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455 Equipped F-85: 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass Coupe

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In the small, southern Missouri town of Koshkonong, is this 1969 Oldsmobile F-85 two-door sedan. It’s listed for sale here on craigslist in St. Louis, and with an asking price of $3,500.

The seller says this car is equipped with a “wide block” 455 engine, and I have to confess my unawareness of this particular engine in any other variation. The normal 455 which was manufactured between 1968 and 1976 was a very popular option with Oldsmobile buyers. This one is said to run “amazing” and sound good as well, fitted with a Flowmaster dual exhaust system. The transmission is the ever-popular 400 Turbo automatic.

The lone photo of the exterior shows a straight body, with possibly minor rust starting to become visible. The paint looks good, and is probably not very old, so as usual this would warrant a careful up-close inspection before purchase. The solid body might be attributed to the car being from Alabama and therefore also not having a title. This could be the ultimate deal-breaker. If the seller doesn’t have the proper paperwork, this car could be difficult to obtain a proper title for in the buyer’s respective home state, making the bargain price – not much of a bargain after all.

But what do you think? If the paperwork is on the up and up, is this car a great deal?

Comments

  1. Avatar Jason Houston

    A two-door sedan is rare on any of these bodies. This car looks like it just needs its wheels back and some color!

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  2. Avatar Mr. Bond

    At or near that price, I’d just buy it, do the few repairs it needs and drive it! I had a 69 442 convertible in 1978 with the 455. Sold it for $650. You can probably hear the noise my head is making from wherever you are, as it repeatedly hits the wall!

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    • Avatar Jason Houston

      I had a mint, low-mileage 2nd owner ’70 Cutlass HT and sold it in ’97 for $800.

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  3. Avatar Nessy

    The 455 is not correct to this car. Only the full size Toronado, 98 and 88 models and the Hurst Olds were offered with the 455 in 68/69. The 70 model was the first year the 455 was offered with a Cutlass body.

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    • Avatar Chris N

      Correct and the original engine was either the 350 V8 or maybe the 250 L6 and probably the 2-speed auto, and there was no Olds engine that is a “wide block.” The F-85 was the base “stripped” model but regardless this is a “post” car and those are hard to find. My ’71 Olds Cutlass S Post is one of only 4399 made and there are probably <100 left. Post cars were often used in the mid/late 70's for race cars and were destroyed. The price is good, and if it is in good condition, worth the money IMO.

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      • Avatar DENIS

        Chris N….actually the 400/425/455 was a “wide-block”…the block was wider than the 307/350/403 and the intake is visually narrower on them..just clarifying.

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      • Avatar J. Ortmeier

        @Denis While technically the big blocks you listed are wider than the small blocks, they’ve never been referred to as wide blocks. That was Mopar’s thing, my brother had a 318 wide block in a 1965 Plymouth Fury. The only designation ever given to larger Oldsmobile blocks are “big blocks”.

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  4. Avatar DENIS

    Seems like a decent buy but hard to tell with the one pic….someone transplanted the 455…other than the Hurst Olds, the ’68s never had one but who cares? It makes a helluva ride…wish it was close enough to inspect.

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  5. Avatar Mike D

    Denis, I believe you are right 68-70 H/O s all had 455s just the run of the mill 442s had the 400 . btw this looks like a fun car

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  6. Avatar DENIS

    Yup, the 68/69 had the small-bore, long-stroke 400…not a great motor but still an Olds… :-)

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    • Avatar J. Ortmeier

      I own a 1969 442 with the original 400 motor. While they aren’t the best candidates for builds, the 68-69 400s aren’t weak by any means. In fact, the previous 1969 442 I owned which came with a non original 455 (out of a 1973 Delta 88) didn’t have as much power as the 400 in my current car. From pretty much 1973-76, the 455s were a bit weak (as weak as a 455 can be anyway). But the lower power and emissions took a bit of the bite out of them compared to the big blocks built prior to 1973.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar Jim

    GM Corporate policy until 1970 forbade the use of any engine larger than 400 cubic inches in anything less than a full size car. Hence the 396 engine was so named even though the actual displacement was 402.

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  8. Avatar Chris

    I got a 70 with an m21 and a 3.91 year end. Sucks on the highway but it is the fastest muscle car I’ve owned. The 455 is a great street motor. Tons of low end.

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  9. Avatar Jim

    Having grown up 20 miles from where this car is located, I have to say that I never expected to see the words “Koshkonong, MO” printed in this site or any other. LOL!

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Greg

    Minor rust? It could be completely rotted out looking like that.

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  11. Avatar 64 bonneville

    decent car, fair asking price. do what needs to be done to make it a safe driver, and have fun.

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  12. Avatar piper62j

    Nice find.. For just a few bucks and a new paint job, this one is a keeper.. I like it.. If I remember correctly, the new oem factory exhaust sounded great on these cars. When the secondaries kicked in on the carb, the sound was unbelievable.. Great car.. I like it a lot..

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Peter R

    listing is now deleted by author so it most likely is sold

    Like 0

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