Mickeyold442

Hello scrollers,lol. Im mike and have a few questions concerning a ride I want to buy. Its from an original owner. I spoke to him this morning and asked what he wanted and only replied he would like to get as much as possible for it. Im planning on a visit soon to get closer look and will keep you posted. Just looking for advice or knowledge from any friends here so please comment.

steverw

Obviously its been sitting there a long time. Does it run? If not, why? Can the motor be turned by hand? Body looks pretty good, needs a new vinyl top, probably new tires. Hows the interior? Check under the car for frame rot, trunk floor, inside floors. This is not one of the more desirable years, IMO, but pretty rare. I would say start low on offers, you can always go up if needed. There was a little over 2500 produced in 75, 1242 were black, total W30's was 1125. Could be had with a 350 or 455. Hemmings in 2014 says and average condition value is $18,000. This one dosent look too bad from the outside, but still below average to my eye. How is thei interior and what options does it have.
Good luck

Intragration

I'm NOT trying to be a downer here, but that car is ROUGH. Unless I'm missing something, I'd offer the guy $500 if you REALLY want it and want to deal with fixing it up. The pictures aren't super-clear, but from what I can see, there's not a panel on the car that isn't rusty or damaged. It's got T-tops, so the floor pans and interior are likely trashed. It's sitting in the grass and has been for a long time, so the undercarriage and frame are probably awful. This is not a particularly desirable year, and although it's cool that it's a "W30 Cutlass", and low-production, I don't think these things add a lot to the value in this sort of condition. I have a strong stomach, and I don't reflexively recoil in horror at cars that need a lot of work, but personally I would run away from this car. Think about what it would take just to get it roadworthy if it was driving a couple years ago...brakes, lines, tires, radiator, tune-up...what else? And if it's been more than a few years, it could be much worse. And still, you're left with a completely rusty car, that will require thousands and thousands in rust repair. Yeah, my advice is to walk away. There is another car out there for you.

oldcutlass

Sometimes cars just speak to us. Yes, I agree there is a lot of work there, but realistically in this hobby they are a labor of love. If you have the skills and the financial means to bring her back to life, go for it. The others have addressed the issues at hand, its up to you to make an educated decision.

Mickeyold442

Sorry you guys but I was lil busy this afternoon. Im always on line and my problem Im having is I fell for this Hurst. I thought when I bought it for 1500 bucks that I could just get quarters no big deal right well after research and by the word of mouth I was told get and find donner car.I really love this Hurst and pulled the engine after finding 3 down cylinders.Regaurdless of body issues I had the block bored 30 over,rocket 350, 505 lift on cam 2400 stall converter with a edelbrock 650,heads getting ported as we speak. I really appreciate the reply's. Im having a family member run out because their close to W-30's location to take better pictures, if interested any further on what I do decide to do,follow this post.Having trouble loading pictures. will add in a little while on my Hurst guys. I will have more details in a few days and lots of pictures.Im still new and learning but will never walk from this site,you guys are way to cool to take the time to help me,just great.The W-30 does crank but no start.

1969w3155

As it is a Hurst Olds W30, then it has a 455, the 350 equipped cars in '75 had W25 on the fender.

Paladin31

Mickey the hood appears to be correct for a 75 HO, the W-30 fender decals are way off, and there are missing HO emblems that would have left impressions on the outer panel. Take a look at my car for reference. I would be happy to provide more pic's to help if you want, pm me your email.

Brett

redoldsman

Did anybody mention the rust that is going to be under that vinyl roof. I could like one of these cars because they are neat cars and you sure don't see many of them. It really aggravates me when I see somebody that has let a car sit there and deteriorate to this condition. I wonder how many times he said "I am going to fix it up one day". The best thing will probably be as mentioned and get a donor car and move everything to it. If you do the work yourself you may be okay. If you have to pay somebody to do it, walk away at a fast pace.

1969w3155

Did the vin in '75 still indicate the engine, U for 455?

