Hello to everyone; please forgive my ignorance, as I just joined the forum yesterday and I bought my first ever Olds ('69 Cutlass) less than two weeks ago.
From '68 to '72, are the Cutlass S and Cutlass Supreme the same thing? I've noticed the obvious difference in rear quarter panel design, but I'm not sure which version gets which name. In the ad where I found my car, it was referred to as a Cutlass S. The badge on the glove box door says Cutlass Supreme (could be from a junkyard donor?). My car has the "rounder" rear quarters.
Thanks!

- GoldOlds

 

The Supreme was a different model in the Cutlass line that was a more luxury-oriented car. For 68-69 the Supreme used the same body style as the other Cutlii, but for 70-72 the Supreme got a unique notchback body style. It's easy to tell if the car is a Supreme or not by the VIN, since all Supremes got a unique VIN that starts 342...

 

does the hood extension (the piece that juts down between the grills, yes the one that you will bang you head on eventually) have a trim badge that has the "olds rocket" in it, or does it have a badge with the "S", the supreme has the "rocket". The front fenders on a supreme would only have a badge that says cutlass, the "S" model has a seperate badge underneath the word Cutlass that has an "S". The door panels on a supreme have a badge that says "CS" Also, like Joe said, Supremes have a unique vin #.

Here's some links:
www.fusick.com
www.yearone.com
www.opgi.com

There's plenty of others on the web, look around.

Good Luck
Tom

 

Thanks Joe and Tom! That answers my question; my car is in fact a Cutlass Supreme. I don't know if it's interior options are a rare combination or not, but it seems odd to me that it has a factory console shifter and front buckets, but idiot lights instead of gauges (it has a tach and oil pressure/ water temp/ voltage gauges, but they're obviously aftermarket). In any case, I'm lovin' the car. It looks like the search for my ideal toy has ended (I had an '84 Firebird, '78 Trans Am, '72 Chevelle and then a '79 Corvette before I bought the Cutlass)!

- GoldOlds

 

my interior options are even stranger, I have factory buckets without a console, my shifter is on the steering column. The old days, when ordering a car was like a chinese menu, one from column a, one from column b.... nowadays everything is packaged in trim packs...

Have fun with the car, they're a blast.

 

one more thing, look on the tag under the hood, where was your car made?

 

My Cutlass, like me, is a Canuck. It was built in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada (probably the same plant where the Chevelle I had was built and maybe even the same birthplace of my daily driver - a 2000 Impala LS). It even has the original owner's manual, warranty card and a brouchure entitled "What about those seat belts?" The later is kinda morbid, with drawn pictures of bodies lying on roads in front of crashed cars and such. Sadly, there is no build sheet to be found.

- GoldOlds

 

cool, mines a Canadian too. That means you should have the Chevy 12 bolt rear end. Many more options for parts with that one for sure. Next winter I plan on putting a new posi unit in mine, right now it's a peg leg with 3:73s. It gets poor traction from a dead stop, well, it might get better traction if I kept my foot out of it. LMAO.. Got any photos yet?

 

Actually, in 69 the base configuration for the Cutlass was a bench seat and 3 speed manual trans on the column (when was the last time you saw one of those?). If you ordered an automatic, the shifter was on the column. If you ordered bucket seats, you did not get a console. The console and floor shifter was an extra cost option above these options.

Even weirder was the 442. In 68-69, the base 442 model came with bucket seats and a 3 speed Dearborn (as in Ford toploader) manual trans with Hurst floor shifter. The console was extra. You could also order a bench seat as a credit option (yes, the price went down if you picked this option).

I remember seeing a 68 442 Sport Coupe (post car) with a bench seat and manual 3 spd trans - and absolutely no other options. This had to have been the least expensive 442 you could order in 1968.

 

lmao the least expensive 442 of its time lol

 

Yes, my Cutlass does have a 12 bolt rear end, but the guy I bought it from said it was an OLDS 12 bolt (as far as I understand, it's the durability equivalent of the 8.5" 10 bolt Chevy rear end). The car originally had four wheel power drum brakes, but the fronts are now discs. I was originally looking for a car to benefit from the Chev 454 I've got, but I don't have the heart to put a non-Olds engine in this car. Maybe a 455 or a 425 some day, but for now the 350 rocket stays. Short term plans include headers, an Edelbrock intake and a 670 Holley Street Avenger... and maybe some roller tip rockers. The exhaust is true duals with Flowmasters; appears to be 2.25" inch from front to back. The engine now has HEI ignition. I appreciate a certain degree of factory originality, but the discs and HEI are staying put, as are the aftermarket gauges (I have no faith in idiot lights). I should have some pictures soon, if it ever stops raining...

- GoldOlds