Did the 72 Cutlass Supreme have a side stripe? I see many pictures of 442 with the side stripe but I'm not seeing the Supreme that way.

 

As described in the 1972_Oldsmobile_Dealer_SPECS-05 Y70 Paint Stripes were an available option on the 1972 Cutlass Supreme Coupe (J57) & the Convertible (J67). See the applicability regarding the W29 & W30 options.

 

If you are asking about the wide side stripe seen on the W-30 cars, 442s didn't come from the factory with them either, despite the fact that every 70-72 442 you see today has them incorrectly added (along with a repro fiberglass hood).

The non-W 442s came with a double or triple pinstripe down the side (depending on year). Only W-30s and W-31s got the wide side stripes. Supremes did not get them ever. The Y70 stripes are pinstripes that follow the fender accent lines.

 

Joe - Question for you. I've wanted to put what I refer to as 'body-side-molding' on my 1971 CS since I purchased it last year - the narrow side molding which runs between the wheel wells and along the side of the door to reduce other vehicle door strikes. Do you happen to know a source for the 'body-side-molding'? I can figure out the dimensions and/or call an available source if I could find a source which sells the same body-side-molding style w/ correct dimensions if I knew of a source. Were they referred to as body-side-molding - you happen to know?

 

Confusing as always. So you're saying in your quoted reference is this 1972 W30 Supreme couldn't ever have come with wide stripes simply because it was a Supreme even though it's a W30? That's the context of logical progression in your statements. Documented W30 car BTW with an X in the VIN. Or did you simply mean to say that normal production Cutlass Supreme's couldn't get the Y70 stripes from the factory? You gotta be more clear about the way you write confusing references.. I know the answer to the Y70 reference as I looked it up in the 72 SPECS, but others tend to take everything you say as gospel.

 

They aren't reproduced. Only the SX style (full side) moldings are. Be more careful where you park. BTW the placement of those body side moldings isn't conducive to reducing other car doors impacts. I know because I had them on my first 72 and they were next to useless. If you insist on putting BSM on your Supreme, go with self adhesive; they can be removed without damaging paint if you don't like them. All other moldings require piercing the car metal to attach the molding and that will only promote rust after a fashion.

 

Thanks, Allan. It's a shame they're no longer reproduced. I remember when you could buy them from the dealer and have them put on just about any vehicle back in the 60s & 70s - they really worked quite well. And, yes, they were of the self-adhesive type where you simply pulled away the backing tape and applied the BSM to the sides. I haven't been dinged - thus far - and I seriously do park far away from anyone else when parking. Yet, in some situations, I'd prefer to park modestly near to where I'm going instead of walking the 1/2 mile to park.

 

Geeze Allan, are we going to do this EVERY FLIPPING TIME? You know damn well that I'm referring to NON-W cars. I explicitly said that in my prior post. Do I REALLY have to spell out EXCEPT 1972 Supreme Convertibles WITH RPO W29 and RPO W30??? Doesn't "non-W" cars cover that?

Show of hands. Anyone else confused by that?

And as I pointed out with the photo I posted, Y70 is NOT the wide "W30" stripes, it's the RPO code for the pinstripes. Hell, I posted a photo of a Supreme with RPO Y70 stripes.

Here, watch this:

 

Any wonder why they have failed to reach a consensus on Brexit? Absolutely love John Cleese.

 

Geeze Joe, are you going to play that card EVERY time we get into a debate? Why don't you go back and re-read your post. The way you've structured your prose leaves a lot to be desired in terms of clarity. To those not well versed in 442 W29 and 442 W30 you're as clear as mud.Take a chill pill and cool down. I'm not your enemy here. Your keyboard and thought process however seems to be.
We both know that 442 was available in the 4267 but not the 4257. No questions. What your statement seems to imply however IF you take the time to READ IT is that the W30 CS models did not get the wide body stripes EVER. Like I said before; people tend to take your word as gospel, so when you're busy writing the 'bible' make it as clear as possible for interpretation ok? And as far as that's a bit of a joke isn't it? Show me a 442 in the 72 lineup that ISN"T a W car. 70 and 71? Yeah, 442 was it's own model and the only W available was the W30. I'm jiggy with that.
I would have worded it this way: ALL W31 cars (1970 only) came with the wide side body stripe as part of the W package. ALL W30 442's (redundant since a W30 is a 442) came with a wide body stripe - whether in fastback or CS vert bodies. SEE? Absolutely CRYSTAL CLEAR.

