Value? My Father-In-Law's 1971 Cutlass Supreme Convertible
 

It's a sad time for the family as both of my in-laws are going into senior care this week due to memory issues. My father in law, Wayne was a Viet Nam Vet and is also suffering from Agent Orange effects and Parkinsons just to add to the whole dilemma .

He has a 1971 Olds Cutlass Supreme Convertible that he has owned for at least 23 years after inheriting it from his late brother. He used to cruise this baby across the state to all the semi-local cruise nights and car shows over the years. My wife went up to NY State this week and took some photos. She also has the file folder on the car so I am waiting for her to bring that back since it may have original paperwork.

The body looks beautiful to me but I have no idea where to look on an Oldsmobile engine block and trans for the VIN to see if its the original 350 in it. Any suggestions would be welcomed at this point.

We are looking for a value estimate since any money from this sale will go for their medical care. What do you guys think? You can reply here or email me at nk15268@ hotmail.com

Update: Given everyone's input, I did end up posting a price of $30K in the facebook link so hopefully that helps.

underside stuff. Looks like a ton of factory undercoating down there.

96,000 miles.

More...

My wife just got back from the In-Laws house. Lots of paperwork found. Has the original dealership owner's manual glove box folder with the original Window Sticker in it. Sold new at Tunmore Olds in Buffalo New York by salesman Dick Hudson. The folder has the original owner's name on it: Frank J. Gugliuzza. Found the second owner's NY inspection receipt from 1985 at 39,601 miles. Third owner NY inspection receipt with 57,000 miles from 1995. Third owner's Bill of sale to my Father in law's brother in 2000 (Fourth owner) and then my Father in law (5th owner) getting it in September of 2002 with 59,000 miles. So my Father In-Law put 40,000 miles on it in 23 years.

LOL. I tried googling the possible original owner's name "Frank J Gugliuzza." OMG there are dozens of them...and they all lived in upstate NY near Buffalo! It reminded me of the crazy 1984 movie Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension, where all the aliens have the same first name.

I would see what others have went for on Bring a Trailer to get an idea.

Sorry to hear about your in-laws. Nice looking car, great color combo and paperwork is a plus. I'd say $30 to $35K as a starting point.

Funny how they charged more for the 2BBL when the Supreme comes standard with a 4BBL.

Crazy thing is that I didn’t ask the wife to check if it’s a 2bbl or a 4bbl. Can you tell from the tiny bit of the carb you can see in the photos?

It does appear to be a 2BBL.

So they came standard with a 4bbl and someone ordered it with a 2bbl instead? I recall they had a similar GTO option around 1969 for that kind of craziness.

Correct. Looking at the window sticker closer, I see that it shows "CR" for credit after the price, that makes more sense!

Now I see it!

That's right, '67 to '69 GTO had the 2BBL option.

I could post it on this Facebook group for you if you'd like? Or just join and post it.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/7072oldscutlass

Yes, please do. Whenever I try to join new groups they always take a while to respond.

Okay. Did you want me to include any contact info for you or a price? I can grab the photos here, that's easy.

If you want to direct them here to the Yenko site? (It will get us more traffic here, too!) :-) Then they can PM me here.

Okay, I will do that.

I am trying to get my brother-in-law to get the engine casting number from the front of the block.

The "7" on the cylinder head is the correct 1971 Olds 350 head. I was able to direct my wife to photograph the get the VIN pad but it is covered in paint and not too discernable.

I will probably be picking the car up and trailering it back to NJ next week. I will make things a lot simpler in terms of selling it , having it here so I can get better photos, videos and maybe a compression check.

Got the engine casting number from the up north. Confirms its a late 1968 to 76 350. Once I get the car home and scrub off the VIN pad I will be able to tell if it's the born with engine or not.

I would imagine the engine is original since the heads are correct.

Once we get it back here next week I can start the detective work...and the scrubbing of the VIN pad that my totally unreasonable wife refused to do in the 95+ degree heat last week. :tongue:

Lol... can't blame her for that!

I should have posted the 30-minute text thread of how to locate that exact spot on the engine. I think I have a photo of everything in the engine compartment but that exact spot...all blurry and out of focus.

She's a keeper. Most people would have blocked me and then turned their phone off after 5 minutes of me providing updated directions with 27 8x10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows... :biggthumpup:

Since you have all owner history and mileage documentation, the odds of the engine being replaced are slim to none....and slim is ready to leave town.

Fingers crossed. We shall see next week! Can't wait for the unveiling. I already ordered a new set of AC plugs for it since the ones in the photos look rather old. Initiate Mission creep in 3...2...1

Nice original car, I see a intake gasket in your future (looks like it is sticking out)

I have a 70 cutlass convertible, but it's a Chevy underneath

Can you post a photo with a circle around the gasket issue? This is my first time working on an Oldsmobile engine.

If you look over the #3 in the casting number and then the #8 in the casting number you can see it sticking out ( looks like oil residue there too)

Hope this works

Thank you!

As long as you're doing that replace those Autolite plug wires too - coming from someone who really understands scope creep on car projects :naughty: :beers:

I saw those and cringed at the cross contamination, as well. :-)

Heading up on Wednesday to get the Olds. I'll update with new info and photos this weekend.:biggthumpup:

13 hour round trip . We got my Father-in-law's Olds home. I confirmed the original engine. Only took around 50 tries with the camera and light source from an equal amount of directions. The last two digits are too faint to capture well on film but everything else is visible. "31M100191"

Original transmission too

As expected.

I spent the day changing the oil and crawling around underneath (found the transmission VIN numbers, as you already saw). I sent an oil sample out to Blackstone Labs for analysis. That usually takes a couple weeks for the results.

I completely flushed the brake system of the old fluid, fully bled it and now we have a nice firm pedal. I adjusted the parking brake because the brake light was staying illuminated until you pulled the parking brake pedal up the last 1/2 inch. Once I adjusted the cable under the car, it works correctly now. I found a cross-threaded rear wheel stud and replaced that. Transmission fluid is at the proper level now and I checked the rear diff fluid and got doused in gear oil because someone along the way overfilled the diff by about a half a quart! That explains why there was a oil spray pattern under the tunnel but the seal isn't actively leaking when parked. It didn't help that the axle vent was covered in undercoating and not venting properly.

I cannot overstate how much factory and dealer-installed undercoating is on this car. I definitely saved it from the Buffalo winters but My Lord, it's inconceivable! BTW, all the body seams and the rocker seams are beautiful and original. No swelling or crustiness anywhere. The frame is covered in undercoating too, but totally solid. The only frame flaw I found was in the drivers side rear where somebody way-back-when, used those dreaded "J-hooks" to tie it down and made a 3/4" stress rip from the hold down hole.