This is a fully-drivable Radio Flyer that was built on top of a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL. The handle at the front is quickly removable for parking in low-ceiling garages, and the vehicle is 100% street-legal.
The interior and windshield of the Cutlass remain in place, making the Radio Flyer quite comfortable to drive, once you manage to clamber in that is, as it has no doors. It’s powered by a 3.8 liter V6 mated to an automatic transmission and it has air conditioning, a five occupant capacity, and a fire truck siren for parades.
Fast Facts: The Radio Flyer / Oldsmobile Cutlass
- This street-legal, fully driveable Radio Flyer was custom-built using a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL convertible as the base. Retaining the 3.8 liter V6, automatic transmission, and working A/C, the vehicle seats five and includes a removable front handle and parade-ready fire truck siren.
- The body transformation involved removing the Cutlass’s doors, hood, and trunk, replacing them with a hand-made, oversized Radio Flyer exterior. Red wheels with white covers mimic the original toy’s aesthetic, while discreet headlights, brake lights, and indicators were added to maintain full compliance with road regulations.
- Radio Flyer’s origins trace back to 1917, when Italian immigrant Antonio Pasin began building wooden wagons in Chicago. By 1927, he introduced stamped steel versions using automotive production methods. The iconic “Radio Flyer” name debuted in 1930, combining his dual passions of radio and aviation.
- Surviving economic downturns, wartime production shifts, and evolving toy trends, the company thrived through a series of clever innovations – introducing high-sided wagons in the 1950s and muscle car-inspired designs in the 1970s. Under Robert Pasin, the founder’s grandson, Radio Flyer continues today as a nostalgic American brand, earning Hall of Fame entry in 1999.
History Speedrun: The Radio Flyer Wagon
In 1914, a 16 year-old Italian immigrant named Antonio Pasin arrived in Chicago, carrying little more than his woodworking skills and a dream. By 1917, he had saved enough to rent a small workshop, where he began building wooden wagons to transport the tools he needed for building his phonograph cabinets.
Michele Gartner with her Radio Flyer wagon in the 1950s in California. Image – Creative Commons.
These wagons caught the attention of his customers who seemed more interested in them than the cabinets, leading Pasin to shift his focus entirely to wagon production. He named his first line the “Liberty Coaster,” inspired by the Statue of Liberty – perhaps the most famous symbol of his new homeland.
As demand for his wagons grew, Pasin sought out ways to increase production and reduce costs. In 1927, he adopted mass production techniques from the automotive industry, introducing stamped steel wagons. This innovation earned him the nickname “Little Ford” – high praise indeed.
He renamed his company Radio Steel & Manufacturing in 1930 and introduced the “Radio Flyer” wagon, combining his fascination with radio technology and aviation, among the most important two innovations of the age.
The 1930s were challenging times due to the onset of the Great Depression, but Pasin’s wagons remained popular, selling for less than $3 each. During World War II, the company shifted to producing five-gallon steel gas cans for the U.S. Army, resuming wagon production in the post-war years.
In the 1950s, the company introduced wagons with higher sides to accommodate children. The 1970s saw designs influenced by muscle cars, and in the 1990s, the company introduced the “Quad Shock Wagon” which was fitted with four Monroe shock absorbers to absorb bumps and shocks.
In 1987, the company was renamed Radio Flyer Inc. Today, under the leadership of Pasin’s grandson, Robert Pasin, Radio Flyer continues to offer a range of products from classic wagons to electric bikes, all while maintaining its commitment to its heritage.
Untold children have raced their Radio Flyers down hills over the years, with somewhat varied results, but results that have helped keep pediatric dentists in business. Image courtesy of Radio Flyer.
The Radio Flyer wagon was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999 and it’s now remembered by many as one of the most famous wheeled-toys of the 20th century.
The Street-Legal Radio Flyer Shown Here
This car started life as a convertible 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL powered by the 3.8 liter V6 sending power back through the automatic transmission.
The listing doesn’t go into much detail, but at some point it was completely rebuilt into a super-sized Radio Flyer wagon with a new exterior, a removable handle, and discreet headlights, brake lights, and indicators to ensure it would remain street legal.
The doors, hood, and rear end of the Cutlass were removed and replaced with the Radio Flyer body, the wheels were given white covers with a red center dot, and the front end was modified with the fitment of a removable center handle.
Looking over the side of the Radio Flyer wagon you can see a glimpse here of the 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera SL windscreen and interior.
Inside the car you’ll find room for up to five adults in comfort, the windshield is still in place as well as the car’s full interior – sans-doors that is. The air-conditioning and heating still works, though the folding top is long gone, and it now has a custom stereo system as well as a fire truck siren for use during parades.
This unusual Radio Flyer / Oldsmobile Cutlass is now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in mid-July and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.
Images courtesy of Mecum
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.