My 1964 cutlass F85 convertible has been in our family (2cd owners) nearly 50 years. It is lTHE car I learned to drive in. It”s been a fair weather car its entire life. The original owner lost his license and let it sit in his garage for 2 years before selling. Mom enjoyed the car until she lost her license due to debilitating affect of MS. No one was allowed to touch the car… not even Dad. She gave me the car just prior to her passing. It sat in the garage & didn’t turn a wheel for 27 years so I had to do some minor repairs - brakes and so forth. Mechanically she is strong and proud. Currently it has just under 31,000 original miles.
I am trying to find out how many of these convertible babies are still alive and well. Would appreciate info on how to get those numbers please. Thank you

 

I cannot tell you how many remain alive & well. Most likely impossible to ascertain. There were 12,822 Cutlass convertibles produced in 1964. You own a Cutlass if it is a convertible. Cutlass was available as a Sports Coupe, Holiday Coupe &/or Convertible. There were no F-85 convertibles produced in 1964. F-85 was available as a Club Coupe, 4 Dr. Sedan &/or Station Wagon.

SOURCE: Setting The Pace: Oldsmobile's First 100 Years (Helen Jones Earley and James R. Walkinshaw), 1996.

 

welcome, if your car was sold/made in Canada most info is available, if its American made not much info is available. there was a 64 convertible in Victoria years ago. where in BC are you ?

 

Note: FWIW, 36,153 Cutlass Holiday Coupes, 15,440 Cutlass Sports Coupes produced in 1964 model year.

 

Still at least 2. I saw one (black) on Saturday night and the other (light blue) one lives near Cedar Hill X Rd and Shelbourne.

 

Welcome to the site, post some pictures when you get a chance.

 

@briddy ... as Stan mentioned, if your car was originally built or even just sold in Canada, you can get a package from https://www.vintagevehicleservices.com which will give details about exactly how your car was equipped when shipped to the original selling dealer, plus they sometimes throw in interesting informational tidbits. Well worth the $100 I spent on it last time I got one, and still worth it if the price has gone up.

BTW, welcome to CO.

 

This is one of the most sought-after bits of information about a car, and there is no answer because no records are kept by anyone or anything. How do you define "alive and well?" Running, driving, and registered and licensed? Sitting in someone's garage undergoing restoration? Sitting outside someone's garage serving as a parts car for the one inside the garage being restored? (OK, probably wouldn't count that last one.)

Statistically-speaking, and remember that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics, about 25% of vehicle's initial production run is still on the road after 25 years. Vehicles like convertibles and coupes tend to be preserved in greater numbers than four-doors and station wagons. So the number is very general, and it has tended higher in recent decades because more modern cars have been built a little more sturdily.

Anyway, if 1964 Cutlass convertible production was, as noted, around 12,800, that would suggest that about 130 have survived to today. Given that we're talking convertibles, we might go so far as to double that. But I would guess not more than a few hundred survive.


My father actually bought a 1964 Cutlass convertible new. It was yellow with a black interior and white top. We had that car until 1968, when he gave it to his mother, who drove it for a few years before giving it to my cousins (my father’s brother’s family). They drove it until one day in 1971 or so when it was a rear-ended by a dump truck while waiting to make a left turn. No one was hurt, but the back end of the car was demolished, and it was totaled.

So, of the 12,822 1964 Cutlass convertibles produced, you have one, and my dad had one, which we know the fate of. So that leaves 12,820 still to be accounted for!

 

This all depends on how you look at it. According to the 1964 Olds Chassis Service Manual, all 1964 A-body Oldsmobiles were F-85s. There were three series, F-85, Deluxe F-85, and Cutlass F-85. So one could say that every Cutlass is an F-85, but not every F-85 is a Cutlass. At least for 1964,.

This is from the front section of the '64 service manual.






On the other hand, the '64 Salesman's Specs book doesn't call the Cutlass an F-85.

 

Welcome

 

[QUOTE=Vintage Chief;1582664]I cannot tell you how many remain alive & well. Most likely impossible to ascertain. There were 12,822 Cutlass convertibles produced in 1964. You own a Cutlass if it is a convertible. Cutlass was available as a Sports Coupe, Holiday Coupe &/or Convertible. There were no F-85 convertibles produced in 1964. F-85 was available as a Club Coupe, 4 Dr. Sedan &/or Station Wagon.

SOURCE: Setting The Pace: Oldsmobile's First 100 Years (Helen Jones Earley and James

Cutlass was the top model of the F85 line, but was still an F85. My 65 convertible says "F85 Cutlass" on the dash emblem.

 

See Post #9.