But first, I'll bet you boys though I done gone off and died. For those of you in or out of the know all about my calamities over the last three years, all I can do is tell you a story my grandpa once told me.

There was this comitee that wanted to find the most optimistic person in the world. They got applications from everywhere from Greenland to China.
They finally settled on this backwoods boy from Kentucky. They sent him to New York City, gave him a ticker tape parade and the keys to the city. When asked what he wanted to do first, he said, "visit the Empire State Building. They took him to the top floor to the observation deck. He was admiring the view, leaned out a little too far, and fell off.
And every secretary in every window in every office he passed on the way down heard him say, "So far so good. So far so good. So far so good......"


Well, I hit the concrete more than once but I'm getting to the point where life is just life and I don't feel like God is saying, "Get the red haired guy!"

Hope that didn't offend anyone.


And now to the question....
1971 Cutlass Supreme with a 350, auto, air and a tank of gas...what's the weight? I've found all kinds of answers and I really need it to plan for a truck/trailer rig.

Thanks loads.

C.J.

 

C.J. I don't know the answer your question, but I'm glad to hear your still upright and taking nourishment!!!

Sometimes we have to hold on to the hope that "this too shall pass.... "

John

 

Glad you're back. Curb weight on the car is around 3700 lbs. Figure 4000 lbs to be safe. Shouldn't be a problem for most tow rigs.

 

Good to hear from you.

Norm

 

Sure glad to know you are still around, Red - hope you stay around more, too!!
Curb weight for convertible in my little sales book is 3614, but depends on options. I think 3700 would be closer. Go with 4000 like Joe said and you will be fine. Always better (safer) to prepare for more (being optimistic)...

 

When I weighed my post coupe with a 455, TH400 and a full tank of gas it came in at 3910.

 

:They were still using some decently thick steel on those.

My 80's tin foil mobile is 3585 with 15 gallons in it. 3740 with me added.

 

Good to hear from you! Would you be able to take your car to a local truck scale to weigh it? Do truck scales even sense vehicles that small? Just brainstorming...

 

Man when I saw this thread under the "new posts" search list and saw Texasred as the author I just about jumped out of my seat. It is sure good to have you back with us. So, are you planning a little vacation? Hope all's well for you.

Another possibility for an exact weight would be the local land fill. In my city they weigh every non-commercial vehicle upon entry. Maybe you could arrange a "favor" with the operator.

 

here's how we roll in South Carolina....you might pass me some time and do a double take...literally...Oldsdroptop

 

As someone who towed for years with a 1/2 ton do yourself a favor and get a 3/4 ton. Motor can still be a simple 350 but the suspension and brakes are light years ahead. I will never go back. Now that I have a Diesel I will never go back to gas either but if you are after a budget truck a 3/4 ton OBS 96-99 Chevy /GMC with the Vortec 350 makes a good tow rig cheap.

 

I don't want to sound like an unbeliever here or anything but a good friend recently purchased a new truck to tow a fifth wheel camper he just bought. His 2008 Silverado 1/2 ton was weezing a little under the strain. He bought a 2010 1/2 ton Tundra and is liking it. Apparently the Toyota has a greater tow capacity even though it is rated as a 1/2 ton. Again, passing along some hopefully pertinent information, that's all.

 

If I were in your shoes I would get a 1978 Olds Starfire with the 260 and 5 speed manual transmission for a towing rig. That should do just fine.

 

I'd like to see that too, especially since Olds motors were never factory installed in the H-body Starfires. You could get a Type C 305, but not a 260.

 

The 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton designations are irrelevant and actual capacities vary depending on installed equipment. My "1 ton" truck has a useable payload of about 4,000 lbs. What matters is empty weight, GVW, and for towing, GCVW.

 

I guess that is why there are differences then. My friend indicated that he could buy a new 1/2 ton Chevy but would have to buy an upgrade on some equipment to be able to meet his needs. I think he just got a deal on the Tundra, striking while the iron was hot after the recalls they had and all...
In no way was I suggesting the Tundra was a better truck though.

 

That is even better! He would just have to be careful that he doesn't twist the trailer tounge with the stump pulling torque of the 305!

 

Thanks for all the advise and good words.

I've got to tow it to get painted, to storage and house to wet sand, then put her all together.

Thinking about maybe just a tow dolly off craigslist and sell it when I'm done.

Thanks again, guys.

C.J.

 

I built a 305 on time with around 300hp.
Yeah it was a complete waste of time.
I wish I would have been into Olds back then.

 

Post pics stat!

 

Great to have you back Texasred, Keep us posted on your build and stay in touch.

