gearhead1218

For me, it was 1984 when I got mine the first time.
I wanted a hot car. My mother said she would match my money dollar for dollar. I had two grand so I started looking. It came down to two cars. A Marina Blue SS396 Chevelle, and the Cutlass. Obviously I chose the Olds, which today, looking from an investment standpoint was a truly stupid move, but who knew back then. The Olds was just a better looking car and it gave me such a fuzzy feeling.

I played with my new toy for the next four years, street racing, partying, cruising, and just having fun. I blew the original engine in the process, replacing it with a 72 350. Then I ran the pee out of that one till '88 when I took the car off the road to restore.
I sold it in 2002 after getting sick of seeing it just sitting there. I didn't have the ambition at the time to take the time to restore it. I wanted instant gratification, so I picked up a 72 Skylark GSX clone as a satisfier and put the Olds out front for sale.
This past June I was getting ready to pull the trigger on another Mercury Cougar to be a stablemate with my Cougar convertible when the guy I sold my Olds to called me to tell me he was selling it. He offered me first shot at it so I HAD to go see it.
After looking it over, and reminding my wife how much she drilled into my head the regret I had selling it the first time I now had my Olds back in the garage.
And once again, from an investment standpoint, another STUPID move, since the Cougars I was looking at were Eliminators (VERY RARE), but, I got my FIRST hot rod back and from a sentimental standpoint, may very well be priceless.

OLD SKL 69

I found my Cutlass in the classifieds of my local newspaper in 2006. The ad mentioned that it was a 69 Cutlass, solid, runs, drives, needs restoration 70k orig miles for $2,900. I went to look at it and found that it was fairly solid, some rust, and in need of a lot to get it on the road and reliable. The original owner was a plumber and this was his personal car for 20 years. He only drove it when he wasn't using the work van. He sold it to a neighbor when he moved to Florida. This guy took it out on the street and blew up the original motor and tranny racing it. He put it in the garage and pulled the nose off of it intending to redo the car and make it into a race car. I guess funds or interest ran out and it sat in his garage in pieces until 2002 when another neighbor purchased it. He put it back together with a 350 olds motor and a turbo 400 tranny. He also put the nose back on it. The interior was partially disassembled and the front seat was gone. The other owner had put racing seats in it and then removed them. The new owner went to the junk yard and got that ugly green seat. I talked the owner down to $1700 and drove it home(about 25 miles) I had to add 4 quarts of tranny fluid to make that drive and found out why when I got it home. He put a new modulator in it and never fastened it down. It actually popped out in my garage and started to puke fluid all over the place. I never even touched it. (The start of another great project!) Another kid later and I am still working on it. Hopefully I will have it road worthy by this summer.

NAS Backyard

I was on a motorcycle ride this summer and stopped by to visit a guy I hadn't seen in 10 years. I met him when i had my 61 Olds Starfire. We went out to his boneyard to look at his cars and this is what I found. Couldn't get it out of my head for 2 weeks so I made a deal. The rest of the story is posted on here.

yammiman

My mother actually bought my 66 Cutlass new back in May of 1966 - she saw it on the front lawn of the Oldmobile dealer as we were driving home from the movies one afternoon and said she had to have it - I bought it from her my junior year in high school for $750 - I saved up $1000 working all summer on my uncles farm - by the time I put insurance on it and bought snow tires along with my school clothes, I didn't have money left to even drive it to school the first day!! - did a complete frame off restoration on it along with a 560 hp big block and turbo 400 - runs 11's and it is no longer "My Mothers Oldsmoblile!!" LOL!!

citcapp

Yammiman,

Nice looking ride, show us some more pictures please

lowdynamo

I went with my brother to pick up some parts for his 66 gmc and his buddy had the olds sitting under a bunch of boxes and car parts, i asked him what he wanted for it he giggled said "dunno 100 bucks, but that car is just good for storage." Now about a month later she is ready to hit the road.

yammiman

citcapp - here are a few more pictures!!

citcapp

Very clean, well done resto.

yammiman

Thank you - it is alot of fun!!

Techmaven

My 67 Delta was an Ebay find in 2005. Had it shipped from texas and I picked it up and drove home from Jersey. Car has everything but A/C.

citcapp

Fun is what we are in this for. I picked up my 48 Olds in Oklahoma and trailered it home to Bothell Washington in November and part of December. Not a long trip except for the 2 week stay in California to rebuild a sub-station for a client. Now I hope to start on the 48 build the first of the year.

