We have recently purchased a 75 Cutlass S that need a substantial amount of work. The one thing that we are noticing is that most of the suppliers of sheet metal, interior pieces and such skip over offering items for these model years. Is there something that we are missing about these model years?

 

What's missing??? The cars themselves. For some reason few of them seem to have survived, despite the sharp and extremely stylish lines of those cars. Probably early victims of the '70's gas crisis and by the time people began to appreciate them most had been crushed and junked. Cars that were made at the beginning of the emissions era seem to have a very low survival rate....again, people took that to mean the cars weren't worth saving. BUT....take a look at the lines and styling on them and they really are unique and cool looking.

 

Yeah. They suck.

Sorry. Had to say that .

To put it a different way, they are not particularly well liked, and so not particularly collectible.
They were not kept, babied, or hot rodded particularly, so that while you could find "car guys" driving around in '72 and earlier A-bodies through the '70s, '80s, and even '90s as daily drivers, the '73-'75 cars were driven, sold a few times and junked. The car hobby took a real body blow in the '70s with the start of emission controls and the gas crisis, and enthusiasts pretty much ignored those "smog cars," as they were unnecessarily heavy and had nothing to offer that hadn't been done better in the '72 and earlier cars.
Because of the utter lack of quality or inspiration in the new car lines from '73 through the early '90s (at least), the car hobby seems to have "skipped a generation," leaving a situation that pits the "old guys," who like older muscle cars, and who pretty much spit on anything after '72, against the "kids," who like turbos and 4-cylinder front wheel drive Japanese cars, leaving everything in between in a sort of limbo, with very few people caring enough to bother with those "orphan year" cars.

You'll find parts for your car, but not from restoration suppliers - look around on here for Olds collectors with stockpiles of parts they want to sell.

... And before anyone says anything, yes, my car is a '73 - I bought it because it was dirt cheap, in spite of the fact that I think it is crappy and overwrought. I am having fun with it, but I do not consider it to be collectible or any kind of a "classic" - I just see it as an old beat-up car, which is essentially expendable in the service of having a good time.
In the future, when I've got better funds and storage, you'd better believe I'll be getting an earlier car and treating it better.

- Eric

 

Web site for our years
www.73-77olds.com
Register and place a wanted ad
BTW, I have body panels from a 73 that are the same in 75
Joe

 

In the late 80's I had a completely original, totally rust free '73 Cutlass. I bought it for 1200.00 off a used car lot here in Dallas - was triple black, swivel bucket seats with console, 350 4V with the N10 dual exhaust, power door locks but manual windows - seemed to me to be a unusually optioned car. I thought the lines on those cars were awesome, (unless it was a 4 door), but it felt "heavy" driving it, and it seemed to have a lot of squeaks/groans/rattles going down the road.

 

Thanks for all the replys, lots of animosity for those model years apparently! I've already registered at the 73-77 site, doesn't seem to be a lot of activity. The car we have is rather rattlely but it will be fun to fix up I think. I do love the lines on the 73 through the 75. The scalloping on the sides gives its some very good lines I think. I would be interested in talking about those body panel! Thanks Terry

 

I learned to drive in a'73 (Mom's) - I thought that the car was cool! I have always liked the lines. I just liked the '70 - '72 more. My brother had a nice '76. As far as quality goes, both were wel built and trouble free. I just think that they are not as popular, but have noticed increasing interest in them. They are currently very affordable.

 

Look at the sales numbers, and the 73-77 Cutlass models dwarfed the previous years handily. The big complaint about them is that they are heavy due to EPA mandated crash bumpers, and suffered the smog era depowering. Also, where the 70-72 cars are cheetah like in looks, the 73-77 would be more like a lion. Bigger, stronger, but not as agile.

With that all said, I'll quote Doc Watson when he said " in my opinion, the 73-77 cars were the best driving cars". They are more docile than the early cars, and usually have better suspensions. And compared to the G bodies, they just float down the road. If you do a 12 hour drive in your 75, you'll be much happier than the guy in the 72. Quality of build is just as good as other years. GMs big mistake was using a foam filler between the quarters and the outer wheel well. It held the moisture. Parts are the Achilles heal of ownership though. Lots are available thanks to the huge production numbers. NOS trickles out, but used is more likely to be a reliable source. Maybe after they make every part of a 68-72 Cutlass, they'll start to look at our years.

73 H/O
74 H/O
75 H/O
75 Salon

 

IMO the '73 Supreme was the best looking of the "Colonnade" A-bodies...kinda deep in acquiring cars at present but wouldn't mind finding a clean one...

 

I had a 73,74,76 and 77, all with the 350 engines. As waas stated they were the best driving and towing cars for the money. Great looks but didn't last in the Mich weather. My bumpers rusted off so fast on the 76 that they were replaced twice. After the rusting issues it took me years to go back to a GM car. I like the 70-72 body style the best, but second is the 74.

 

Just a note, I had 2 1974 olds cutlass cars. both were pretty good cars and yes they were heavy. The 350 rocket was ok but a 455 would have been great. one big problem i had was the door hinges because the doors were big and heavy. have fun with your new toy...

 

As long as it really is pink, it has something going for it I kinda agree with you on the post '72 cars

 

Hey guys, i have a 76 cutlass and it turns heads at every car show I attend.

http://v8cars.hu/73-77cutlassregistr...=4f514d66ca1d8

http://v8cars.hu/7377images/4f514d66d1736.jpg

 

A friend of mine had a 74 that he junked in the late 80's. I had a HD push bar on my pick up and he asked if I would push him to the local junk yard. I had a hoot of a time bashing into the rear bumper as I pushed him down the road-probably 4 or 5 miles.
When we arrived we had a huge laugh as the damage was hardly noticible--I will never forget it. If I was to hit some one today the way I was bashing this car, the car would be totalled.

 

I used to own a triple black 74 Monte Carlo and I thought that it was one of the best designs that GM ever came up with. Didn't run worth a damn, but it looked good!! I really liked the GM cars of that era.

 

My favorite is a 73 Cutlass "S", 442 or H/O. It's a beautiful body style. They ride and handle way better then the older ones and look classier doing it. I'de put a 73 "V" code up against a comparible early model any day.