General Discussion Discuss your Oldsmobile or other car-related topics.

Will the real L74 please stand up........

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old July 14th, 2010, 01:49 PM
  #1  
Trying to remember member
Thread Starter
 
wmachine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 4,112
Will the real L74 please stand up........

Researching the L74 for another thread (https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...very-rare.html) uncovered something startling.
I knew that some RPO codes meant different things for different years. But I've discovered that there is at least one code that means different things *within* a year, yes, at the same time:
In 1967, L74 is an engine code for both the 330 and the 425. So it ends up being "model specific" in 1967!
As if things weren't difficult enough.

(BlueVista will be glad to know his "confusion" was well founded!)
wmachine is offline  
Old July 14th, 2010, 03:48 PM
  #2  
Registered User
 
mike's88's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: brookfield, ill
Posts: 450
This really has nothing to do with engines, but in 1992 I ordered a new Bravada for the wife. She wanted it in white w/grey cloth interior. About 5 weeks into the order, we stop in to ask the salesman how things were. He's explaining to me that when he put the color ext. color code in, I think it was "D", which was white for olds at the time, EXCEPT that "D" was the code for black ONLY for the Bravada. Now, I'm trying to explain to the wife, and she asks me,"I'm going to have a black and white truck?" Needless to say, they knocked a BIG chunk off of that trucks price.
mike's88 is offline  
Old July 14th, 2010, 04:20 PM
  #3  
Registered
 
Bluevista's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Northeast Ohio
Posts: 4,430
Originally Posted by wmachine

(BlueVista will be glad to know his "confusion" was well founded!)

You got it.
Bluevista is offline  
Old July 15th, 2010, 03:11 PM
  #4  
Registered User
 
BlackGold's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 1,587
Originally Posted by wmachine
In 1967, L74 is an engine code for both the 330 and the 425. So it ends up being "model specific" in 1967!
That might be unusual when it comes to engine codes, but it's not so unusual for other RPOs. M40, C60, and F41 meant TH400, A/C, and HD suspension no matter what model they were on. But the individual components varied depending on the model. So maybe in 1967 "L74" meant "performance engine", but for one model it was a performance version of the 330 and for the other a performance version of the 425. Using the same logic, they could've lumped the W30, W31, W33, and W34 all under the same RPO, since they were all for different models.
BlackGold is offline  
Old July 15th, 2010, 07:25 PM
  #5  
Trying to remember member
Thread Starter
 
wmachine's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 4,112
Originally Posted by BlackGold
Using the same logic, they could've lumped the W30, W31, W33, and W34 all under the same RPO, since they were all for different models.
Sure, but the point is that they *didn't* lump them together. And they rarely did such a thing.
Thus it wasn't *logical* that they did it at all then!
wmachine is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
64-442
Vista Cruiser & Wagons
24
April 14th, 2017 04:13 PM
shinewill
Interior/Upholstery
0
October 14th, 2013 06:32 AM
1961slam
General Discussion
26
February 7th, 2013 02:19 PM
sx455raidercelticfan
General Discussion
25
December 3rd, 2010 03:43 PM
Green Machine
Eighty-Eight
1
May 18th, 2006 12:28 PM



Quick Reply: Will the real L74 please stand up........



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:12 AM.