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Hello! First post on the forum. I am a Chevy guy ( dont beat me up. ) but picked up a one owner 37k mile car. Original paint / interior / etc. Phenominal shape to say the least. Never seen nicer original paint / interior. I have some questions hopefully someone can answer:
How many were produced?
Did stick cars have smog?
right side of engine on manifold has 3 little gold tabs with a hole in them. What are they for?
Original spare is a uniroyal G78-14 fastrak blackwall. Anyone have a set?
Only piece on car repainted is air cleaner lid. I repainted and put new decal on but would really like an original one to fit patina of car. Anyone car so get rid of one?
I am sure I will have more questions, so I am here to get info out the experts!
Why wouldn't they? All cars sold in the US in 1971 had to meet the same federal requirements. Of course, the required equipment was minimal. The only real emissions-related equipment on a 71 Olds would be the evap cannister, the transmission controlled spark, the thermostatic air cleaner for faster warmup, and the lowered compression and hardened seats to allow the use of low-lead gasoline.
right side of engine on manifold has 3 little gold tabs with a hole in them. What are they for?
If you are talking about these, they are for wire harness tiedown and modulator pipe routing on AT cars. There are two styles, flat and with clips for the modulator pipe, as shown on this big block. The harness had clips that snapped into the hole. And yes, these were also used to anchor the springs holding the O.A.I. adapter, but that is not their primary purpose.
Thanks Joe! Very helpful. Like I said, I am a Chevy guy and the emissions / smog on those were pretty darn obvious. What does the evap canister look like and its location? Makes sense nothing is clipped to them then being a 4 speed car. Thanks Eric, I will post some pics when I get a moment.
Gotcha, thanks for that info. Nice collection you have by the way! I sold off what I had. I collected Yenko / Nickey / COPO / Motion cars for about 20 years. Into the drivers now. Had my fill of trailer queens. Dave
WOW, beautiful car - a convertible and 4-speed to boot. Great find. Welcome to the site. Nice simply optioned car. One thing I would think about is putting sport mirrors on just for safety sake, but heck, it would be hard to change anything on such an original mint car. Need to post more pics for us. Details of engine and even trunk, nice for us who like the original details.
Gorgeous Cutlass with great package of options. It has those limited run of SS1 wheels with the chrome rim instead of the trim ring. I must say it is good to see whitewalls instead of 90% or more which have lettered tires. You have a very attractive Cutlass in such incredible condition. You could sell that car in a heartbeat if you wished.
Thanks for the comments! Believe me I was in absolute shock when i first seen it. Truly a virgin car. I will post more pics. The engine bay is super clean. I am currently just wiping it down and i ordered original radiator / heater hoses / clamps as those had been replaced with aftermarket. Also putting on a date coded spark plug wire set. I will post picks then of the engine bay. A guy that works for me told me about it. I live in Le Claire Iowa and car was in New Liberty Iowa, about 10 minutes off a road i take home. It was parked on a tarp in a barn / covered, moth ***** in socks everywhere and dryer sheets, even a ziplock bag over the air cleaner snorkel. Drives like a dream and you can barely hear it run. I recognized the reverse lockout right away as 70 yenko novas i had also had that. She drove it every year and really kept it preserved well. She said when she went to the dealership she told her husband she wanted a 442 and he said too much power. She said "bullshit." Funny because she told me car never had the rear tires burnout. She wouldn't allow it. How much hp does the 350 4 barrel have?
VERY nice car! I had a '70 C/S 'vert, AT w/ the "cost-credit optional" 2-bbl 350 many years ago, always felt that the 'verts epitomized the best of Olds styling. Your SSIs look AWESOME, don't see those on '71-'72s very often.
Originally Posted by Dave Belk
How much hp does the 350 4 barrel have?
The non-W31 high-compression (10:1) 350-4bbls ('68-70) were rated at 310 gross HP. The compression ratios dropped to around 9:1 in '71, and I want to say this reduced the gross HP ratings to ~240 or so (can't recall OTOMH). Then in '72 the ratings changed from gross to NET, and I believe the 4-bbl 350 was rated around 180-190 NET (the '72 compression ratios were the same as '71, so the actual HP should've been the same '71->'72).
