Going into the 1970s, U.S. automakers were faced with a dilemma: how to keep muscle car demand up in the wake of skyrocketing insurance premiums. For Oldsmobile, one solution was to create the Cutlass Supreme SX, a luxury/performance car without a unique VIN code to wave a red flag at the insurance industry. This 1970 edition of the SX is a stalled restoration that needs more cosmetic work than mechanical. Located in Pennington, New Jersey, this “not your father’s Oldsmobile” is available here on eBay where the bidding stands at $6,200.
In the waning days of the 1960s, automakers took two approaches to thwart the insurance issue. One was to develop small-displacement cars like the Duster 340 and the Heavy Chevy. The other was to offer bigger engines in a mid-size body style whose VIN didn’t give anything away to your insurance agent. Oldsmobile cooked up the SX based on the formal Cutlass Supreme and gave it a 350 V8 to start, but you could order it with a 455 big block if you wanted. It was a two-year offering (1970 and 1971) and was not a budget model like the Road Runner. The SX came with plush, comfortable interiors, factory A/C and power accessories for about anything you wanted. No power bulge on the hood, either.
Cutlass Supreme buyers weren’t usually looking for neck-breaking speed, so production numbers for the SX were never large. Between 9-10,000 of the cars were built across both years in hardtop and convertible forms. This example from 1970 was owned by a retired garage owner who had been working to restore the car over the past few years. The 350 V8 with a 4-barrel carburetor has been rebuilt and has very few miles on it. But it has some upgrades, such as a mild camshaft, aluminum intake, Holley dual feed 750 carburetor, headers, and more.
This SX has a 4-speed M21 manual transmission with a Hurst Competition Plus shifter along with a 10-bolt rear end and 3.73 posi-traction. All of this is said to work well, so you can drive the car while you work on the body and interior. While both rear quarter panels look new, they’re supposedly original and just covered with primer from head to toe. All the chrome that was taken off the auto has been retained. The seller has patch panels for both front fenders but recommends getting new ones instead. The floors have already been patched.
We’re not sure about the interior as the front looks to have an aftermarket cover from Walmart. And before you get all excited, the rear wing is not attached to the car and would be an extra purchase if you wanted it. I’d prefer to leave it off and keep it looking more like a straight Cutlass Supreme rather than one that has morphed into a muscle machine. The seller says he/she has a live video of the Olds in action that’s available upon request.
This is FAR from an “SX”: no 455, no notched bumper, and the turbo 400 was the only transmission available in the SX. Nevertheless it’s an interesting find for somebody if it’s an original 4-speed car (which I also question).
From new, through @ 96/97′ there used to be a SX Convertible 455 daily driver 3blks from my house. Didn’t realize how rare it was at the time. Like most, when the values started rising. It disappeared. Blue w/white top and well maintained. Nice cars.
This is a mess, although it certainly can be restored. The quarters appear to have some questionable repair work. Some of the interior trim parts shown in the photo’s are for a convertible. The 10 bolt 3:73 rear is likely from a Chevelle. After reading the ad I saw that the spoiler is optional, the trunk lid has not been drilled. That spoiler just doesn’t work with the Supreme roof line. I wonder if it was an original 4 speed car, a Supreme with a manual would be a fairly rare car. Sold for $6200, hopefully the buyer can take things up a notch!
I was thinking those quarters like kind of scrulpted and was wondering what was underneath the primer. Hopefully for the next buyer all is well there.
My 1970 SX had the 455 with a 2 barrel carb.
The 350 was never available in the SX. The spoiler was never available on the Supreme body style nor the convertible, which used the Supreme body ( this means that the spoiler wasn’t available on the 442 convertible as well, which also used the Supreme body). Walk away from this nightmare.
Gone for $6200
Saying was,,,,,Gutless in a Cutlass. Even when it was a 442,
Perhaps you aren’t acquainted with the 70 W30 cars… they ran low 14’s/high 13’s off the showroom floor. With typical mods of the day (headers, ignition, gears carb tuning) they easily dipped into the 12’s.
My ’70 SX had 2:56 gears and an open diff. I had no problem blowing off a ’68 GTO, a ’69 SS396 Chevelle, a ’70 Rebel Machine, a ’69 340 ‘Cuda, a ’70 340 Duster, a 383 Roadrunner, and a ’70 SS Nova, and those are the ones that I can recall from over four and a half decades ago.
That car is NOT an SX. 350 engine and 4 speed trans. were not available. There is no SX emblem below the Cutlass badge on the fender. SX’s came with a 12 bolt rear axle. The VIN and body codes will determine if it’s an SX or not