The 1970-72 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible is a clear choice for those who want a collector car but don’t know which one to buy. It’s common but not too common, powerful but not too powerful, not outrageously priced, and parts availability is very good. Most importantly, it looks great and you can always put its top down if you’ve had a bad day, so it covers all the bases. This Matador Red 1971 model is being auctioned on Hemmings in Cypress, California, and it might be an easy choice for someone who’s been shopping in vain.
The Hemmings auction makes it clear that this is a solid driver with some minor but superficial issues that could be attended to, but nothing that needs immediate attention. If you’re a stickler for originality, you might have noticed the grille(s), whose horizontal motif was used on lower-level Cutlasses in 1971.
This green 1971 Cutlass Supreme has the correct grilles, but a quick poke around the internet shows me that quite a few of them have been given a grille swap for whatever reason. It’s certainly nothing to cause alarm, but maybe something to put on the Christmas list.
The engine is the standard (in the Supreme) 260-horsepower Rocket 350 with a Quadrajet, and with only 82,000 miles on the odometer, the little small-block should run forever. The seller mentions that the radiator, starter, carburetor, points, and distributor cap have been replaced; however, I hope they hung onto the original carburetor. Quadrajets were tuned specifically to the engine upon which they were installed, and a replacement carburetor will undoubtedly need some fine tuning to run as well as it should. There’s a lot of good Quadrajet advice out there, so rebuilding the Cutlass’s original carb wouldn’t be a big deal for someone who’s mechanically inclined.
Aside from that, it’s too bad that someone hit everything forward of the engine with a can of the flattest black paint I’ve ever seen; I’d have been more inclined to just leave it alone. On a brighter note, the master cylinder and power booster are new, and the car has front disc brakes. On a darker note, the air conditioning doesn’t work, and I see one of those spin-on household electrical connectors above the driver-side wheelwell. It’s like finding a mouse in your garage; when you see one, you know there are others.
The interior has some “age-related wear” but it is commensurate with the general condition of the car; in other words, it’s great for a driver. It has bucket seats, a console, a floor shifter, a tilt steering wheel, and power windows.
The back seat is in similar condition, a little aged but still intact.
Investing in a new convertible top might be a good first task for the new owner, as it’s definitely past due. Of course, if you live in Southern California where this car is from, you may never need to put the top up anyway.
The undercarriage looks great, although the pictures don’t show a lot of close-up detail. Aside from a small transmission leak (it’s a Turbo-Hydramatic 350), the underside looks amazingly dry for a 55-year-old car of any sort.
The Cutlass will also come with its original Protect-O-Plate, which shows that it was an early build, being sold in October of 1970.
No, this isn’t going to be a show-winning Cutlass, but it’s the exact kind of car I usually buy, if not somewhat nicer. Unlike my usual purchase, it hasn’t been neglected for 25 years, so it’s probably a smart buy for anyone who wants an old car, but they just don’t know what to get. How could you go wrong with a red Cutlass convertible?
Related Reading
Curbside Classic: 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme – Something To Talk About (by Joseph Dennis)
1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 4-4-2 Convertible: Rare 4-Speed And L75 455 In The Final Ragtop 4-4-2 (by Aaron Severson)
I’m not really a convertible guy or an Olds guy, but you’re right about all the plusses here. Plus, there are mechanicals I could handle, and it’s hardly a peak-smog-equipment car, either. I’d think it should find a happy next owner soon.
SWEET .
This should make an excellent hobby or parade car .
-Nate
I remember these in Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. The captains, maids of honor, or guest of honor (usually a celebrity) would sit on the frame just above the back seat on a cushion. Right after the parade season, the local Olds dealers (Mossy & Royal) would sell them as “Parade Specials”.
It’s a good thing this isn’t a 72 painted Viking Blue, or I would start thinking about it. One of the few GM cars of the era that could tempt me, probably because I remember drooling over one in the showroom when my mom bought a Cutlass Supreme hardtop.
The 1970-72 Cutlass if my fave of the GM intermediates, and this one is a great, low maintenance survivor for cruising on warms nights (no shortage of those in SoCal) and it’s refreshing to see that no one has changed the original single exhaust over to duals (especially those with those hokey, chrome exhaust extensions).
That’s the first thing I would do…….factory style dual exhaust.
The factory dual trumpets and bumper wouldn’t be too bad. In fact, I think the OEM dual exhaust system was an actual stand-alone option back then.
But it would be a pain to do the conversion right, and like those old, rare, big six-cylinder cars (especially the ones with the three-on-the-tree), well, I guess I just like orginality too much. Way too many people want to improve their otherwise nice, old survivors by turning them into tribute cars.
I think this Supreme is a solid driver as the 442 who was once tested by Car & Track.
Bud Lindemann’s test driver would sure wring those cars out around the Grattan road course in Southwest Michigan.
Nice ’71! To pick a bone the 350 technically is not a “small block” in the sense of a SBC where the actual short block itself was smaller and lighter, and although some might call the the smaller displacement Olds V8 that, all Olds V8 blocks date back to the original 303 with only varying deck heights due to different strokes, the 400, 425, 455 being those with greater deck heights were called by some “big blocks, the additional 1.5 width was due only to the higher deck, the blocks were otherwise basically the same.