Good morning! Today we’re looking at two vehicles from the same manufacturer, from the same year, with the same basic mission: Taking the family on a road trip. But they go about it in very different ways.
Yesterday’s fixer-uppers came down to a nail-biter of a vote – as of 5:15 pm EDT, the Oldsmobile holds a very narrow but steady lead. And since that’s my choice as well, I’m calling it. Tie goes to the author, right? I think we can all agree that the Volvo might be a marginally nicer and more fun car, but GM parts availability is a definite advantage when it comes to keeping a cheap old car on the road.
And it didn’t even occur to me until a couple of you pointed it out that the red interior with the dark blue paint must have been a special order. Generally if left to their own devices, automakers back then matched the interior to the exterior, but in theory, you could have any combination you wanted, if you ordered it that way. And kudos to the original purchaser of this car for doing so; dark blue with a red interior is a very striking combination, even in a crappy old Oldsmobile.
All right: Raise your hand if your family took a lot of road trips when you were young. My hand is up; every summer we would hit the road, often headed for Colorado, because my mom loved it there, but we also went east a couple of times, once to New England and once to the Outer Banks and then working our way up to DC. But because my dad was who he was, we didn’t make these trips in typical family road-trip machines. The biggest car we ever took was a Dodge 600; otherwise it was a VW Dasher, or a Fiat 128, or a Pinto wagon. My brother and I would both stare longingly at the big comfy station wagons and conversion vans that other families got to travel in, while we crammed ourselves into a tiny back seat, with a cooler between us to keep us from fighting.
Today’s Country Squire and Econoline conversion van would have made our road trips a whole lot better, I imagine. But possibly less memorable. Suffering builds character, right?
1989 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Country Squire – $5,600
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter overhead valve V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Carlstadt, NJ
Odometer reading: 117,000 miles
Operational status: “It runs, drives, and stops”
The Ford Country Squire is, of course, the basis for the “Wagon Queen Family Truckster” featured in the 1983 film National Lampoon’s Vacation. “You think you hate it now,” quips Eugene Levy as a car salesman, “but wait ’till you drive it.” Vacation has had such a cultural impact that pretty much any full-size wood-sided wagon from the 1970s or 80s, regardless of manufacturer, is now referred to as a “Family Truckster.” The seller of this one has leaned into that fame, as witnessed by the vanity license plate: “GRISWOLD.”
The Country Squire, and its Mercury twin the Colony Park, are based on Ford’s long-lived Panther platform, a rock-solid chassis with a long history of service as police cars, taxicabs, and airport limos. A cross-country jaunt to Walley World is a piece of cake by comparison. This Squire runs and drives, the seller says, but they don’t elaborate. Whatever issues it may have won’t be a problem; Panther parts are easy to come by.
This is an eight-passenger wagon: three across the front bench, three in the back, and two inward-facing jump seats in the “way-back.” These fold into the floor to create a flat cargo area if you don’t need the extra seating. It looks like the way-back seats are vinyl, while the rest of the passengers get less-sweaty velour, and this was before the days of separate rear air conditioners, so rear passengers are stuck with whatever trickles in from the front vents.
It’s not so pretty on the outside, unfortunately. It’s more or less rust-free, but badly sun-bleached. I don’t have any idea how much work it would be to remove and redo all that fake woodgrain, but I imagine it’s a lot. Personally, I wouldn’t bother; if I went to all the trouble of stripping that crap off, it’s not going back on. I’d just give it a nice paint job and call it a day.
1989 Ford Econoline 150 XL conversion van – $5,500
Engine/drivetrain: Unspecified engine, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Plymouth, PA
Odometer reading: 86,000 miles
Operational status: Runs great, but needs a brake line replaced
Take one bare-bones work van, cut the roof off and replace it with a taller fiberglass cap, cover the inside with shag carpet, wood trim, and captain’s chairs and the outside with stripes, running boards, and a ladder, and you’ve got yourself a conversion van. You don’t see many new ones these days, but back in the ’80s, there was no cooler way to travel.
The foundation for this van is Ford’s legendary Econoline, in half-ton “150” form. Econolines of this era were available with a host of different engines, but the seller leaves us in the dark as to which one resides in this doghouse. Most likely it’s either a 5.0 or 5.8 liter Windsor V8, with fuel injection either way, but there is a chance that it’s a 300 cubic inch inline six. Whatever it is, the seller says it runs great, but it sounds like it isn’t quite roadworthy at the moment, due to a leaky brake line. The seller says they may fix it before the sale if they have time. As long as it isn’t rusty underneath, replacing a brake line and bleeding the brakes isn’t a hard job, though.
Inside, it’s pink. Oh so very pink. It looks like my aunt’s bathroom, right down to the shag carpeting (I wish I was joking). Apparently the seller’s dog got to some of the upholstery inside; it needs a little repair. Where you’re going to find pink velour to patch it up, I don’t know. This van is set up for camping, with a kitchenette, a sofa that folds down into a bed, and a toilet in the back. Everything works, the seller says, so that’s something.
It’s pink outside as well, with all the required add-ons, and only a little rust around the edges. It’s missing a hubcap, which makes any vehicle look a little ratty, but overall it doesn’t look too bad. You can roll into the KOA in style, and party like it’s 1989.
Yeah, I know: these things are both too old, nobody in their right mind would put their family into these deathtraps, blah blah blah. We somehow managed to survive. Besides, we’re mostly talking about a trip down memory lane, not down Interstate 80. Chances are, if you’re my age, you have some nostalgia for one of these two – even if it’s nostalgia for the jealousy you felt from the back seat of a Pinto. Which one is it?
(Image credits: Facebook Marketplace sellers)
On a whim… I went for the pink van. It was a tossup between the two for me.
Late to the party (where IS everyone?), but…wagon. Especially since it is the same colour as my late dad’s steelside 1988 Country Squire. That thing had the 5.8 with the variable venturi carb, which I wouldn’t wish on an enemy. I would love to have a 5.0 and build it up a bit. I am sure replacement “wood” is available.
These cars may not be Miatas, but they haul what you need and eat up the miles.
My uncle had one of the wagons – probably an 84? Anyway, we borrowed it a few times, and it was comfortable and got good mileage by the standards of the time. He ran it for many years, finally scrapping it somewhere around 400,000 miles. I still remember at age 9 thinking the mpg calculator and display was the coolest future gadget.
Even though these are Fix Or Repair Daily’s, I’d rather have the station wagon than that nasty “van down by the river” My brother used to have a Caprice wagon a long time ago (in NJ no less, like this one’s plates/also bonus points for the Griswold reference) so it was similar and have memories in it…it had the rear-facing seats…I’ve never seen the side-facing seats in person; only pics…it looks like you could fit 4 in the back
Both are overpriced.
Have you looked at used conversion vans for sale lately on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace? That’s a par price as far as I’m concerned.