MN71W30

I was making phone calls looking for 66 442 parts for my Dad and talked to a nice guy in Kentucky. He said he needed to sell a few cars and one of them was a 71 W30. The car sounded good and the price was right so we left Minnesota and went to KY and dragged it home. He had the hood painted black and installed on another car. It is the original hood

dhoff

My first Olds was a 67 442 400 4spd no options, not even p/stg or brakes. My older brother bought new and did the sreet/strip thing with for a few years, until children came along and his interests changed. He traded me that car in good running condition for a kawasaki motorcyle when I turned 16(I realize now it was more of a gift) I had that car for 2 years, 5 motors,2 muncie trannys but the 12 bolt rear never gave up. I was ready to go to college and could not afford to keep putting parts into it so I sold it for $700.00 and put that money down on a 1970 cutlass Supreme w only 30k miles a local older couple had. When I sold the 70 it had 140k on it and had never had anything replaced but brakes and exhaust. I was hooked!

bigde53

I bought a 68 delta 88 with a 455 in with 20k original miles off a guy that had it to restore. It sat out side for years and rusted away. I bugged him to sell it to me cause I knew he wasnt going to fix it. I knew the car was toast but I wanted the engine and finally he sold it to me for 50 bucks. Brought it home replaced some wires hooked a gas can up to the carb and she fired up. There was nothing to save of the car so it got junked. Now 4 years later I found my cutlass to put this 455 in and cant wait. I just hope I can get my son away from these video games and get him into cars like I was with my dad. I feel we need to get the younger generation involved more, I 35 and feel like the youngster at some of the classic car shows I go to.

Toro68

Please red these links:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/310418...elated&order=3
and the red Toro
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2987129
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3103713

zed

The car in my avatar is long gone.It was one I should have kept. A 66 Cutlass with a very good body,reblt Jetaway, rblt rear end and a geat running 330. The car had 90,000 miles on it. All that for $400. I was looking for a host car for my 455. I had put that motor in a 69 Cutlass first then came across the 66. That was about 1986.
** sigh** if you could only have kept them all eh?

mugzilla

I go to a friends house to look at a '72 cutlass conv. This is his daily driver, a GMC Sprint (?)...

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The Convertible...

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on my way there this shows up on the freeway. Nice omen...

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He needed space since he picked up a '67 GTO 4 spd, tri-power, convertible

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I'm checking out the Cutlass and making sure he has all the goodies
to dress it up when he asks if I would rather have the '70 442 that I had been trying to get. I said yes ...

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he also has this convertible but it was not a #s matching car ...

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He also has this w30 with a parts car that he is not selling .

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A severe motorhead he also has a Can Am, and a 69,4spd, Goat.

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II paid $6500.

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and drove it home ...

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wmachine

The Tri-Power can't be original.......not in '67.

clutch

Not much of a story here and I don't consider a 1987 Cutlass a classic today but someday it will be in my opinion. Just bought it new in 1987 after my 1980 Cutlass was stolen. That was mint and the only thing found was 1 licence plate 3 years later bolted to a 1981 caddy with numerous parking tickets. Back in the 80's cutlass body parts were sold off to body shops. Sad but true. Anyway here it is. has a good running 307 but is much too slow in todays world so I may change rear gears as a first step and see what happens. It's stock except for wheels and new paint about 12 years ago. Not a scratch on it yet. click on image to enlarge.

Techmaven

Kept them all? I'd still have the 68 H/O and my beloved silver 69 442..At least I held onto my 67 442...(sigh)

mugzilla

U R Right it's a 4bbl car ...

(*O*) ...

centonze

I got my 69 olds 442 convert from my brother. He grew up in era of muscle cars and now owns a mechanic shop. He inherited the car from his wife's aunt, she just left it at the shop and never returned and he gave it to me. I'm kind of the black sheep in the family and only know the basics about cars, so every time I tried to restore my car I would make it worse, so I'm trying to learn the basics to restoring.

Oldsguy

Now that's the way to get a car! Welcome to the site, we will help you as much as we can. Hope you enjoy it here.

44TEETWO

Dad was an olds guy and it just stuck. I remember as a kid riding in the Blue and White 55 and later the 61 that my mom ripped the door off of, and as the crew grew (more kids), the Vista Cruisers. Needless to say I was brainwashed. I bought my first car in 1972, it was a 69 442, with 38k for $1650, and I drove that car for MANY years. As a matter of fact I got rid of it when I bought my NEW 76 442. Now I am like many of you that have the same illness, too many Oldsmobiles, not enough money!

flatoz

with help I tracked mine down in Utah ( jan 08), had a friend go look at it and trailer it back to CA, then had to wait for a title which took till September then it was loaded on a boat in Long Beach and made its way to Melbourne Australia and into my shed finally on the 17th of November last year.

