I don’t know if this is a good sign or not, but out of the seven 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salons that we’ve seen here on Barn Finds, I’ve written up six of them. I really like the unusual profile of these round-shouldered cars. This Brougham is posted here on craigslist in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and the seller is asking $6,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Zen for the tip!
Looking fine, but with some issues – is that front bumper filler material missing? And the color difference between the front clip and the driver’s door? – I have a thing for these awkward designs. GM offered this unusual angle-backed, or aeroback, design on the Olds Cutlass Salon and Buick Century, as we recently saw here on Barn Finds. I’m still kicking that one around in my otherwise-empty noggin. I’d really like to have that Century Turbo. Shoot, it looks like that one has sold, so much for that!
These cars aren’t hatchbacks, even though they look like they should be. They have a regular trunk. We don’t get to see inside this trunk, but the seller has provided a nice range of photos otherwise. You can see the color variation between the driver’s door and left front fender in the photo above again, and more possible bumper filler material issues. That’s unfortunate. The fourth-generation Cutlass was made from 1977 for the 1978 model year until 1988, but the Salon went away after the 1980 model year. Hagerty is at $5,533 and $7,100, and the seller’s asking price is just about halfway between those numbers. Given the obvious paint work and bumper filler material, I’d have a hard time giving even half of their asking price. For the record, I noticed the missing wheel covers and the black rim on the left front.
There it is: a 5-speed manual in an Oldsmobile four-door sedan! This isn’t a 1968 442, but I’m positive that the 5-speed makes this car more fun to drive than if it had an automatic and you just put it in D and went about your business. The back seat fabric looks perfect, and the front seats also look perfect to me, other than the oddly pink armrests and scratched and faded-to-pink hard plastic parts. I’m not sure if that plastic just faded at a different rate than everything else or what caused that, but I’d dye it to match the seats, pronto.
The engine is an Oldsmobile 260-cu.in. OHV V8, with a meek 110 horsepower and 205 lb-ft of torque when new. Backed by a BorgWarner T-50 5-speed manual sending power to the rear wheels, the seller says that “the car runs, but should be overhauled to restore the beauty of this American classic vehicle.” Their description almost sounds like half AI and half actual human words, so please check out the listing to read the seller’s description to see if you can decipher what this car needs. I can’t see it selling for even half of the seller’s asking price given the paint issues and apparent drivetrain issues. Any thoughts on this one?
“The beauty of this American classic” is not how I would describe anything about these backwards doorstops.
Seriously, the rear end is soo out of proportion with the rest of the cars lines that it looks like it’s wearing an over-loaded diaper,…Beyond the V8 and the 5-speed, which I would LOVE to swap into a similar vintage Malibu M 80, there’s not much else that makes the car desirable in my eyes. My sister picked up the 2 door version with the V 6 and three years experience with it turned her on to Toyotas perminantly,…
A five speed in the era where four speeds still ruled. It was an interesting combo in that era. Now the bustlebacks A-Bodies were not GM’s best idea but people are warming up to them as so few are left in existence now. A few week ends of shampoo’s, degreasers and rattle can’s plus a few trips to the local boneyards should make this one back to it’s better days
Considering that every manufacturer now makes a rounded off jelly bean version of this body style, and then calls it a crossover…GM may have been ahead of the times 😂