Can someone please decode my cowl tag?
2B4FF1BA-7A8B-426F-8E3A-20B963E70CE5.png

 

3rd week in july late build !!!!!!!!!!
black buckets
c- provincial white
built in Lansing
33667 - the second to last digit (6) F-85

 

If you can post pics !!!!!!!

 

If it's G-2 it's Willow Gold with a Black Convertible Top (I can't tell if that's a C or not)


Dean, I think 68-33667 is a convertible, no?

 

Was the F-85 available with buckets? I wouldn't think so, so I checked out this item:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Ol...men-s-Specs-04

Doesn't show buckets. This page shows the different trim combos:

http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Ol...men-s-Specs-16

This confirms that.

Now the colors:

G = Willow Gold
2 = black vinyl top

 

after taking a double take I think it is G
and duh on my part yes convert w black top don't know how I screwed that up

 

correct not sure what I was thinking initially

 

Well, duh on my part too because I assumed it was an F-85 coupe!

 

07C is a third week of July build date


and yes, 940 is a black bucket seat interior


BTW with a Lansing Cowl tag this could be a Cutlass S or 442. I think the first 6 in the sequence means V8, correct?

 

And, yes, it has black buckets.

So it's a Cutlass S folks! :-)

 

lol same here, saw the title and oh F-85


also got great info from Kurt w respects to 68 W-30's and posi rears.
If you didn't select additional box for posi you didn't get it and if chosen it was an extra charge.
In 69 posi was standard w the w-30's and 31's


That guy is such a wealth of knowledge

 

see the 6,7 and 8 designate body styles I thought in second to last numeric digit first 6 honestly not sure
6 convert
7 sports coupe
8 holiday coupe

 

You're probably right. I'm trying to use the assembly manual which is really only good for the VIN decode, paint codes, and interior codes.

 

Thanks for the replies! Title for the car says F-85 that was the reason I called it that and I read somewhere it's was possibly a deluxe model so I went with it.

http://s1130.photobucket.com/user/TjStayFresh/library/

 

okay cutlass S convert , maybe California just uses the generic term F-85 on titles for all cutlasses
But I went w at first lol too

 

I still have a Missouri title so that's possible, maybe they'll change it when I have it retitled for California.

 

I'm excited about the willow gold and black! to think we were planning on doing triple black. Thanks again fellas, I wish it still had the factory motor. It had a 455 when I aquired it which went in my 74 that I sold.

 

F85 is what Olds called the platform which was the Cutlass/F85/442.

 

F85 was the base model. not much trim, it shared the tail lights with the supreme but not much else. I'd say the title is incorrect. In 68 there were only two models of A-body convertibles, Cutlass S and 442. If your VIN starts with 344, it's a 442. If not, it's a cutlass S. Not having seen the VIN, your car is badged as a Cutlass S

 

So here is the detailed decipher of the cowl tag.


07C = time build code = July (07), third week of that month, 1968 (and yes, that is a late build date!)
ST 68 = style/model year = 1968


33667:


3 = GM Division = Oldsmobile


36 = model series = Cutlass V8 (if it were an F85 this number would be "32" for an F85 with a V8 engine)


67 = body type = convertible


LAN = assembly plant = Lansing, MI


456676 BODY = Fisher Body number (has absolutely no relation to the VIN)


TR 940 = interior color and front seat type = black interior with strato bucket seats


G - 2 PAINT = lower body color (G = willow gold), upper body color or convertible top color or vinyl top color if a hardtop (2 = black convertible top)


To tell if your car is a Cutlass V8 or a 4-4-2, look at the VIN. If your VIN starts with 336678M------, it is a Cutlass V8. If your VIN starts with 344678M------, it is a 4-4-2.


Randy C.