 

I used my 32 ft gooseneck to haul a 92 crew cab 4 door. The trailer wasn't wide enough to get the 4 rear tires on......and it about smoked my electric winch trying to load it......but I managed to get it to it's destination....I'll bet that thing is somewhere close to 10K. I have dual 7K lb Dexter axles and both are braking axles. I run 8 ft loading ramps for those low riders. I have a 99 Ford F-350 dually with a 6 speed ZF transmission. Its a hoss thats for sure. I never bring a knife to a gun fight. I'd much rather have more than I'm going to need than drag the rear bumper and have lil to no control. I still manage to get around 18 to 20 MPG even as heavy duty as this thing is. Oh yeah BTW I also run WVO with a Veggie Tanks Inc tank so if you see me now you'll smell me later. I have well over 600 gallons of Waste Vegetble oil setting in my upper garage, I also run it in my 81 300SD Merz (greasecar.com kit in it) You can never go wrong with a nice heavy duty diesel it last forever.

 

Cool! I would love to see pics and info on that in a seperate post. I've looked at the grease car website before. I always thought it would be cool to convert an Olds diesel wagon to run on grease / veggie oil.

 

Easier to convert the veggie oil to diesel. Simple reaction, really. And the product can be run in ANY diesel engine.

sb

 

I use a heated oil kit due to the fact you have to be a chemist to produce bio-diesel.... a great website to tell you all about this process is plantdrive.com I have run this setup for around 5 years now which is why I have my own OPEC now. I have about 150 (6 gallons each) full containers of waste vegetable oil. I use 2 seperate 5 gallons plastic barrels. I set 1 barrel on top of the other it has a nylon sock filter that holds around a 2 gallons and half. I fill that sock up and let the vegetable oil gravity feed through the filter into the 5 gallon pail below it. I do this a couple time (works better when warmer) and I have a full pail of ready to use vegetable oil. I use a seperate reuseable hydraulic oil screen filter (Procor) I clean it around once every couple months. I change the manufacturers filter around once a month. I get around 12 to 18 gallons of free fuel a week from local restauants I eat at for lunch when I'm out working. I would highly reccomend a heated oil system over bio-fuel mixed fuel it's just easier to do overall and I'm not a chemist or engineer just a cheap guy with expensive tastes in cars (2 Olds convertibles fully restored are not for the faint of heart or light of wallet!) Whatever you use is going to smell like what was cooked in it. So if you follow me, your going to have a hankering for a chicken sandwich and a side of fries I'm not kidding. You will know if you ever smell a diesel running on something different than diesel. The old merz diesels are the best because tney have bulletproof heads. They are tough as nails too, they use a standard GM delco alternator, starter and air conditioning compressor. Must be why its so easy to work on and bulletproof. Hope this helps you guys understand what WVO and SVO are all about. Oldsdroptop

 

The first part is just not so. The "caustic" chemical in the reaction is Drano. Its quite simple and has a high yield. All the catalysts and byproducts are recoverable.

For the cost of the system on grease cars I could set up enough materials for bio-diesel for quite some time. I'm no chemist either. No mods to the car, and if you have a problem with the cold, additives are available to keep the bio-diesel flowing....which I admit could get to be a pain, but you could use a different base oil in colder months....again could be a pain.

Either way is cool to me, but don't scare people. Making bio-diesel is just not as complicated as people try to make it.

sb

 

Interesting info gents. Sorry to hi-jack your thread CJ.

 

I apologize, this thread did wander far from its original question. Sorry CJ.

Did Oldsdroptop ever start another thread?

I'd like to see the set up you have going. I won't derail the thread.

sb

 

you weigh 155 pounds?

 

I agree with the 3/4 ton truck, but if you want something that can haul anything plus lots of people, go with a 3/4 Suburban. Mine has the Vortec 454 in in with a 4.10 gear and it will tow about anything you need! Even with that gear its not bad on the highway with the overdrive.

 

If you could find one- a 1971 Olds Custom Cruiser with 455 thm400 and the large (over 9 inches) rear axle with about a 3.31 ratio makes an excellent tow vehicle. Weighs about 5000 lbs and has a large stack of leafs holding the rear axle in place.(Also seats 9 people)

 

Umm.....nope. Coil springs.

 

Umm.....nope, rear leaf springs on the '71 Custom Cruiser.
See section 4-1 of the CSM.

 

Hi C.J.

I am new to the forum and will be asking for much advice shortly but am excited to offer advice when I can. For getting your car around as you work on it what about hiring out the towing? In my area there are roll back guys that will transport any place in the county for $25. If you have AAA or towing through your insurance it could be free.

The body shop I used for my Mustang came and got the car from me, transported between their shop and the upholstery shop, then back to me for assembly. This was all part of the deal I made up front with them.
Yep, I said Mustang…. I just finished a 2 year resto of a 68 Mustang. First car I ever got into that far. The reason I am on this forum is because I will be getting my Grandfather’s 68 Cutlass 4 door in a few weeks. Can’t wait to tear into that!
Good luck! Life can only get you down if you let it.
Steve

 

Oh wait....that's the big car isn't it. I had thought Olds wasn't using leafs at that point. Learn something new every day.

 

All 1971-76 "B" body wagons had leafs and a longer wheelbase. The "B", "C",and "D"(limo) body 4dr,2dr,conv/sedan/hardtops came with coil springs.The "A" bodies, regardless of body style had coils all around. And of coarse the "X" body (Omega) had leafs in the rear.Always liked the big 70's wagons,hard to find now because they were all used up in demolition derbies.