55 super 88 324 hydramatic etc. plan to use it as my daily driver, just sorting out the issues , as according to the tags, it was last registered in '88. so 20 years of sitting needs to be sorted. pretty solid all the same.

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it sits way to high, that will be taken care of, I near shat when I crawled under it and saw this, I had been driving it short distances to sort stuff out. got this fixes asap, some people should not go near cars.

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Olds luvr

Well for me I fell in love with the 442 before I knew what they were or stood for. I was about 14 when I said i wanted a 442 convertible. When I was 17 working at jack in the box I found a guy selling an olds for 600. It was an 81 cutlass supreme with power sunroof, windows, power seats and a V8. I was in love with my new first car.

2 weeks later I was on the freeway and was barley clipped by a guy towing a trailer and caused slight damage to my car and none to his trailer. At the time I did not have insurance and the tire was blown and the car was towed to storage and by the time I had the money to get it out it was gone....

I never stopped wanting a convertible and seemed that as a young husband and father the reality was setting in that this may never happen. I got married at 20 and had my son at 21 so needless to say money was an issue.

I am 32 now and at 30 I had some cash in my hand and was determined to get this car and pay cash. I realized a 442 convertible was out of my range so I had to choose either a 442 hard top or a cutlass convertible and i chose to enjoy the short summers in seattle with the top down. My uncle in law restores mopars and my father in law has a 70 challenger RT convertible and a 70 Road runner convertible both frame off both that the uncle restored and he has an unrestorred (in need of it) 70 challenger convertible Rt as well. So I pleaded with my wifes uncle to atleaset inspect the car I wanted to buy. This was a 72 cutlass convertible AC car numbers matching and 53k original miles. When he looked at the car in the garage he told me that all the cars he has restored he has not seen a better original vehicle with just a small hole in the trunk and some rust in the rear quarter. I bought the car 2 years ago and just love it...

When the car was delivered I pulled the motor and trans before I even drove it as it was october in seattle and way to wet. I replaced the gaskets and painted the motor. Since then i have done the whole front suspension, HEI, painted the wheels to match the body and took off the white walls and went with the raised white letter cooper cobras and starting the rear suspension....

I will end it like this. there are times my wife just wants to bring me a blanket and sleep in it in the garage...My response is I will be sleeping with my other true love!!!!

glord

In 1975 just before my 16th birthday I was in the market for my first car. I found a 1966 442 Convertible in the local paper. My father reluctantly agreed to go look at the car. As he was rather legendary for his exploits as a young driver he was understandably concerned with me as a brand new driver driving a "hot rod" and of course my mother was absolutely convinced being a convertible I would flip the car. But somehow I convinced my parents to let me buy the car which I did for $750. To this day I still tell the story of my father driving the car home, putting his foot in it, shaking his head and muttering “oh-#$%&” as the secondaries kicked in and the car blasted down the expressway.

We performed an amateur restoration over the next couple of years and the car was my primary means of transportation until about 1980. The Olds saw limited use over the next 20 years. I considered selling it many times especially in the early years of marriage when we needed a refrigerator or a washer or a new roof but my wife refused to let me sell the car.

The Olds has spent the last eight years undergoing a frame off nut and bolt restoration. It’s being restored completely stock and original including the original 10.5:1 compression ratio. I have however added a tri-power setup, Rally Pac, and cloth convertible top.

The car is almost done and we should have it back within the next month or so. When the car was shipped off my oldest son was just starting high school. He graduates college this year. My wife now regrets not letting me sell the car as the restoration has cost more than my son's college education. She says the car is coming home with a PhD! Needless to say the entire family is anxious for the car to come home.

