1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass

Convertible Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

164676J240844

Gasoline

This auction features a very nice cruiser in the form of a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible. It's a very nice car, and a real steal for the price when you consider it has fresh paint, new interior, a new top, new tires and solid mechanicals, you could not buy a fixer upper and get this far for that kind of money. As it sits it is ready to cruise, and anything you do to this car after this point will only bring up it's value making it a solid investment while you play with it! Mechanically this car really needs nothing and at face value is great transportation with a touch of vintage style. This is an original low mileage Michigan car that was a one owner car when father and son duo took it on as a project. As you read through the write up you, will see they did most of the difficult and costly restoration work leaving nothing but puttering to be done. A little effort detailing and tweaking and again, this would make a really nice cruiser for someone. As it sits it is a great driver and ready to go if you want to drive it now. Now I should qualify that usually “driver” quality on eBay usually means piece of crap. Let’s be clear this is a really nice car, but by no means a show car either, hence a great car to drive, and will not get you laughed out of any local shows or cruisers either. Put a little time and work into it and you may start winning trophies as well. Being a convertible this car collects a lot of attention going down the street or parked. Finish – Grade B-: Gold metallic paint (Saturn Gold) is a fresh clear coat basecoat paint job, probably 2-3 years old at the most. Paint has very nice shine and luster. Overall the paint looks great; there are two minor bubbles on the outer corners of the trunk lid, no rust through. There is some light orange peel on the driver’s rear quarter, the passenger rear quarter has some metallic muddled or flow inconsistencies, you have to look at it just right to catch it. There are a couple scratches on the front driver’s fender possibly some parking lot rash or light storage accident. Paint looks great overall at just under 10 foot and very good driver quality. If I was keeping the car I would add some striping similar to the 442 to dress it up. Body – Grade B+: Car has had some repair to the rear lower quarters as shown in the pictures. I have the rear marker lights, just waiting for the bracket to install. The body work looks good and the repairmen used all metal. All other panels appear original and well repaired, car is very straight and panel alignment is very good. The outer trunk floor has also been repaired on both sides which I have photographed, typical of this model. There is some rot in the passenger and driver front floor that has been patched with some sheet metal which I photographed. All the repairs are good driver quality, no need for any further repair at this time and quite drivable as is. Car needs all new weatherstriping and window fuzzies. Convertible is all new with top frame repainted and restored. Looks and fits great! Operation of electric top is a little arthritic…..may have some air in the line, I put it down with little effort, and it needed a little boost to go up the first foot or so, and then worked fine under its own power. I also have a brand new top boot (parade cover) for the car. Cowl Tag Code info: BODY BY FISHER ST 71 34267LAN388028 BDY TR 987 53 A PNT 04D ’71 Cutlass Supreme V-8 Convertible built in Lansing MI Trim= Notch back Bench Cloth and Fabric/Ivory Paint= Saturn Gold with White top Built April 4th week VIN is 342671M191514 Oldsmobile, Cutlass Supreme V-8, 2 door convertible, 1971, built in Lansing MI, Vehicle has free and clear State of Michigan Title. Frame – Grade B: Is straight and has been repaired just behind the driver's door (see photo), so it is now free of any rust or scale, with no other signs of any metal repair from collision. Bumpers - Grade D+/A-: Front bumper is original with a slight bend on the passenger lower corner (hooked on to pull out of a wintery ditch years ago?) Chrome plating is starting to patina some, I cleaned it up with some light scrubbing with steel wool and soap…..polish would make it nicer. New Replacements are available on the aftermarket, which would be the route I would take. Rear bumper is a new replacement/rechromed, so it straight with no damage and excellent chrome quality. Bright work – Grade B: The brightwork on this car is all original and generally free of dents but will require light polishing to restore luster. Rear right/passenger tail lights are nice just need some paint detailing. Front grill is nice and would clean up nicely with some paint detail to restore it to its original luster. Rearview mirror chrome is full of light pits and patina; a replacement would be a great improvement. This car came with body beltline trim that ran just below the body lines above the quarters from the front to the back, all but the front pieces where the marker lights is present. These parts are available on the aftermarket as well. Again I would suggest installing paint lines like the 442 to dress it up more. In general the trim is all in good driver + quality, much of which could be greatly improved with light buffing and polishing. Rear marker lights were not installed in photos….I had to order the mounting clips, will be installed when delivered! Glass Grade A- : Glass is in very good shape. Front windshield is free of chips or cracks with no scratches, appears to be new replacement. Side windows are also free of chips and scratches and are original OEM glass, and all roll up with little effort and tracks and rollers are in good shape. Top has a new glass window which is in very good condition. Most all the weather-stripping and window “fuzzies” are missing removed for the repaint job; if there are any remaining they are original and will need to be replaced for restoration and to seal well enough now for driving in top up mode! Interior Grade B- : Interior is complete and essentially been restored but there are some minor issues. Dash pad is complete and with out any cracking there is a slight bow in the center probably sun or heat warping, not that horrible. Steering wheel is complete with one crack in the center, rim is intact and horn works. (I would buy an aftermarket reproduction of the rally steering wheel!) Door panels are all new including rear panels. The previous owners did however cut the hole by mistake for the remote for the