tonyism7

So I looked at my first cutlass today. It was a 68' cutlass, that someone had stuck some 442 badges and 442 rear bumper on. The car was pretty solid, the only rust I could find was in the trunk, but that was an easy patch job. The motor had some go fast parts on it like a holley double pumper, a a big holley intake, long tube headers, and an h-pipe dual exhaust. The guy said it had 400 transmission, but I don't know enough to be able to tell by looking at it under the car. The guy said it ran fine, but hadn't bothered to run it for two years, and didn't bother to try it for me. The car is also in primer.

But anyway, the interior was basically trashed. It had crappy aftermarket front seats, a cheap steering wheel, no radio, no carpets, and the dash and door panels were wrecked beyond repair. So I'm wondering what the costs and availability is for a new interior on these cars. The guy was asking $1500 and I offered him a $1000, but he said no and wouldn't negotiate, so I walked. But I'm starting to second guess myself a bit.

I love cutlasses/442s, but this isn't my dream model. So while I'd enjoy the restoration, I'd probably sell it sooner rather than later to fund another project. That means I'd want to come out a little ahead money wise on this car.

So with the costs of a whole new interior, and the risks of a mystery engine, I think it's in my best interest to walk. But can anyone give me an estimate on the costs of a new interior?

Thanks for reading all that.

Greg Rogers

Pretty cheap at $1500, if its as you say its probably worth that for parts. #1 big cost is rust repair if its really not rusty that maybe a good deal. But.. Interior is expensive also.

oldcutlass

Welcome, $1200 - 2500 depending on how far you take it for the interior. $1500 would be an inexpensive start, if the drive train was ok.

tonyism7

Yeah, I'm very torn on this car. I'm in PA so there aren't a lot of cars around without rust. I think it stung a little bit that the guy wouldn't negotiate at all, it's no fun paying asking price haha. But you don't see a lot of cutlasses around here for less than $4k, and those are usually complete but with rust. Though I also don't see them selling for much over $10k around here either.

But if I can do a new interior for $2.5k, $4k for a decent paint job, $1.5 purchase costs, $600 for new bumpers that it needs, and $1k for other incidentals, I'm around $8.5k - $9k on costs.

So I need to decide if that $1,000 cushion is enough to take a risk on the engine for. If the car does have a th400, its probably because the original jet-away blew up. With the engine mods, transmission replacement, and cheap interior race themed stuff, it's making me suspicious on how hard the engine was pushed. The car has 80,000 miles on the clock for what that's worth. How hard is it to wear the rocket 350s out?

And how hard is it to find all the new interior pieces?

Thanks for the help.

oldcutlass

You will not get by with $1k for incidentals. You will have $15k in it when your done, easy.

tonyism7

I think you're right. I'm bit by the buying bug right now and am being a little too optimistic.

I think I'll wait till I find a model I like better and know I'll want to keep for a long time. A 69' with the fender peak trim is what I really want, but all I can ever seem to find are 68's. Just need to have some patience.

Allan R

Truer words never spoken unless you have a wallet made from bear traps.

Also another really important factor here I don't see you budgeting for. Time. Whatever your estimate is? Triple or Quadruple it. Not kidding - ask around. Every one of us has run into that issue at some point in time. My rear end rebuild was scheduled for completion last October....yeah I should be done sometime in about 2 weeks now that it's warm enough to work on it again.

Lastly if you have a missus or significant other? You need to be aware they sometimes get very jealous of time you spend on a project and not them. It seems this is not common knowledge till after a project starts.

jag1886

If the car really has no rust it is worth the money with no engine or interior. If you don't like 68's that answers the question don't buy it.

Allan R

Hmm, I didn't read anything in your budget for suspension repairs/rebuild. Little things like upper/lower control arm bushings, shocks, sway bar bushings/links, idler arm, tie rods, ball joints, center link, brake overhaul (front/rear) maybe replace brake lines etc. This stuff is very labor intensive but not horribly expensive. Then there's the issue of a 45 year old cooling system and fuel pump/rubber lines/tank and sender. These things have a way of sneaking into the picture when you don't expect them.

A good 350 with only 80K on it should still be strong. But you never know especially if it's been sitting or has been run hard. Far as the TH400? Either the 350 was replaced or the trans was replaced. In 1968 the 442 would have come with 400 4bbl which could be bolted up to either an M40 TH400 or M20/M21 MT wide/close ratio 4 speed. A lot of the 1968 Cutlass with 350 had the Jetaway 2 speed trans (M31).

Can you post the VIN and Cowl tag pic on the car? That will tell a lot more about it.

tonyism7

I certainly know that feeling. I'm graduating law school in a few weeks and I won't be starting a serious job until the fall, so this is probably the most free time I'll have for a long time. But being my first real restore, It'd probably take three times longer than it should. Most of my other experience comes from building vw buggies, but I never worried about making them look pretty haha.

It's not that I don't like 68's, I think they're great, they're just not a dream car that I'm going to want to hold onto for 10+ years. So I'm worried about getting buried in costs on a short term car. Maybe I should buy it, do minimal work to make it run and drive again, and flip it?


I don't have any photos of the tags, but I checked the engine stamp and it is a 350. The guy showing it to me was the owner's employee so he didn't know much about the car, but I think he was trying to say the tranny was swapped. And good catch on the suspension and brake and fuel line stuff. I hate doing brakes, so I'd guess I'd been letting myself think I wouldn't have to mess with them. But they definitely potential to eat my budget.

I thought the guys on an Oldsmobile forum would have talked me into this car if anything, but it looks like I was wrong haha. So thanks for the help. I'm 90% convinced now.

oldcutlass

Thats the problem with the older cars, Allan. If you buy a car as OP states, you can figure having at least $15k in it to make it a driver. These cars just are not bringing that kind of money resale. I always advise to buy and build a car as a labor of love, and drive it because personal satisfaction is priceless. Be patient and get what you really want within your budget.

Allan R

All 1968-76 Olds 350 engines will have the casting 395558 2 on them. So that's not a sure fire way to know it came from this car. You need to look at the engine stamping pad. If it has the last 6 numbers from the cars VIN on it, it's the original engine. If you don't have photos? Post the info in text format. Not hard to decode

Whoa!! Not trying to talk you out of a potentially really nice car. Just giving you some thoughts about the time and $$ you will put into the project but never get back out. In that respect, doesn't matter what brand you choose - a responsible reply on the forums will give you a realistic interpretation of what you're getting into. If we didn't? You might hate us down the road when all the 'ya - buy it, it's an easy fix' syndrome and countless $$$ thrown into it wore off.

Eric's right - it's got to be for the personal interest and enjoyment. I know all about that because it's how I treat my car. It's worth more to me personally than the sum of all the labor and parts I've put into it. In relative terms that's completely bass ackwards to what most people expect from a project car when they sell it. By all means make the purchase - it's a great car to restore when you have the time and $$$. Right now though it sounds like you may have to focus on the law and any student loans that may have been incurred to get you through.

I know this is redundant because you likely learned it early in life; set your priorities. If this car is at the bottom of the list, treat it that way.

oldcutlass

We are not talking you out of anything, just making things realistic for you. Your budgetary thinking was a bit skewed, and you said that it was not the car you really wanted. Fixing up a car budgetary requirements that you cyphered up multiply x2, and as stated above time constraints x3.

As far as the flip, look on ebay's completed listings and see what they are or not selling for. Also look on here at the cars for sale prices. There have been quite a few very nice cars at stupid low prices lately.

tonyism7

I know you guys didn't have an agenda of trying to talk me out of the car. You were just giving me some honest advice and I'm glad I listened. Because wouldn't you know it, I found a real 69' 442 15 minutes from me. It's in similar shape to the 68' cutlass I was looking at earlier, no rust and in primer, except the engine is out and disassembled and all the original pieces look to be there. So I made a deal with the guy for $1200 and now I have my ideal car. I plan on opening a build thread once I get some work done. So thanks for the advice.

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oldcutlass

Well done my friend, look foward to your build thread.

tecar442

Look at this project as a series of small tasks. Approaching it as one big task can become overwhelming. What ever you do, do each small task the right way. Don't take shortcuts just to meet some deadline. You'll never be sorry. Get a factory assembly manual and a shop manual. If you don't know how to do something ...ASK! We can help. Take lots of pictures, before and after. These can help you reassemble areas of the car you may have disassembled months ago. Bag and label everything. Have fun!

oldcutlass

Have you put together a budget yet? I wonder if you could document your costs as you progress, as it will give others in similar circumstance and skill level an idea what a project like your will actually cost. It will be interesting to see.

tonyism7

I haven't done it yet, but it's a good idea. I'll try to keep it organized and posted when I do it. Right now there's boxes and boxes of stuff that I need to go through when I pick the car up. So figuring out what exactly I've gotten myself into is priority #1 for now. But I'd think that'd be something good to have up here.

tru-blue 442

+1