A couple of the jalopies I drove in my youth were what my late father would have referred to as mile cars, as in they appeared OK from about that far away. But this Oldsmobile 442 wouldn’t fall into that category because it actually looks fairly decent until you get to within just a few feet, and that’s when you start to realize the body needs attention, so if you’ve got metal skills and have been in the market for a colonnade-style project this 1976 Cutlass S with the 4-4-2 option here on Craigslist might be a good choice. This one’s a fun year too, as the sloped nose was designed with NASCAR in mind to help with the car’s aerodynamics. The Olds is located in Fremont, California, with the owner hoping for $10.500, or the best offer.
Tony Primo, thanks a lot for your tip here! The seller mentions that the Oldsmobile has only had one prior owner other than himself and that it was given a sloppy restoration before his acquisition. We aren’t given any details regarding this, but the photos appear to show not only paint that’s either fading or peeling but also a few rust issues, which the seller describes as nothing major. I guess my concern is if there’s this much rust in the top section of the driver’s side quarter, I’d probably at least inquire how solid the panel is below here.
Things inside have fared a bit better overall. They’re by no means perfect, with the dash showing some warbling here and there and that carpeting might look equally at home on a putt-putt golf course. But the seats appear decent and it’s cool that the front buckets swivel. The headliner is gone entirely and the side panels towards the rear are looking funky up top, and not in a good sort of way. We do get to view a couple of photos from down below, and while we can’t see the entire undercarriage the area that’s shown appears reasonably solid.
The drivetrain is stated as numbers-matching, with the 89,161 original miles on the 350 said to be accurate. It’s claimed to fire right up and run like a champ, with a recent carburetor rebuild probably helping in that regard. There’s also a new radiator, water pump, and thermostat, plus the plugs and wires are also fresh, but beware of a minor transmission leak although the Turbo 350 is mentioned as a smooth shifter. I like the styling of the 4-4-2 in ’76 and the Lime Green Metallic is sort of a rare color, and with some bodywork and a respray, this one would likely turn out to be a nice ride. What do you think?
Well, just a quick glance under the hood and the a/c is gone for some reason . $$$ there just for starters.
Looks like this whole car needs to be gone through top to bottom.
I didn’t look at the Craigslist page for a better exam. but I don’t think I’ll bother this time. Gwts
Not many of those left, most were rusted out in just a few years. The ones I got to drive back then were good road cars, just thirsty. The aftermarket has not really paid much attention to these, so most parts are hard to find. It’s worthy of a good restoration.
The 76 and 77s 2 door models rusted badly, especially at the rear quarter line where the vinyl top would meet the steel, and the rear bumpers always rotted off – The 76 and 77 2 door Regals did the same . the 73-75 2 doors and the 73-77 sedans and wagons rusted as much as most cars did back then
A little polish and some elbow grease and it’ll be good as new…’cept for that nose.
Polish? Elbow grease? Nah, needs more than that I think.. You were being facetious … That’s it…
Dr Olds dialed back the performance in the mid-late 70s. But still offered good looking automobiles.
I ordered the exact vehicle new in 76 less the w.w.tires. Was a nice car for the time, but let’s not forget it’s a 442 package in decals only. With the price of paint and material, along with interior work and under the hood this vehicle may not be a good vehicle for a full restoration.But good luck to the seller.
You guys are definitely fair weather car owners. I’ve been doing restorations for over 40 years now. This car doesn’t scare me at all
Its decent car for its age and depends on buyer.it is 442 rare nose wont be worth alot of cash but could make a bad a#$ resto mod with ls wheels etc.and you dont see many of these
For a “Malaise Era” Colonnade car, this one has potential, but as others have mentioned, the restoration costs could get out of hand in a hurry if the dreaded tin worm has had its way with even a small portion of the sheet metal. The cost to restore the A/C to operating condition just adds to the fear factor. If things aren’t too bad and you can keep the costs under control, there might even be some money left for some engine and driveline upgrades, so that the car can actually perform like it looks, but this one could also go south in a big hurry. I’d put this in the category of “for deep pockets only”, as there seem to be too many potential “gotchas” for a restorer on a budget. Since my pockets aren’t deeper than a sheet of paper is thick, I’ll pass.
Considering the huge bumpers, restrictive pancake cat conv, & increased weight & size overall, IMO the 442 should have only been available these years with a 455 or at least a 403. & perhaps no heavy a/c or p/w options.
