firstoldsmobile

I have a 1980 442 - There's another one a few miles away but in awful shape.
The one up the road as the trunk deck spoiler.
My 442 I bought came with one included but isn't on the car.
I have it for sale and one really rude individual said that spoiler is off a 70's Firebird and told me to get my head out of my ***.
My spoiler looks exactly like any spoiler I've seen off a 79 Hurst Olds - 80 442 - 83 - 84 Hurst Olds and 85-87 442. Same shape - posts etc.
His claim is that mine for sale doesn't have the removable ends as all of of them should be in 3 pieces. Mine is one complete piece.
Is that correct before I cause a stink.

69HO43

The 78-82 Cutlass in any form did not have a trunk spoiler from the factory. End of that story.

Firebird spoilers were often used for Cutlasses, though. They were one piece. 83/84 H/O spoilers were 3 piece wings.

Your spoiler and ANY spoiler on a 1979 H/O or 1980 442 was an add-on aftermarket. Sorry.

joe_padavano

No 1979 H/O or 1980 442 ever came with a rear wing. No 1985-87 442 ever came with a rear wing either. And by the way, no 1970s Firebird used a wing either - they used the three piece ducktail spoiler. The third gen (1980s) Firebird wing is close to the H/O wing (also used on the 1988 Cutlass GT) but is not identical. Many people have used the more common F-body wing on the G-body cars. Note the differences in the wingtips.

firstoldsmobile

Okay, thanks for the information. Basically the berating that I got was that mine is a firebird spoiler and I shouldn't be listing it as a Cutlass spoiler and it wouldn't work, or at least that's how I perceived it. Here is a picture.

joe_padavano

Looks like a Firebird wing from the tips.

firstoldsmobile

Okay, but it will fit on a Cutlass and were fitted on a Cutlass as an add on correct? I just don't want somebody to say it won't work. Thanks

joe_padavano

You can call it whatever you want. It's a third gen Firebird wing. It never came on a G-body car. Apparently that's not the answer you want to hear. Yes, people have put them on G-body cars. People also put Chevy motors in Oldsmobiles. That doesn't make it "correct".

firstoldsmobile

The answers are all good and is a bit confusing. I can't see much difference than the one I have and those that are on 83-84 and 85 -87 442's, especially from the top side of it for sure. If it won't work then I'll just relist it for a Firebird instead. No big deal I just have no use for it. Thanks

Koda

There's work, and there's correct. The dude is right to tell you it is an incorrect part. He's wrong to be an ******* about it. Sure, it will work, as in fit on there, but it won't look correct to those that know.

joe_padavano

I'll add that the Olds wing uses separate wingtips. The Firebird wing is one piece. And still no factory wings on 85-87 cars, so any wing the OP saw on one of those cars was added and could very well have been a Firebird wing.

69HO43

No late A-body or G-body Olds Cutlass came with a hood scoop or a rear deck wing from the factory. Any cars that did come with them when purchased off the lot were added on by a conversion company or dealer/customer addition.

Story has it the 3rd gen Firebird wing with the ends cut off is the basis for the 83/84 H/O spoiler. I've not ever verified that. The studs would need to be lengthened due to the H/O pedestals required to keep the wing tips from hitting the quarter panel/trunk lid. I can see that happening about the Firebird wing due to its shape and everything, but I've never actually tried that trick. Sounds plausible, as it appears it would work, but never tried it myself. I've seen people that said their wings were from a Firebird and had them installed on their G-body trunk lids, but they needed modifications to fit, like pedestals, tip grinding and stud replacement. Do-able? Sure.

Special tips were glued on the ends with 3 fingers, but over the course of time, whatever glue they used wasn't the best and there are many instances of loose/missing tips somewhere down the highway. When I redid my 84 H/O, I drilled and pinned the wing tips in place to prevent any vibrations from ruining my day. Then puttied over the drill holes before repainting. That was over 20 years ago. They've yet to come loose.

Even so, Olds didn't put the wings on at the factory. The 83/84 H/O wings were added...by a 1st tier aftermarket supplier to GM, Cars and Concepts (their role to Olds was THE 83/84 Hurst/Olds conversion company). Only factory Olds spoiler as standard equipment that I'm aware of is the early 70s deal when Olds lifted the 69 H/O design from Hurst and used it on the Rallye 350. If I'm missing one, please correct me.

Best I can understand, in late 1969, the W35 RPO option was announced via a bulletin as a dealer-installed option, but the wing would become factory-installed on 70s 2 door 77/87 Cutlass models as of 1/1/70, and 71 2-door Cutlass models until March 31, 1971. The W35 RPO was cancelled on 3/31/71 IIRC. Was not available factory-installed on convertibles. Although I'm sure many 'vert owners bought them and had them modified them to fit.

69HO43

Ooohhhhhh. That 85 looks exactly like mine!!!!!!!

firstoldsmobile

Thanks for all's reply. I'm just gonna list it under a Firebird trunk deck wing spoiler. That'll be the safest bet.