rallye 350

[montvaleplace]

I am going to look at a RALLYE 350 this weekend ,the car has no documentation but appears to have all the right stuff( hood,wing, data tag with -- for paint code). Is there any tell tale signs I should be looking for? The -- on the data tag could have been for any special order paint color so how much weight does that carry alone? The vin reads 332770m..... Any info I'm missing is appreciated!! Thanks!

[Oldsmaniac]

Your on the right track, I would look for any signs of missed paint that may reveal it was a different color from the factory. These cars came as Cutlass and F-85. Just make sure it appears without question to be a Rallye and all ram air parts and steel backed hood is there.

[jensenracing77]

a couple things you can look for. look inside the door jambs for a trace of the original stripes that were folded around the edges. i found the original stripe decal, or a piece of it, at the front edge on the inside of the door jamb. another thing is look at the right rear bumper mounting bracket. this bracket had a ground strap on it that goes from the bracket to the bumper where the tail light housing mounts. this ground strap is there because of the urethane bumper paint. the rallye was the only car in 70 to have black around the perimeter of the tail light and black outlined head light bezels. it also has to have a cutlass S grill. the grill originally had a gray stripe around the edge of it. it is the only S grill that had this gray stripe. this grill should be black all but the edge.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by jensenracing77

...another thing is look at the right rear bumper mounting bracket. this bracket had a ground strap on it that goes from the bracket to the bumper where the tail light housing mounts. this ground strap is there because of the urethane bumper paint...

Wow! That's a factoid I did not know. Thanks.

[montvaleplace]

Was the bumper urethaned on the inside also therefore the needed ground strap or the urethane on the outside kept the bumper bolts from grounding? Great info I never heard of that one! The tip on the stripes is a good one unless they took the fenders off and stripped them. Thanks!

[jensenracing77]

they were not urethaned on the inside but the tab that the housing mounted on was. so the bumper bolts would have grounded the bumper but not the tail lights. i think they have there own ground wire but this is a backup. if someone was to clone one it is unlikely that it was added. also if they replaced the bumber on a rallye 350 they may not have replaced the ground strap. this ground strap is close to the same size as the one going from the engine to the firewall.

[ent72olds]

Would you mind posting your ss# and birthday.....just kidding That is some excellent info.

[rocketraider]

Shouldn't a real Rallye have W45 stamped in the body data plate? or am I off in tangent-land?

Then there's that matter of the Rallyes in NC that were repainted and chrome bumpers fitted just to move them off the dealer lot.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by rocketraider

Shouldn't a real Rallye have W45 stamped in the body data plate? or am I off in tangent-land?

Then there's that matter of the Rallyes in NC that were repainted and chrome bumpers fitted just to move them off the dealer lot.

Not just in NC. There were a number of Rallyes that had chrome bumpers installed because the general public expected chrome bumpers. This is like the Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds that had their beaks and wings clipped and chrome bumpers installed because the dealers couldn't give them away.