 

Sorry, no. The body style is a two-digit designation. For example, for the 1968 model year:

65 = three seat Vista Cruiser
67 = convertible
69 = town sedan

For completeness:

77 = Club Coupe or Sport Coupe (both are the same "post" body)
87 = Holiday Coupe

Also, despite what the title may or may not say, the model line designations for the 1968 model year are:

3100 = F-85 (L-6)
3200 = F-85 (V-8)

3500 = Cutlass (L-6)
3600 = Cutlass (V-8)

4200 = Cutlass Supreme (V-8)

4400 = 442 (V-8)

4800 = Vista Cruiser (V-8)

 

Yes I know the question was in reference to the two 6's and what they stood for
fully aware of body styles being identified w the two digits but thanks

 

"Also, despite what the title may or may not say, the model line designations for the 1968 model year are:

3100 = F-85 (L-6)
3200 = F-85 (V-8)

3500 = Cutlass (L-6)
3600 = Cutlass (V-8)

4200 = Cutlass Supreme (V-8)

4400 = 442 (V-8)

4800 = Vista Cruiser (V-8)"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The above factory notation I found confusing at first.
There is no VIN or Body tag every made where these 4 digits end in "00", literally. There is no 442 anywhere ever with a VIN tag or body tag stamped "4400".

What the manual is trying to convey, in shorthand, is that any combination of the last two numbers - any body style- 67 convertible, 77, 87, or some of the wagon types, are all included in this group, as long as the FIRST TWO digits match.

An alternative might be to specify the model lines as
31xx
32xx, etc., using "x" to designate "any digit here, does not matter"

Or
31__
32__, etc. with the underscore [ _ ] having a similar meaning- "any digits here".

Of course then you'd have idiots like me looking for, literally, "36xx" on the body tag, wondering why there are no x's at all anywhere.

On the use of the generic "F85" model for designating any vaguely similar thing that is not an 88/98 or Toronado type Oldsmobile... not uncommon. It just means that any Cutlass, 442, W30, or H/O is "an F85" in vague general terms... but not vice-versa. A real factory F-85 with the 31xx or 32__ model designation, cannot be a Cutlass, 442, or H/O.

Similarly, I had a call once for date coded glass, the guy wanted "GX" or something like that. I assumed that his "x" meant "any number or letter" but later research into the incredibly complex and stooopid [with three o's] glass date coding system revealed that there is actually an "x" used. So January 1968 glass is "0168" or "6801"?? oh, HELL no, neither can they use any sensible sequence of numbers or letters. Pretty much randomly assigned 2-letter combinations, some of which are re-used. As stoooopid as it can get, from this perspective. Maybe it made sense to them for some reason.

 

I hope an Olds engine goes back in.
His handle has "LS in it.

Gene

 

Unfortunately this car will not be Olds powered, the car was purchased with intetions of being a restomod. All updated hardware with cross country capability mainly for parts availability.

 

Sorry, that's crap. Olds motors are perfectly capable of completely reliable cross-country driving and I've never had a problem with parts availability. Read the other thread about the recent complaints about the high cost of LS parts, which I find hilarious.

The LS is a great motor design. I just wouldn't put one in an Olds.

 

Call it what you want... If I could pull into a Oldsmobile dealer for parts and service it would be olds powered. Just don't want to deal with what if

 

So let me get this straight. You aren't worried about the reliability of the nearly 50 year old Olds parts that remain on the car, you're worried about the new Chevy parts. Also, you think you are going to pull this car, with custom motor installation, custom wiring, and custom software in the computer into a Chevy dealership and they are going to fix it.

Good luck with that. Either you are very naive (which I don't believe), or per your screen name, you only know one way to build a car. You and I both know that the stock parts will be very reliable. It's the non-factory parts that you need for the swap that will not have undergone the rigorous factory engineering and testing. These are the parts most likely to fail, and you know you won't be getting those from a dealership. As for service, you and I both know thay the "mechanics" at the dealership can't deal with a car unless they can plug into a diagnostic connector and have the computer tell them what to replace. What happens when they can't find your combo in the computer?

Sorry, but you aren't kidding anyone about wanting to keep the Olds motor. Frankly, I'd rather see a Hemi swap than another belly button motor. At least THAT would be interesting.