Yup, this one’s a project. The seller tells us that this 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass two-door hardtop was barn-bound until last November. It starts and drives but does not stop—”zero brakes, zero,” he tells us. It’s looking rough around the edges, but maybe there’s something here. Let’s take a closer look. Spencer, New York, is where this popular A-body calls home. It’s available here on eBay for a BIN price of $7,999. There is a make-an-offer option, too. Mitchell G. deserves a tip of the hat for this discovery.
Our subject appears to be a Cutlass S, which was offered along with the upscale Supreme and the entry-level F-85. Of course, the muscular 442 was part of the ’69 lineup, too. Station wagons? You bet. Two and three-seat Vista-Cruisers, as well as a non-faux-wood-sided, plain-ole Cutlass, were on the option sheet. As for numbers, this Cutlass two-door hardtop (Holiday Coupe in Oldsmobile parlance) is one of 66K to roll off of the Lansing assembly line 56 years ago. As for the body, we’ve got some Bondo going on and beyond that, there is some very faded paint highlighted by surface rust bleed-through. The chrome-plated wheels are a typical ’70s throw-back but the seller mentions that he does have the original Olds rally wheels. Judging from this car’s exterior condition, I would suggest giving the underside a gander.
So, we’re told it’s a runner but the listing does state not what it is that’s doing the running. My guess is that it’s a 250-gross HP 350 CI V8 tethered to an automatic transmission. The gearbox could be a Jetaway two-speed or a new for ’69 Turbo-Hydramatic 350, three-speed unit. The good news is that this Cutlass has front disc brakes, but the bad news, as mentioned earlier, is that they don’t work.
The interior environment is a black vinyl upholstered bucket seat getup complete with a center console. The driver’s seat has the Zorro treatment going on but the rest of it, what can be seen, shows pretty well. The interior images aren’t comprehensive and a layer of barn dust doesn’t make examination any easier.
So, what to do here? Well, a full restoration, a resto-mod, hot rod, or a 442 clone. My preference is to keep cars like this in their original form but sometimes the numbers just don’t work. GM hit a grand slam with their ’68-’72 A-body cars such as this Cutlass and I’m convinced someone will snap this Cutlass S up. If you were up for an Oldsmobile challenge, what would you do with it?
Key word here is challenge.
Yes we have chrome saw blades again
Eight grand??? Jeez, what a mess! Bondo in all the usual places – fender doglegs, rear quarters, trunk lid, and probably the rockers. A refugee of the salted road region and waayyy overpriced.
On the plus side it’s the same car I had in college and a beautiful design, it has bucket seats and a console. But it’s so rough and the ask is downright insulting. Who’s going to sink that much in at the outset and have anything left to fix it?
The seller is fishing. It’s not worth close to the asking price, but will make a great parts car since it’s complete and has some desirable equipment such as bucket seat interior and disc brakes. In case anyone decided to check the sellers other listings, he parts cars out and has 10,000 items listed. This car will likely bring in close to the asking price one piece at a time. I’d bet if someone offered him $5,000 he’d take it. I don’t think it’s worth that, but I don’t know what complete, running late-60’s 2dr GM A-bodies sell for in upstate New York.
Steve R
Nice Car.
No brakes? No problem. When I was 19 I worked at a Buick/Opel/Oldsmobile dealership in a small. We still made house calls! Anyway one day I was sent to the local hospital to pick up a 1969 Opel Kadett. I was told that it has brake issues. Issues? It didn’t have ANY brakes. Even the e-brake didn’t work. Rather than run the risk of getting chewed out by my boss for wussing out and saying that I was afraid to drive it, I started back to the dealership. Fortunately I only had to drive about 6 blocks. When I had to stop I pushed the clutch in, jammed it in reverse and let the clutch out. Hopefully I got smarter 50 years later.