Mickeyold442

Thx a bunch on those photo's.When I get up close to the car I will for surely check that out.I hope the vin does show a u. I will see the vin and run it to see what its suppose to have verses whats there.I know from lots of discovery of cars that you can always tell if drivetrain is all original. The exhaust manifolds have pinched steel around the bolts and even though they were not emission cars the heat shields were still put on these cars. A true W-30 that has matching numbers with worth a lump of money as long as you can and would repair the damages alone. I am not a body man and have very hard time with sheeymetal,don't like trying to work with it.My father was a wizard at doing up panels with just a grinder,metal,hammer and rivit gun with little help from bondo. I don't want it restored in that fashion but know theirs alot of newer equipment and products that could make any job an easy fix as long as you are willing to devote the time. I have plenty of that just not the patience.

jaunty75

Absolutely. But according to the GM VIN decoder I'm looking at, "U" was not used to indicate an engine in the VIN of a '75 Oldsmobile. In 1975, the 455 engine was indicated by the fifth character of the VIN being one of two possibilities, a "T", indicating a 190 hp, 4-bbl, or a "W," indicating a 215 hp, 4-bbl.

A 350 would be indicated by an H (145 hp, 2-bbl), J (165 hp, 4-bbl), or K (170 hp, 4-bbl).

Apparently a 400 was also available (Pontiac motor, I believe), indicated by R (170 hp, 2-bbl) or S (185 hp 4-bbl). I think this was available only in the Delta 88.

Paladin31

Correct, 3J57T5 would be correct for a 1975 Cutlass Supreme w/ 455-4V

joe_padavano

Correct. 1975 D88 only.

Mickeyold442

I found transportation to go visit this 1 owner ride and have now a ball park figure what he wants for this time machine.We spoke again today and he quoted 2500 O.B.O.

Intragration

You asked for advice, and my advice in the spirit of helpfulness continues to be to avoid this car. I get the concept of falling for a car, I completely get it. With this in mind, I always remind myself BEFORE falling for a car, to use rationality to determine if it's the right car to fall for. This particular car is rougher than rough, and the implications for the unseen based on what CAN be seen are not good. One-owner or not, W30 or not, the car appears to be junk. It's your money and your time, you can do what you want. Do you want to spend $2,500 so you can spend hundreds or thousands more to have a rusty, beat-up car? Do you want to spend $2,500 on a handful of parts you can transfer to a nice car to make it worth a little bit more? Do you want to spend $40k restoring this car to perfection so it can be worth $20k? I'm just not seeing the angle. As I said before, not trying to be negative, just realistic.

Mickeyold442

Ive always fallen for these cars,when I started oout,im only 38, I was buying and fixing up cutlasse's. I had 1 442 I bought no engine or trans out of a kentucky boneyard for 100 bucks. It was my first fast fast muscle car in my book. Ive had cutlass after cutlass. I just recently bought my first Hurst for 1500 and talk about a car that was junk,check these pics out. I pulled the motor&trans. .30 bore,505 comp cams lift,porting heads,with a 650 edelbrock and 2400 stall converter. friend told me to go with a 700 r4 for a 4th gear. Ive invested 5k into this hurst and have yet to get to body and interior.In my book with the W-30 we just might flip it. I know the hundreds and thousands now,learning that after the fact but Im not rich but retired and on disabilty so I can afford to waste but thx for the extra time to help me see clearer Intragation. Weve all had love for something weve spent time and money on. I know 1 owner or not W=30 or not,lol, like your style friend.

Intragration

Cool, sounds like you're a lot more familiar with these types of projects than you were letting on. I get it now. And FWIW, every dollar I blow on my car is money down the drain, it's essentially a worthless car, but I love the heck out of it, and that's all that matters to me, so I'm with you there. At least YOU'LL be wrenching on an actual W30. Good luck if you buy it, and have fun.

BangScreech4-4-2

Also, Mickey, before you make any commitment, try to find out what parts you're going to need and source them. Colonnade-body GMs can be VERY tricky to find parts for. There's very little available in the reproduction market and although they built millions of these cars, don't ask me where they all went, because you just don't see them any more. Not even at the wreckers.