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Here's an "interesting" ebay ad. The car appears to be a legit 1979 H/O. Seller claims it's a 350. Has correct dual gate, etc. The VIN, however, is listed as 3k47f9m562834. An "F" in the fifth position signifies an Olds 260 motor. Just sayin'.
Everything looks like an H/O. Except that F. Good catch. Wish they'd post a pic of the VIN tag.
A VIN tag pic could clear it up. When I went to retitle my then-new-to-me 69 H/O, I was a total dumbazz for not verifying the Kansas title that had every number correct on the VIN except that "H" that they put in there instead of the "M" before I bought it. I saw the last 6 matched and I was good with it. First I had to convince DMV that in 1969 there was no A-body built in a plant with an "H" code, and what are the odds that every other number/letter matched? After that, I had to go get the car and drive it to the DMV office so they could verify the actual VIN had an "M" in it. It kinda does look like an "H" if you just glance at it, to be fair. After she personally verified the "M", she gave me my new title and got that issue resolved. She noted the emblems on the car and I gave her a brief synopsis as to what a Hurst/Olds was. I told her technically it was an Olds 442. She issued the title as MAKE: Olds MODEL: Hurst. Maybe she was going on what she personally saw? Ok, whatever.
Still, typo or not, be careful. If my 69 title VIN had an errant build plant code that was plausible, I'm not sure if I'd have ever been able to convince them it was a typo.
DMV people get irritated when they have to think. They don't like to think, it gets them in trouble. Their job is a closed system "get this...do that" so any deviation is met with annoyance. Guess best thing to do is ask for cowl tage pic, vin tag pic, engine castings pic, so that you don't seem like you are going after the vin obviously.
Perhaps the saboteur Dr. Smith penned the very brief ambiguous description...
“Oldsmobile Cutlass . 350 rocket.
Rare model with t-tops
Runs and drives perfect!”
Every time I see a pic of Bill Mumy I always think of his stupid Dr. Dimento song -- Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads--
Another fun fact...actor Bill Paxton was in the video version of the Fish Heads song. He'd do just about anything back then. Bill Paxton also shares the distinction of one of only TWO actors ever to have been killed by a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator, the three most-deadly on-screen villains of that era. (Lance Henrikson was the other.)
Every time I see a pic of Bill Mumy I always think of his stupid Dr. Dimento song -- Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads--
Another fun fact...actor Bill Paxton was in the video version of the Fish Heads song. He'd do just about anything back then. Bill Paxton also shares the distinction of one of only TWO actors ever to have been killed by a Terminator, an Alien, and a Predator, the three most-deadly on-screen villains of that era. (Lance Henrikson was the other.)
Great trivia, but when I look at that photo all I see is Penny and Judy Robinson
Edit - Sorry to hijack your thread Joe, but my comment somewhat relates to the title so I guess I’m OK.
Back to the car, there are more than a few curiosities - for instance the seller is new to eBay as of 2020 with no feedback - both red flags. Minimal description with no contact phone number, most legitimate sellers welcome phone/text inquiries from possible buyers. Yes I know we all have to start somewhere, but with no photos of the engine, trunk or doors open it’s quite possible someone walked up, took a few photos and threw it on eBay - not much to indicate the owner is the poster.
Certainly this could be legitimate, but as a 20 year buyer and seller on eBay - jet skis, boats, cars, vintage electronics - there are some issues here to sort out. As always buyer beware.
If it's legit, it appears to be a clean and rust-free example probably worth further inspection. Reserve not met probably means he wants 10K or so. Which it ain't worth that, IMO. Not to me anyway. I could maybe see 5K or thereabouts, but that's it. At almost 100K miles, that's still a lot of miles on those late A-bodies.
But you really got to want a 79 H/O to dole out a sizeable sum. Granted, they didn't make that many. They didn't have to go to an upfitter or anything so for some, the weight of the pedigree isn't quite as strong. It may not matter for some, but to others it might. You do you.
The F is right under the R on the keyboard, maybe typing error
True, but being that that R is absolutely everything with regards to a 79 H/O it must be addressed....
Originally Posted by vCode442
Great trivia, but when I look at that photo all I see is Penny and Judy Robinson
Thanks for the pic, instantly transported me back to my childhood. Penny was one of the first girls I probably fell in love with without even knowing it. Followed by Batgirl. You could tell by the Batman intro if she was on or not. Whenever she popped up I was mesmerized. While being too young to really know why.
Here's an "interesting" ebay ad. The car appears to be a legit 1979 H/O. Seller claims it's a 350. Has correct dual gate, etc. The VIN, however, is listed as 3k47f9m562834. An "F" in the fifth position signifies an Olds 260 motor. Just sayin'.
Welcome. The whole point of this thread is that you don't need a page of "spotter tips", you just need to know the one letter for the engine code in the VIN.
