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Old February 19th, 2010, 03:16 PM
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Real or Fake?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1608760897.html

Either way I wouldnt pay 10k for a car with no vin #. what are your thoughts?
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Old February 19th, 2010, 03:28 PM
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Truthfully,

I have no idea.

But if it walks like a Duck and quacks like a Duck.

Usually, It's a Duck
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Old February 19th, 2010, 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Jamesbo
Truthfully,

I have no idea.

But if it walks like a Duck and quacks like a Duck.

Usually, It's a Duck
X2 Quack
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Old February 19th, 2010, 08:19 PM
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when I started reading that I had an urge to start looking for my hip waders. it seemed to be getting pretty deep
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Old February 19th, 2010, 08:30 PM
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If it is documented as a race car it could have real value...

If it raced there should be paperwork ...

with no docs as an 11 second $10,000 307 car is impressive ...
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Old February 19th, 2010, 08:36 PM
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He says the car is a 82, but what I'm looking at is a 87. Just another car that has been turned into a drag car.
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Old February 19th, 2010, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by 70 cutlass s
He says the car is a 82, but what I'm looking at is a 87. Just another car that has been turned into a drag car.
Did you read the add ...

’87 Olds Cutlass Factory Lightweight Test/Drag Car - $9500 (concord / pleasant hill / martinez)
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Old February 19th, 2010, 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by mugzilla
Did you read the add ...

’87 Olds Cutlass Factory Lightweight Test/Drag Car - $9500 (concord / pleasant hill / martinez)

For Sale: 1982/87 Olds Cutlass. Car was originally built as an ’82 Cutlass as a special, lightweight factory test/drag car. Car has never been titled or registered, and has no VIN #

Yeah I know that's what the ad says and that is what the car is, but he then goes on to say the car was built in 82.

Last edited by 70 cutlass s; February 19th, 2010 at 09:10 PM.
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Old February 19th, 2010, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by 70 cutlass s
For Sale: 1982/87 Olds Cutlass. Car was originally built as an ’82 Cutlass as a special, lightweight factory test/drag car. Car has never been titled or registered, and has no VIN #

Yeah I know that's what the ad says and that is what the car is, but he then goes on to say the car was built in 82.

Another confused tool...
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Old February 19th, 2010, 09:20 PM
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It doesn't matter the ad is all B.S. anyway. It's just a 87 Cutlass Supreme that someone has turned in to drag car.
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Old February 19th, 2010, 09:22 PM
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I like the 82 front end better...

I re read add and it IS confusing ...
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Old February 19th, 2010, 09:25 PM
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Originally Posted by 70 cutlass s
It doesn't matter the ad is all B.S. anyway. It's just a 87 Cutlass Supreme that someone has turned in to drag car.
I wonder what an aluminimum hood would cost/entail ...
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Old February 20th, 2010, 08:28 AM
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No VIN be ready to give it up to the real owner. Andy
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Old February 20th, 2010, 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by 70 cutlass s
For Sale: 1982/87 Olds Cutlass.
Yeah I know that's what the ad says and that is what the car is, but he then goes on to say the car was built in 82.
When you start the bs, it is hard to keep your story straight. Other things that set off the bs meter:
1. Car was built in December ’81 as an ’82 Cutlass.
Any car built in in December '81 was an '82.

2. (per Dale Miller – Olds Performance Director/Engineer for many years).
Name dropping without any proof of connection.

3. Dale Miller, in a telephone conversation, told me he built a few of these with high nickel-content block.
Attempt an untraceable name drop combined with what you think is an "engineering fact" that is, in reality, an old wives tale. This just adds up to being an outright lie.

