I had a chance to stop by my parents house where my Cutlass resides. I took some pics and wrote down the vin so some of you guys could possibly decode and tell me a little something about the car. The vin is 342878m167586. From what I found out is that the M means Lansing, Michigan but dont know too much more. Also, I just wanted to make sure that this is in fact a 68' Cutlass Supreme.

Also, I looked at the stamping near the water pump. It had the numbers 395558 2. From what I looked into, that was the same stamping from 1968-1976. Where exactly do I look for the engine code? Just wanted to see if they were matching numbers.

And attached are the pics. The car has been sitting for 10 years, but will soon be revived. Im aware that some of the badges arent correct and the car has been repainted. I had a questions about an air nozzle behind the license plate holder on the rear bumper. I know it raises the rear end but was this a factory option??? Also, I have this dual snorkel air cleaner that came with the car. Also, there are 2 scoops underneath the front bumper. Was this another option??? Could this be a W31??? Any help will be much apprectiated. TIA.

 

Yes, you have a Cutlass Supreme Holiday Coupe. The scoops and air cleaner are W31 issue, but could have been added. There is no way without documentation to confirm that it is a W31. There are some ways, like certain build dates, to confirm that it isn't.

 

The nozzle behind the rear license plate is for air shocks. I don't know if they ever came from the factory with them, but in years past they were popular and that location for the fill valve is common. "Back in the olden days... when some of us were in high school... you wern't cool unless the rear bumper was at least 3 feet higher than the front!" A lot of these cars had air shocks added to them. John

 

The 68 wasn't actually labeled a W31 but a RAM-ROD. It's the same engine with a different label.

 

Air shocks were in fact a factory option in 1968, but the air lines would have been metal on a factory Delco Superlifts installation. Aftermarket (Gabriel Hi-Jackers were the most common) or dealer installed Delco Superlifts would have had plastic tubing. The fill valve is in correct location- the bumper had a dimple and hole behind the license plate for it. The ring around the fill valve will say "Maintain minimum 15 psi air pressure unloaded".

 

Note that the 350 emblems on the fenders are not factory original. They appear to be from a Pontiac.

 

It has a power brake booster and what appears to be the remenants of A/C, neither of which were avaiable on a W31.

 

Thought that "350" emblem looked funky. Yeah, I remember when I put on my Gabriel "Hijackers" on my '70 SX. Sacrificed handling, but at least it looked "cool".

 

Nice... I was pretty sure thats what it was. When I tear up the carpet, hopefully I find the build sheet...

haha nice... yeah last time I filled it up, it would lose pressure in about a day... definitely a leak somewhere...

yeah i was fairly sure that it wasnt... especially since I looked it up and there were only 38 made that year... kind of disappointing, but then again this wont make me feel bad when I customize it to my liking instead of technically destroying a rare piece of history...

I was almost 100% certain that the 350 was not original... Im sure the previous owner just wanted to showoff that he had a 350... Im pretty sure the CS emblem goes under the Cutlass script...

Still couldnt find the engine code... which side is the #1 spark plug on if looking at the engine from the front of the car???

Also, just wanted to thank everyone for there responses... The car forum is by far one of the most helpful and welcoming ones that ive been a part of...

 

Driver's side front plug. The VIN derivative stamp is often covered by the power steering pump bracket - as well as years of crud.

 

nice... ill try and see if i can find it when i get home...