44TEETWO

I have one just like it just a different color. Just using it as a driver for banging around town. I will have to get some photos posted!

mscofer

I passed up on a 1964 f-85 SKY BLUE convertible in 2004. After having my LAST daughter in 2005 I decided that there would never be a good time to own a convertible. I threw caution to the wind and bought my 69 delta 88 with-out my wife knowing about it. Found it on ebay. It never met reserve either of the three times it was listed. Drove 300 miles and picked it up Halloween weekend in IA. What a cool ride home, especially with the wife. She took it to the grocery store the next weekend. It was 40 degrees and the wind was blowing 20 miles per hour. She hasn't conplained more than twice about the lack of garage space. The 16 year old thinks her honda should sit inside, yeah right!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff_Keryk

My girlfriend's father was a Doctor in Petaluma, CA. He was looking for a family car back in 1965. So he bought a special order 442 with column shift and bench seat. He loved the car; it was always maintained and garaged. He passed on about 4 years ago. He knew she and I would care for the car as he did. So I have a 97K perfect 442. I love this car. Some say this is luck, but I say it is the best way to get a car; handed down from father to daughter. I will never sell this car as it is Sue's connection to her father, and for me is a true piece of Americana. It is certainly one of the most original 65 442's left.

doc

Wow, some nice scores on here.....I simply was knocking around craigslist & found this '66 F-85 - instantly reminding me of my '67 Cutlass more-door I had years ago.

I contacted the guy, a local cop, & it was about 2 miles from my house......there ya' go. Boring, huh.

D

yogi442

in my case the 66 442 was an after thought. I had been in touch with a lot that has a 41 Chev Holiday 4 dr total redone. Had gone to look at it when I saw the 442. Needless to say I came home with the 442. The 78 Calais was purchased from an 86 yr old woman who purchased it new and could no longer drive. Car was in mint condition outside of faded paint. Could not pass up the price, $700.00.

69OldsCutlassS

My best friend bough a 72 cutlass when we were 16, it was the coolest car in our crew, he put some nice chromes on it and a nice stereo, we would rock that car everywhere, after owning it for a year he decided to sell it, I happened to have 800 bucks at the time and bought it from him, I rallied that car for a year, and the brakes went out. I turned 18 moved out of my parents house and spent the next year wasted. I ended up selling the car for 600 bucks. As soon as I was sober enough to think again I have always regreted selling the car. Last I saw it, it was broke down in a field with a huge dent in the front were the idiot I sold it to wrecked it into a power line. I cleaned up, got married, started having kids, and my dreams of owning another cutlass where always 1000 dollars outside my reach. Everyone I saw was at least 3000 up, then one night on craigslist I saw and add for a 69 cutlass for a 1000, I really wanted a 68 but for a thousand I could compramise a year. I asked my wife what she though about me buying a new car and she asked me what it was, I told her a 69 cutlass, she told me why you asking I bet you have the money in your pocket and it wouldnt matter what I say. I laughed cause it was true. I called the person a few times, finally got a hold of them, and went to check out the car. As soon as I pulled up I knew I was going to buy the car. The car was a 69 but it ended up having a 68 front clip and a 69 body. It took me 5 hours to get it started and quite the adventure to get home. It had sat in that driveway for a couple years waiting for me. After getting it fired up I had to put almost 5 quarts of tranny fluid in it (2 quarts a year leak aint that bad). Both of the 275 60R15s on the back were flat. I aired up the tires and made it halfway home and the drivers rear tire blew out. I nursed it into a driveway, skipped school the next day, got two new tires and made it the rest of the way home. The starter in it was going out and I had to beat it everytime to get it started. Once home I replaced the starter, did a tune up, new battery cables and bamm 1300 dollars latter I had my dream car. Now its just one thing at a time to make it mine. I drive it everyday and my kids really enjoy going for rides in the old Olds.

jeffreyalman

some great stories and great deals...not so much mine, but here goes:

I came home from the hospital as a newborn in a 55 Super 88, moved to Florida from NY as a toddler in a 57 Super 88, my grandfather had an awesome 60 Super 88 conv, and the family had lots of 60s and 70s Oldsmobiles.

My Dad became a Cadillac dealer in the 70s but I still loved Olds. The 1st car I ever bought was an Olds, a 74 Cutlass Salon for $500 and after a valve job and A/C fuse, drove it from LA to Pittsburgh.

The odometer said 37,000 and I never knew if it was 37 or 137 the car was so clean.



I restored it back to original and drove it for a few years, then sold it to a friend.

I always regretted that and 20 years later found the "twin" to it in a 76 Toronado a few years ago on hemmings.com

I was looking for as close as I could get to that Cutlass Salon, and actually the Toronado found me.



I bought it, flew to DC area, and drove it back to Florida. Great drive.

I am the 2nd owner with every receipt from day 1, only 50,000 miles, and immaculate. It was Joe Coyle's, some of you know him.