Your condescending attitude is not above reproach. I'm not the only one who sees a lot of your posts as being rude.

 

Couple of things to note.

1. The BSM's of the 60's and early 70's were held in place with plastic clips that were set onto raised pins welded to the body in some areas. Other areas used metal clips, and yet other areas used screws and speed nut style caps on metal threaded studs coming through the door edges. I didn't care for that at all. The moldings themselves were stainless or anodized aluminum. Some had a rubber overlay on the center, others didn't. I thought they were darn annoying because they tended to start rusting from the areas where the body piercings held the clips for the moldings. Honestly I preferred when the adhesive backed moldings came in; they alleviated most of that problem and were easy to replace if necessary. 71 Cutlass models didn't have adhesive moldings anywhere on the car - they were all clips or barrel fitment of one size or another, so if your car has adhesive BSMs they are not OEM from 1971. As far as emblems and numerals go, that's one thing that GM had a good handle on - if you look in your AM you'll find a section that deals with specific hydro piercings for each area of the car.
2. Why would you want to put extra moldings on the side of your car? It would IMO look kind of silly. The 1972 CS models changed the molding design significantly as well as the general location of the BSMs. Here's what I mean about adding extra moldings on a perfectly good 71 CS that is an owner preferred modification

1972


BTW, you know how hard it is to find a picture of a 71 CS that isn't wearing the full length SX style side moldings??? Those moldings are 'sort of special' I guess. What's really annoying about them is they require the wheel opening moldings to be precisely matched to the height of the body moldings. There's a surprising lack of those opening moldings on the market, not repopped either which is strange considering the side ones are. Most often, people buy the aftermarket opening moldings (at $$$$) and then have to cut them to match the SX style body moldings. If you've ever had to remove or install those SX style moldings you'll learn some interesting vocabulary along the way about the ancestry of the person who designed them. Only thing in their defense however is the car had them installed before the glass went in the doors and quarters. Likely the moldings were also installed prior to the fenders being assembled as the front clip of the car on the final assembly line too.

 

The wide, die cast moldings were standard equipment on every Cutlass Supreme built in the 1971 model year, not just the SX. Even the Supreme Holiday Sedan got them, and obviously that was never an SX. Any car without them has had them removed by the owner.

 

I'm not sure what you are referring to. Do you mean the standard 1970-1971 Cutlass Supreme side moldings? If so, you can't find a picture of a Supreme without them because, well, they were standard equipment. Those are also on the SX because it is a Supreme body style.

 

Duly noted. I should have looked at the standard features on the 71 SPECS before making my statement. It WOULD however explain why it's so hard to find a picture of a 71 CS with narrow body moldings.

 

My 442 had aftermarket narrow side trim riveted on
Looked like 72 supreme side trim
Egads Why??

When I worked in body shops in the 1980's I removed "miles" of that stuff
glued screwed riveted and double side tape too holding it on.
almost all required some body shop work to remedy the no door ding remedy strips.....

 

Here's the deal. When I purchased my 1971 CS I was (and still remain) interested in identifying OEM STANDARD & RPO features on my vehicle. So, I spent a considerable amount of time reviewing several sources of information - including CO. Since I previously had owned both a 1967 4-4-2 and a 1972 4-4-2 I had gained some previous knowledge of the history of the 4-4-2 and some of the OEM STANDARD & RPO features. When I purchased my 1971 CS I began reviewing some of the STANDARD & RPO features.

When I addressed the OP question (Post #1), I was keen to notice striping because I had previously reviewed some of the STANDARD & RPO striping on my own vehicle.

Would anyone care to explain why in the 1972 DEALER SPECS the RPO Y73 is listed, yet is NOT identified as an available RPO? I would suggest this is a FUBAR when the 1972 DEALER SPECS was written. Comments?
I believe the RPO Y73 has changed over the history of the Oldsmobile - as it is identified differently in various years of DEALER SPECS.

