CC Reader David S. forwarded me this craigslist ad. I’ll let it speak for itself, as I could never do this car justice:
Ive been kicking the idea of selling my 1986 olds 442 convertible 67k miles on body. (Note they only made a few hundred of these) A company back in 1986 called “ASC” American Specialty Cars, convert it over to a convertible. There aren’t many of these car still around. But anyways just a little info on mines.
It’s a 1986 olds cutlass 442, with a 408 stroker motor built, 250 shot of nos, 350 turbo tci transmission 2800-3200 stall converter, REAREND QUICK PERFORMANCE FORD 9INCH 31 SPLINE AXLES 4.10 GEAR RATIO. COMPETITION ENGINEERING 3 WAY ADJUSTABLE DRAG SHOCKS 90/10 FRONT 70/30 REAR. BMR UPPER AND LOWER ADJUSTABLE CONTROL ARMS. Will give full specs on motor trans ect to serious buyers.
The cutlass has been been took all the way down to bare metal and build back up, no bondo or rust anywhere on this car! Has two speakers and horn in the grill for quality sound, also with two 6x9s in the back seat panels and two tweets in the dash. Has a double din dvd/ cd player in the dash. Car has 24″ rims. You have to see this car in person to admire its beauty, pictures do this car no justice, im sure im missing alot of other things to tell bout the car but the list goes on and on. Oh it does have a Dakota Digital dash. Come out check the car out see for your self!
THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO TEST DRIVES UNLESS YOU ARE HERE TO BUY!!! I WILL TAKE POTENTIAL BUYERS FOR A RIDE.
DO NOT WASTE MY TIME, YOU COULD NOT!! AND I REPEAT NOT PUT MY CAR TOGETHER FOR MY ASKING PRICE..
MAY DO SOME TRADING, NOT REALLY SURE BUT SHOOT YA OFFER.
CALL OR TEXT show contact info
PRICE IS 13,000 OBO
THANKS FOR READING MY ADD
Stunt, is terminology for looking good, or catching people’s attention. Race-ready, again, is lingo. When rappers talk about their cars (particularly older cars with engine swaps, it signifies, not stock. I don’t think the guy is talking about actually racing or doing stunts. The wheels are too much,(I’d prefer some Forgiatos or Asantis) but as it is, it’s not too bad. This guy sounds like a genuine enthusiast, and I have to give him props for actually taking care of his build, rather than let it go to waste from sitting in the driveway.
Worth it? Honestly, finding a stock one for his price is getting tough. I wonder he’d give you the stock wheels back with the rest of the car?
….or crusher ready. Bizarre donk wheels like these always remind me of another design from more than 100 years ago….
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=108611
Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder. Said my piece on donks a few days back.
Thanks for posting this Paul. Probably u wouldn’t be the first one to throw your money down but it is an interesting post.
It’s something alright.
It’s got good bones for a restoration. Typical butchery I see on a lot of cars, and the wheels can be swapped back for a more sane size.
If that’s your cuppa tea, then go for it, but it’s not my style.
Way better than a Prius with a fartcan. Wheels can be changed.
442.
4 wheels,
4 tires,
2 much.
Assuming the wheels were changed to stock or something more mainstream along with the suspension, could this be considered worth anywhere near the $13k asking price? I don’t think so (not to me for sure) but this car is completely outside of my wheelhouse so am curious. The condition overall does look excellent.
I think it could be worth that much as a fine example of the rare G-body convertible. There are people out there who love their G-bodies.
Now if he had put in this suspension instead http://www.hotchkis.net/product/78-88-buick-gn-regal-el-camino-monte-carlo-cutlass-stage-2-tvs-small-block/?mk=51&yr=1986&md=576&sm=20 with these wheels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3zKgBhIW5Uand you’d have this Ford and Buick fan’s attention at that price. Probably would have been a wash on the cost of the original build.
As someone who has owned a ’79 Malibu with the F41 Handling Suspension since it was new, I can tell you that these G bodies are a ball to drive when set up right. I can imagine what one would be like with that Hotchkis setup ! The F41 option on my car cost a whole $37.00.
F41 suspension was one of the best bang for your buck options. For the miserly cost of it it should have been included as standard equipment. Another GM goof.
Has the world run out of nice old cars that you have to inflict this on me? :/
Your Focus is way better. In fact, we could do a spinoff version of this series and title it “XYZ Car for Sale: Better or Worse than DougD’s Focus?”
The Focus probably would have beaten the Sunfire.
The Golf Cabrio though was a strong buy at the price.
But here the Focus takes it again. In my mind, anyway…
We’d better poll the crickets on that one, they are still chirping…
Sad!
I wonder if this is really an ASC job. I tried to google ASC Cutlass Supreme and came up dry, although some other small companies apparently did convertible conversions of the Cutlass Supreme from time to time.
All that extra power in an underbuilt convertible doesn’t spell anything good in my book. I doubt that this thing was all that stiff and probably had all it could handle from a wimpy 307/THM200. This one would scare me.