he's way past the legal limit.
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Old February 20th, 2010, 09:51 AM
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Old February 20th, 2010, 09:59 AM
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Didn't they use the aluminum hoods on a bunch of those cars?
The guy is holding back too much no matter what it is.
The highway patrol here would seize that thing in a minute with no VIN, title, or paperwork, they pull over car haulers and check all the time.
It's a stolen car for all intents and purposes until you can prove different. Another D.A.R.E. race car for the local constabulary if the smokies nail it in their jurisdiction.
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Old February 20th, 2010, 10:11 AM
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Who is Dale Miller? I am familiar with Dale Smith, but don't know a Dale Miller affiliated with Olds. Doesn't mean he don't exhist, but if so could someone provide info.
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Old February 20th, 2010, 12:36 PM
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Fake? Real? Doesn't even matter to me since it has no VIN and can't be registered. Question is whether you'd get the 9500 worth of parts you want out of it......
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Old February 20th, 2010, 02:32 PM
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OK, everyone take a breath. I cannot vouch for the validity of the seller's claims, but I will provide some information for others to make a decision. First, factory cars intended as race-only cars do not carry a VIN specifically because they do not comply with DOT and EPA standards and thus cannot legally be registered and driven on public roads. As an example, the 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet is a turnkey race car that you can buy from Ford today. It also does not come with a VIN.

Second, it is common practice to update race cars by installing newer model year sheetmetal. I suspect that is what was done to this car.

Naturally, none of this means anything without factory documentation. Just be aware that what the seller claims not without some precedent. Whether or not his claims are accurate for this particular car is not something I can comment on.
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Old February 20th, 2010, 02:59 PM
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Originally Posted by joe_padavano
........... First, factory cars intended as race-only cars do not carry a VIN specifically because they do not comply with DOT and EPA standards and thus cannot legally be registered and driven on public roads. As an example, the 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet is a turnkey race car that you can buy from Ford today. It also does not come with a VIN..........
Isn't this the same as no VIN provided in concept cars too? There were cars sold on BJ (shhhhh, I know) that were clearly labeled as not having a VIN or being allowed to be street driven. Don't remember if they were Indianapolis pace cars or what.

Anyway, I guess it's really up to whoever wants that kind of car and performance. If all they want is a strip racer, to each their own
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Old February 20th, 2010, 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Allan R
Isn't this the same as no VIN provided in concept cars too?
Yes. The factory cannot legally provide a VIN if the car is not DOT or EPA compliant for the year of manufacture.
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Old February 20th, 2010, 03:41 PM
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A lot of guys at the track race cars that don't have titles. This guy knows the car is not worth what he is asking for it. So he came up with a story to make it sound better then it really is.

I have heard of cars that car companies have built concept cars and test cars that didn't have vins some sold others destroyed. Every once in a while you will see one that someone owns. Most of the time in a collection. I have heard of some being titled as kit cars don't know if it is true.

Last edited by 70 cutlass s; February 20th, 2010 at 03:48 PM.
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Old February 20th, 2010, 07:39 PM
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I thought for a moment this thread was about Linda Vaughn!
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Old February 20th, 2010, 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by oldsonharmont
i thought for a moment this thread was about linda vaughn! :d
...
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Old February 20th, 2010, 11:26 PM
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I would want some time slips ...


http://cgi.ebay.com/Drag-Racing-Quak...ht_1059wt_1165
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Old February 22nd, 2010, 06:10 AM
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If it was a factory race car then why would it have aftermarket parts on it? Wouldn't Oldsmobile just put "factory" performance parts on it? It also looks like the firewall has been cut on the passenger's side and new panel welded in to fill in the holes from the factory AC box. I would say this is just a "home built" race car. Not saying that it isn't fast though.
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Old February 22nd, 2010, 07:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Olds64
If it was a factory race car then why would it have aftermarket parts on it? Wouldn't Oldsmobile just put "factory" performance parts on it? It also looks like the firewall has been cut on the passenger's side and new panel welded in to fill in the holes from the factory AC box. I would say this is just a "home built" race car. Not saying that it isn't fast though.
Again, how many "factory" performance parts were available from Olds in the 1980s. Also, keep in mind that in the nearly 30 years since that car left the assembly line, many people have had their hands on it. A race car is intended to be modified for maximum performance. This is one of the hardest parts about documenting and restoring a vintage race car.
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Old February 22nd, 2010, 07:35 AM
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Lots of "factory race cars" were actually sold as "body-in-white" which means a rolling body/chassis (or in the case of unibody cars, just a bare shell). The engine might or might not have been installed, but in any case it would not have been a race engine. The mods were left up to the racer, sometimes with guidance from factory engineers, sometimes not.
As far as I know, Olds didn't sell complete ready-to-race cars like Ford does with the special CobraJet Mustangs.

