1974 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser (safetied & super mint!)

I don't know about any wagons that are not Oldsmobiles, but this is correct for Oldsmobile. Here are the base weights, in pounds, of the clamshell-era, 3-seat Custom Cruisers (which all outweighed their two-seat counterparts):

1971: 5,107
1972: 5,162
1973: 5,177
1974: 5,300
1975: 5,287
1976: 5,188

The variation was not large.

 

Well my memory served me well! I have not looked at the numbers for years, but did remember that the '74 Custom Cruiser was the heaviest boat. lol. These are the numbers I remember and I think the closest one was the '74 Buick Estate 3-seat wagon just under 5,300. I wonder what they did between 75-76 that made the '76 almost 100 lbs lighter?

If memory serves me well again, I don't think any of the Chevy wagons topped 5000 pounds, but I think the '74 Caprice Estate 3-seat came very close or maybe just over 5000 lbs. Naturally the Pontiac was a little heavier overall, then the Buick.

I think I recall the shipping weight of a '72 Kingswood Estate being close to 4900 pounds, while in comparison, a '72 Country Squire was around 4400-4500 pounds, even lighter than a '72 Cadillac! The '73 Ford wagons jumped up around 4600-4700 I think and was tipping the scales around 4800-4900 by '75. I had them ALL written down somewhere. I would like to find or compile that list again someday, but I don't have the time on my hands that I had all those years ago. lol.

Thanks for sharing that!

 

Price on this beautiful Olds now has dropped to $6200.

http://manitoba.kijiji.ca/c-cars-ve...afetied-low-miles-original-W0QQAdIdZ500755861

 

Safetied means that a mechanic has filled out the paperwork stating it is 'physically fit' to be on the road. In Ontario, any licensed mechanic can do it. I don't know about Manitoba. It means that brakes, shocks, glass, wipers, and all the other safety systems meet minimum standards, and in some cases, those standards really are minimal!

 

Price drop to $5500 on this gorgeous Olds!

http://manitoba.kijiji.ca/c-cars-ve...00-obo-must-sell-this-week-W0QQAdIdZ503013045

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mashaffer
OK, gotta ask, what is safetied?

mike

I can only guess, but I'm sure "RUST" also fall into that category back east. Even though on my island yearly safety inspections are a long gone thing of the past they still have "safety", vehicle safety officers who patrol the hyw's and they have the power of a police officer complete with blue and red lites . They mainly target the big rig rigs but now and then set up road checks that look like a drinking driver road check and all traffic can get stopped. Rust buckets are not a common thing out here, but rust can and has condemned cars due to .... frame, floor, rust etc.

 

Late to the conversation as Usual for me.

But I would Speculate the reason why the 74's are heavier than the 75 and 76 Models was fuel Milage, Remember the 1973 Oil embargo was in October of 1973, just about 2 months into the 1974 model year. The average motorist did not really care that much about MPG until the price of gas shot up 100%, and was sometimes difficult to even find!

I agree with your thoughts on the extra safety equipment required in the 73 and 74 Model years adding weight to the cars. Bur starting in the 75 Model year all the manufacturers were working overtime to try to get even a 1MPG increase in fuel economy. So I would bet they found 13lbs they could easily remove from the 75's, and anouther 99lbs for the 76 Models with a little more lead time. Just my thoughts on the weight issue.

Very Nice OCC by the way.

 

I can only say that my 69 Ford LTD Country Squire with 429 and heavy duty trailer package weighed in at 4850 lbs at the certified scale in my town. Oink. Phil