ClassicOldsmobile.com - View Single Post - Newbie question... what is a 1968 Cutlass S, automatic, numbers car really worth?

Tungsten · July 3rd, 2009, 09:01 AM

I am in the process of either "inheriting" or simply purchasing from my father a 1968 Cutlass S that has been in my family since my great-uncle ordered it from Oldsmobile back in 1968.

The car is a numbers matching car, automatic on the column, air-conditioning, power brakes and various other options. It was wrecked once in the mid 1980s and took damage in the front cap. To my recollection, the only sheet metal replaced was the hood and one of the two fenders, and I do remember that a big deal was made at the time of using only NOS metal.

The vehicle has sat in storage, albeit covered with dirt and bird crap, in a dry garage for the past 20 years. The windows were left cracked open so that it would not mold (or at least not badly) inside. A recent casual inspection by me yielded no signs of significant interior damage due to time or the elements.

The paint is the Silver Green color and the black vinyl roof appears to be in good condition, although I'm not sure if it is original or replacement. I remember that it was replaced at some point, but that may just be my memory playing games with me. I'll be 37 years old this month, so I was a teenager fascinated with exotic performance cars and not even really paying much attention to this Olds back when it was mothballed.

Mechanically I'm sure plenty needs to be done to the car to make it truly road-worthy again. I intend to pull the engine and transmission and freshen both up, but keep them true to stock. The only deviations might be a slightly more aggressive cam and Stainles Steel Works headers and exhaust just to give it a little edginess at the Cruise-Ins and car shows. Nothing that could not be returned to stock later if desired.

Brakes will definitely be replaced with power disc front and rear, steering will be gone through, and suspension bits and pieces will be replaced as appropriate and necessary. Again, I do not want to deviate too far from stock or modify the vehicle in any way that could not be easily undone later if desired.

So basically the car is in pretty good shape. The paint needs some love shown to it to bring back the original luster. The interior likely needs a good, thorough, but gentle cleaning. Under the hood will need some attention in terms of the normal stuff needed to bring a car that has sat for 20 years back to life.

All of this being said, if I were to outright purchase this car from my father rather than allow him to gift it to me, what is a fair price for it?

I realize from experience that this is an open-ended question and a really accurate answer is subject to a lot of different criteria, so a ball-park estimate is certainly fine with me. Or even a price-range.

Suffice it to say that while my dad would likely be willing to just hand the car over, my mom is a bit more "materialistic" and has already voiced concerns that the car should be sold and that I should pay for it whatever anyone else would pay for it. Family discounts don't exist in my mom's world. She's a real keeper sometimes, so me paying for the car is likely the better choice for all parties involved for the long term.

Thanks.

July 3rd, 2009, 09:01 AM	#1 (permalink)
Tungsten Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 16	Newbie question... what is a 1968 Cutlass S, automatic, numbers car really worth? I am in the process of either "inheriting" or simply purchasing from my father a 1968 Cutlass S that has been in my family since my great-uncle ordered it from Oldsmobile back in 1968. The car is a numbers matching car, automatic on the column, air-conditioning, power brakes and various other options. It was wrecked once in the mid 1980s and took damage in the front cap. To my recollection, the only sheet metal replaced was the hood and one of the two fenders, and I do remember that a big deal was made at the time of using only NOS metal. The vehicle has sat in storage, albeit covered with dirt and bird crap, in a dry garage for the past 20 years. The windows were left cracked open so that it would not mold (or at least not badly) inside. A recent casual inspection by me yielded no signs of significant interior damage due to time or the elements. The paint is the Silver Green color and the black vinyl roof appears to be in good condition, although I'm not sure if it is original or replacement. I remember that it was replaced at some point, but that may just be my memory playing games with me. I'll be 37 years old this month, so I was a teenager fascinated with exotic performance cars and not even really paying much attention to this Olds back when it was mothballed. Mechanically I'm sure plenty needs to be done to the car to make it truly road-worthy again. I intend to pull the engine and transmission and freshen both up, but keep them true to stock. The only deviations might be a slightly more aggressive cam and Stainles Steel Works headers and exhaust just to give it a little edginess at the Cruise-Ins and car shows. Nothing that could not be returned to stock later if desired. Brakes will definitely be replaced with power disc front and rear, steering will be gone through, and suspension bits and pieces will be replaced as appropriate and necessary. Again, I do not want to deviate too far from stock or modify the vehicle in any way that could not be easily undone later if desired. So basically the car is in pretty good shape. The paint needs some love shown to it to bring back the original luster. The interior likely needs a good, thorough, but gentle cleaning. Under the hood will need some attention in terms of the normal stuff needed to bring a car that has sat for 20 years back to life. All of this being said, if I were to outright purchase this car from my father rather than allow him to gift it to me, what is a fair price for it? I realize from experience that this is an open-ended question and a really accurate answer is subject to a lot of different criteria, so a ball-park estimate is certainly fine with me. Or even a price-range. Suffice it to say that while my dad would likely be willing to just hand the car over, my mom is a bit more "materialistic" and has already voiced concerns that the car should be sold and that I should pay for it whatever anyone else would pay for it. Family discounts don't exist in my mom's world. She's a real keeper sometimes, so me paying for the car is likely the better choice for all parties involved for the long term. Thanks.