I doubt it’s an ASC job, as well. ASC didn’t even do the later GM10/W-body Cutlass Supreme convertibles; those were done by Cars and Concepts.
While it may be underbuilt, the one thing it has going for it is that the A/G-bodies were body-on-frame, which gives me slightly more confidence that it won’t fold in upon itself like a bad piece of origami.
I always heard the ASC responsible for these ragtops (as well as many “factory” T-tops) was American Sunroof Corporation. Building custom vans in the 70s-80s, I installed a hundred ASC sunroofs and remember our sales rep telling us that, and IIRC seeing their work at SEMA shows in the day.
Oh god help us.
The only thing that would make me weep harder is if someone had done it to a similar vintage HURST/OLDS.
I’m a punctuation specialist. Perhaps I’ve found a customer!
I like it. If I was driving it, would I change out the rims? Yeah. But it’s in pretty good shape and is obviously well cared for.
The cowl shake on this THING would be so bad, the rearview mirror would be a constant blur. No, thanks.
I’d like to meet the wheelwright!
Wow-
I would note the owner has spent some serious money on this rig. Call the parts for the axle and suspension work around $2,000, the Dakota Digital dash is about $750 retail, and a 250 nitrous shot is maybe another $500. Pick any number you want for the motor, the parts would be $5-700, and labor goes up from there. That’s a lot of money put into a car with a book value of maybe $6,500.
While I don’t see any obviously non-reversible modifications (although mounting a Ford 9″ under the car is a major undertaking), the owner has removed the HVAC system and installed a blocking plate on the firewall. This means it wouldn’t be a very useful daily driver, and restoring it to original condition would be a major undertaking.
If for what ever reason you really wanted a GM rear end back in there it should be an almost bolt in affair as he most likely just ordered up one of the bolt in all new Ford 9″ style rear ends that are offered by a number of companies. Here is one http://www.quickperformance.com/9-Ford-Complete-Rearend-GM-G-Body-78-87_p_20384.html
I realize a 9 inch conversion can be a relatively simple (albeit expensive) modification. My point is that this car has seen a lot of changes. Anyone who wants to convert it back to stock faces a large challenge.
Wow – those tires have almost no sidewall to them. I wonder if there is even enough space to even get the tire size on there.
I will never complain about the low profile tyres on my Fiesta again.
How do people drive with their seats leaned back like that? I’m not exactly one to shy away from leaning a chair back and popping my feet up on a desk but the seat bottom is in the same place as it would be if it were upright. It just seems like there’s zero back support.
I despise the donkey shit, but I think the ASC convertible treatment is even less flattering. Boxy 80s cars made for really rinky-dink convertibles.
I sent a Dodge Challenger 4×4 over to Paul which originally horrified many a Mopar fan. Cars, like these are almost a dime a dozen out here on Craigslist.
By the way have you all notice the sellers who say “do not waste my time” and yet they waste our time with these things?
I read a lot of craigslist ads. In my experience, about one quarter to one third of car sellers are of the “I want” ilk. It’s beyond not caring about wasting others’ time, near as I can tell they don’t see others as people, but merely as potential sources for what they want. There’s a monotinous regularity to ads with multiple time-wasting characteristics, which also include some variation of the “don’t waste my time” attitude.
I’ll take it if it comes with the stock wheels.
The asking price is reasonable. A shame the car isn’t more stock as it would be worth a little more. Ditch those silly wheels!
OH MY GOSH!!! What the heck??? Those rims DO NOT work for me at all. What a waste of money! The guy is probably correct that it is a very rare car, being a convertible. What he has totally failed to realize is that the value of said rare car is based on it being in good overall condition while being factory original. All the mods he’s done actually LOWER the current value of the car. Changing the dash to a Dakota digital dash does not sound good. Cutting holes for more speakers is definitely good. And, those 24 inch rims sure are DIFFERENT, and are darned expensive. And, IMHO, make the car look like crap.
Some of you guys who have been into cars for many, many years probably recall, like me, that ASC has been the company many automakers have used to covert 2-door sedans into convertibles for over thirty years. So, I’ll at least give him credit for knowing some of the history of the car. Just feel his taste in mods is too latter day for an older car like that. My suspicion is that a collector of rare convertibles would most likely tend to be a purist and want a completely stock , unmodified car. And, will say the low miles is certainly a plus. But, overall, WOW just WOW! What a spectacle! Think I said it before: am no fan of DONKS!
And, it has just struck me that Oldsmobile is now one of those “dead” auto brands, having been killed off about 15 years ago. So like Edsel, Studebaker, Desoto, Plymouth and a number of other brands, any clean, well-kept and undamaged ORIGINAL should be worth something now, and possibly more in the future. And, any that aren’t quite show-worthy could be restored to factory original.
Ooops, meant to say that cutting holes for speakers does not sound very good when it comes to keeping things factory original. Still can’t really believe anybody would think adding those rims would be a good idea. Has to require a fair amount of work and quite a bit of money. The things people do to stand out to be different.