rearview mirror; however it does not have this issue. Since the chrome is rough on the original rearview mirror you could replace it with the remote model and fix two minor issues with one repair! The arm pads are new, but the bases and the chrome backing plates are original…..they function but could use replacement to really complete the interior. Rear panels were recovered and look great, I have the original light bezels and covers the previous owners did not install, easy to do, and I may complete this week if time allows. Also ashtrays were not installed, I have the originals and they are a little pitted and I plan to clean and install this week as well, replacements would be nice. Carpet is brand new and looks great. Door and window handles are original and in good condition. The convertible top is brand new and professional installed. Vinyl seats are all recovered and look great. Headrests were not re-installed. I have one headrest that came with the car missing the other. I have the seat trim for the top of the seats but the professional who recovered the seats did not slit the seats and install. Once you locate another headrest installation is pretty simple Dash is all original and in good condition but could use a re-chroming. Dash features “idiot lights” and a fuel gauge. There is no Radio holes are in original shape and unmolested. I removed the glovebox lock (askew in photos) to have it re-keyed to match door locks will be installed upon delivery. All dash lights and auxiliary lighting works without issue. Again brand new professionally installed new convertible top, also while note pictured I have a new top boot as well (parade cover) for when the top is down. Trunk Grade C+: Trunk is all original with nice repair to floor. The original bumper jack, j-hook and nut, base and spare are missing. Trunk would look nice with a repaint to the original splatter finish. Wheels Grade A-: 14X 7 Factory Rally steel rims with factory center caps, and original trim rings. Trim rings are in very good shape, both rear rings have some light scuff marks on them, center caps are original, with a few pits but chrome is very nice, very good drivers. Wheels were repainted body color. Tires Grade A-: Brand new B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A P225/70R14 Suspension Grade OK: Suspension appears to be in good operating and well maintained condition. Power steering works well with no leaks or noises. No leaking from front shocks or wetness on front backing plates. Rear Shocks are good, no wetness on the backing plates. Ride is smooth and suspension rebounds well. It goes down the road straight with no rattles. Exhaust Grade A-: Headers with Dual exhaust, into Flowmaster mufflers, recent 2 1/4 inch pipes (not mandrel bent). There are no leaks and exhaust is surprisingly quiet with a nice rumble, but not obnoxious or loud. Rearend Grade OK: Factory open 3:25:1 rear-end, no wetness or noises. Ignition Grade OK: Stock appearing factory style distributor with points, cap, rotor, coil, and plug wires all appear to have been replaced recently. Starts easily Heater Grade A: Non/A/C car, newer hoses, fan motor and switch operate. Kick panel vent cables work as designed. Transmission Grade OK: Factory 3-speed 400THM automatic. Transmission shifts well with no issues, grips well under normal and heavy acceleration. Brakes Grade OK: Power drum brakes, brakes are in very good working condition and perform to factory specifications. Engine Grade B: Engine is original 350 V-8 Olds “Rocket”. Lower end is original with a recent valve job, where the intake was upgraded to an Aluminum Edelbrock Performer with a 650 Edelbrock 4 barrel 650 Performer carb with electric choke. Also a new camshaft and lifters were installed. (Stock 350 “Rocket” factory replacement) This motor is well maintained and idles well, and when checked with a vacuum gauge the signal is steady and strong at 20+ lbs. No smoking even at start up. Car pulls well through gears like a true musclecar, idles well and starts and idles on cold mornings. Very nice, reliable driving car. Recent radiator flush, new water pump, tune-up, new battery and no visible leaks. What the engine really needs is a great detailing to make it ready for the show season. A careful repaint and restoration under the hood would add a lot to the car's appeal and value. Summary: This car is a 10 footer that looks great going down the road and is very presentable for most local car shows or cruises. It is a very nice car to drive with smooth, powerful acceleration, and clean comfortable cabin. The car as is would make a great reliable, daily driver. I see this as a great car to have parked at your summer cottage or winter retreat down south. It would make a great car to work on a little each winter and cruise all summer. You could fly into Traverse City, pick up and drive this car anywhere home without issue. It is really a fun car to drive. It's a perfect car for someone who wants to putter on an old car but wants nothing major like a repaint or complete restoration job. All the hard stuff is done. The car looks great but do some detailing and tweaking and this car will really come to life and be a real show stopper at your local cruise night. Also the price is right on this car, any work you do to it will easily be recouped in the resale of the car. I had figured about $2000 for all the things I would do to the car to really cherry it out (442 striping, deluxe rally steering wheel, nice little Ken Harrison radio, factory floor mats and detail the trunk and underhood) All these things would easily double the coast of this car. Nice original convertibles are hard to find, this one is running and ready to go with just some fun little projects left to be done. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me Reggie at 231-935-3840 I advise you to view this vehicle first hand before you bid, but if you can't, I recommend Auto Appraise check them out on the web http://www.autoappraise.com/ or call them at 800-301-3886 The Business Details: I have tried very hard to describe this car accurately and honestly, that said the vehicle is sold as is with no remaining factory or implied warranty. We will include all the receipts we have for the vehicle for any replacement parts as well. I require $500 within 24 hours of the completion of the auction. Pick-up or delivery of the vehicle is the buyer's responsibility. However that said, I'm willing to work with you on this for an additional fee I would be willing to deliver the car, either driving it to you or trailering it if you wish providing you pay all expenses.