I am interested in a 1970 Cutlass 'S' located in Connecticut that the owner claims is a factory 4-speed. It was listed on Craigslist. The Cutlass is Burnished gold with a Pearl white interior. Has anyone possibly inspected this Cutlass or might be able to inspect the Cutlass? The seller has no documentation to verify the Cutlass is a factory 4-speed, and the Muncie does not have a partial VIN stamped near the build date stamp.

 

The first guy that comes to mind is Steve Minore. He may know the car or do an inspection. Let me know if you want me to PM his # to you.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. If you can send his email address or number that would be great. Hopefully he might know the history or about this Cutlass that is now in Southington, Connecticut. I understand he is very good at verifying the correct parts for a particular model and proper documentation. I do not know if has experience with verifying if a car is a factory stick shift (to the point possible), or checking the body for rot/rust in places other than the fenders & quarters and for any excessive body filler (which I for one do not possess).

 

Steve's great with all that. He was just here at my place in PA for the third time working on my latest V Code Supreme. I'll PM you his info. He does know the car already but didn't dig deep into it personally.
Terry

 

If Steve does not get back to you I"m also in CT and have a lift in my garage for looking at the floors etc.

 

Thank you for the offer. I will keep you posted about the Cutlass.

 

The VIN partial # will be on top of the transmission..at least on my original 4 speed, 1971..

 

Okay, thanks. The owner checked for a partial VIN stamping on the passenger side, next to the build date stamp, but no VIN stamping was found.

 

Do you happen to know at what assembly plant the car was built? My 70 4spd Cutlass Supreme is a Linden NJ built car and they were pretty good about stashing build sheet under the driver seat or rear seat bottom. That'll give you all the info you'll need. The VIN on my M21 was scribed onto the case, passenger side.

 

The Cutlass was built at the Linden plant, but the owner says the seats were reconditioned and he does not know if a build sheet was found.

 

I asked the owner to check for a partial VIN stamping on the driver's side of the Muncie main transmission housing but he said the car was placed in storage for the winter. Will need to wait until next Spring for him to check for a VIN stamping. Was the partial VIN ever stamped on the top of the main housing?

 

That car may have a build sheet above gas tank if owner is willing to engage in or allow pursuit of that doc.

 

This is the direction to the factory.

 

In the Spring I will ask the owner if he would be willing to check above the tank. I'm assuming the only way to check is to lower the gas tank, or is there another way of determining if a build sheet is there other than lowering the tank?

Of course, if it is there the tank would need to be lowered so the build sheet could be carefully removed without causing any damage to it. Like build sheets found elsewhere, best to photograph it before trying to remove it just in case the paper disintegrates or tears.

 

My Framingham build had the build sheet on top of the tank, )

 

Thanks Joe. In the remarks section, a 9/10/71 notation regarding the VIN stamp reads 'locations revised' for the manual transmissions (H). I am guessing the notation meant the VIN stamp location for the '72 model year was moved to a different spot on the passenger side, not a change from being stamped on the driver side. Will look for a prior model year assembly manual to verify VIN stamp was always on passenger side of Muncie case.

 

On side of my original 1971 442 trans case.

VIN on top of case..

 

Thanks for that tip on the VIN location for your '71 442. Wonder if there is a way to check for the VIN on top of case without lowering the transmission. Cannot recall if enough room to get your hand and cell phone over the transmission to take a photo.

 

I couldn’t even get a view with a mirror, no room for a camera..

 

Okay, thanks. Someone mentioned the '70 muncie had the VIN stamped on the driver side. I have not located a '70 assembly manual yet to confirm that was the location.