HitTheHole

Can anyone direct me to an online resource where I can search for and find original GM/Oldsmobile part numbers for 1970 Cutlass? Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks!

joe_padavano

There are two sources, the Product Information Manual (PIM), also known as the Assembly Manual, and the Parts book. The PIM is a collection of the engineering drawings used to assemble the car. It has SOME of the part numbers, but not all. The parts book is what was at the parts counter. The problem with using the parts book as a resource for this is that it was not intended to document the parts used in the building of the car. It documents the parts that were available when the parts book was printed. As parts were dropped from the system, numbers were superseded when possible with newer parts that, while not "correct" for a restoration, were "equivalent" in fit and function. One example of this is the front fenders on the A-body cars. 1970 fenders were superseded by the 1971-72 style that have the dimples for crumple zone in a front end collision. Unless you have a parts book printed early in the 1970 model year (say, Dec 69 or Feb 70) the part number listed in the book will be the number for the 1971-72 style fenders, even though the parts book shows them as being used on 1970 as well. Rule of thumb is that you need to use the parts book with the printing date as close to your model year as possible. There are a Jan 1972 printing parts book and illustration book available on line. There are also 1979 and 1983 printings available. These are much less useful for your purpose as many parts for a 1970 were dropped from the system by the and thus are not in those books.