Howdy! My fiancée and I moved into her parents' old farmhouse, and long story short, I found an old '64 Cutlass under some pallets and mattresses in the storage building! We contacted her parents about it, and apparently its been in there sitting since the late '70s. They're going to look for the paperwork and have no issue with me trying to restore it! My biggest hurdle right now is trying to move it away from the wall! Any tips would be appreciated!

 

Wow, that is really cool. A genuine "Barn Find" and a desirable model to boot. Air up the tires and see if it will roll. There are some good resources for this car here on the site. Here to wishing you the very best with it..

tc

 

Schweet! Looks like it has good bones, and a convertible, to boot!!

Good Luck, we will want to follow along, so be sure and post up the pics as you go!

 

That's a 1965, not a 64. Good luck.

 

Welcome! Could be a good project.

 

As per Joe's comment, here's a front-on perspective of the grille design, OLDSMOBILE emblem/logo location (hood versus grille), bumper, turn signals, etc. between '64 & '65...


1964

1965

 

Should be fun!

Air up the tires you can reach. Get some planks to lay under the car, use a floor jack to raise one end and roll it away on the planks. One end at a time, back and forth and you'll be away from the wall.

 

Welcome to the site, that is definitely a project.

 

Thanks for the info! I tried decoding the VIN inside the driver's side door on http://www.v8cars.hu/oldsvin/vin.php and it told me I had a '64. Still learning!

 

Take a picture of the VIN & post it here for more assistance. Also, take a picture of the cowl tag (sometimes referred to as a body tag) and post it here. Pop the hood and look on the firewall just below the windshield on the driver's side. It will look similar to the below image.

 

And, if your serious regarding anything remotely akin to a rebuild, tune-up, brakes, and the knowledge to fix anything on this beast, buy an original paperback 1965 Oldsmobile Chassis Service Manual (CSM) - it is the authoritative bible for the car. Steer clear of new reproduction copies & digital copies - they lack clarity, lack detail and often have pages missing. There are a fair number for sale on eBay in various conditions. Here is a pretty decent nice condition CSM...

1965 Oldsmobile Chassis Service Manual

 

This appears to be an even better deal...I'm sure you can shop on your own.

1965 CSM

 

I do have a VIN photo, but the cowl tag will have to wait until after work

 

Interestingly it’s got 64 & 65 parts.
Rear of body, hood, grill all look to be 65 parts.
Front wheel well trim, dash, steering wheel and interior door panels and air cleaner are 64.

it will be interesting as to what the data plate in engine bay says.

 

My Father-in-Law worked in a body shop that his father owned on the property, and got the car from him. Probably was just a beat up and abused '64 that got spruced up with some available '65 parts. I'll have to check the data plate when I get home.

 

That is really cool. Apparently a Heinz 64-65 mixture. Also it has GTO seats, or at least covers. Good luck on it, hopefully engine is free...

 

Got a picture of the body tag. Had to try and work through a lot of crud to see it. The paint all over this car is pretty delicate right now.

 

OK, both the VIN and cowl tag are 1964, so the car has had a 65 front end swapped on and also the 65 side trim added to the rear quarter. The car was originally Tahitian Yellow (paint code K), built in Lansing, MI the fourth week of Jan 1964, with a black interior and power trunk release.

 

Thanks for looking all that up!

 

WOW, what an unexpected find. Should be fun getting it all cleaned up!
Steve

 

Great car and a great story! Power steering and brakes a nice plus. It might run - good luck.

 

Very cool. Make sure you lube the hood hinges before you try to put the hood back down.

 

Joe, 03D assembly date (fourth week of March 1964)?

 

Is that a 3? Looked like a 1 on my monitor.

 

Really, not a big deal anyway. I came up with an electric rear fender antenna instead of a electric trunk opener - sidebar conversations. Hope the young man can get it rolling again.

 

"S" in ACC group 1 is power trunk (vacuum, not electric, that year)
"T" in ACC group 2 is power antenna

 

Very cool! Glad Joes got you some info.
That looks like a very fun project. Now see if it runs!

As for getting it away from the wall...is there room in the barn to get a decent truck in there and just pull it sideways?
Or maybe use a come along...
Other than that you'll just have to air up the tires, wiggle it back and forth and slowly move it away from the wall.

 

These old tires are too rotted out to try and reinflate. Ill have to grab some used wheels out of the pile.



Some photos of the dash and driver door panel.


The car isn't quite parallel to the wall. I can get my legs between the passenger front wheel and the wall, but not the rear end.


I cleaned some small spots on the driver seat and hood to see the actual colors. I think the seats are either navy or black.

 

That just might clean up really nicely!

 

You may want to hire someone with a HiLO with long forks to lift the car under the frame

 

Joe probably has that memorized?

What a cool project though.... lots of good knowledge on here. I second getting the correct manual and paying attention to the hood springs and door springs as well. One of my door hinges broke and the spring came out right after I got it...

Good luck!!