ScottHowey

Today I gave my kid his first car. This 1966 F85 Deluxe Sedan.

ScottHowey

I sold my '65 Corvair Convertible to get it. I think I did pretty good. It has LOTS of little things to fix but seems like a great car.
Here is the Corvair I sold.

66luvr

WHAT he didn't want the Corvair???? I sure do. That thing is beautiful.
I like the f85 too, very cool car. I am a little bias of course. The blue car in my avatar was given to my son for his 16th birthday in '97, I still can't believe it has survived and still looks great.

ScottHowey

Can someone decode the body tag for me please.

ScottHowey

Thanks, no, he didn't want the Corvair. He actually insisted on a four door car. He had no idea I was getting it for him. He came back from Summer camp today to find it in the driveway and I tossed him the keys. He flipped out. It was a good day

ScottHowey

That '66 that you gave your son is sweet!!!! Really nicely done car!!

don71

That's a great looking car, wheels are just perfect for it. Nice job Dad!

MDchanic

Lucky kid.

- Eric

66luvr

Thanks for the compliment.
There was no surprise in my son's car. We looked for a "first" car for a while. After I let him drive the 66 he was hooked (13 years old, I let him drive all my cars, Corvettes to Hondas). We worked on it for 3 years and it wasn't totally finished for his birthday. It was ready when he got his license.
But WOW! What a surprise you had for your son when he came back from camp. You should get a Dad of the year award for sacrifice and for giving and for the best surprise a 16yr old can have. Congratulations. You're the best.
I still love the Corvair.


Mike

jaunty75

I don't know what the "A" in the 2AXR means, but otherwise this decodes as a 1966 Olds F-85 Deluxe Sedan built the third week of February 1966 at the Lansing plant. Ocean Mist upper and lower body color. Turquoise cloth and vinyl conventional bench seat, tinted windshield, floor-shift automatic transmission, rear speaker, deluxe seat belts.

Does any of this match up with what's on the car? The paint color looks right, although "Ocean Mist" is one of those semi-ambiguous color names that could be anything in the blue or green range.

I'll hunt around a little more and see if I can figure out what the "A" means.

redoldsman

A floor-shift in this car. Really? That would require bucket seats. I would be surprised but I am sure it was possible.

jaunty75

That's what I thought, but that's what the decoder says. I know it can be in error.

jaunty75

I also don't know what the "V" in the upper right above the LAN means.

oldcutlass

Very cool that your son is interested in old cars. So many today, mine included have no desire to want to learn to fix and maintain one.

ScottHowey

No floor shift, Paint and interior color matches, rear speaker is still there. It has power steering but no power brakes. I was looking through the bundle of receipts that came with the car and the windshield was replaced in 1990 so I dont know if it was origionally tinted.

Here is the ad text from craigslist...

deejai35

What a great first car!

Koda

Let's see here

02C 3rd Week of Feb production, which makes it a middle of the year 66
V
66-33669 That is a F-85 Deluxe V8 Town Sedan 4 door post car
LAN12174 Lansing car, 11173rd Olds, I believe, of that year.
TR 946-A Turquoise seat bench
K-K Aquamarine solid paint job
1W Soft Ray Windshield only, not windows (tint)
2AXR Extra Foam Padding, Front Seat, "floor mounted auto trans ", Rear Speaker
5Y Deluxe Belts in front

2X is jetaway in 67, and "floor mounted auto trans" in 66. Go figure.
2A is, I kid you not, extra foam padding front seat in 66, per oldsmobility.com

Also, here's a list from this site:

'65 & ‘66 CUTLASS COWL CODES

GROUP 1
E = Tinted glass - All - (A01)
W = Tinted glass - Windshield only - (A02)
0 = Roof moldings for two-tone paint - For (D99)
S = Power Trunk - (A 91)
T = Power Seat - Bucket for sure – (A46). Bench maybe – (A4I) (1965)
T = Vinyl top (unconfirmed) (1966)
L = Hole & mounting plate for floor shift manual (1966)
X = Power windows - (A31) (1965)
X = Column shift auto (1966)

GROUP 2
K = Air Conditioning - (C60)
G = Console - (D55)
X = Floor mounted Automatic Transmission - used with (D55)
L = Floor 4spd - (M20 or M21)
B = Floor 3spd - (M12 or M14)
R = Rear Shelf Speaker - (U80)
T = Power Antenna - (U75)
A = Extra Foam Padding – Front Seat
P = Unconfirmed
H = Heater Delete

GROUP 3
D = Unconfirmed – only seen with interior accessory package.
W = Unconfirmed (1965)
W = Carpeting (F85 only) (1966)

