rick4106

Looking at a 69 Cutlass F85 for my daughter. 6 Cyl,3sp on column,manual steering,manual drum brake car.Are these car rare? Cant find much info.

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site. IMHO, rare is not the word I would use to describe the package you are looking at, undesirable would be a better description. I'm not saying these cars do not exist but there are very few out there left. Good luck with your quest.

R-body_mopar

Welcome to CO!

I agree with Eric, probably non-existent, but not in great demand; what is the condition of the car, mileage, etc? This would be a good candidate for a 455/4 spd swap, if it's a 2 dr post coupe!

Greg Rogers

I think that would be a neat car. Anything with a 6 and stick is cool to me, especially in a Olds. You see lots of Falcons and Valiants, Chevy II's etc. but not many Olds. Is it a 2 or 4 door? I'll bet 4door. I would think it is rare, but so are hearses. Rarity doesn't necessarily mean desirability. I wonder if your daughter would like it? How many kids these days even know how to drive a stick? I had a 68 f-85 4 door with a automatic in about 1980. It was just a basic old car.

joe_padavano

Wow, that's the absolute bottom of the line base model loss-leader. This particular equipment combination was specifically selected so Olds could advertise the lowest possible price. They are rare because they were undesirable when new and no one bought them optioned that way. They are not particularly desirable today, either. Rare does not equal valuable.

Beob

They made 2899 f85s with 6cyl in 69. Looks like only available in 2 door coupe.

rocketraider

Rare, yes- because your typical Oldsmobile buyer would not have bought a car like that. It was, as Joe P says, a loss leader to get someone into the dealership and then try to sell them a higher profit car. Then they'd sell this at rock bottom to move it off the lot.

It's a Chevrolet 6-cylinder engine and 3-speed trans. You sure your daughter's up to driving a manual steering and brake car? What type of traffic will she be driving in? if you're in a wide open rural area this could be a decent and fun car for her. Congested traffic or lots of city driving, not so much.

That said, it's one of those cars that should probably remain unmolested just to show that they were built and a few survived.

joe_padavano

The F-85 was only offered as a two door Sport Coupe, so the only six cylinder F-85 offered in 1969 was the Sport Coupe. The I6 was also available in the Cutlass and Cutlass S line in two doors, four doors, and wagons.

Octania

Nicely summed up
PITA to drive in traffic, like any MT, but worse with the shifter on the column. It will have many Manual Trans parts in place, so it'd be pretty easy to make into a 3 on the floor or even a 350 MT or big block MT car. Might have the Ford toploader trans, being of that era.

rick4106

Car is all original down to gold 6 cyl. Light rust on bottom of pasd fender,radiator support by battery and over wheel wells of both quarters. Floir pans and trunk are solid. Runs and drives good. Needs rubbers for windows. Interior has small tear in headliner and carpet worn. Will upgrade to power disc and power steering for sure. Have a automatic already to install. Will teach her how to drive the stanard. Not to many kids these days can much less a 3 on the tree

droldsmorland

2 door? Cool car either way. Ill bet the price is right too. Id fixer up as-is keep the 3 on the tree for now. Unusual and something you just dont see today. Make the cosmetic repairs and let her drive it for a while before up grades. She'll let you know what bothers her. Definitely a great candidate for a 455 or 350/Muncie combo. Then add power brakes/steering? That is as her driving skills increase.

rick4106

Yes its a 2 door. She has been driving jr dragsters since she was 8. She loves it and her twin wants a 70 Challenger but has figured that is out of my price range. This wilk be my first olds,always been a Mopar man

oldcutlass

So far 12 posts and no pictures, lets see it. I like Mopars and most other orphan cars. So whats your plan with this car, its a blank slate.

m371961

With three on the tree you don't have to worry about a carjack or someone just driving it away! So few of these cars left in this way. Most that survive someone modifies.

