Hey guys i'm new to this site, I have a 1976 cutlass salon, with t-tops, and a factory 5 speed, can anyone tell me about it, is it worth fixing up? thanks, Chris.

 

No car is worth fixing up if your intent is to recover what you spent on it when you sell it. This is one of the oldest maxims in the old car hobby.

But that's probably not really what your question is.

The post-'72 A-body Oldsmobiles are much different from the earlier years in terms of support in the aftermarket, of which there is very little, I believe, and general interest amongst Oldsmobile enthusiasts.

Having said this, though, these cars do have a siginficant following, and I personally think that the last two years of this body style ('76 and '77) were some of the most attractive Cutlasses ever made.

Fix it up if it's a good core to begin with and because you want to drive and enjoy it.

Not to drive you away from this site, but there is another forum/site that is specifically targeted to your car's era. The '73-'77 Oldsmobile forum has lots of guys who are interested in and working specifically on cars like yours. I suggest you join that forum, too, and if you have specific parts needs, post them there as well as here. Those guys are always helping each other find parts.

http://www.73-77olds.com/

Your car is one of 48,440 Cutlass Salon 2-doors made that year. Base engine was a 260 V-8 with the 350 and 455 available as options. Base price for the car was $4,890.


As others will certainly say, please post photos!

 

However with the 5speed manual it makes it a little more unique. If you like it I say go for it.

 

76 Salon with a 5 speed and Hurst Hatch tops is fairly rare. It would have come with a 260 V8 as it was the only engine available with the 5 speed. All of the 5 speeds I've seen don't have a console. I know the Salon package would have the Salon specific buckets with a console, do they delete the console when you get the 5 speed? Interesting. Does your car have a center console? It would be great to see some pictures of it. As mentioned previously it would cool if you joined over at www.73-77olds.com Plus put your car in the registry. http://v8cars.hu/73-77cutlassregistry/
If it is worth fixing up depends on it's current condition, hard to say with out pictures.

 

I and a friend of mine had matching 76 Cutlass Salons in brown. Both came with 350's and I've never seen one in person with the T-Tops.
The 5 speed means the dreaded 260 came in it from the factory and anything more than that would most likely kill the trans in short order.
Post up some pics for us to check out please.

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