The knowledgeable Oldsmobile enthusiast will look at this vehicle and scratch their head, thinking that the company offered a station wagon in 1940 only on the Series 60 chassis. The body, shared with the Chevrolet wagons, was produced to a beautiful standard by Mid-State Body Company of Waterloo, New York, which had supplied GM chassis with wooden utility coachwork for many years.

An exception to the rule, this is believed to have been a prototype and possibly the only Oldsmobile wagon built on the longer 140-inch-wheelbase 1940 Dynamic Series 70 chassis. The chassis bears the body tag of a two-door sedan, which may well have been used by Mid-State as the basis for their custom creation. Exactly for what purpose the wagon was built is not known, as it was not mentioned in any of the dealer material for 1940, and is only scarcely alluded to in a mid-year factory sales folder that mentions a “Deluxe Station Wagon;” it may have been a custom-order.

The wagon was reportedly stored in a Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, barn from 1958 until 1988, when it was acquired by local enthusiast J.W. Norman after he saw it sitting on a construction trailer while the barn was being demolished. The wagon’s discovery was noted in the June 1988 issue of the Oldsmobile Club of America magazine, Journey With Olds. Reportedly the wagon was in very solid overall condition and was able to be made running again with an oil change and attention to the points. A restoration began and continued for some two decades, with the original coachwork, leatherette upholstery, and parchment-type interior trim preserved wherever possible. While the restoration is now slightly older it is still extremely presentable and attractive, with signs of use mainly visible in the engine compartment, showing that this is still a capable “runner.”

For the collector and enthusiast of rare and desirable Oldsmobiles, there can certainly be no better choice.