So, my first post here.... Tomorrow morning I'll be driving 2 hours to see and drive a '65 F-85 2 door post that's for sale. I just learned about it and am thinking I'll likely buy it if it's what the buyer says it is. I've been looking for a 2 door post F-85 for many years, specifically with the 330 4bbl, 4 speed and bench seat and this car has all three. This would replicate my first car that I bought in 1968 from my girlfriends sister and husband. Can anyone help me with any quick tips of things to look for that may have been problem areas with these cars? I'm ok with the "usual" things to look for when buying a used car. What is the availability of replacement parts for this car?

Thanks!
Rich

 

Welcome! Sounds like you found what you are looking for. As with any car price usually dictates condition. As for parts availability it can sometimes be difficult, body parts being the hardest to find. The people on this site are very willing to help. Good luck.

 

Check frame behind front wheel, tends to rust in that area. Most sheet metal is not available, quarter panels being tough to locate in good shape. Welcome to Classic Olds.

 

Thanks for the quick replies! Another question I'd have is about the transmission. What was the OEM 4 speed in '65 for the Cutlass/F-85? Borg Warner? Saginaw? Muncie?

 

Muncie, could be close or wide ratio, depending on rear gear.

 

The car originally a Desert or Minnesota car? $1500 or $15000? Rust is your largest concern with anything 54-5 years old. Id get him to take some money shots of the following areas before Id ride 30 mins.
Undercarriage....frame, floor pans, trunk pan and extensions both sides. All door and trunk seams. Front and rear glass channels under the chrome. Crawl into the trunk and look up at the rear window area. Front dash metal where the windshield meets the dash.
Grab one of those bondo finding magnets and look at the outer skin down low at all 4 corners. Bondo/rot price just dropped.

Bring a bright flashlight for the undercarriage and trunk. Shine it down the fenders to look for ripples.

Crusty....run. Solid good.

Use your head not your heart.

 

Desert car. Asking $8500. Thanks for the tips on looking for typical rust spots. Already had my magnet in my pocket

Rich

 

bad areas on mine were around the front and rear windows, under the back seat the lower corners of the wheelwells, floor behind the drivers seat, both rear quarters, and the drivers side roof had a few spots maybe from being parked on an angle. the original shifter is usually pretty loose but can be rebuilt or replaced with a Hurst. good luck

 

If you score we like pictures

 

welcome and good luck with your purchase.a 65 club coupe 4 speed has got to be a very rare car.they only made 736 442s in club coupe 4 speed trim i would think the 330 would be less..

 

Rich That sounds like my car. 65 Cutlass Sports Coupe 330 4 speed. The car originally had a bench seat that was replaced at some point before I got it with buckets. Car only option was the AM radio and power brakes. Exterior color is Ocean Mist and white interior with a console between the buckets.It is a fun car to drive. Good luck on your purchase. Bassinguy.

 

I was hoping to get to see the car yesterday but stuff came up and needed to put it off til this morning. The car was overall in good shape metal-wise, being a Nevada car I wasn't totally surprised. The only major rust issues were the underside but it appeared to be mostly surface scaling. Other than the normal dirt and old age it seemed solid. The body was mostly straight and my magnet never picked up any obvious mud.. I was disappointed to find the engine, while being a 381917 330ci, was NOT the 4bbl high compression, but rather the 2bbl Jetfire. Started and ran good, sounded decent with the flowmasters that are on it. The transmission, I found out today, was originally a 3spd manual that a previous owner swapped out for a 4spd with Hurst linkage. The trunk floor and around all windows appeared to be rust free. The only real drawback was the interior. No carpet, the headliner was 75% hanging down, front bench seat saggy and naturally needing reupholstering. Safe to say, the entire interior would need replacement. Good thing about no carpet is that it was easy to see any floorboard rust . So, before I make an offer on it (asking $8500 and says he won't budge) I need to know how hard it will be to do that interior. I come from the Tri Five world of restoration but don't expect anything close to that when thinking about trying to restore this car. Are there re-pop interiors available online for these mid 60's? Can anyone hook me up with links to any online sources for interiors and other restoration stuff?

