Ok, so just have a quick question that probably just comes down to personal preference but I'd be curious to know everyone's opinion.

Why would someone want a post cutlass vs a non post? I've seen a few posts of people looking for "post" cars and wonder why someone would prefer them.

Personally I like the looks of my hardtop coupe, with all the windows down it will (once complete) looks real clean. Lots of open air with out having a convertible, best of both worlds.

 

personal preference probably most of the time

most post cars are rarer (less produced)

and they are lighter, the more iron you see the lighter the car (convertibles are the heaviest)

I'd love a 1970 F85 Post car - bottom of the bottom - way cool factor - to me

 

I saw a '69 F-85 Post on the way to work this morning and thought, "wow, don't see those everyday" -

I like things like post cars, four doors, and - Oldsmobiles - for the simple reason that they're not 'common' or your typical collectible car. I've always enjoyed the sort of "uniqueness" associated with Oldsmobiles - and one can further set themselves apart with a more uncommon (or, undesirable in some opinions) model such as a post.

IMHO

 

i usually think cars look better with no posts with the exception of my car. i am glad it's a post after looking up pictures of '60 88 hardtops i don't think they look right on my body style lol but usually i do prefer the hardtops to the posts

 

A post car body is much stronger than a hardtop! I prefer post cars for drag racing!

 

Interesting, what is the weight of a post car vs non post?

I can understand the strength, but from personal experience, when common metals are used, stronger is usually heavier.

 

the old frames of a convertible top and all the other mechanisms added a lot of weight to a car back then

 

Right. Well, not iron, but metal. The reason is the post cars structure allows for less metal. The lack of a B pillar in a hardtop and lack of the roof altogether means the rest of the car needs more metal in other areas for body integrity and support.

By far the biggest reason post cars are more desirable to some (like me) is that they are faster. Pretty simple, all else being equal, lighter means faster.

 

Thats it!

 

Wild About Cars has all of the Oldsmobile production numbers by model. Also listed are the weights, so you can see for yourself.

http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/cgi-b...aldisplayed=26

Wild About Cars. http://wildaboutcars.com. An information supersource, especially Oldsmobile. More Olds content than anywhere else on the internet and continuing to grow.
You'll find Chassis Service Manuals, Product Information Manuals (AKA Assembly Manuals), Inspector's Manuals, and other documents that will contain this and much much more.
Dealer Brochures, magazine ads and articles, and a home page for you online with your own garage where you can show off what you have.
Free to join, free to learn.

 

Agreed! Good resource link, thanks.

So if I'm reading the weight correctly for the 64 Cutlass we have:
Sport Coupe - 3319
Hardtop - 3345
Convertible - 3442

I'm assuming the Sport Coupe is considered the post car which is 26lbs lighter. I'll just run around with half a tank in hopes I run up against a post car and all things being equal except his full tank of gas.

 

The Sports Coupe is *one* of the post coupes. Notice the lightest V8 model is the F85 V8 Club Coupe at 3297. Along with the Sports Coupe, that is a post car.
So you'd have 48 lbs to make up. You may have to run on vapors.

 

Hmmmmm! Me likes em with a 'POST"!!

 

Very cool website man and hey they only made 76xxx of my car!

 

This is not necessarily true.

Maybe for performance cars like the 4-4-2, but for regular, pedestrian versions of cars, it depends on the brand, model, bodystyle, and year.

 

I think it was Joe Donnelly that said in all the post and hardtop cars he has went thru, he has not found one bit of difference is the structure of the cars. Ive yet to find any difference in my hardtop 65 vs my post 65.

 

I prefer the look of a post in a race car and the looking of a HT for a street car / cruiser / show car.

 

Post cars are rare because they were unpopular when new. They were the bottom-of-the-line loss leaders because the post (and the frames around the door windows) made the window mechanisms simpler (the tracks that guided the window all the way up and down makes this difference vs. hardtops). This is also why they were marginally lighter, though the difference is in the tens of pounds. The real weight difference is because these stripper models typically did not have many options and/or less sound deadening material. The post also made them marginally stiffer (though not dramatically). This, combined with the low initial cost, made them the preferred start for a drag car. In reality, there is very little difference in the body stampings, thus little difference in the weight.

 

Not all post sedan cars were so called "loss leaders". 64-67 the Cutlass trim level was available on the two door sedan body. Hell, the 67 two door sedan body was available as a Cutlass Supreme. Only way to get a post 442 in 67 was to order it on the C/S.

In 65 the upscale F85 Deluxe coupe (Cutlass trim with a V6) and the Cutlass Sports Coupe (V8) outsold the standard coupe by a 3-1 margin. Yes, standard cars were not popular, but the two door sedan body certainly was. So much so all two door sedan styles put together outsold the hardtop cars. I know price had something to do with that, but it did happen nonetheless.

 

I like the wing windows in the post models.

 

To elaborate on Joe P's post, the framework around the side windows usually makes them seal better with less wind noise. The "coolness" factor goes up with some performance models. For example, the 66 W30 is often considered the most cool and radical in the cheapest F85 club coupe. I didn't post that the structures are the same for post vs. hardtop. I have seen some reinforcement sheet metal in hadtop doors and roof structures vs. sedans. The weight difference is slight. More difference shows up in trim differences, interior, etc.