“Meet the Olds F-85 Cutlass. A sweet-handling sports coupe with bucket seats and high-performance 185-H.P. Cutlass aluminum V8 at no extra cost! Cutlass – even the name is exciting! And excitement turns into action when you slip into those sporty bucket seats and sample a real spine-tingler of a V8 – the ultra high-compression Cutlass 185!” So says a 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass brochure. The seller has this project listed here on eBay in Gardenia, California and there is an unmet opening bid suggestion of $4,000.
Oldsmobile made the F-85 beginning for the 1961 model year on a platform shared with the Pontiac Tempest and Buick Special, the Y-body, a unique unibody platform. There was a four-door station wagon and four-door sedan in early 1961 but a two-door body style joined the lineup midyear, which added a two-door and also a convertible. The new “sports” model, the F-85 Cutlass, also joined the family.
There weren’t many changes for 1962 other than a different grille and some new trim, and the F-85 Cutlass was the top-seller that year for this line. The seller doesn’t give much info on this car other than it’s a running and driving project that has some rust on the driver’s floor and “on the inside roof”, but it sure looks solid to me. Surface rust is plentiful and I hope this one gets brought back to how it would have looked when new rather than clear-coated.
Power windows! The driver’s seat appears to have been recovered in plain black vinyl but the other seats look pretty good – although the seller isn’t generous with photos. Most of the exterior photos are cut off and we don’t get to see the driver’s side exterior other than in one photo from the rear, and there are just two interior photos. These are reportedly very comfortable foam-cushioned seats and I’m guessing that SMS Auto Fabrics would have replacement material.
The engine is a 215-cu.in. OHV V8, which had 185 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. It sent power through a three-speed automatic to the rear wheels. The seller says this car starts and moves back and forth, but it needs rear brakes and other work. Hagerty is at $4,300 for a #4 fair-condition car and $6,200 for a #3 good car. Have any of you owned an F-85 Cutlass?
That’s not a Buick fireball engine. It’s a Oldsmobile 215 Rockette engine. Very similar but the olds used their own cylinder head design.
Thanks for the info, alphasud. I was going by these specs:
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1962/2338835/oldsmobile_f-85_jetfire_coupe.html#gsc.tab=0
Olds used head design to raise compression vs bucks tricks. I had a 62 in high school that my grand mother bought new. Out ran a 350 nova(71) and 68 e02 mustang.
The Rockettes are hot!
This looks like a typical sun baked California car. Lots of nice options, there is a good chance this is solid foundation for a decent project.
The seller seems more interested in turning it over rather than holding out for top dollar. This car was listed earlier this month with an opening bid of $5,900. If it doesn’t sell this time I wouldn’t be surprised if he was receptive to offers or reposted again with a lower opening bid.
Steve R
Whew, you scared me, Steve! I thought you meant that it was shown here on Barn Finds earlier this month. I always search first to see if a vehicle has been shown and I didn’t see this one. Prices aren’t too high for a nice example and this one has a lot of surface rust. The selling price would have to be pretty low to make it financially worth restoring.
Sorry, I’ll try and remember to put the platform, in this case eBay, in my response. It’s not a big deal if a car is featured more than once, sometimes all that needs to be off is one letter in as description or some insignificant change. You guys typically feature 16 cars a day, if someone gets upset by seeing a car more than once, it says something about them, not you.
As for the rust, most of that could be removed with a DA and some 80 grit before lunch. These aren’t expensive, but most also done have V8’s, bucket seats, console and PW, nor are they complete. I wouldn’t restore it, that’s among the most expensive routes to go, especially if you need a repaint in California. I’d try to get it running and drivable first then figure a way to deal with the cosmetics based on what if like. That’s the most budget friendly approach.
Steve R
This is so cool. Definitely not your run of the mill clapped out GTO or Charger found on these pages. Aluminum V8 to boot. Maybe those are the old gross ratings but the horsepower to cubic inches ratio is pretty high. Maybe all it would take a lot of sanding but it’s too labor intensive for me, but I would like to have this Olds and redo the interior the right way.