A couple of years later, the 75 Delta 88 Royale convertible found me. That car is also sensational, also white with dark red interior. Found it online, bought it and had it delivered.



After a bit of hard times financially last year (layoff) I decided to turn in the leased Acura early and keep the Oldsmobiles as daily drivers.

Just after that I went back to work, and the miles were climbing, so I found the 76 Custom Cruiser online to use as an every day car.



They are all sweet.

The Toronado and the 88 Convertible are like 2 or 3 year old cars, the Custom Cruiser is getting there.

I just love Oldsmobiles.

jpc647

My 72 cutlass was sitting in a garage way up on top of a giant hill in connecticut. I can't remember where exactly. I contacted the women thorugh a craigslist add. We talked about the car and I went to go see it, buried in the garage as it was. It couldn't even be taken out because the floor in the place had sunk and you needed 2x4's to make it so the car wouldn't bottom out.

I looked at it for a while, and where I couldn't road test it, I left. A week went by and me and the owner agreed on the price and I was going to come get it saturday morning. I got an email from her friday night telling me she wouldnt be around until sunday night so I would have to come then. I wasn't about to drive a strange car 2 hours home in the dark.

I got mad and pretty much told her to screw off. I was sitting at my desk at school one day and there was an email from her saying "John I haven't heard from you on the cutlass, just wondering whats going on, ect." Well I had bought another car, a 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and was playing around with that. I sorta lowballed her and told her thats all I could afford, just because I wasn't sure if I even wanted it. But i went to go look at the car again, this time it was at her house, not her mothers. It was outside under a cover. When I looked at it it looked great. Underneath was immaculate, the interrior was in good shape, no big problems anywhere. It just needs a few things like grills, and weatherstripping and a few other odds and ends.

Well I took the car for a spin, and other than the fact it made some wierd squeaky noise when you first start to roll it was like a dream. I ended up buying it, after about 3 hours of looking it over real good and everything.

The squeak turned out the be the "custom" $1100 hack job exhaust her ex husband installed. The squeak was supposedly rear bushings that I talked her down $1000 because of. I felt kind of bad when I found out, but it was kind of her fault for telling me the wrong thing. Regardless, one of the pipes barely rubs against part of the e-brake. So when it wears out, or I fix everything else I'll just buy a system through Walker Specialty.

Thats the story of how an 18 year old kid, who has saved every penny working two jobs, since he was working at 15 bought his first oldsmobile.

redvettemike

I ordered a '71 442 in the Spring 1971. White with all power, air, bench seat, column shift th400, oai hood. I sold it in aobut 1977 to buy a 4wh drive Dodge (which was a dog). I was sorry that the '71 got away from me. I saw it years lated and it was just a couple of steps away from the crusher (big hole through the hood, etc.) I found a '71 442 in Il. through rop and bought it a couple of years ago. Lime green with green vinyl top and dark green interior. A really nice 3 owner car; power and air. I have done a bunch of work and it is now white with oai hood. has dark green stripes. Seems you want what you had in the past. In this case, I do!

64 Cutlass

I got my Oldsmobile by sheer luck. I have always liked GM A-Bodies(owned a 1964 El Camino and 1966 Pontiac Tempest,among other GM cars) and wasn't really looking for another project (I am in the process of renovating/restoring a 14,000sf 125 year old Historic building), and one sunday on the way to breakfast my wife points out a 1964 Cutlass (For sale) on the side of the road in a small town (I actually spotted it before she said anything,but didn't want too be to excited). She said we should call and ask what they want for it.(?) I did right then and there,told her the price, and she said "you should get it" (I have the coolest wife in the world!) We made arrangements to look at the car a little closer and that was it. My wife drove me over to pick it up and we drove it home. I have had it 2 weeks as of Aug. 1st 2009, needs work, but it is a running project!

gearheads78

LOL all I get from my wife is the head shake when I drag something else home then she goes back to whatever she was doing

slumpy

traded my 62 ford unibody truck for my 1977 cutlass supreme, and havent looked back yet, love this car, 403 sbo/400 turbo/duals,/corvette rallys, much more.may be 30 plus years old but still floats down the road like a boat. probably a day doesnt go by somebody is asking a ? about it, its my daily driver, 2 miles each way to work!! 5 days a week. 1st week i got it, some stranger stopped at my work and wanted to know whos car it was because he was interested in it. i told him i just got it and really didnt want to sell, he left kinda put off. oh well. thanks.

slumpy

i know i forgot, the 67 mustang in background is my 18year old sons project.