Naturally, I forgot to take pix. At my age that's easy to do.

Rich

 

cool it was a 3 speed, was it on the column or floor? interior is easy, heres a few sites to help
http://www.442bro.com/
http://w29.boards.net/threads/recent

 

Thanks for those two links!

So, for the group, as I kind of described the condition of the car does $8500 sound fair?

I’m planning on going back in the morning for a second look.

Rich

 

8500 is slightly high IMO for something needing that much attention. 55-6500 would be a deal.
Is it roadworthy? Tires, brakes, etc...?
To do a full-tilt boogie on the interior expect to spend 2-3K for everything. Unless you can find good used stuff. Some things are not available for 65s
NOM, engine and trans...minus a grand or two there...
This is a base F85, not a 442 and not as popular as the later 60s early 70s models.
To keep this in perspective...here in the rust belt anything solid just needing cosmetics and regular service component replacement 8500 is a decent starting point with little to zero rot.
Ill take a fried paint job and interior over rot all day any day.
Stick 6500 in 100 dollar bills under his nose and go from there.
Firm has a way of being unfirm with the smell and visuals of a wad of benjamins.

 

Fusick, Year One, OPGI, and others have some 65 reproduced items.
Keep in mind other 65 GM A-body parts can interchange. This will broaden your parts search.

 

Another thing to consider is the bumpers. No one makes repop bumpers for 64-67 cutlass, so if the bumpers need straightening and rechromed that will add a few thousand more. If you get the car for 6500 expect to put in at least another 6500 or more. Talking from experience here.
greg
65 cutlass sport coupe 442 clone

 

Go 455 with a decent 4 speed and never look back. I started out last year with a '64 Buick with a 3 speed that had a 3:23 rear gear. It works well with the big block! Gotta work on the price IMHO. I dont know the Olds stuff, but they are all coming up in value, just dont get buried in a 50K restoration. Otherwise, have fun! Bill

 

Early A Body Olds "post cars" are getting very hard to find in decent shape to start with. If you pull the trigger on this one what are your plans? If your to go through it all maybe at a piece at a time so you can drive it once in a while, the car could be good starting point. How mechanically skilled are you? If you're not the car will cost much more to "fix up" than its worth. This hobby is an expensive one and most of us here understand that. Then on the other hand some save up the money and buy one that someone else already built for much less $$$ and enjoy the hobby this way.

 

Its sooo easy to get in over your head; thats what happened with "Johnny and his new tool box" restoring grammas car. Ive always been hobby building from minibikes as a kid to Model T Fords, boats, old motorcycles, and GM A body cars. Heck any GM car is OK with me as long as its a pre, say, 1975 model.

The BADLASS is exceptionally solid except where there was a leak at the rear window, which in itself wasnt too bad, however, it soaked the trunk floor mat for 30 years and caused a floor rot out. Thats the winter job coming up and if that goes well, its a paint job. I do all my own work, and rate myself as a PLUS GRADE amatuer.

I agree its best to start slow and have fun driving it between jobs. If youre fortunate enough to find one thats been done and the owner just wants out thats better yet. I still like to say I did it myself. Depending on $$$ and your skill sets, have at it. Just know when to say when. Bill

 

Killer BADLASS Buick. The Appollo white one a real GSX? Stage1? Stick or TH400? My second/third fav car...68-72 GS/GSX and Stage cars. A 68 SS 427 Impala is in the mix.
Nothin pulls stumps/shreads tires like a 70 Buick GS 455...510 lb/ft out a the box!

 

The ol' BAD LAD started life out as a GS 350 in hot red with a brown interior. The PO rebuilt the car including new floors, trunk floor and rear quarter panels with the equivalent of a 1970 455 stage I engine with a 400 turbo. The 2:73 rear gear keeps it highway friendly with the AC blasting. The car was built in 1990, then parked on a dirt floor Morton building until 2013. "Mediocre" body repairs to the doors and front fenders had already started to re-appear, so thats as far as I needed to go. Its not perfect, but gets me where I need to be.

