My dad bought a 1972 supreme about 15 years ago. he bought it complete from a junk yard he says its pretty rare. i ended up with it and i was just wondering if u supreme guys can tell me anything about it.

its a 1972 olds supreme, 455, a/c, dual gate shifter, posi, disk brakes, rear defrost, 8-track, buchets, plain hood, red with brown interior. the vin is 3J57U2Z103913.

I was told they did not do a sx in 72 is that correct? it doesn't say sx any where.

thanks.

 

no sx in 72. The U in the vin makes it somewhat rare it means that it is an origanal 455 car auto trans. I don't know how many were made, someone else might.
Larry

 

The SX branding on the Cutlass Supreme was only for the 1970 and 1971 models. In 1972 the Cutlass you have should not even have been produced. GM was planning the 72 models to be what we currently know as the 73 body style. There were no production records kept by Olds for pretty much anything as far as I know.
Your car does have some nice features. Not a lot of Cutlass models were built with the U code 455 for starters.

Your VIN decodes as follows:
3 = Oldsmobile division
J = Cutlass Supreme
57 = Hardtop Coupe (also referred to as 'notchback')
U = 455 L75 & M40 (TH400 Hydramatic) Transmission
2 = 1972 model year
Z = Fremont California (manufacturing plant)
103913 = Plant sequential number

Posi is most likely has a 3:42 gear ratio. That was common for 455's. With this power team, you should also have a dual exhaust and cutout rear bumpers with trumpet tips.
The disc brakes came in after the 72 production run started, so your car was probably one of the early cars to get this option.
8 Track stereo and rear defrost - nice options.
Strato bucket seats and dual gate shifter - nice options.

If you look under the hood below the VIN there will be a Fischer Cowl Tag that should start out with

ST72 34257FRE103913 Followed by a lot of numbers/letters on various lines where trim color, options, build month, paint code would be stamped

One of those should say A51 (strato bucket seats)

Let us know what the other info is and we can get you more info (but limited) on your car. You should have a look under the seats for a build sheet or broadcast sheet. GM workers used them to follow production info given to them about each car coming through the line. When they were done with the sheet, the often got stuffed into the seat springs, behind a kick panel. If you find a build sheet, you struck gold. FYI, there is a better chance of you finding one of these in your car since it was built in Fremont.

 

Cool.

its been backed up to a fence for years i will have to see if it has the cut out rear bumpers. i will get the cowl tag info for you tonight. and i will look for a build sheet. there are alot of papers in the glove box. Warrenty info, protect-o-plate, maintnance, old insurance and registration slip. the registration slip expired 10-31-80 so it was only up and going for 8 years.

i have no idea why it was at the junk yard. i don't know if something broke or if it got impounded.

 

Sounds like a nicely equipped car - I had an Ebony Black one equipped very much the same way in 1999-2000.

Allan's info is largely accurate except that there would not be a cutout rear bumper from the factory on a '72 455 Supreme - that only applied for 1972 W-29 cars, and no Supreme hardtops were W-29 442s.

For a Fremont-built Supreme, check under the rear package tray along the rear window - you may need to look up from inside the trunk. The 8"x11" build sheets are often found there on Fremont-built Supremes.

Terry

 

May I direct you to this discussion which we already had on the topic before? Joe does know his Oldsmobiles.

Thread source for reference: https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...42-w-29-a.html

I'm wondering if you got the W29 and W30 options mixed up? The W29 was strictly an appearance and handling package that was offered with any choice of Olds engine in 72.

The W30 was a performance package that was available on all Cutlass lines including the CS, and it includes the W25 hood, L77 455 dual exhaust, special hood paint, HD cooling, 3:42 axle, Sports mirrors, and the W29 appearance and handling package.

 

I read that post a few times, it says the W29 was available on "VARIOUS" Cutlass "engines" even a 350 but the cutout bumper was only available on the 455 equipped cars. Which means you could have a Cutlass with a 455 and without the W29 package. I myself have never seen a 72 Supreme with the W29 option or the cutout bumper that wasn't added later - not to say either don't exist.

It doesn't say the w29 was available on "every" Cutlass. So my question is - does a 1972 Cutlass Supreme exist with the W29 442 option?

Back to the original post - seems like a nice rare car to play around with.

 

Read again. The post says No, the post doesn't say the W29 was available on 'every' Cutlass. GM literature says that.

Any 72 Supremes built with the W30 option included the W29 (suspension and striping) package. The W30 was the performance package, W29 was appearance and handling.

 

My car does not have the cut out rear bumpers.

cowl tag. 72 34257 z 0152t bdy
979 a51 65 a pnt
10a 021949 340049

i hope i got all the numbers kinda hard to read.

 

1972 Supremes could be ordered with a W29 or W30 option but they were only available on the Supreme convertible not the Supreme hardtop.

 

No.

 

. To clarify, the W29 option is the 442 performance and appearance package, so you could not get the 442 on a Supreme unless, as stated above, it was a convertible.

 

Sorry, I disagree.
W29 is NOT the performance package. It is only the appearance and FE2 suspension. The W29 package did not stipulate 455; it could have any Olds engine. Most W29's had the L32 or L34. The ones that had the U code 455 were considerably less produced. The ones with the L77 455 included in the W30 package were even less produced or ordered.

W30 was the PERFORMANCE package and included the W29 components such as FE2.

I do agree that the 442 option was only available on CS models as a Convertible. I do not agree that CS verts with the 455 option would not be given dual exhaust and cutout bumpers

 

No, the W29 did not mandate the 455 in '72 as both 350-455 were available. Only the W29 (442) could get the "X" code W30 as the top engine/performance option. NO, the U and V code 455 did not come with/were not available with the cutout bumper. It could be dealer installed, but did not come with either of those (U-V) engines when those engines were ordered for the car on the Supreme. If a W29 (442) were ordered with the U and V or the W30 then, they would get the cutout rear bumper.

 

ok, thanks, so that's what I thought, no 442 on Supreme hardtops. And yes 442 option was a available as a convertible in 72 and all convertibles in 72 were supremes - just like 70 and 71.

 

According to the '72 Chassis Service Manual, A/C optioned cars (what alek72us's car has) got anywhere from 2.73 - 3.23 gear ratio. Also for 1972, A-body 455 cars came with disk brakes as standard equipment.

 

Thx Green
I had 2 1972 Cutlass S models. One was produced Nov of 71 (yes, 350/350) and had power drum front brakes. The other S was built in April of 72 and (yes 350/350) is equipped with Power disc front brakes. Didn't know that the BBO came standard with power discs. Should have looked it up, my bad. I was going by memory of what I had encountered in life 'back in the day'.

 

Were front discs standard in 1970? My SX had them. Maybe just on the Supreme? Chumley

 

Does your car have a 455?

 

My '70SX had power drums.

 

All SX's had 455's, I was just wondering if the disc brakes were a motor size thing or a model thing, or just an option in 1970.