Hi!!
I am just learning the verbiage and my way way around a garage!!
I just received my grandmas 1970 Cutlas S 442, has a 455. I need the manuals, and lots of prayers🥴🤣
any advise for a beginner is greatly appreciated!!

thank you!
April

 

Great car, welcome aboard.

That is a Cutlass Supreme Holiday Coupe, and the 455 was an available option.

Looks like grandma believed in speed/safety going by the roll bar ...

 

Welcome to the site. What’s the history of the car?

 

I don’t know anything except what I have found on paperwork with it. One service record showed 455SI.
I was told it has original engine and tranny, 76k miles. The history of grandma picking me up on weekends in the blue supreme was everything 😁
other than that, I’m clueless!!

 

Awesome, and the history makes it that much better. 455s are the most desired Oldsmobile engine. And the original transmision the TH400 is considered the best ever built.

If Ai is correct here (hopefully a fellow member will confirm)
AI Overview
"Olds 455 SI" refers to an Oldsmobile 455 cubic inch V8 engine, where "SI" likely stands for "Street/Strip" indicating a performance-built version of this classic big-block engine, optimized for both street driving and drag racing with modifications to increase power and torque while maintaining reasonable drivability on the road; essentially a high-performance variant of the standard Olds 455 engine often found in muscle cars like the 442.

Between that and the roll cage it makes sense...

Have you ever driven cars from this era ?

 

Your 70’ Supreme looks like a great project, especially with the 455! Welcome!

 

Holy crap. There are enough myths about Oldsmobile, and now we get even more via AI. FFS

As stated, looks like a roll bar. Restoring a former racecar is going to be a chore. Most are hack jobs! Good luck!

 

Welcome, cool Oldsmobile.

 

There is no such thing as a "455SI". If the engine and trans are original, the VIN derivative stamps will match the VIN of the car.

 

Welcome aboard! Could the item in the picture that some have mentioned may be a roll bar actually be a shoulder belt?

 

If you zoom in it looks like a seat belt

 

Welcome aboard April. If you are serious about learning and getting sound info you came to the right place. Grannies car is definitely a project, expect to get dirty. You can do this ….

 

Yes, it is.

 

I did not even notice the rollbar!! Makes sense, my uncle had the car after her and he was a racer! Who knows what direction this will lead me..

 

I'm sorry, that is NOT a roll bar...it's a shoulder restraint belt.

 

Roll bar I think not...

 

It's likely a service jockey had a "moment" & wrote SI in place of CI (Cubic Inch).

 

ahh 455ci 😝

 

thank you!! Looking forward to learning about her!

 

Welcome! I don't know how far you plan to go with your car ( complete restore or a clean up and replace) If you are not going to rebuild the engine at least replace the timing Gear. My Father who worked as a parts manager at a Olds Dealership for ever told me when I got my first Olds (15 ) he told me because of the nylon gear teeth they get brittle and right about 75,000 miles it's going to fail.

 

Welcome aboard. Many of us have cars formerly owned by family members, sentimentality & memories are part of what drive us to keep these cars too.

As you get into the project, I’d suggest you do what you can to make it safe 1st - mainly tires, brakes & suspension; then move onto drivetrain as time/budget allow - engine & transmission; then electrical to make it rock solid reliable, then move onto exterior - paint, chrome, stainless & bumpers, then finish up with the interior.

When you have a car that has had a long & storied previous life, safety is a big deal. Someone before you may have cut corners, or done something unsafe. If you’re carrying family, friends and sometimes children, you want a car that’s as safe as can be for its design. You’re not gonna add airbags, but you will want the disk brakes to work right. Once it’s safe, then you want it reliable, even if it’s not pretty. Unreliable old cars are not much fun since you never know when they might strand you somewhere. Or just not start when you’re going to have a fun drive.

Eventually you might want it nice - fresh paint, chrome redone, stainless polished, marker light lenses polished or replaced, etc. “Cosmetic” parts can get pricey, but for a Cutlass are widely available. Most exterior trim parts these days are made in China/offshore, if you can get NOS (new old stock) parts they’re better quality and proper GM parts, but more costly.

One of the cool parts of having a Cutlass is that you can get entire interiors out of a Catalog. Inquire here on this site as to which vendors make the best stuff, or the right mix of quality & price.

More broadly, the Cutlass is one of a set of cars GM made in those years called “A-Bodies”. More or less it was a platform covering the Olds Cutlass, Chevy Chevelle, Buick Skylark and Pontiac Tempest/GTO. These are very popular cars to restore, unlike those of us with “big cars” (Olds 88’s/ 98’s / Starfires) where there is very little aftermarket support - meaning we have a hard time finding parts.

Oh - get a fire extinguisher to put in the trunk and have a box of basic tools there too. And jumper cables. Just a few things in the trunk can spare you a lot of pain. A headlamp or flashlight helps too.

Cheers,
Chris