zeech

Hi folks,

I am writing a novel that takes place in 1978 and one of the characters, a teenage boy, has a 1968 Cutlass Supreme. I am trying to understand the essence of the car. Would this be considered a big car? Powerful? Clunky? Fast? Or slow? Any adjectives that come to mind about this car would be a bit help, or any descriptive phrases that explain the image of the car. Thanks.

MDchanic

Buddy of mine had one in college in '82.

Just a medium sized car, pleasantly peppy, fun, kind of beat up.
Had a cheap stereo in the center console, not attached, just bouncing around (The AM radio in the dash was broken).

I borrowed it when I bought a refrigerator, and carried it back to the dorm on the roof.
Neither one of us could have cared less about the dents it caused.

- Eric

w-30dreamin

The following quotes are taken from a magazine ad for the 68 Cutlass.

"Young it up." "Drive a youngmobile from Oldsmobile."

"It has a younger than ever look,front,rear,inside and out."

"A bigger than ever 350 cube rocket v-8 that combines new savvy with new savings."

"A smoother than ever ride,via four coil springs and improved shock absorbers."

"A whole bunch of youthful new goodies,from rally sport suspension to 4 on the floor,that let you tailor Cutlass to your taste."

Hope these quotes help give you some ideas.

MDchanic

Yeah, but he's setting his novel ten years later, in '78, when they were just cars. Kinda like the 2000 Grand Cherokee my wife drives now - spit in any direction and you'll hit one.

- Eric

w-30dreamin

Good point,I guess that's why I'm a construction worker and not a writer.

jaunty75

It was not a "big car" at the time it was new. It was an "intermediate" (a term that you don't hear any more but that back then was commonly applied to models just below the largest-sized ones in a manufacturer's lineup) that fell below the big Delta 88s and 98s of the time in terms of size. But in 1978 it might have been considered "big" relative to the new Cutlasses of the day as by then GM's full-size and intermediate-size lineups had undergone a significant downsizing.

I don't think anyone would consider it clunky or slow, not in 1968, 1978, or today. It would have made a great car for a teenager in 1978 as the cars could have been had in pretty good shape relatively cheaply. Parts would have been easy to find and inexpensive. While even then the '68-'72 Cutlass body style was becoming recognized as something that would be highly desirable as a collectible years later, at that time they were still, as has been pointed out, just 10-year old used cars that there were a lot of on the road.

zeech

It looks to me like it would definitely be a guy's car, one that a female might not think was as appealing, am I right?

MDchanic

Hmmmm... Interesting point.

I guess I would say that the '70 notchback cars - Cutlass Supremes and Monte Carlos - seemed a bit more like guys' cars by the late '70's, though women could still be seen in newer models (a '76 Monte, let's say). I would hesitate to make any definite pronouncements, though.
Women drove all kinds and sizes of cars because these were the cars that were out there and cheap.

There is also the "Camaros vs Firebirds" phenomenon.

If I recall correctly, on Long Island Camaros were a guy's car and Firebirds were for chicks, but just across the bay in NJ, a guy in a Camaro would be made fun of because those were chicks' cars, and guys drove Firebirds.
Maybe I've got it backwards. It's hard to remember.

- Eric

jaunty75

True, but this is true for any car. While there is the occasional exception, in my experience, females generally care very little about cars of any kind, any type, or any era.

69Rman

Please, if it is indeed a Cutlass "Supreme", and not a Cutlass "S", make sure that is is known, or portrayed as such, in some way.

They are two different cars regardless of what 80% of the Cutlass "S" sellers think.

Duane

arodenhiser

I see that last part the other way. I HATE when people ASSume that I am wrong by calling my car a Cutlass S because the S means Supreme. An no I do not have the 442 cid engine either.

The author should know that in '68 the Cutlass Supreme was available as either as a 2 door or a 4 door.

Adam

joe_padavano

In 1968 the Supreme used the same "fastback" body as every other Cutlass that year. The differences were in the trim, upholstery pattern, and standard drivetrain.

bil

I had one in 78,2 dr,auto on floor with buckets.They were still cool cars,but the auto industry had changed from the curvy style to the boxy,angular style,so it was definitely an 'old' car.Still cool to me,but as said above,the girls didn't seem to notice.
It took me a while to catch on that what guys considered a nice car wasn't always what the girls did. ---bil

cutlassgal

.....While there is the occasional exception, in my experience, females generally care very little about cars of any kind, any type, or any era.


I guess I'll be the exception!! The 72 Cutlass Supreme has always been my favorite car of all time. I was still driving an old 72 Supreme in 1989. When the frame broke on that one, I moved up to an 80 Cutlass Supreme, and from there to an 85 Delta, then another 85 Delta, which I traded in on a 1998 Intrigue in 2001! I've never driven anything except an Olds my whole life, until I got the Tin Can this year, lol!!

allyolds68

I suppose I was pretty much your character.

I was 16 years old in 1979. My first car was my great aunt's 68 Cutlass Supreme. I got it in 1978 when I was still 15. It was blue with a white vinyl top. The car was a 350 4bbl. It had less than 25,000 miles on it when I got it. It was slower than my friend's 71 Cougar with a 351W 2 bbl. Faster than my other friend's 65 Galaxie Convertible with a 302. Another one of my friends had a 73 340 Duster 4 speed. That was a cool car. They talk about how bad emissions hit cars in 72 & especially 73 but we just re-built them the same way they were built in 68-71. That Duster didn't have any emissions crap left on it. There were a lot of Chevelles but no one could afford an SS. Most were just Malibu's. Most of the kids didn't have thier own cars. They were driving mom and dad's 77 Volare Wagon or 75 Riveria. I guess that did make my Cutlass a little cooler than a lot of other cars.

The Cutlass did pretty good brake stands. I got my parents' called more than once. The 2 speed automatic sucked off the line & pretty much never caught up. It shifted out of first at 72 mph. It wouldn't beat a 72 Cutlass either.

The fastest I ever got it up to was well over the 120 speedo would go. My guess was a 130 or so. Pretty stupid. We used to run them on a 2 lane divided highway so there wasn't a chance of a head on but if a tire blew I would have been dead.

As far as being a cool car.... well, not really. It was more of a family car (sorry to burst your bubble) V8 cars were a dime a dozen. Gas shot up to $1.40/ gallon about the week I got my license. Not good for a car that got 11 mpg babying it. Some good salesman sold my great aunt that car. The thing didn't even have AC.
The cool cars were (and still are) the 69 camaro Z28 with the DZ302, 70 442 W30's, and an occasional built 65-68 mustang. Most of the 64-72 cars were rusted to crap by the late 70's. I still remember a kid with a bondo bucket 68 GTO 4 speed that has 60's on the back and wheel hopped so bad he couldn't do a burn out. My Cutlass was the exception because my great aunt had alziemers pretty bad by 73 or 74 & the car sat in her garage for 3 or 4 years.

The car met a pretty nasty ending but it saved my life (plus me wearing a seat belt helped).

I could go on & on. If you have any specific questions send me a PM

Here's the only pic I have of it:

allyolds68

You know you'd think so but by the late 70's there weren't many 60's cars left. They had all pretty much rusted out. (at least where I lived in the Northeast). There were a fair amount of 70-72's running around. There was a really nice 70 W30 in my town that a kid that was one or two years out of high school owned, but you needed a real job to afford one. By 78 most 68-72 cars had already had a repaint. I never met anyone else with another 68 cutlass or 442 that whole time I had my car.

67 Cutlass Freak

It's just my opinion, but the 1968 Cutlass Supreme was a very special car. It was the first year to incorporate the swooping rear fenders. That body line was carried on through 1972. The '68 was special though, it was a one year only body style and the front end was distinctively different from other years. You could even get it with the ram air option with snorckles mounted under the front bumper. It was marketed as the businessman's sports car. The frame was the same as the midsized Buick, Chevelle, and GTO. GM utilized a lot of the same suspension components, but the Oldsmobile division was a higher class of GM. They used closer tollerances inside the engine. The interior was more refined, and the big block had some real muscle. I think I've got some old magazine articles around I can scan and upload for you. I don't own a '68 but I sure do love them.

zeech

Thanks, very helpful. 11 mpg wow that's rough!

zeech

You know i remember back in the day thinking it was a butt-ugly car but now I think it is classic. Funny how things change!

MDchanic

Two things:
1. I don't know why, but somehow I read the initial question as being about 1970', not 1968's. Disregard notchback comments.

2.
If you were in Seneca Falls, that's not just "the Northeast," that's "the Horrifying Rust Pit of all Creation."
I grew up in NYC, and we had plenty of ice, snow, and salt, but there were still plenty of late sixties cars left in the early eighties. Plenty. I can still recall the two Nash Metropolitans, the '69 Charger, the '71 Chevelle, and the '64 Catalina that used to park on my block in 1981, not to mention my '70 Chevelle SS, and our family's '61 Mercedes 190 and a rust-free '68 Pontiac wagon we bought in Greenwich for $75.

I think a good point is that depending on where this guy sets his book, he's going to have to figure in local conditions in order to make the car's condition realistic.

- Eric

71 sienna supreme

Back in 1978, a 1968 Cutlass supreme was a COOL car especially with Cragers & Hijacker air shocks. At that year `1978 I was 15 and a buddy a couple of years older had a 1968 Cutlass Supreme with Cragers and air shocks. He was one of the coolest kids at school. While most other kids had to borrow their parents 4 door pos to go crusing or meet at the local burger joint, anyone with their own 2 door car was very cool. It was to the status of a modern day "John Milner" . The 2 door Cutlass Supreme of any year much no less 1968 was a beautiful car.Parts were cheap (not as cheap as the Chevy's) and 80%+ had v8 engines.
I really liked my buddies '68 Cutlass Supreme that I kept pestering my DAD to help me find one that I could fix up by the time I was 16 and could drive with a learners permit. Well my Dad took me to this salvage yard and we look all over the yard for a "68 Cutlass Supreme. At first all we found were Fords, Chevy's,Crysler's & Cadi's, then a tow truck dropped off a green convertible. So I walked over to check it out. Guess what ,It was a
1968 442 Convertible with black roof & interior. The 442 had dents a little rust and a bad tranny (Th400) but it was complete with buckets & console & an a/c car too.I told my Dad that I wanted the 442. Dad spoke with the owner of the yard, one of his friends
and the owner said that he would have kept this for his kid. But saw how
excited I was about the 442. He sold it to me for a hundred dollars cash. I
had money in the bank (more that enough to cover the $100.00) So Dad paid the guy and had the tow truck driver deliver the 1968 442 Convertible to our house. The car was delivered that day.I was soo happy to own MY
own 442 convertible. Note: my parents both had their own 1971 Cutlass Supreme convertibles (2 -1971's) at this time. We were a three Olds convertible family, in Long Island NY.
So in summary, yes 1968 Cutlass Supreme's were super cool back in 1978....

MDchanic

All 100% true, as it applies to kids, which is what you and I were that year.
At the same time, though, there were plenty of blue-haired grandmothers tooling around in Cutlasses (minus the Cragers and air shocks), and they were decidedly NOT cool, unless purchased and "fixed up" by some kid .

So, the way the car is depicted in the book will depend on who owns it.

... Great story, by the way!

- Eric

71 sienna supreme

Eric, I tell-it-like-it-is......That was a true story about MY first car.I still have to "DIG up" some old pictures of the 442 and my parents 1971's and post them, like I promised last year when I joined. I've been very busy working two jobs lately to enjoy life or even do the things that I want to..
But, on a positive note I finally registered the newest 1971 Cutlass Supreme last week. I even drove it to a buddy's shop to blead the brakes...Good talking about OLDSMOBILES.....

allyolds68

I actually grew up in SE CT about 2 hours northeast of NYC. There were certainly cars from the 60's but not many & like I said, anything older than 10 years had been painted at least once by then. My buddy's 65 Galaxie convertible was on it's third paint job by 1980. It eventually was abandoned in his parents' backyard with a rusted frame. The Duster had been painted at least once.

zeech

Hmm okay here's another question. Would it be unusual for a 16 year old kid in '78 to describe this car as "Bad ***?" Or is it too much like I'm driving my grandma's car?

Bluevista

Just owning a car that ran at 16 years old was "Bad ***" in 1978.
A Cutlass Supreme would of needed a little help to be considered that though.
Easy to make it "Bad ***".
You could buy chrome reverse wheels for anything at K-Mart cheap back then, they sold flexible exhaust tubing and Cherry Bomb glass packs and the screw in spacers for coil springs to jack it up in the back.
Put those on a car after saving up for months to buy them from your job pumping gas every day after school and you would not only have the coolest job, you would also have the most "Bad ***" car.
At least to your friends and in in your own mind.
Really didn't matter what kind of car it was as long as it ran and the driver's side looked halfway good.

If you put headers on your car you were a god, K-mart had those too.

During high school in the early 70's I wore my gas station uniform shirt at all times, those shirts were your "colors".
My red-oxide primered '64 Chebby Impala with a 283 mill and a Powerslide, K-Mart chrome reverse wheels with bald skins, a single Cherry Bomb, spacers in all four coils because the springs were shot, Volvo bucket seats and red and black marbled pattern **** carpeting was the most Bad *** car in town.

I had it made in the shade...what happened?

cutlassgal

Ya grew up, Blue! Sucks, don't it, lol!! I remember all the stuff K-Mart had for cars!! I remember getting some door moldings there, lol. It wasn't real expensive either. It's a shame that went by the way too. You could get all sorts of stuff there back in the day.