GROUP 4
C = Chrome side window sill moldings – (B85)
H = Chrome upper “peak” body side moldings – (B84) (1965 only)
M = Moldings - door/window glass frame (F85 only) (1966)
V = 442 side trim – (W29) (1965)
D = Y68 side moldings

GROUP 5
F = Remote mirror (D33)
W = Deluxe front seat belts (A49)
Y = Deluxe front and rear seat belts (A39)
M = Unconfirmed
O = Unconfirmed – may be seatbelt delete (A62)
V = 442 trim (1966)
Z = Belts, shoulder harness (1966)
_______________________________



B is the seat type
B---Strato Bucket Seat
P---Reclining Strato Bucket Seat
R---Reclining Strato Bucket Seat With Strato Headrest
S---Strato Bucket Seat with Strato Headrest
A---Conventional Bech Seat
E---Coventional Bench with Conventional Headrest
D---Strato Bench Seat
J---Reclining Strato Bench Seat
K---Reclining Strato Bench Seat With Strato Headrest
L--- Strato Bench Seat With Strato Headrest
This is out of a parts manual dated Sept 1966.


Nice car. Please, remind him that it is not a new car, and will not handle, accelerate, brake, or crash, like a new car. He needs to maintain plenty of stopping distance (obvious) but also make sure to give others lots of room too, because you do not want to be hit in that car. Also, it may get tired or overheated on long trips. Also, and this is important, homies are going to want to steal the car. Advise him to stay the hell out of the hood for that, and other reasons, especially late at night. I would recommend an open "son, you can borrow my normal car if you're going someplace where yours is inappropriate" policy.

jaunty75

So the bottom line is that the cowl tag does indicate a floor-mounted automatic transmission, even though the car doesn't have one and it would be inconsistent with a bench seat.

jaunty75

I don't think I'd want my son going to a place where his '66 Cutlass would be inappropriate in any car.

jag1886

A more door Cutlass, it looks great, I remember the old days, more doors where way more comfortable to have sex in. Sorry you probably didn't think of that. Lucky kid, wish my dad had bought me a car of any kind.

wmachine

Floor shift auto would require buckets (and a console). But a 3-spd or 4-spd floor shift would not.


Yes A is the padded seat options for the F85
No, the X is for an automatic trans only. There would G for the console if it were a floor shift.
That decode list has a few errors. Part of the problem is trying to make one list cover all of the years, as there are enough changes from '64-'67 that putting them in one list is confusing at best.
Bucket seats were not available on a F85 Deluxe, so neither is a console or floor shift automatic.

oldsman72

Wow, that was an extremely kind and generous thing you did for your son. He will remember that forever. The Cragars really make that car look sharp. His buddies will be jealous.
Congrats and good luck to you both!

Koda

I can think of a few examples. Bar downtown in a few years, sports event with a large parking lot, anything offroad, something many many miles away.

Koda

It's not my list, so critique it all you care to. I've toyed around putting the 4 or 5 67 resources I use for option codes into one file. I've wondered why there was never a floor shift auto non console option available. I've seen floor shift manuals with benches, I wonder why they just couldn't boot it up like that with an auto; maybe someone would kick it or something.

ScottHowey

Thanks for all the comments and help decoding the tag.

ScottHowey

Just having spent a few hours with the car I have replaced the fuel lines after finding a leak in one near the exhaust manifold, it needs tires pretty bad, and I didn't get the key for the special lug nut on each wheel. I also found a leak in the bottom radiator hose.
While fixing the parking lights/turn signals and installing new high beams I noticed the grill was installed upside down. So all that is fixed now.
Its a fun car to work on. A bit easier to get to everything than on the Corvair.

I have a question...I have an opportunity to get a TH400 for it. He wants $500.00, is that worht the upgrade $$ or is the 2 speed just fine?

rocketraider

I'd go with a 2004R over the THM400 if you're going to the trouble and expense of a trans swap. The 200 has good gear spacing, has overdrive, and built properly is a very reliable unit. Not sure how you'd cobble up the TV cable with that Edelbrock though I'm sure the Chevy and TurboBuick folks have figured out a way.

Car should already have a switch-pitch Jetaway which is actually well-suited to these cars- if its control switch is adjusted properly. I got a feeling the aftermarket intake and carb have thrown the adjustment off a bit based on your description in the other thread.

oldcutlass

X2 on above, make sure your throttle linkage is setup correctly and the ST300 is shifting right. If your going to change transmissions, a BOP (Buick, Olds, or Pontiac) T350 is the most economical change as it is a direct bolt in. A Chevrolet trans does not have a compatible bolt pattern with an Olds. A T400 will also require a new driveshaft because of the difference in length and few other small mods to install.