1972_Oldsmobile_Dealer_SPECS-05

 

While we're on the subject of 70-71 Supreme body side moldings, does anyone know the build sheet code for them?

edited: I meant 70-71, not 70-72.

 

The Y73 is not listed as a stand alone RPO because it's part of the 1972 W29 (lesser 442 than the coveted W30) package. It refers specifically to the special hood decal that was used. You'll note that in the following picture, not only does the hood have piercing and Oldsmobile script above the headlight (due to the placement of 442 numerals on the grill), the hood has the Y73 reveal decal. You're correct to note that the Y73 changed from 1971 where it was run down the middle of the hood. So no, Olds didn't have any FUBAR or SNAFU of any kind with the Y73 because it was mandatory included cosmetic equipment on the W29 RPO. This isn't unique - GM has done this with other brands and models.

As far as the Y73 RPO in 1971, it was only offered on the Cutlass and Cutlass S as a stand alone option, BUT the 1971 442 included the Y73 in the standard equipment section detailing Hood, body and trunk paint stripes without actually saying that in the standard equipment section of the 442 model. 1971 - Different model year, different model offerings, different marketing strategy. Nothing FUBAR about it, IMO you're overthinking this. THAT is why you don't see it listed on the 1971 SPECS for CS, but will see the aforementioned included paint stripes as part of the 442 offering that year.

Does that answer your question?

1972 W29


1971 442 with Y73 stripes

 

The real reason for the limits on availability of RPO Y73 in 1972 was the fact that those hood stripes were contoured to fit around the chrome hood louvers. Note the red car in the four car ad above. The base hood on the Cutlass and Supreme models that year was the hood without louvers. As a result, the Y73 stripe would have looked silly on that hood. The Cutlass S did come with the louvers as standard equipment and thus RPO Y73 was offered as a stand-alone option. Here's the applicable page from the inspector's guide. Note the availability on the Cutlass hardtop and Supreme convertible models is caveated by a footnote that says only on 3287 or 4267 with W29. This is because the "louvered" hood was installed on those models only when you got W29. The Cutlass Hardtop had an additional option availability of Y75, which included the "louvered" hood on the 3287 model, and if Y75 was selected, then the Y73 paint stripe could be added since it worked with that hood. Also, obviously, you couldn't get the stripe with W25 hoods either.

Understand that RPO codes existed for every option that would possibly have to be dealt with on the assembly line. Not every RPO code could be ordered by a customer as a stand alone option. As an example, there were RPO codes for each individual suspension spring. These codes would show up on the build sheet if you could find it.

 

Thanks, Allan & Joe for providing more clarity regarding RPO Y73. I noted some time ago while reading the INSPECTOR'S GUIDE the applications of the Y73 & I really could not understand how that application was determined & why it showed up where it did on the DEALER SPECS and why it did not show up on the DEALER SPECS. This now provides much more clarity.

And, Allan - Seriously?

I think I'll pay much closer attention to the INSPECTOR'S GUIDE.

 

My comment was more specifically aimed at your suggestion towards the Dealer SPECS were FUBAR in regards to the Y73 stripe. If you'd questioned simply if it was a 'publishing mistake' I would have just shrugged and ignored it, as there are some mistakes, same as with the sales literature that hit the showrooms. I said the same thing about Y73 and 1971 production but I was more clear. Take it in context. Obviously reading the Inspectors Guide provides helpful references but also presents information that some don't know how to interpret. Anyway, you have your answer and you did ask for comments.

 

[QUOTE=joe_padavano;1188662]The wide, die cast moldings were standard equipment on every Cutlass Supreme built in the 1971 model year, not just the SX. Even the Supreme Holiday Sedan got them, and obviously that was never an SX. Any car without them has had them removed by the owner.

That statement is correct for both model years 1970 and 1971. Also, on the coupes and convertibles, there were two different types of the piece between the door and rear wheel opening depicted as Type 1 and Type 2. Not sure of the transition date but I believe almost all of the 1970's received Type 1 (2 piece), and all 1971's received Type 2 (1 piece).