Jonb442

I'd love to see what this thing looks like too. Awesome that she's been racing junior dragsters but if this is her first car I'd look for something with more modern brakes and safety features. Pretty sure with the 6 it would have a Saginaw trans, the Ford unit was for heavier-duty applications.

redoldsman

It would be good to have pictures and price before giving an opinion. I could see taking one of these and putting a nice 350 in it and leaving it looking bone stock with dog dish hubcaps. Could be quite a sleeper. We really need those pictures.

rick4106

Trading a 03 Dodge 2500 Diesel for car and $4500 cash. I have $5800 in truck.

Diego

Um, you mean a W-31?

dnmfranco

um, a cutlass or F-85 w a 350 and dog dishes (for the sleeper look) hardly translates to a w-31

Diego

I'll rephrase it so you understand:

"Why not go all the way and clone it into a W-31?"

dnmfranco

okay your expanded diction now clarifies that, yeah why not
very neat car imo.

Koda

I would not recommend one of these cars for a daily driver for anyone. Especially an underpowered, poorly shift-able car. Please evaluate what traffic she will face on a daily basis; if that linkage locks up and she gets T-boned because she can't get going fast enough and, God forbid, gets seriously hurt or killed, you'll never have peace with yourself after that for letting her drive it.

I'm all for her having the car; they're awesome, even the base models, but, let's all be serious and think for a minute about the morons on the road today. I don't drive my old ones in the rain or snow or in bad traffic or as daily commuters.

Maybe she could have it as hers but borrow something safer as needed for when she has to go through bad traffic? Sorry to be so negative here, but I'd like you to think about it.

droldsmorland

Jealous....cool as hell. Can you say sleeper! She sounds like true car girl, nice job dad! Only problem is after driving the wheezing 6 stick she'll be asking for a Trovato 496 with a tremec a 9" and Steelie off-sets next xmas...lol...she knows speed.

64Rocket

Your truck and $4500 cash sounds a bit high. Unless your truck is wore out and old.
look at this one. I think it was green at one time. If i had the room and the money, it would be mine.
Gene

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/4806350065.html

oldsmobiledave

No way that car was red when new and certainly not that shade of red.

Nice car. Would make a great race car.

rick4106

64 Rocket, he is giving me the cutlass and $4500 for my truck. The car will get power disc and power steering before she drives it.

rustyroger

And I would leave the rest alone. Sure, you could stuff a big block and auto transmission into it, along with the added cost of upgraded suspension and cooling. But, and please don't send out a lynch mob, it would still be outperformed in every parameter by almost any modern car one step above a shopping trolley.

Let your daughter learn how to be proficient at shifting gears, it isn't hard, stick is how nearly all Europeans learn to drive, and it might stop some dumbass friend of hers showing off and wrecking it.
Driven as probably most original owners drove such a car you might be pleasantly surprised at the gas mileage it gets too.

Roger.

oldcutlass

This car will have plenty of power to compete with any modern car out there, stock. I don't see what the big deal is. Most of us learned to drive the ol 3 on a tree cars, and if his daughter can handle a JR dragster she sure as hell can handle this car. Drum brakes are safe once you know the parameters in which they were designed to operate and the minor pitfalls of running through water puddles. I think it will be a great father and daughter project.

joe_padavano

Most normally aspirated four cylinder cars with half the displacement will have more HP than this car, but that's not the point. For all the hand-wringing over "get your daughter a safer car", the reality is that most people here learned to drive on a car like this. It's got three point seat belts, which I trust more than airbags. It's got a collapsible steering column. It doesn't have side impact beams in the doors, however. It also probably weighs less than most of those four cylinder cars on the road today!

The beauty of a car like this is that it teaches you how to DRIVE, especially the part about being aware of what's going on around you and always having a contingency plan in your head. This used to be called defensive driving. The manual steering, manual brakes, and three-on-the-tree also means that the driver doesn't have any hands left over for texting while driving.

I think it's a perfectly good first car.

Greg Rogers

I LOVE that car. How cool and unusual and seems like a screaming deal- like $1400?? How can you go wrong? If she doesn't like it you can sell it and make some$$. I too am a Mopar guy...Olds guy too...