For a moment my Chevy roots took over when i seen SS stamped on the firewall. I am assuming it is in reference to the Sterling Silver paint. There is something to the left of that that ends in 7. Any idea what that is. I seen an X on drivers valve cover / the sticker on oil filler neck, gear box, and the power booster piece on end of vacuum hose. Anything else I should be looking for?
The SS is just a assembly line inspection stamp. The color code would be on the Cowl tag on the drivers side. Cool to hear about the X on the valve covers. I see lots of folks put those on after a repaint but I for ne have never seen or remebr seeing an original X.
The non-W31 high-compression (10:1) 350-4bbls ('68-70) were rated at 310 gross HP. The compression ratios dropped to around 9:1 in '71, and I want to say this reduced the gross HP ratings to ~240 or so (can't recall OTOMH). Then in '72 the ratings changed from gross to NET, and I believe the 4-bbl 350 was rated around 180-190 NET (the '72 compression ratios were the same as '71, so the actual HP should've been the same '71->'72).
That's actually pretty good recollection. In 1971 the CR dropped to an advertised 8.5:1 but was really more like 8:1.
The 1971 350-4bbl engine was dual rated, with 260 hp gross and 200 hp net.
The same 350-4 bbl engine in 1972 was rated 180 hp with single exhaust and 200 hp with dual exhaust.
Fantastic car. I'll have to add that to my 4 speed Supreme registry site when I finally do a major update.
Best records that I can find are that there were 394 4400 series (Cutlass Supreme) hardtops and convertibles built with the M20 4 speed through the end of June 1971.
I figured out what those tabs on the drivers side intake / valve covers are for. I thought my positive battery cable was routed incorrect, but it is not. On 4 speed cars it goes across intake and through a tube on the backside of head / block. The tabs have a special plastic ty-rap looking gizmo snapped in them to route the battery cable. I am missing one. Where can I get those?? Also, my smog items are still there Joe. I thought it was a cool can. Thanks for the info. Dave
I figured out what those tabs on the drivers side intake / valve covers are for. I thought my positive battery cable was routed incorrect, but it is not. On 4 speed cars it goes across intake and through a tube on the backside of head / block. The tabs have a special plastic ty-rap looking gizmo snapped in them to route the battery cable. I am missing one. Where can I get those?? Also, my smog items are still there Joe. I thought it was a cool can. Thanks for the info. Dave
The plastic retainers are available from all of the repro vendors. I just bought a pack of 25 on ebay very inexpensively. Type gm wire harness straps into Google.
In Line Tube has those. They are crazy expensive. Pic of how I have them oriented on one of my cars.
What an amazing car! One of the coolest finds posted here in years IMHO. And, based on your car, as soon as my tires are worn at all on my 71 Supreme, I'm switching over to whitewalls from the Firestone RWL's.
In Line Tube has those. They are crazy expensive. Pic of how I have them oriented on one of my cars.
What an amazing car! One of the coolest finds posted here in years IMHO. And, based on your car, as soon as my tires are worn at all on my 71 Supreme, I'm switching over to whitewalls from the Firestone RWL's.
I've made that same decision with my 71 SX convertible. I have the BF Goodrich lettered tires on my other two cars with SS111s. There is no way I'm doing the same on a third, and this car came with G70-14 pin stripe whitewalls when new, as did my 71 442, so I ordered from Diamond Back,
235/60-15
made from BF Goodrich tires. (expensive though)
I really like the repro SS1s, so I'll be ordering them as well. I'm also going to 15s for the first time.
The whitewalls seem to suit a Supreme so much better than letters in my opinion.
Yes, sway bar and front disc. I was totally convinced what the ss meant until now! My ss stamp is even silver in color, made total sense to me. There is also a -9 to the left of it about a foot away. Know what that is? Dave
August 10th, 2017, 06:14 AM
) but picked up a one owner 37k mile car. Original paint / interior / etc. Phenominal shape to say the least. Never seen nicer original paint / interior. I have some questions hopefully someone can answer:
