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Hi, new here to the Oldsmobile forum. Just got my dad’s ‘71 cutlass supreme convertible. A little history. My dad bought it in ’72 when the car was exactly a year old. It was only driven one northern winter. I drove it in high school as a senior in ’80-’81. It was just a used car then. I bought another car (’68 cougar) when I started college in ’82 but still drove the cutlass once in a while. My dad always kept the car, retired in ’92 and drove it once in a while during the summer. My dad decided to have it painted 12 years ago and unfortunately they did a poor job. Too bad, it still had its original paint at the time with only some rust at the bottom of the fenders and a light hit on the left ¼. It looks good from 20 feet. I moved to South Florida 27 years ago but always told him I’ll take it when he’s ready. A couple of years ago he started hinting about bringing it down. Well, it got here last week. Strange feeling having here and it brings back memories from when I drove it 35 years ago. Since I had not seen the car in quite a long time I have been looking it over. The top has been replaced but no floor rust, no frame rust. Bottom of the doors rust free. Trunk is rust free. The car is completely original right down to the original floor mats still in it! I just need to really clean it up inside and out as well as the engine compartment. Fix a couple of oil leaks and rebuild the carb. All electrical works except for the clock. I’ll take care of that later. I’m just going to make it dependable so I can drive it this winter (remember I’m in South Florida). Come next summer, I may strip it down and re-do it right (I do my own paint and body work so the poor work on this is driving me nuts). It will need the engine compartment restored and the engine rebuilt and I’ll re-upholster the front buckets. In the meantime, I’m just going to drive it!
Last edited by dads71cutlass; October 18th, 2017 at 09:32 AM.
I drove it in high school as a senior in ’80-’81. It was just a used car then.
Wow, I did the same thing at the same time, then continued driving it through college and jobs afterwards. Prolly why I still think of it as "just a used car" to this day.
Originally Posted by dads71cutlass
I’m just going to make it dependable so I can drive it this winter (remember I’m in South Florida).
Yeah, a convertible (or any car for that matter) with no AC is definitely not something you want to drive around in Gulf Coast summer heat and humidity. I'm so glad mine has AC - I grew up and lived on the south Louisiana/south Texas coast before moving here to the desert.
Welcome to the group... Vehicles with a family history put a lot of pressure on the owners to maintain and preserve them for future generations to enjoy...