The 80's Cutlass body-in-white cars did not get a VIN and quite a few were sold to stock/super stock drag racers.

As Joe said already, it is common practice for drag cars to be updated with newer sheetmetal to appear to be a newer model.

Last edited by copper128; February 22nd, 2010 at 07:39 AM.
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Old February 22nd, 2010, 09:54 AM
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Again, how many "factory" performance parts were available from Olds in the 1980s.
How many are available today? It just seems odd that Oldsmobile would build a race car with an Edelbrock intake, Harland Sharps rocker arms, etc. If these were added then doesn't it destroy the authenticity of a "factory race car?" Also, why are there door panels, headliner, dashboard etc. in the car? This is all useless weight the car is carrying down the dragstrip. It seems fishy to me. If the guy has documentation then great.
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Old February 22nd, 2010, 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Olds64
How many are available today? It just seems odd that Oldsmobile would build a race car with an Edelbrock intake, Harland Sharps rocker arms, etc. If these were added then doesn't it destroy the authenticity of a "factory race car?" Also, why are there door panels, headliner, dashboard etc. in the car? This is all useless weight the car is carrying down the dragstrip. It seems fishy to me. If the guy has documentation then great.
In the 80s Olds was sponsoring drag racing. Warren Johnson, F.J. Smith and many others were supplied with "go fast" parts. DRCE stuff along with "Bodies In White". This car could have very easily been one of these. To a legal NHRA Stock class or a Super Stock class you have to leave all the stock interior plus retain the stock glass (with roll up windows). So ya it could be a legal factory race car. These cars are still raced today in NHRA classes.
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Old February 22nd, 2010, 07:56 PM
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I would like to get that engine from him
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Old February 23rd, 2010, 06:00 AM
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In the 80s Olds was sponsoring drag racing.
That is cool. You learn something new everyday.
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Old February 23rd, 2010, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Olds64
That is cool. You learn something new everyday.
Olds would regularly run a two-page centerfold ad in National Dragster in the 1980s touting it's various drag cars and teams.
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Old February 23rd, 2010, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Olds64
That is cool. You learn something new everyday.
You must be kidding?
In 1995 when Oldsmobile pulled out of drag racing they had won 14 NHRA Manufacturers Cups, at the time more than *any* other make. And they won the last 12 in a row through 1995.
That is what "your father's Oldsmobiles" were doing.
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Old February 24th, 2010, 05:59 AM
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I don't follow drag racing.
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Old February 24th, 2010, 10:16 PM
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Old February 16th, 2011, 02:10 PM
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Thank you Joe-Padavano

for being the voice of reason on this thread.

It's interesting to see the venom and misinformation that the anonymity of the internet feeds on..

for the record I'm currently selling on consignment this Oldsmobile drag car that everyone is talking about.

First off I would like to say that the owner seems to be a very straightforward person. There was nothing confusing or misleading about the description of the car as far as I'm concerned. He does state some things about its history and yes they are undocumented but he is not asking $30k for the car either and there is enough information out there about these cars to realize that it is absolutely possible that it would not have had a VIN or title.

I have the car here and it is a strong running no BS car. You could not build it for twice the asking price. Anyone who buys it for drag racing is getting a turnkey car for a fraction of what it would cost to build. That is an indisputable fact...

As for the "story" behind the car in my mind it is insignificant as without documentation any cars history could be perceived as "BS" and once again the car is not being sold as high dollar, rare collectible. The proof is in the pudding so to speak and if one were to see the car they would see it is actually a very fair deal.
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Old February 16th, 2011, 09:46 PM
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johnboy: The link for the listing is no longer any good. Have you taken the listing down or have you relisted it? Where can we see the ad for this vehicle.

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Old February 17th, 2011, 03:56 AM
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Johnboy just bumped a 1 year old thread...
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Old February 17th, 2011, 07:14 AM
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Originally Posted by w-31cutlass
Johnboy just bumped a 1 year old thread...
He said that he has the car in the original thread and it is still for sale, thus the bump, I would assume.
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