tj78_

So whats the deal with Post cars?
I just went to look at a car today and thought it was the regular hardtop but it ended up being a post car.

What is the general opinion of them/story behind them?
rare? more or less desireable?
I think im leaning toward wanting the standard non-post car but both look sweet. What else differentiates them besides the door glass frame and presence of a B-Pillar?

This one was a 71 Cutlass. Needed fender and quarter patches. trunk metal was mint. it looked like the skins only were damaged. there was general past patchwork around the car. the frame under the rocker seemed weak. What is the guage here? It seemed bent down slightly and had a good amount of surface rust. it felt like 18 or 20 ga steel where I would have expected 14. It was like I could have bent it by hand if I wanted..

Of course then the guy showed me two other olds in his garage- one of which was a 1970 442 post car. beautiful.

svnt442

Well I have a hard top 1970 442 and I used to own a post 1970 Cutlass S. I like them both. The only thing that was a bit odd to me was the position of the outside mirror due to the wing window. It has to be set back further on the door or you can't see it. The only thing you really have to look out for is the window frames rotting at the base. I have seen a few of them where the frame will flop around. A lot of that is caused by closing the door by grabbing the frame. Over time it just fatigues the metal and it just loosens up.

On the standard hard top I love having the large opening with the widows down. That's just too cool.

tj78_

I looked at some underbody pics yesterday and in the area i looked at it is definitely boxed. unless I'm not remembering it strait, I think this car may have some serious frame damage.

I think the window frames were good.

I think he made a comment that post cars were marginally lighter?

He gave me the feeling that this car was relatively rare because it was an all original post car. true?

( of course he's prob on this forum and reading this post lol)

whether i get tis car or not, i want to keep him as a resource cause he seems to know is stuff and is an olds fanatic... i guess he finds and restores one every other winter or so.

Tj

svnt442

Post cars are rarer for sure and I do beleive they are a tad lighter. What that does to the value? Dunno.

wmachine

Post cars are more basic models. AKA "sedans", as opposed to "hardtops". The pillar-less look of the hardtop has always been more popular. And more costly, as it take more structure (and cost) to add support elsewhere to try to make up for the structural support of the pillars. Same with convertibles. Because of this, it is interesting that that the more metal you see, the lighter the car: Post cars are the lightest, then hardtops, and then the heavyweights, the convertibles are the heaviest!
So the post cars are the least expensive and thus *usually* are less optioned. And the used car/collector car values are virtually always less for the post cars.
But:
Since post cars are lighter, they are are more often more valued as high performance cars. Its a simple fact that identically equipped, a post car is quicker than its hardtop brother. But that still didn't keep hardtops from outselling posters. By a wide margin too. So post cars are definitely more rare. And it is quite debatable as to whether or not a high performance hardtop is really worth more than a post version.

The car you looked at had to be a Cutlass S. In '71, Olds was not too kind to the post cars. No 442 post car for '71 (though it returned in '72). The only 2-dr post model in the F85 lineup in '71 was the Cutlass S Sports Coupe.

tj78_

Thanks for all that info.
I think I'm partial to the hardtop, but the rarity of the post car draws me a bit too..

How much of a weight difference are we talking? I imagine its not too much..
Im assuming the reinforcements on the hardtop are adequate and there isn't a large difference in body flex between the two? of course its a full frame car anyway...

any idea what I could have been looking at on the frame? i swear it was an inward facing c channel with the lower leg bent toward the ground slightly. it seemed weak. could i have mistaken some rocker panel? the pics i have seen show a fully boxed frame under or slightly behind the door...

70 cutlass s

I'll give you a tip when looking for a project car. A common place for rust is around the front and rear glass. If the trim looks loose chances are the clips and studs that holds it on has rusted away, with the metal behind it. You can spend more time fixing these areas then it takes to fix the rust in the rest of the car.

Sorry to go off topic, but since your looking for a project I thought I would give some advice that would help when looking for a car.

jaunty75

You're right, it's not. According to Setting the Pace, a 1971 Cutlass S Sports Coupe (2-door post) weighed 3,550 lbs. The Cutlass S Hardtop Coupe was 3,661 lbs, or 111 lbs heavier. That's just a 3.1% increase, though, but weight is weight.

tj78_

I absolutely appreciate the advice. I've heard of this being an issue but didn't think of the way to check and didn't know they were that much more difficult to fix than the other problem areas. fenders/quarters etc.
i guess i figured since they were not visible surfaces, they wouldn't be as bad to fix because appearance isn't important...

Is the hardtop 3661? typo? i know these cars are heavier than the c4 vette I'm coming from, but i guess I'm slightly surprised because I though it would be a larger difference. IDK why but i thought they were pushing 4000. I think the vette is 3250 or so..its like having another 2 guys in the car with you I guess.. lol

jaunty75

Yes, that's a typo. It's 3,661 lbs for the hardtop. I've fixed it. Thank you.

orange442

If you don't mind me asking, what is he asking for this car and what part of the country are you in? Do you have any pics? I ask because I have a very solid 70 F-85 post that I may sell and would like to compare notes, thanks.

4speedBench

My 68 is a post car and that was part of the reason I bought it...a bit more unusual and that they were preferred by the racers (all brands) back in the day.

However, like all things car related, it really comes down to whether it floats your boat or not.

Good luck

tj78_

not sure what his bottom line was. all i know is that he had a reserve on an auction and it didn't sell for 3500. didn't ask outright because I'm not at a point where i can purchase without my c4 gone. gotta either trade or look at low price cars only.