Anyone know as to why some 76 Cutlass's have an angled grill and some have a straight grill? Is the "S" the one with the angle and the Supreme with the straight? I've seen 76 442's with the angle but someone listed one on another site that wasn't a 442, or at least it didn't have any markings. I guess they could have changed the header panel.

I always thought the 442's in 76 where the only ones with the angled grill.

 

I had a Salon and a friend of mine had a Supreme....same grill.
I'm almost positive the angled grill was only on the 442, but I could be wrong.

 

There is at least one non-442 version with the angled grille. I was run over by one while bicycling back in 1988 and I will never forget being a hood ornament above that grille...

 

In 1976, Supremes, Salons, and wagons got the squared off grill, the Cutlass S got the sloped grill. Just different styling for different models.

 

I always liked the look of the sloped grille. It just looked sportier to me. My sister had a '77 model four-door Cutlass with the sloped grille, which was its most appealing feature. Otherwise, it was a pretty boring, no-frills car.

 

I've always been a Supreme guy but that 76' S is a sweet looking ride.

 

No shame in owning either IMHO.

Pat

 

This is an ancient thread I know but I have been meaning to find out the answer to this question for awhile now. I owned two 1976 Cutlass S models and both did NOT have the fast back grill or the triangle shaped back window. They had the opera window and half vinyl top. Both I bought used from two separate owners in 1990. I don't have the VINs but I do have pictures showing the door emblems of "Cutlass S" Any idea's?

 

My dad was a district sales manager for Oldsmobile when those cars were new, and If I recall correctly, the angled grille and triangular rear side windows were peculiar to the Cutlass S, and shared with the 442, which was based on the Cutlass S. The more upscale Cutlass Supreme and Salon used the more formal opera window roofline, as did the Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Gran Prix, and Buick Regal. The triangular window variant was used for the Chevy Chevelle/Malibu, Pontiac LeMans, and Buick Special.

All of the station wagons, still curiously called Vista Cruisers, although they no longer had any glass in the roof, used the square Cutlass Supreme grille, while the four-door sedans got either grille, depending on the trim level. If the car carried the Cutlass Supreme badging, it got the square grille, while those badged simply as a Cutlass got the sloped grille.

All that said, I'm not sure why yours would have had the Cutlass Supreme grille and roofline on the Cutlass S, but reading the (marginally reliable) Wikipedia page on the Cutlass Supreme offers some clues. Apparently, the Cutlass S got the Cutlass Supreme roofline and grille for 1977, and only the 442 retained the sloped grille and triangular window roofline. It is entirely possible that this may have been implemented as a running change, late in the 1976 production run.

 

Without the VIN, we have no idea what that car was. Emblems can be added with double-sided tape.

 

There are some dealership created oddities in that era... as well as of course, put together cars with random parts after passing through several owners hands, etc ...

Factory correct the 76 S as well as the 76 and 77 442s must have the slanted nose.

Interesting.

 

Thanks for this info. That would make sense and could only be verified if I had the VINs to know when they were made. Even though it's not proof one of them did have the owners manual and it had the bicentennial graphics for the 1976 model year. Paperwork is long gone. I contacted the DOT here in Pennsylvania hoping they would retain some record of the vehicles registered by a person but no such luck.

 

Yeah, I understand that. Paperwork is long gone. Plus I find it hard to believe the two different vehicles from completely different former owners would have changed the emblems.

 

Automakers do not randomly make "running changes" without a paper trail, despite what sellers of one-of-none cars try to claim. Having said that, here's the paper trail. It wasn't a "running change", it's part of the Y76 regional special package. Note in the parts book that the 1976 Y76 cars do not get the sloped nose of other AG37 cars. Header panel 22504389 is the "squared off" header used on the Supremes.

 

Please read red highlighted area.

Dealership hodgepodge.

 

Accurate assessment.

 

Don't forget get about the regional Y-79 option packages. Different grill (these are not 77 supreme grills), chrome sport mirror, S sloped flat rear window with the side opera windows.

 

That's RPO Y76. as I noted above.

 

Yes, dealers--and groups of dealers--could get quite creative with limited edition models. All that was really needed was a popular option package and a custom decal or badging. While he was working for Oldsmobile, my dad was in on a number of these campaigns. One of my favorites was the "Carolina Cutlass," which used light blue and white (for fans of the UNC Tarheels) and red and white (for N.C. State Wolfpack supporters) color schemes with "Carolina Cutlass" decals on the doors and trunk lids. In other instances, dealers would add options not available from the factory, such as when Oldsmobile declined to offer an option for woodgrain on 1991-92 Custom Cruiser station wagons. More than one Olds dealer offered it as a dealer installed option by ordering woodgrain trim kits intended for, essentially identical, Buick Roadmaster wagons.

 

You all are missing the point of the Y76 package. It was developed (by OLDSMOBILE) specifically for the dealers to add stick-on badges to make regional "special editions". The base car was the same in every case, only the stick-on badges were different. I suggest you all take a look at this website. These weren't dealers pulling something out of their butt, it was a factory-authorized program. As I noted above, the factory parts book specifically calls this out - not something you'd see for a dealership special. Let's please reign in the truth decay.

 

I'm not sure we are Joe. We are just looking at it from a different perspective. The fact that Oldsmobile created an option thats ends up confusing their own models identities is bizarre to me. It strikes as trying to outsell what was already the best selling car in the USA with a cheap sales gimmick. Presenting the illusion that the car (I cant even use the word "model" here because those very lines are blurred.) is more special than it actually is. Or more uniquely valuable.

We touched on a similar subject in 2020. https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...lass-s-148403/

Metal panels were welded on the S discussed in that thread to alter the appearance of the factory quarter windows.

 

Ignoring all of the model nomenclature noise, one thing is clear: '70's styling sucked. Doesn't matter to me what they're called or whether the grille was vertical or angled. I know these things sold in huge numbers but that don't make them pretty.