The Olds Rallye 350 was a one-year-wonder muscle car. It came in only one color (Sebring Yellow) and had just one engine, a 350 cubic inch “Rocket” V8 that produced 310 hp. Based on the Cutlass S, it was offered as a 2-door hardtop or pillared coupe, with the former generating the most interest from buyers. The seller has a very nice example that looks like it may have been restored, though no such language is used. Our thanks to T.J. for another great tip!
Oldsmobile’s marketing gurus may have seen that a downturn in the demand for fire-breathing muscle cars was coming. So, the Rallye 350 was conceived to have sufficient power, but be all about looks, too. That’s why they wore glow-in-the-dark paint which was even applied to the bumpers. Only 3,547 of the cars were produced in 1970, leading Oldsmobile to not repeat the effort the next year. Buyers may have been turned off by the lack of chrome considering that Detroit had been chrome-crazy since the 1950s.
While a 3-speed manual transmission was standard equipment, the seller’s Rallye 350 has a TH-350 automatic (and Plan C was a 4-speed manual). The Rallye was far from bare bones, even though the wild yellow was your only color choice. The seller’s Rallye has Ram Air Induction, a Hurst Dual Gate shifter, what may be vintage air conditioning (not factory), and a few more odds and ends. The notion of a restoration is supported by the quality of the body and paint and that the inner fenders are in red, not the body color or black.
Given the overall low production in 1970, it is likely that only a few hundred copies have survived, meaning that the Olds Rallye 350 is a seldom-seen muscle car today. With 86,000 miles, this nice example can be found in Windham, Maine, and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $34,900. If you don’t mind standing out in the crowd when getting into the throttle, could this Oldsmobile be for you (and not your father)?
Wow. Definitely NOT your father’s Oldsmobile, as the ad said. These may have been a little late to the party, but still a showstopper and the Dual Gate Shifter adds all the more to it.
With that, I remember the Porsche Sportmatic being met initially with disdain but gained a lot of followers later in the sports car world; did Hurst build his about he same time?
GLWTS. More than a few of us wish we could drive it home…
I saw one of these for sale at a used car dealership in Hamilton, AL in the early 90’s. I didn’t know much about them or how rare they were, but I liked it and stopped to look at it. It was just sitting there with the mundane used cars of the day – Escorts, Chevy Celebrities and the like. The body color bumpers remind me of how folks often paint older cars up when they do a restomod now. I should’ve gotten that one from the used car place for the $4500 they were asking back then, but that was a fortune for me at the time.
Although we’re not fans of the monotone bumpers, we do appreciate the car for what it was. Something unique for the coffee and car meets, anyway.
A really excellent example for sale,nowadays you need a/c if you plan on cruising this anywhere.an original system would of been R12 and obsolete by now.134a upgrade would be the way to go anyhow…..
I think some had the W31 325 HP option.
These didn’t come with W31’s, it’s a popular misconception, but as of a few years ago no Rallye Olds had ever been documented equipped with one.
Steve R
No, they did not. A Cutlass W-31 is a rare, beast of a car…the Rallye 350 was mostly all show and not so much go.
Essentially the opposite tack as the “sleeper” Cutlass SX models of 1970-71. Whereas an SX looked understated (save the for dual exhaust trumpets jutting from the bumper cutouts) compared to a 442, the SX had the torque-monster 455 lurking under the hood. I had the pleasure of owning an SX, and it was actually scary to drive! The Rallye looked wild, but had the (relatively) tame 350. When my lotto numbers come in, I’ll have to have one of each in my collection!
The standard engine on a Cutlass SX was a 2-barrel 455 and most were equipped as such. It really was just a personal luxury coupe that was designed to compete against the Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo (since Olds never offered an extended A-body platform vehicle like those two).
The RPO L33 320 HP 2bbl version of the 455 was available in the SX (and in other Cutlii) until Feb of 1970, when that option was cancelled. The SX package instead came with the L31 365 HP 4bbl version (not the 442 motor, however) for the rest of the 1970 model year. The W32 package on the SX did offer that 442 engine, and despite the same 365 HP rating, they were not the same. The cams were different, for one thing.
The red inner fenders are not factory. They DO appear to be real ones and not repros, so those are worth something to a W30 owner. The A/C sure looks factory, however.
The real problem with the Rallye 350s is that you got all the “show” of a real musclecar without the pesky extra horsepower. The only engine offered was the 310 HP RPO L74 motor, which was also the standard equipment engine in grandma’s Cutlass Supreme that year. And yes, base engine in the Cutlass Supreme that year was the L74 4bbl motor. The L65 2bbl was available as a credit option on the Supreme, but was not standard equipment.
This one also has cruise control on it. Probably added on. Not sure you could have gotten cruise control on one of these. Joe Padavano?
Cruise, A/C, and power options were all available on the Rallye. Again, this was the normal Cutlass Supreme motor, not anything like a W31.
No 325 W31? You’re right; I stand corrected.
I worked in a small town in southeastern Wisconsin. Someone in the town had one of these. I never cared for the yellow color, especially on the bumpers.
Guy I went to school with bought one these in 1976. Only one I ever knew of around here. He kept it nice and clean but never raced any one in it just creeper around in it.
In 1983 I worked with a guy that used one of these for a work car
what’s up with temp tag in the back window? lost interest already?
I restored one of these in 1997, mine was 100% original and had woodgrain on the lower dash too, and a woodgrain auto shifter handle, and No the Red fender wells are not correct, but the A/C is factory, why anyone would go to the trouble to remove and install the incorrect fender wells is beyond me.
Yours was a Cutlass S-based Rallye, thus the dash woodgrain was standard equipment. The F85-based Rallyes did not get the woodgrain as standard (though it was optionally available for $10.53 under RPO BC1). Interestingly, F85-based Rallyes got Cutlass fender emblems, despite the F85 VINs. This is documented in the Inspector’s Guide and the Product Information Manual.
Faster than a similarly equipped 350 chevelle?