Had a ‘61 base 4dr with 3 on the tree that I drove 140,000 miles. Most hiway miles with no problems. Currently have a ‘62 with automatic that is a 59000 mile car. Transmission has been rebuilt recently after being a barn find. Unusual in that it has a factory air which doesn’t work but is complete. Running and driving after much work. It has survived!
Had one around ’63-’64. Fun little car. Looked good and had surprisingly good acceleration and zip.
Just a warning to anyone thinking of using SMS Auto Fabrics. Check their customer comments before purchasing. I am only a sample of one, but have been waiting 5, count ’em 5 YEARS for the interior for a DeSoto.
Yeah, I dealt with SMS in the past and got results quickly .But contacted them before COVID in 2019 about “base model” upper door panels and was quoted $750 pr..Then contacted AFTER COVID and the price went up to $1000….for base model upper door panels . Owner said due to COVID that supply and labor prices had went up .But I can UPGRADE with “pleats & buttons” from OPGI and NPD..$500 for pr upper door panels AND pr rear quarter panels .
Original Parts Group and possibly Year One would be other sources for original style seat covers.
I just wanted a small roll of turquoise vinyl for my ’63 Corvair, and it took just over a year, after numerous emails and phone messages (no one is ever there to speak to in person.) So, yeah, dealing with SMS can be frustrating.
I went to a local upholstery shop, they matched everything
An Olds F-85 much like this one was the very first car I ever owned at age 16 circa 1970. So long ago my memory faids. I don’t recall it having buckets and a console shifter. It did have the 215 V8, all aluminum engine. Warped the heads during its first year. My dad had the motor replaced with a junk yard find. Other than that, it functioned adequately. However, its was not condidered “sporty” by 1970’s standards when MOPAR hemis and Bow-Tie SS’s ruled the “drag” in small town east Texas. Mine was considered more of a geek-mobile, until I replaced with same year model F-85 Jetfire, 4-bbl Rochester. It had the buckets and console shifter. Wrapped it around a telephone pole after hydroplaning one rainy day.
The Jetfire would originally have been turbocharged with a 1bbi carb.
If it had a 4bbl carb, it was converted by a dealer or previous owner. GM offered to convert cars over in response to customer complaints about the turbos’ complexity and maintenance requirements.
I took it off the hands of our Automotive Shop Class at our High School. My bretheren novice mechanics performed the mods. Also put 4-inch height increasing spacers in the suspension; added a fiberglass cowel induction hood (faux of course); painted the car jet black; and, added chrome reverse wheels. It looked like it could scream but it was actually pretty tame.
Recall now that the shifter was a manual, attached to a Borg Warner T-10 4-spd.
Coyote swap it
Oh please…
I agree the all aluminum 215ci is a source of pride to owners
My Dad had one of these , new in 1962.
The car was light and fast. I remember him telling me it was a popular car with criminals , used as a get away car.
He only kept it one year though. He found it was just too light, not surprising since our previous car was a ‘58 Olds 88.
He traded it in for a ‘63 Chev Impala, his last car.
As for “whose” motor provides the oomph here, ‘alphasud’, Wiki states it as ‘Oldsmobile’s version of the Buick aluminum V8.’
But the Olds could be bought new with a Turbo @ 215HP. The Buick version was used in many cars and trucks outside the USA after 1963. Rovers used them into the 90s I believe. You could get MGs, Triumphs etc with that and a Michigan company for years sen that engine, a trans and rear gear to the sport drivers in the middle East
I have owned a few of these. The last was a 62 Convertible. Rebuilt the aluminum 215 but used a 200 4r transmission. Finished in a Jaguar Blue and white leather interior. Built for my ex as she learned to drive in this. Divorced 14 years ago and she still takes it to car shows…usually the only one of these there
My Dad bought a used ‘62 for my Mom in ‘63. It was a beautiful, convertible and as I recall it had three on the tree, not a floor shifter. It was a convertible and was very peppy. My Mom liked it but it needed more care and feeding than was practical for her and she only kept it a year before trading it in for a new Studebaker Lark Daytona…wish I still had that car.
I suspect this drivetrain has a 2 speed automatic transmission not a 3 speed. I’m using memory, not facts.
The cutlass version came with a Rotomatic 5, a 3 speed hyromatic, known as a “Slim Jim”
Auction update: this one sold for a single bid of $4,000.