Better yet, perhaps a smaller sportier car in the Olds lineup with either of those big V8 engines should have been the 442. Dare i even say the Omega!
Else, hope that a ’72 or older 442 does not pull next to you driving this at a traffic light.
76 was a funny year… I think, depending on the sub-model (S, Supreme, 442, Salon), it had a flat front or the beveled front. I don’t know which is which though.
The Cutlass S coupes had the “bulldog” front end in ‘76-77 while the Supreme, Salon and 4 door models wore the “normal” front end. But by ‘78 all was made right with introduction of the fastback Cutlass coupes.🤣 Again, these were interesting times to be an Olds dealer🙄
In 76 both the S and 442 had the sloped nose. In 77 ONLY the 442 had the sloped nose where the S model had the squared off Supreme nose.
Correct!
Also: anything 75 or over only has single exhaust. The Nova, Camaro, Firebird V8s had dual exhaust only in terms of the muffler, the rest leading to it is single. So, post says it won’t pass smog because of a carburetor issue, but wouldn’t the fact there’s no catalytic converter is probably more of a reason why it won’t pass. You can’t just “cut it off” as far as I’m aware.
No, not legally anyway. Tampering with emission controls was a very big no-no. Back in the day, tampering with the smog gear was a Federal crime, and carried a $10,000 a day fine for each offense. Of course, it was also as common as dirt, especially before emissions testing came into widespread use, since it was almost impossible to get caught. The most common form was to remove the unleaded fuel restrictor from the filler neck, and replace the catalytic converter with a straight-through “test pipe”, available from J.C. Whitney for $19.95, so you could use cheaper leaded gasoline in your new 1975 or later car. Drilling out the anti-tampering screw caps on the carburetor mixture screws was also quite popular, to richen the mixture and improve the poor drivability of those cars. The lean mixture was used to reduce carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon emissions, but resulted in hesitation, stalling and long warmup times in cold weather.
When I was a young man,about 13 in 1984 my cousin bought a 76 442,Black on top white on the bottom with burgundy interior,a 350 4bbl,th400 with a shift kit and true duals and I remember from a 20 mph stomp that Olds was really snappy,no a/c,manual windows,it would chirp the 1 wheel peel everything hitting second gear,he owned the car for years as it was his everyday driver,the tin worm took its toll as it was driven year round in the Salt belt state in Central Michigan but this 442 was driven hard he ran the wheels off that thing,he owned it for probably 15 years,I recall the back bumper mounts had rotted off it and he drove it rear bumper delete for years,Kevin used and abused this malaise Era Olds for better than 200,000 miles and that Olds 350 never left him walking,I remember him being anal about oil changes running valvoline straight 50 weight in the summer and 10-40 in the winter,he would often dump a bottle of gum out straight down the carb and smoke out grandma’s yard but that motor never had any major issues with the exception of a timing chain replacement,when I turned 16 he let me drive it many times without him and trust me I drove it like I stole it…oh the memories….
403 engines were available in 77 442s. Also a rear spoiler was available also.
If a 455 or 403 was available in a NON 442 cutlass for this gen/style, it would then be faster than this 350 cube 442!
Looks like Persian lime
My dad gave me his 76’ Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon in 1984. I was 17. I didn’t want it, wanted a 81’ Z28. But it was free. I drive it for about 7 years, it didn’t give me any major problems, someone T-boned me and I had to total it out thru insurance. I wish I had that car today, the swivel bucket seats were frigin awesome! It had the flat nose, not sloped. I don’t ever see any on the road today, EVER.
I get it. I get it. I wouldn’t, but I get it. I like IROCs for the childhood memories and many would vomit, so I understand. Did I mention that I get it?
just finished one, the earlier model, still the muscle. It seemed as the calendar turned (wuz it @ the decade ?) the later models gained the gold chest chains, open shirt’n leasure suit, just like Elvis. Not anything some of us from the day would respect.
I can admit to owning 5 leisure suits. And those wide collar polyester shirts to drape over those polyester suit collars. Don’t stand under a heat lamp; you’ll start yourself on fire! Lol! I paid $100 for a couple of those shirts at Nordstrom’s in Anchorage. Never had the gold medallion chest chains though, so that was some saving grace. 🙄 Right now listening to Casey’s top 40 from 11/1/75. How appropriate! -35 in Fairbanks for Halloween that year.