Hi All,

I'm not sure what the available color combinations were in in '71 for a Cutlass convertible, but I have a viking blue w/ black interior and top. Looking to add an OAI hood and really like the look of a third color to make it pop. In my case I was leaning towards white, but wanted to check here first to see a) could that combination be ordered? and b) I've never owned a vert before, so it is customary to match hood stripes to the top color?

Looking for facts and opinions cause I keep going back and forth on a daily basis between planning to do white or black stripes.

Thanks,
Bill

Ps: The 442 that won Muscle Car of the Year on Hemmings Muscle mag has white as the third color and I LOVE it, but that's on a hardtop of course.

 

i think the black stripes on a fairly dark car will be lost. the white would stand out really nice if thats what your going for.

 

I think the same. Black stripes would virtually disappear against the darker blue. They might also be overpowering combined with a black interior and top.

 

I agree guys...the white would really make it pop and balance out the black.

Thanks

 

Was an OAI (W25) hood available on a '71 Cutlass (convertible or other)?

 

Yes - 99% sure it was.

 

i thought that was a 442 option only. ive never seen a cutlass, supreme, "s" or f-85 with a factory ram air hood.

 

What about an SX?

 

forgot about those but im sure they had flat hoods. the idea with the sx's was to make them less flashy to get around the insurance premiums but still have the 442 power.

 

white is right.... do it

 

According to the ordering specs, you could not get the W25 hood on the f85 (it was a 4 door), plain Cutlass (3277) or Cutlass Supreme Hardtop (4257).

The W25 is listed as an option for the Cutlass S. OAI hood came automatically with the W30 option for the 442 models along with several other nice goodies. The standard engine for all 71 442s was the 455. The guide also indicates that the 442 was available in 71 only as the 4487 and 4467 models (Cutlass S and CS vert body styles) The rear deck spoiler was only offered on the hardtop coupe. A true 442 in 71 will have a VIN that starts out 34467 or 34487

As far as colors? With Viking Blue and black interior white does work, but have you considered Sterling Silver as the third color?

 

All 71 SX's had the 455/400's and 'flat' hoods from factory. The SX package was only available on the CS line. It did include the dual cutout bumper and trumpet exhausts. (see option Y79).

 

[QUOTE=Allan R;474872]According to the ordering specs, you could not get the W25 hood on the f85 (it was a 4 door), plain Cutlass (3277) or Cutlass Supreme Hardtop (4257).

are you sure all f-85's where four doors? i know ive seen '68 and '70 f-85's that were post coupe cars.

 

Yes, you would have seen them for those years. Same as you would see a 72 Cutlass S post coupe. But in 71 the models were slightly different line ups. Have a look: http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...SPECS__Dec.pdf

 

I have been thinking maybe viking blue with darker blue stripes... a bit more subtle than white... Going to do a white with blue interior... White top

 

EDIT: I should be a little more specific. In 1971 the f85 nameplate was relegated to the 3200 series entry sedans. The coupes were a different model and line that was differentiated by the nameplate 'Cutlass'.

In 1972 the f85 nameplate was dropped entirely in favor of just 'Cutlass'. So a Cutlass sedan (not CS sedan) and Cutlass Coupe were the entry levels whereas in previous years the f85 had been.

And for all model years you could definitely get the post coupes in their appropriate model line ups. I would suggest that many cars have been cloned over the years to be what their owners wanted, and may not be technically correct representations of the factory production models.

 

@tenmidgets, my car is nearly identical to yours. Mines a 70 and has the light blue interior. I also want to get an OAI hood for mine. I like Allens idea to go with the silver but the white would be cool too. Could someone help me out with a place to find one of those hoods for sale? I have done some searching and can't seem to find one for much less than $2500. I was hoping there is a place to get one for less, I realize you get what you pay for but I don't care if mine is a factory original. A nice aftermarket would be fine. Thanks

 

I have a factory '70 OAI hood, it is off of a Rallye 350. It needs a little metal work at the front & a little fiberglass work in the same area. I don't have pictures right now, but I might be able to get some in the next few days. I'm in Indianapolis & I'd like to get $1400.00 for it.
Scott

 

from what i hear, Thorton makes the best reproduction olds ram air hoods around. not sure of pricing, and i know they stopped making them for a while but i think they are making them again.

 

Hey Finn - our cars are very similar! In fact, my car originally had a blue interior like yours but was changed to black. Yours looks to be in great shape and I agree an OAI hood would look fantastic.

Silver stripes are very intriguing...think it may give it a resto-mod vibe since I don't recall seeing any silver stripes from the factory, but still like the idea. And white gives it a more stock classic look imo.

As for the hoods, Thornton produces reproductions that are better than the originals. Like you said, you pay for it but it can save you money from a body shop having to fit a cheaper hood to the car.

The experts can give more information, but I have searched here and found suppliers like fiberglass concepts, tamraz etc. that are less expensive. I've decided to go with a thornton product once I have the cash...could be awhile.

 

@oldspackrat thanks for the heads up. It will be a while before I can afford one even at that price. Right now I am putting my money into rebuilding the engine.