Theres no way being a retired power plant engineer could I afford a real one, although this is my 9th Buick GS... all the previous ones were 455's with a few 4 speeds tossed in for good measure. ALL had AC. My first one was a '70 455/4 speed my brother ordered new and sold it to me in 1972 while I was a junior in high school. Twas a bad mamma jamma. All these cars were a dime a dozen back then with the gas situation being what it was.

 

Friend of mine in High Sch...bought a loaded 70 GS Stage 1 Silver, black vinyl, white bench gut, power everything off an estate...quintessential grandmas car with very low miles. Really nice car. The dam thing would pull the front end enough to see air under the tires. Quite impressive considering it was a loaded car AC and all. Car still exists in the same shape. As he sold it before he beat it. Dont remember the price but it was cheap and he hauled mail at night and made good cash.

 

Ol' Gramm mustve been feelin' pretty sporty to have a Stage I ! I wish I wouldve kept several of mine too, but when yer young and dumb and fulla', well you know how that goes; we were invincible! ws

 

Welcome!

You said the body body is rust free and decent body parts that in its self is worth 15k to me I had a 10 layer repaint all accident related, major dent repair and rust I spent over 2000 hrs personally and I did 90% my own work I did have a good from friends in the automotive field help and teach me and scored my paint cheap,

3 speed was very common for 65 if it was a real club coup car may have had a Buick 6 cylinder with that 3 speed
so the fact it has a jet fire 330 isn’t shocking to me

I say a rust free car is worth looking further into
interior if you do it your self can be pretty cheap
carpet 200-500 depending on quality
head liner is 130-250 depending on quality
seat covers 500-2000 depending on quality and if you install new foam

how is the actual paint ?
Do you have any pictures?

Here is is a few pics of my build I currently am starting another and may have a new one to start very soon love the 64/65







Ps.
My value is 5-8k with what you described all really depends on what you want and willing to pay and do your self you can get nice turn key ready for 10-14k that just need minor repairs as needed by any car may not be a post but there are a few for sale currently around these prices

if it’s a true club coupe
these are the valuable parts
window crank handles died plastic *****
rear panel trim isn’t a full panel has a rocket emblem and two bars (deluxe set has upper and lower trim ) with this is a 5 piece set up instead of one panel
post door and rear side window trim is painted and not the anodized aluminum
no lower side trim to deal with could have cane with the belt line H trim

also for a 4 speed Muncie after sourcing all the little parts could run you 2k just a thought
also I f it has a a body console 64-69 that could run you another 1k


good news is being a manual from factory it will have a HD frame

 

I really like the cranberry paint! I want to go with something like that with a dark blue. Maybe some lace or splatters on the sail panel. Im strictly retro man! ws

 

Soooooooo, what did you decide on the car ?

 

I like the restro mods as well wait tell I get the car I am trying to! It’s for the wife sadly I will be dining a ls drive train but we have some pretty sick thoughts already,





This is a industrial engine
so it’s a 2018 6.0 iron block with 0821 6.2 heads and truck Intake and brackets, I want to do a top accessory’s brackets so it looks like the olds alt and ac brackets I want to try and fab up a oil fill tube to take a nice 90* angle to the hidden valve cover to look olds as well we will see if I can manage it lol. Going to run a holly terminator x max harness and ecm
with a 4l60e only because it will be more looks than race.

 

I have a 65 post f85, have had it for 26yrs. Hardest thing to find and for me most expensive was front and rear bumpers. ended up having the original bumpers straightened and rechromed, about 1300 each. still looking for dress up pieces,

 

X2 on that ankerclanker. I had mine on the 64 done the same way. I have the original door handles and window cranks in a box somewhere. I went with Ring Brothers on those pieces.