InfoJunkie

Can anyone tell me how many 1970 F85/Cutlass built by GM have not been cloned into a 442, W30 or W31.

jaunty75

Nobody keeps records like this. This is personal thing. It would be like asking how many 1970 Cutlass owners hang fuzzy dice from the rearview mirror. No one "reports in" to any centralized database after they've done the cloning.

Olds built about 250,000 A-body cars that weren't orginally 442s in 1970. It's anybody's guess how many of those that survive to today have been made into a 442 clone.

Bluevista

How many Gen 2 Vista Cruisers are there left that don't have OAI hoods and Rally wheels??
I have a '68 GTO and I think there are more around now than when they were built.

I often thought that documented "real" cars should have a grill badge with a serial number issued by some central authority that signifies that the car is an official whatever it should be and was from the start. Then everybody would know the real score, nothing wrong with clones but having an authentic car should count for something.
Or by federal law all clones should have to say "CLONE" in clearly legible block letters of a contrasting color to the body not less than 4 inches or more than 12 inches high on each quarter panel.
The only problem with the badges is that somebody would clone those too.
Have to be made out of solid gold encrusted with diamonds so it would be too expensive to copy.

InfoJunkie

That would drive the price of clones sky high and people would start changing the real deal into clones so they could get the big dollars for them. If cloning is not about the money why would you make one? If everyone did it would make these limited production cars just a common vehicle with no intrest appeal.

Indy_68_S

Hehe...

That's why I'm rebuilding a lowly Cutlass. By the time I get done, the only '68 Olds A bodies still around will all be 442s (& prolly W cars)....thus making mine rarer and more valuable!

oldzzy

I am making one because i like the looks of them (hood, stripes, wing). To buy a real W car is very expensive, and i couldn't afford one when i bought my Cutlass. I don't plan on selling my car when finished, so for me it's definitely not about the monetary value. I also plan on switching it from an auto to a manual trans like a 5 or 6 speed, so if i had a real W car then people would bash me for doing that. Basically i am building the car how I like it, and not for someone else. Since when did this site become all about bashing what other people are doing to their own cars? Every day when i come to this site there seems to be another thread with someone who is mad about what someone else is doing to their car.

Oldsmaniac

Along the same lines its going to be rare to see a 4door Cutlass or 88. Now a-days its hard to find a 66 442 without 3 2's!

442much

Years ago, I had the chance to buy a 1969 Hurst. I looked the car over, it was pricey but it was mint and all original. Then I thought what will I do with the car? It's so nice that a lot of the money spent on buying the car will be lost if I change the radio, rack up the miles etc. So I thought, I don't want to spend this much only to have a two ton paperweight.

I love driving my cars. So I came to the conclusion, if I want one I'll buy a 69 Cutlass and clone it. Not the details like plate (which is illegal) but just the looks. I can pop in after market radio(in the glove box) and modern speakers, I can drive it cross country adding to the miles, change out a cracked windshield without worrying about date codes bla, bla, bla and if someone hits me, it's not an original car, I didn't pay all that much anyway, I'm having fun and insurance will fix it to where I can drive it again.

Of course anyone cloning a car and trying to pass it off as an original should go directly to jail and not pass go.

agpilot442

I agree my 68 Cutlass S will stay a Cutlass S
I have no problem with cloning 442s It is the only way a low buck do it your selfer can afford a 442 there is not enough real ones for eveyone to have the real deal.
But there is nothing wrong with a nice 4 door or wagon they are all Olsmobiles.

Destructor

I'd rather build upon the car I've got and keep the original Cutlass S badges.

Aceshigh

Well my friend, you and I share the same philosophy.
My 1970 Cutlass S is a rebadged 442 clone with an OAI hood, wing, and custom stripes.
My car will exceed the 442 OEM specifications on performance all around.

I give a rats *** what anyone else thinks. My Uncle wanted it this way, and he made it that way.
I liked it ALOT so I bought it off him.

You own the car, no one else does. So do what YOU want with it.

Since I've been a member I've noticed this myself.
This isn't directed at anyone specifically here, just a general observation I've seen across a few forums.


Not true at all.
Cloning has been happening for quite a few decades now.
You still see authentic VIN verified vehicles selling for far more then any clone.

We just went to Volo Museum Sunday and SEVERAL clones including a 1970 Chevelle SS clone were
under $25,000. If that was a real SS it would be a few x that in price. Not everyone creates a clone
to sell it fraudulently. Most people create them to generate more interest in their car because a
regular Cutlass just plain and simply isn't as cool LOOKING as a 442 is.

Lets face facts here, we know that's true, and denial is plain and simply just someone in denial.
Of course there's shady car salesman who lie to line their pockets.......it's a given, so being educated as a consumer is key.

BTW that image above was not intended for you, so I'm clarifying that so there's no misunderstanding.
That's more for the numerous other hater's I've seen ******* people on here for no reason.

droptopron

This is my car now. Not badged a 442 but it has the hood & the stripes but still says Cutlass on the fender. I also added the back bumper with the cut outs & the trum,pets. My friends bust on me & call it a clone. If I ever got the whole car redone I most likely would clone it.
401.jpg
This is my car when I bought it. Which would you rather have?
Cutlass70Front.jpg
Personally, i like it a lot more now. Its your car you have to do it your way. To each his own.

442much

I like the way you have it now. Not saying it wasn't nice in its original form, just saying the way it is now is my preference. Heck, at least your hood could have been ordered with your car. I still have my original hood in case I want to go back to original, but for now I'm having fun...and isn't that what the hobby is all about?

body 51

i love the oai hood on the cutlass

J-(Chicago)

Breast implants.
Some people like them, some people don't.

Analogous to this situation.