I am restoring my 69 Cutlass Supreme, coupe, 2 door. I am slowly buy parts for and and in some of the catalogs it is asking if it is a Cutlass, "S" or a Holiday. Is there a difference and if so, how do I find out what mine is.
Thanks.
I will post some images of the restore soon.

 

'69 Supreme has different trims and interior bits than a Cutlass S or F85. More upscale vs the sporty "S" [like 442] or the plain Jane low budget F-85.

Holiday vs. Sport Coupe is easily discerned by the presence or lack thereof of the post between the front and rear side windows. Post coupes were called "sport coupe". I use a memory trick- a family is on a Holiday in their Holiday, kid sticks arm out the window to point at the passing scenery... if no posts prevents his arm from sweeping across the two open windows area, it's a Holiday style car. How you get "sport" out of "post" I cannot fathom.

For most basic parts, all the A-body cars are the same or minor differences
F85 = Cutlass = Supreme = S = 442
Same ***** & switches, steering column, etc.
many parts differ, of course- a 442 will have stiffer suspension parts for example

They liked to change tail light details between sub-models of course. And the exact patterns of upholstery.

You should look at your VIN and/or body tag, for the body style digits. Example, if your VIN starts out 33667, then the 36 part indicates exactly what type of Cutlass it is, and the 67 part says convertible body style. This is all in the factory service manual and probably the assembly manual- which in this day and age no one has an excuse to not have perused.

wildaboutcars.com...

 

It has no post between the front and rear window. So this must be a Holiday.
I am trying to get a few books from Original Parts Group so I can ID stuff better.

 

As Chris pointed out, Holiday refers to the body style (hardtop). Cutlass, "S", and Supreme refer to trim levels and for the 1969 that really is irrelevant for most equipment fitment. The only substantive differences are the interior upholstery patterns.

 

2nd through 5th digit of the VIN will tell you what you have.

looks it up yourself, or post it and we'll tell you

 

X4287XXXXXXXXX

These are the 2-5 numbers on my vin. Can you tell me what it is. Is am buying the couple of books I need for ID and Assembly.
Thanks

 

I am restoring my 69 Cutlass Supreme.

Here are the first 6 of my vin: 342879

Can anyone tell me which model I have. "S", Holiday?

Thanks.
Dean

 

42 = Cutlass Supreme
87 = Holiday Coupe

Again, nothing you didn't already know. And to be completely correct, the second and third characters of the VIN tell you the model. The fourth and fifth characters tell you the body style.

Also, for completeness, the first character of the VIN is the division (3=Oldsmobile). The sixth is the model year (9=1969). The seventh is the assembly plant. The final six are just the sequential build number. That's all the info available in the VIN for the 1969 model year.

 

Dean,

Asking exactly the same question in two different threads doesn't get the answer any faster. I've merged your two into one, which already has the answer to your question.

 

Thank you. Learning post etiquette.

 

I'll suggest that unless you need something that's Supreme-specific, like upholstery, DON'T ask for parts for a Cutlass Supreme. There's a lot of bad info out there claiming that parts don't fit because somehow the Supreme is magically different from other Cutlii. It's not, especially for the 1969 model year. Just get parts for a Cutlass. There is no mechanical difference.

 

While I am a fan of paper books, and have several feet of service manuals myself, i urge you to PLEASE join the 2010 era and go to wildaboutcars.com, sign up FOR FREE [even we Cheep Bastids can afford it], and therein you can access the factory Chassis Service Manual, the ASSEMBLY Manual, and lots of other cool pertinent info.

The CSM first few pages goes over the VIN, what all that means.
The Body Manual has body tag info- some of it.
The assembly manual has exact PN info for each exact combination, but you have to learn factory speak- what a "622" engine is, or whatnot.

You have a good start with factory speak in digits 2 thru 5 of the VIN.