So a friend has asked me to go check out a 1972 Cutlass with him tomorrow.

Since I'm not experienced with these particular models are there any specific areas I should be paying attention to? I already know this car will need some work based on the pictures but where are the real problem areas??

Link to ad: http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ301533905

 

Everywhere....
take a flashlight and look behind everything. Crawl inside the trunk and look up under the window, behind the glass inside the 1/4's , roll the windows down and look inside the doors. Look at the floor and trunk floor, behind the rockers ect. You can already see the 1/4's have a lot of rust in the pics. If he can swing it he would be light years ahead spending 7K-9K for a dry western car.

 

Pretty much what has already been said. Many of these cars leaked. I did just that when I bought my car. I checked everything then bought it on the spot because I lucked out by finding a nearly rust free car.

 

LOL yeah. Pretty much as I suspected. We drove up to the car took one lap around it and walked away. Not even worth looking at. The side of the car looked like a mirror at a fun house.

I told him he is not likely to find anything worth buying under $4000.00 which is all he can currently afford.

 

Sorry to hear it was a bust. The ad says it's a Cutlass S, it's actually a Cutlass Supreme. Ad pics didn't look very flattering - lots of bondo and bottom corrosion. Tell your buddy that walking away from this one will probably save him more than double that cost to fix the problems. Wait for a good one to come along for a decent price. There was one just recently on CO that looked really complete that went for 7 large.

 

Well it looks like we are off to see another one some time this week. This one does look better interior and body wise but it says the frame needs some work.

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ298716708

 

Actually it says the frame needs work to make it road worthy. Be really careful there; it could be rotted out. I'd want a body man along to check the undercarriage. Chances are if it needs frame repair it was a) involved in a collision or b) showing the results of Windsor winters and salt. Overall though the car presents well in the pics. It's also another Cutlass Supreme.

It also says only 80000 kilometers. That's 50,000 miles. I'd like to see proof especially since these cars were built in the mph days.

Take along some fridge magnets to check out the bondo areas. Take along a VIN decoder and make sure the numbers are right for the engine. The car you're looking at should have a VIN that starts like this: 3J57()2()100001 The first bracket will have a U or V if it is a 455. On the other hand if it has a H, J, K or M it will be a 350. The 350 2 bbl are coded as H and J. The 350 4bbl are K or M. Chances are the second bracket will have an M for Lansing. The other codes are Z - Fremont, G - Framingham, and R for Arlington.

On the cowl tag it should have

ST72 34257 LAN 123456 BDY
TR 970 A51 11 - 11 PNT
00A

FYI, according to my references, 1972 did NOT have black as an exterior color so the PNT code for your car will be something possibly like 48 48 (sequoia green lower and upper)

The 00A will be different, but that's the build date on the factory line. (first 2 numbers are the month, Letter is the week - A = 1st B=2nd C=3rd and D=4th.

 

Great info. I can always count on you Allen.