MDchanic

I'm with Eric and Joe: That car is perfectly driveable as-is.

The old 250-six has enough power for ordinary driving, merging, etc. You'd never be able to tell it had a six in normal driving under normal circumstances. How much power do you want a kid to have? There is a line between "enough power" and "enough power to get you into trouble" - that line is set pretty low with the beginning driver.

The four wheel manual drums are fine and will stop the car as well as any others so long as the driving isn't extreme (towing, racing, etc.) and the driver isn't crippled. So she has to push a little harder, this is not a big deal for a kid.

The manual steering is another non-issue. In normal driving, she'll never notice the difference. It will only be obvious when parking. The manual steering does require some "bus driver" wheel turning when making turns, but that is not a safety issue.
Also, a manual-to-power steering conversion is MUCH easier to do in a GM car than a MoPar, so this one thing would be cheap and easy to do, and also easy to reverse. A '92-'98 Jeep Grand Cherokee steering box would make it about ten times more "modern-feeling" to drive, too.

I'd leave it just like it is (maybe add a JGC steering box and a pump), replace shocks with top quality units (I like Bilsteins), maybe add sway bars, and fix any bad suspension bushings, and enjoy it.

As noted, Olds made VERY few of these, and of those almost all were crushed or had bigger motors stuffed in them. It is very unusual to find one of these cars.

- Eric

joe_padavano

While, like many, I find this car perversely cool, I suspect that driving it would get old in a hurry, at least for me personally.

MDchanic

Well, my DD is a 2,800lb 18 year old BMW, so, yeah, not exactly the same experience, but I had a '67 Valiant with manual everything and a 170-six as a DD for a few years, not long ago, and I quite enjoyed driving it. I enjoyed it even more after I installed power steering (but I did NOT enjoy installing it...).

- Eric

1970cs

My dad's first couple of Olds were F-85 action line 6 with manual drum brakes.
They were autos but hauled a four person camper and camping gear with no problems, IIRC brakes were a slight problem when hauling.

My first new car was 4 speed, 4 banger, no power steering or brakes! only option was rear defroster.

I will go along with the gang, which is IMO anyway, it's original once. Please keep it that way.

Pat

redoldsman

I love this car but I think you have to put a little fun factor in it to keep from getting bored. Either put the 350 in (a nice one) and make it look like it came there with no chrome. If you are not going to do that, split the exhaust manifold and put a pair of Smitty's on it. When you let off the gas in second gear it will talk to you.

steverw

I agree converting to disc and pwr steering. Make it safe for her and easy to drive. You dont want her struggling turning the wheel when parking, or just turning at slow speeds. Drum brakes are good but can be dangerous if wet. Be sure the suspension is in good shape, tie rods, control bushings. Maybe add anti sway bars to make it more stable. An upgraded faster ratio steering gear box is available, the Jeep Grand Cherokee as Eric said, and also a company called Lars Steering, and others too i believe. I do think the 3 spd on the column is very cool, I learned in a 66 Impala, 283, 3 on the tree. It was yellow with black interior, I loved that car.
Good luck with the build, I hope she gets in there and helps you with it, so she can learn about these great old cars.
Steve

rustyroger

What does your daughter want from the car?. We all have (perfectly valid) views about what to do with it. Almost certainly most of them not what your daughter thinks.
Let us know what she wants, then we can hopefully help with how to best go about achieving her goals.

Roger.

droldsmorland

Agreed with the perverse attraction!
Joe, didnt 69s get the side impact beam? I would have bet the bank on that one. Seem to remember them....but then again memory's the second thing to go.

joe_padavano

Nope. FMVSS 214 that set side impact requirements went into effect Jan 1, 1973. I do recall working on a 1972 Cutlass that had the impact beams, however.

bodydude

I bought a similarly equipped 69 chevelle custom 300 some years back and gave to a young lady for her first car to drive to school. She said she'd rather walk than drive that old thing.........Untill the first day of school when the boys were all over that car, then she loved it. we did change to power steering later but kept the rest stock down to the rubber floor mat and poverty caps. very cool car