@tenmidgets, thanks my car is in great shape. Original owner was a doctor in Alabama. It has never seen a winter. My next project is to rebuild the original engine, and upgrade the drivetrain. Then hopefully get one of those hoods. Thanks to everyone for the tips on the hoods.

 

Bill.

take a look at this for some inspiration and ideas..
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/cl...2-924189.xhtml

 

Both the Tamraz and Parts Place 1970 hoods have the correct metal liner and are less than 1/3 of the Thornton pricing. Not saying you shouldn't buy Thornton, but for the $$ you can do a lot of tweaking with the less expensive hood at the body shop. Even Thorntons hoods aren't perfect - although close; that's just the nature of fibreglass.

May I suggest you talk to Patton Glade (70Post) on this site about the repro vs Thornton hoods? He is an expert especially on 1970 442s and has experience with the PP hoods IIRC.

 

Here's my '72 in its factory combo of Viking Blue, black bucket interior, white stripes on the OAI hood installed in Fremont, CA.

72_442_68_post_lh_fronts_0905-1.jpg

Terry

 

Better yet since your car is a convertible, here's a '72 442 455/M20 ragtop I used to own. It was originally Cameo White, but when I sold it to Troy Thornton, their shop painted it Viking Blue with white stripes.

100_0919.jpg

Terry

 

Looks good Matt, thanks!

Thanks Allan - I'm all for less of a cost, but my car is a '71 so I am not able to leverage some of the additional options available for '70 hoods. Thanks for letting me know about Patton's expertise though, will try to connect with him.

 

Terry - this a real good representation of where I'm at. My top is black and its a Cutlass Supreme so no white sidestripes, but this is the right interior/exterior color combination. I am even putting SSIs on the car this week.

Beautiful car you had, that's for sure! I really like the way the white stripes make the induction hood intakes pop! Blue, white and black is right up my alley...

Thanks,
Bill

 

If the W25 was an option on the Cutlass S and available as a dealer installed option for the 455 on an SX or other 455's, did they all come with the stripes? Or was the stripes only on the 442's?

 

Hey packRat, still have that hood for sale? I am building a 70 ragtop in Ft. Wayne and am looking for one. Do you have the air cleaner to go with it as well?
And Terry, thanks for posting the pic. Other than the color of the top/interior (mines black/blue) that is exactly the end result I am after. Now my wife can picture it......

 

I vote for white.
Remember, the nicest convertibles in the world are blue with white stripes.

 

According to the documents I have from the GM Heritage Center, the W-25 was only installed on 3600- and 4400-series cars. I suppose it's possible that the hood could be dealer-installed but only the accessory catalog could ascertain this.

Stripes in 1971 were available in black, white, gold, blue, or green, so I suppose black, white, or blue would work for a Viking Blue car. There is a chart - probably can be found on the WAC site - that should show what colors were available with what stripes.

 

Sorry to take so long. Far as I know only the 442s came automatically with the stripe package, and the Cutlass S would automatically get special hood painting if you ordered the W25 hood.

If you have an SX that has a W25 hood, chances are someone had it dealer installed or bought it later and added it as a personal choice. To my knowledge, all SX cars were delivered with flat hoods and no special paint packages there.

 

I put on a set of SSI wheels that I acquired recently. After spending a couple of weeks cleaning them up, I think they look even better than the SSIIs I had on there before. Really balances out the black now between the top and the wheels in my opinion.

So now I am thinking I should stick with black stripes on the hood to keep the colors consistent. While I still love the way white looks on viking blue, I think this car's look is best served with some mean looking black stripes!

 

it looks really good with the SSI's..
I think white stripes would really make the Viking Blue pop, but heck you cant go wrong with menacing black stripes either...

 

It's funny...I basically go back and forth everyday on this. White was always my preference and would be the best way to emphasize the hood while mixing up the color combination. Now I just gotta get the damn hood! If anyone sees one out there for sale that fits a '71 I'd appreciate it if you can keep me in mind and let me know.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

 

With the SS1's I would go for black stripes,.

 

Bill, looks good with the SS1's. I ended up getting a Tamraz hood for my car. Not even close to the quality of Troy's, but much cheaper. It isn't terrible quality either. Just some extra bodywork to make it right. I think the company in Penn is fiberglass concepts? They were selling on eBay for a while. I think they wanted $850, which is the hood I really wanted being the Thornton was out of reach. The quality looked very good!

 

My neighbor has a cheapo after market ram air hood and from 5 feet away it looks just fine. And my original hood doesn't look much different when its closed. I'd think twice about a hood from Tamaraz or Parts place as they really do look fine.

I like matching the stripes to the interior but seeing you have a blue car the white will really look good, as others have said it will POP, and black or white interiors go with any color combination. I like the idea of gold stripes too. Black will look fine but just don't stand out on the darker colors.

 

Thanks guys, I will continue to look into the alternatives out there for OAI hoods. The thing I liked about the Thornton product is that it bolts right in to the current springs and locks. I'd like to try to maintain that if possible but you're right, the cost is just so astronomical...

ps: your hoods look fantastic!