I have a 1972 Cutlass. It says cutlass on the back but the VIN coder said it is a f85. It has a factory posi rear with a factory 4-speed hurst shifter on the floor. The posi worked fine then it stopped working. Then sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. Well now its not working at all. Is this a simple fix as in a bolt that fell out or do I need a whole new rear. Thank you.

 

Well it won't be a bolt that fell out. You may need the rear rebuilt, but try this first. Drain the old gear lube out by removing the differential cover, then refill with fresh 80/90w gear lube AND a bottle of anti slip additive. If you are lucky this may cure it.

 

Yeah, Olds did that in the 1972 model year. The bottom-of-the-line A-bodies carried the "F-85" VIN but were badged as Cutlass on the 2dr cars.

 

Huh? In '72 the only F85 model was the D69 F85 Town Sedan. No 2-dr F85s that I know of! (8 models carried the Cutlass name)

 

Isn't that what Joe said? The base 2 door was labeled as a Cutlass but the VIN indicated an F85.

 

No. The base F85 was a *4-dr* only (The Town Sedan is a 4-dr). Everything else (that means all 2-drs) were Cutlass models.

 

Oldsmobile's are confusing. There is no F85 badges on the car at all. There never was, we are the original owners with 47,000 miles on the car and all build sheets. Whats rare I think is the bench seat that my grandad ordered with the 4 speed on the floor. It has the 350 rocket with 4 barrel carb and dual exhaust

 

I think the only thing confusing so far is that your "VIN coder" gave you bad (wrong) information. You do *not* have an F85. Period.
It you post your VIN, I'll tell you exactly what Cutlass model you have.

 

Kurt is correct, the "F" code for series in 1972 referred to "Cutlass H.T." according to the VIN Cards issued by GM Service:

http://service.gm.com/dealerworld/vi.../vincard72.pdf

The four door only F-85 carried a VIN code "D" that year. Having said that, I've got $10 that says the Fisher Body Tag on this car carries a 3287 body code, and the "F-85" four door that year carries a 3269 body code.

Other Cutlii that year (with the "G" code in the VIN) carried 36xx body codes.

 

Anywho ... regardless of the nameplate on your car, you can try putting new lube in the rear, but you probably need to have the posi rebuilt. There are clutch packs in there which wear out. Find a competent local shop that knows how to set up a rear end.

 

From the 11/72 parts book:
1972 OLDSMOBILE MODELS
F85 STANDARD
Four Door Sedan, 3269, D69
Hardtop Coupe, 3287, F87

CUTLASS
S.W. 2-seat 3636,G36
Four Door Sedan, 3669, G69
"S" Club Coupe, 3677, G77
"S" Hardtop Coupe, 3687, G87

CUTLASS SUPREME
Hardtop Sedan, 4239, J39
Hardtop Coupe, 4257, J57
Convertible, 4267, J67

 

You're quite right, Joe the '72 Parts books do show the Hardtop Coupe, 3287, F87 as an F85 model.
But that is wrong. The Hardtop Coupe, 3287, F87 is definitely a Cutlass model.
They had that corrected in the parts books by the time the June '74 edition came out.

 

Could you forward that to my ex-wives?

Actually, my point was that in prior years, the 31xx and 32xx cars were typically F-85s and 35xx/36xx cars were typically Cutlii. Olds scrambled that in 1971 and later years, but the 31xx/32xx cars were usually the low-end trim cars. Of course, there were no six cylinder cars offered in the 1972 model year, so there were no 31xx or 35xx cars that year anyway.

 

Ok. I'm going to post the VIN on here. Then maybe I will know what it is. My Grandmother is looking for all the original build sheets when they ordered the car.

 

The posi unit can be rebuilt,if it is the clutch style.I have seen some,very few,71-72 10-bolt posis,from Cutlass/442's that had a cone style posi unit,like the earlier 8.2's had.These are NOT rebuildable,and if this is what you have,you can swap that unit for another posi unit.

 

Anyone care to bet that it starts out 3F87xxxx?

Post the cowl data plate info also.

 

Ok The VIN is 3F87M2G130261. What does everything mean. Thank you.

 

And it has a 2 barrel carb. on it. I dont know why I thought a 4.

 

3 = Oldsmobile Division
F = Cutlass H.T. (see discussion below)
87 = Holiday Coupe (2dr Hardtop)
M = 350 4bbl dual exhaust 200HP net
2 = 1972 model year
G = Framingham, MA assembly plant
130261 = sequential build number

As we discussed at the beginning of this thread, the "F" code in 1972 was called a Cutlass and badged that way, but it carried a 3287 body code, which would have been an F-85 in other years. The four door F-85 from 1972 also carried a 3269 body code. The 32xx cars were typically F-85s, with the low-end trim. It's also notable that Olds differentiated the 3287 body with a VIN code F vs. other Cutlii (the 36xx body code cars) that carried a VIN code G.

Now, 1972 was an oddball year because the Colonnade-styled cars that came out in 1973 were originally scheduled for release in the 1972 model year, and a strike at GM caused the delay to 1973. As a result, the 1971 cars received a very minor restyle and were called 1972 cars. Many of the previously available options and features were not available in 1972 (for example there was no six cylinder engine available in 1972). The 1972 model year will always be an anomaly.

 

Thank you very much. It does have a 4 barrel. The carb looks small to me, not like one of these Holley's. I should be getting pics this weekend. My parents are bringing the car over to "Past the tourch" I guess you can call it. Where could I find out how many cars were produced with the bench seat, posi etc? Is there any way of knowing?

 

[QUOTE=kjr2492;208206Where could I find out how many cars were produced with the bench seat, posi etc? Is there any way of knowing?[/QUOTE]

Not much for most years, but for '72 i can give you figures for particular options on not a specific model, but series. But only singular options, not combinations.
What options do you want to see the numbers for?

 

I was curious about the bench seat. I thought that most cars came with bucket seats if they had a 4-speed. I know my grandfather ordered it like that so all the kids could ride in the car.

 

Okay, I have some good new for you, in that your car is pretty rare. I have some production figures that usually won't be this specific, but because of the quirky nature of the model numbers in '72, we can be real specific.
There were only about 92 of your 3287 Cutlass model that came with the 4-spd (M20 close ratio, to be specific). How many of them were bench seat? All of them! All 3287 Cutlass model were bench seats, buckets were not an option. (This is actually just a carry-over thing as previously all F85s did not have a bench seat option either)

I say "about" 92, because 83 were made though June, and July's production is unknown and 92 would be an averaged figure.

 

Thank you the good news. Where could I find all the very detailed information? Thanks again

 

You found it........I have it!
It comes from the GM Heritage Center records. I copied them from there when I went there to research the records.

 

LOL. Oh ok. Well thank you again.