaps the transfer case will need to come from a GM truck. The rest should be able to be built with Olds parts.

[HotRodHearseGuy]

Originally Posted by Omicron

This will be so cool if and when someone does it!

One thought I've had is that the Bravada tranny will likely not handle the torque of a big block, so perhaps the transfer case will need to come from a GM truck. The rest should be able to be built with Olds parts.

I built an S-10 Oldsmobile truck using the Bravada AWD and had a built 350 Rocket in that one and last I know, it was still terrorizing the streets in Florida. The transfer case and transmission will handle it as long as you have them beefed up with the Cyclone/Typhoon internals.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by HotRodHearseGuy

I hadn't thought about the Toro stuff, but that has potential also. I would think that using something after they downsized would be better, this way you would have better chances of matching up the track to the Vista. There are still a lot of Bravada's in the salvage yards too.

I'm not talking about the whole Toro front suspension, just the oil pan with notch, differential (that bolts to the driver's side of an Olds block), and the two stub axles that fit into the diff and have the flanges that the half-shafts bolt to. This hardware all bolts to any Olds block. You'd need to fit the differential with a yoke (normally it bolts to the Toro trans case). You'd need to custom make half shafts that bolted to the Toro flanges on the inside and the Bravada spindles on the outside. None of this is very hard to do.

[nonhog]

This thread is getting good , I've had similar thoughts . Around Seattle/Tacoma you can pick up AWD Astro vans for nuthin'
I would think if the Syclone was as low as it was(and they used modified Astro parts) there would be no need for anyone to know you've made any changes . As in don't raise the cruiser !

[HotRodHearseGuy]

Thank you for correcting the spelling on the Syclone! I knew I was spelling it wrong both times!

I had forgotten about the AWD system in the Astro's and that they had used that for the Sy/Ty's too. The reason my thoughts were for using somehing like that originally was because of the road height they set those at originally. We have PLENTY of those AWD Astro's around here too andsome yards, they will let you buy a complete unit, this way you can get what you want and most will even buy back whatever is left from your scavenging.

[HotRodHearseGuy]

Originally Posted by Eddie Hansen

I always thought ( dreamed) of making a panel delivery out of a wagon ( albeit it was buying a lemans wagon and converting it with gto parts, I would leave the back doors and shave the handles...

Eddie,

I built a 1987 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Pro Street that also went from 5-doors to 3-doors and sealed in the cargo windows. I too have considered something like that in the Cutlass Wagon of the same year as my Vista and possibly like you and go for a GTO Clone Sedan Delivery.

The last Sedan Delivery's made at the factory for GM were 1960 and that was based on the Chevy lineup. I think the last Pontiac was 1957 and don't think Oldsmobile ever built an actual Sedan Delivery.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by HotRodHearseGuy

The last Sedan Delivery's made at the factory for GM were 1960 and that was based on the Chevy lineup. I think the last Pontiac was 1957 and don't think Oldsmobile ever built an actual Sedan Delivery.

You could buy a Vega sedan delivery in the early 1970s. Chevy also now sells a sedan delivery version of the HHR.

As an interesting aside (and getting even further off topic), the 77-90 Custom Cruiser is almost the same size as a 68-72 Vista. The VC used a 121" wheelbase, the Custom Cruiser uses a 116" wheelbase (same as the 68-72 flattop wagons). The longer Vista wheelbase was to allow the forward facing third seat. The Custom Cruiser is about 2 inches wider and taller than the older car and a few inches longer, mainly due to the 5 miles per hour bumpers. The extra width is nice, because I can put a sheet of plywood flat in the 86 CC - I couldn't do that in my 68 VC.