Terry, you are the U & V code go-to for sure. My info states J (L32) & M (L34) code dual exhaust cars got the RPO N10 with AT or MT? Thought this data was from this site. Its handwritten on the back side of my 72 paperwork. I don't have the actual option order sheets like Joe has. I didn't record where I got this from which wasn't a habit when I saved the data.
Sams 350 M20 car is a rare bird for sure. Sam N10 or not on your car?
Steve

 

It's correct that J and M 350 cars got N10 dual exhaust. N10 does not include the cutout bumper by default on the 350 cars, however.
Terry

 

RPO N10 was dual exhaust. It was not the cutout bumper. Only one SBO car with dual exhaust ever got the cutout bumper from the factory - the 1970 Rallye 350. No other SBO car with N10 came with the bumper - not even the 1972 W-29 cars.

Every 1968-1971 442 came with the bumper. Every 1972 U, V, or X code W-29 car came with the bumper. I do not believe the a 1972 U or V car that was not a W-29 got it, however (I'll defer to Terry on this). Also, 1970-71 SX cars got the bumper, as did the 1972 H/Os.

 

There is the clarification I (we all) needed. In Olds speak I thought N10 was dual exhaust with the cut-out bumper. This makes sense. It's similar to the N25 exhaust tips through the bumper option found on the 71-2 Buick GS, for which one needed to have N10 to obtain. RPO N25 triggered the different tailpipes and bumper part numbers.
Did Olds have a similar procedure? What was the 442 cut out bumper option called at the factory? Or was it simply a part number triggered by W29 with 400/455? Thanks Joe and Terry. I'll update my data.
Steve

 

That is a really good question, and I can't answer it. Since every part choice on the assembly like is documented on the build sheet with a code (think springs, shocks, etc), one would assume there was some code on the build sheet that indicated the cutout bumper. Since that part was not available as a separate RPO, that code doesn't appear in the SPECS booklet or on the order forms. N10 applied to any car with dual exhausts, including wagons and full size cars, so it did not explicitly include the bumper.

 

And 33 of the 131 M-20 cars were X code W-30 convertibles

 

So I read here any '72 U code should have a cut-out bumper. My one owner before me U code Supreme conv does have duals, W-Z manifolds, but no cut out bumper. Maybe I better look for one, and the build sheet.

 

What you read referred to U code W29 cars. If your car wasn't a W29 (442) then it likely won't have the cutout bumper.

 

 

U code cars without the W-29 option did not receive the cut out bumper on the assembly line.

 

Bumpers are big, so I would think they'd be picked out of their packaging back in conveyance areas and send out "sequenced" in order. There would have probably been a code on the sheet hanging on the firewall or the core support or the open hood that the worker would check, and I presume a sticker or something on the back of the bumper with a code. Or, they could have just had a huge area and the guy knew the cutout bumpers were always over THERE, and didn't need a sticker.

 

It was even easier than that. The exhaust system was already hung on the chassis before body drop, and thus long before bumper installation. Cars with trumpets got the cutout bumper, cars with turndowns did not. You couldn't install a straight bumper on a car with trumpets.

 

I have a U code 72 Cutlass Supreme...how do I know which one of the 4 above is mine?

 

Supremes are 4200 series.

 

Dave, your car us in the 4200 series. 4257 to be exact.

 

Hey Allan in my intro post you decoded my VIN with the U engine designation as the L74 455. According to the CSM, the L74 was used in B bodies, while the L75 was the A body code. I'm guessing it was a typo, but I just wanted to clarify for all the others on the quest of verifying their VINs.

 

Does anyone know the breakdown of the 4200 series U codes for 4 speeds and TH400s?

 

 

I get that, but how many of each?

 

While that is true, you wouldn't be able to tell that from the front of the car. If you return to the start of your pitch at the end of the previous car, you are facing the nose of the next vehicle as it comes into your pitch. You need to know what to do, so you would look on the manifest sheet on the front to see what bumper, grab your hoist, go pick the bumper, bring it to the back of the car, push some bolts in and shoot probably two with an air gun. Undog the hoist, push it back towards home, then either shoot the two remaining bolts, (or however many it has) or do something else, depending on the processing. If I were setting up the process, I'd have an overhead manual crane with an air balancer and a air gun on a process cart on the other side of the car for that. I actually did put in a bumper reinforcement hoist (the actual steel bumper under the plastic cover and styrofoam filler) for the Sienna in about 2013, the small overlap crash tests made it heavier than our ergo standards allowed for 2 hand pick.

 

Yes, typo. Somehow it got mixed up with L34 which is the standard CS engine in 1972. Good catch.

That information isn't available anywhere. Same as asking how many cars were built with Matador red lower and Black vinyl upper. Records just weren't kept, unlike other divisions. As already noted, 455 SMT cars are V codes. No records of that either.

 

Thanks for the above info. If I am reading things correctly, there is no production number breakdown for a W29 1972 442 convertible with the U code 455, correct?

What is the closest breakdown that is known for this combination?

 

1972 convertible W29 automatic production is 1025

 

I'd like to know where you got that statistic, knowing that there were only 11571 34267 models produced in 72. How many of each models does your source list, and how many U code and V code also?? FWIW, W29 production was not exclusive to the L75 455 engine, it also included the L32 and L34 350 engines. Another interesting fact that may skew your stats - Every W30 car had to have the W29 option as part of its build. The statistics from Helen Early and James Walkinshaw simply show the number produced of each model and the engine availability. So if you have a source that shows the number of W29's produced in each category that would be worth sharing here.

 

So Terry or anyone how many 1972 cutlass S U code were made. This is a auto on the floor, bucket seats, factory boxed control arms, posi rearend. I am not talking supreme.

 

I’m just departing on a trip now for a week so I won’t have my production numbers in front of me until the 19th. If you nudge me with a reminder I’ll pull up the fastbacks with the L75 then. A couple others on here also have copies of the mainframe printout numbers so they may be able to assist.
Terry

 

Okay this also has the cutout bumper. Unfortunately no motor or transmission. No build sheet found yet.

 

Only W29 U/V-code cars came from the factory with the cutout bumper. If it's not a 442, the bumper has been added.

 

All this talk of U code 72's and H/O's, then I see this (not mine, nor could I handle this restoration).

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto...788998006.html

 

Joe no way to prove it is or isn't unless I find the build sheet. Nothing looking added. But it's a old car. I haven't dropped my the tank or looked in the back of the bucket seats yet. The front fenders appear to have the emblems holes plugged at some point in time. So on the outside side it is smooth no holes for anything.

 

That car doesn't suck. $#!+, like I need another H/O project...

 

Are you sure a 350-4 wouldn't have the bumper?

 

Yes. The only small block Olds A-body to ever get a cutout bumper from the factory was the Rallye 350, period. As far as the 1972 W29 cars, the use of the bumper (or lack thereof) is well documented in the Product Information Manual.