The sun was setting on GM’s rear-wheel-drive intermediates (G-body) cars in ’88. It was down to just two, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the Oldsmobile Cutlass, such as today’s topic, a Cutlass Supreme Classic. For Oldsmobile, it had been a heck of a ride with the Cutlass, first as an A-body, setting sales records in the seventies, and then later in the eighties, as a G-body, rubbing shoulders with the Cutlass Ciera, the new front-wheel-drive A-body. One thing that Olds engineers likely didn’t anticipate 37 years ago was wheels larger than fourteen or maybe fifteen inches in diameter – so much for that limitation! Today’s “visually notable” discovery, located in Westbrook, Maine, is courtesy of Zen and can be found here on craigslist for $12,995.
The ’88 Cutlass Supreme Classic was only available as a two-door sedan/coupe in either standard trim or Brougham, sometimes known as Bro-ham. It’s not stated in the listing which one this subject is; the badging has been removed, making discernment difficult. As for production numbers, about 27K Supreme Classics, covering both trim levels, saw the light of day for one last time.
The finish on this Olds appears to be Burgundy Metallic, an almost plum or purple hue, and it looks OK at a distance. Up close, it’s not hard to imagine someone took steel wool to all the horizontal surfaces—it’s a mess. The seller states, “the top half of the car has scratches on it as you can see in the photos from sitting in a garage,” – not sure how sitting in a garage could cause that kind of damage. Admittedly, the body panels are all straight and there isn’t any observable damage, but one’s observation gets overpowered pretty quickly by the 22″ Artis wheels – something I can’t unsee. I would imagine with such a small sidewall profile, that tire and wheel combo provides a pretty bone-jarring ride, not to mention heightening the rim bending factor – I just don’t know what else to say…
Supreme Classic’s sole power source was a 140 net HP, 307 CI Oldsmobile V8 engine married to a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission – probably a Turbo-Hydramatic 200R4. The seller tells us, “brand new dual exhaust…Everything works as it should run and drives excellent.” The mileage reading is 42K miles, but there’s no authentication of that claim provided.
Well, ah declare…22’s outside and one big ole one inside – isn’t that special? The upholstery is typical ’80s GM maroon velour fabric spread over a split bench seat. The entire environment looks fine; there’s no sign of wear or upholstery splits. The dashpad is sound, as are the door panels, and the minimalist instrument panel appears just as it should. The seller claims, “AC is ice cold.”
The biggest issue that I can see with this car, besides its price, is the finish, that’s going to be expensive to fix. Oh, and the elephant in the room? The wheels and steering wheel can be easily chucked and replaced with something more appropriate. But when you add up the expense of that and the finish repair, I think I’d be inclined to look for a different Cutlass Supreme Classic; how about you?
Too many nice Oldsmobiles of this era, Cutlasses and Delta 88 convertibles in particular, have fallen victim to these clown car wheels. On the other hand most of their owners have done an admirable job of preserving the paint and bodywork. The rims can easily be swapped out and sold off (or better yet destroyed so they don’t show up again anywhere ever). That steering wheel could be repurposed into a handsome side table with a crankshaft and brake disc as a base. But I digress.
As a lifelong fan of Oldsmobiles and especially Cutlasses I’v often thought that these end-of-line models would be great candidates for an LS swap. 350-400 hp would recall the 442’s glory days of 1966-1972.
But the only thing that could make this car worse would be 24″ wheels.
Buy a $4,000 mid-1980’s Oldsmobile Cutlass that’s rough around the edges, install some large wheels likely bought used, then ask $12,995. It surprising there is no clear picture of the odometer to prove its mileage.
Steve R
You can’t see barely much of any of the instrument panel, let alone the odometer, with that ridiculous steering wheel.
I think that this is the first time in my life I’ve ever seen a steering wheel actually match the rims!!! That wheel is just way too over the top for me. I like that its a 307. I’d love to see a proper set of Oldsmobile rims on here. Oh, and of course a different steering wheel.
Y’all be talkin ghetto yo. Word.
Hahahahahahaha,,,good heavens, why was I laughing? Oh yeah, ( calliope playing clown music) hahahahahaha,,,,ha, okay, I’m certainly more open minded than my dad ever was, and the car hobby has plenty of room for all aspects. Treading lightly, certain ,,um, ethnic groups have their ideas on what looks cool, and who am I to judge. My ideas may seem just as unusual as I think of this. I suppose my gripe is the style of the car isn’t conducive to large wheels like that, and the steer,,,,,,( gaining composure),,steering wheel looks as if it would cut a finger off on a errant bump steer. Aside from the obvious, it’s pretty much untouched and easily returned to,,,normal(?) and still a really nice car. That steering wheel tears it.
Howard, I admire the restraint shown in your comments above. Gaining composure can be a good thing.
Looking at the steering wheel again. I’m not even sure where you could put your fingers.
An Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with 22″ chrome wheels looks like a Presbyterian minister in high heels. Embarrassingly inappropriate.
All set for the circus 🎪.
The front license plate says it all for me.
I’ve hated these oversized rims since the first time I saw them. Take the rim off of the steering wheel, sharpen the edges and have a heavy weed whacker. Or, put it on a tractor and use it to cut firewood. Some people throw $1,000s on this crap to make their car ugly. And lots of times the body is rusty. Whenever I see a car with this stupidity I want to throw a grenade in the back seat to put the car out of its misery.
What’s the scrap value for crap cast aluminum these days?
At a local car show in Linden New Jersey, I once saw a very straight, very clean 1965 Lincoln Continental convertible with the same set of wheels on it. So I walked over to the owner and said something like “I’m not 100% sure, but I think you could be found guilty of committing CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY for putting those wheels on this car”. I then walked away not knowing if the owner of that Lincoln got the joke or if he though I was insane. But really, is there any reason for doing this to that Lincoln of this Cutlass Supreme ?
An Amish farmer called – he wants his buggy wheels back.
Ringling brothers are looking for the wheels from their clown car
You know, quite a group here. :) I briefly visited another site,,uhp, uhp, uhp, won’t say what one, only to get directions on how to get away from it,,,it was a total disappointment, and the comments were from stuffy know it alls, and seemingly, no place for humor. Naturally, the writers make or break a site, and Barny has the luxury of all great ones. The clientele, aka peanut gallery, it attracts speaks for itself.
Take J.O for example. He’s old school enough that he knew the “clown in the room” was going to be the wheels, yet, delivered a great article none the less. It obvious, the people that equip these cars with such outrageous wheels, is they want the attention the wheels will certainly give. The car is secondary. We weren’t much different. We took hum drum Valiants and “clowned them out” our way too, much to our fathers dismay( Think Javelin commercial).
The hobby may be tanking, but we aren’t dead yet. Thanks all.
The old ass people in the comments are entertaining haha, don’t leave the house.
I love the wheels, but personally Id change the steering wheel. That’s just a little too much.
I see it has the obligatory pine tree air freshener in it too. Seller would have been better off putting the wheel money toward paint correction/redo or an engine detail.