It looks like he’s done a good enough job of it, if you like that sort of thing. I’m a bit confused by the nitrous, though. A hot rod donk? If you want to go fast, don’t raise the center of gravity! A guy at my place of employment actually daily drives a donked late-model Charger. It’s his pride and joy, but it is also known to be a money pit of epic proportions. At one point he was having some work done to the undercarriage, and there was so much body flex that the windshield cracked and had to be replaced. The things a guy will do to get the car he wants the way he wants it! He makes the same lousy money that I make, but he allocates his expenditures a bit differently!
Years back my lady roommate knew a guy who had a then new donked Chrysler 300, and as such we sometimes would go out together. His had an insane stereo, Lambo doors, crazy rims, the works. He too said it was a money pit from day one (those mods cause all sorts of secondary problems). Nice guy who had the cash, so shrug it off I guess? Although not to my particular taste, we had a lot of fun times in that car that likely wouldn’t have happened otherwise, so I understand the appeal.
One has to go back to the age of the extreme-lowered custom to find automotive illogic to match these wagon wheels (as I call them). (I recall an early issue of “Custom Car” with a lead sled that the builder had fitted with a pair of fixed c.3″ steel casters under the rear bumper, to assist with those steep driveway approaches, etc.)
Isn’t the convertible tonneau kind of wrinkly on this 442 ? We don’t know who did the conversion, apparently. No sale. But it’s a hoot to see and read this ad . . .
He’s running a 406 small block with a 250 shot of nitrous so he’s got somewhere around 600 hp under the hood. That car has to be a HANDFUL in the 1/4 mile on those rims.
“Has two speakers and horn in the grill for quality sound …”
All I need to know, I’m in!
Rims? What rims?
I thought those were some kind of newfangled jack stands.
Now, get off of my lawn! 😉
All I can say it that it’s in the Columbus, OH Craigslist.
Yes, I did go that school in A2. Why do you ask?
J. Smith
UMLS 2001
I see that you are right about the Craigslist posting. What I learned from reading it is that the car is in Springfield, Ohio. That happens to be northeast of Dayton, Ohio. Which is home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and also the fabulous Air Force museum. Which is a Must Visit at least once in your life for anyone who loves aircraft and the history of aviation.. And especially planes from WWI, WWII as well as many others since then.
“I WILL TAKE POTENTIAL BUYERS FOR A RIDE”
Does that have the same meaning in America as in the UK?
Yes. Although in this case, I’m willing to think that was an oversight on the seller’s part.
OMG, FFS.
If you’re also following the “Gypsy Coeds” series, I just realized that the stance of this car, and the crude convertible top, remind me of a bad ‘80s version of the “Silver Streak.”
My wife and I were walking through town just the other day, and a donked Cutlass of this gen, though a coupé not a convertible, and maybe on 22’s not 24’s, drove by. “What was THAT?” exclaimed my wife, who probably wouldn’t have noticed a ’62 Ferrari GTO or a Bugatti Veyron if one had driven by.
kinda sad to see some comments implying the seller to be a non Caucasian gang bangin drunk on drugs just based on his choice of mods and the lingo used in the ad.
this fella might be in or just out of the service or young talented enthusiast who built his interpretation of his generations idea of cool. how abominable might a chopped, lowered and leaded 49 Merc have seemed to your parents sensibilities? i’ll wager the seller is more interesting to talk “cars” with than a lemming who pilots some bland but socially acceptable blob of CUV.
another nit to address. nobody makes you read or even look at the CL ads.
kinda sad to see some comments implying the seller to be a non Caucasian gang bangin drunk on drugs just based on his choice of mods and the lingo used in the ad.
Agreed. This is a recurring problem, and I’m afraid we may have to stop this series if this recurs. It troubles me.
It’s too bad folks can’t appreciate different takes on cars other than their own.
I’ve also yet to find an automotive site with a more accepting, open-minded and intelligent group of regular posters. For that reason, I find your implication of racism to be both unfounded and a bit distasteful.
Well, although I guess everything is relative, it’s not nearly good enough for my standards. I’m majorly turned off by some of the comments, some of which I’ve already deleted. The racism may not be that overt, but it comes across pretty clear to me.
Obviously those were deleted before I posted my comment, so I deleted my comment, as well. My apologies, Paul…
Definitely a unique vehicle that’s well looked after and he has spent a lot of money modifying it. Now if he would just get rid of those horrible oversized wheels! Now would that suspension work with the normal sized wheels this car would have come with? BTW, does anyone here have any experience driving one of these “Donks?” It would be interesting to see how they handle on a racetrack or wet road. With a transfer case and front drive axle I think it’d make a good monster truck!
Here’s another pic, this one post-stock, pre-highrise. I had an ’81 Cutlass myself, and including the one I have now, I’ve had three convertibles. I’d be open to a convertible Cutlass, and I like the design on the wheels-just not this large and not on this car. I’m not a fan of the “donk” but redone right I would definitely own this. As it stands, however, I’d have to give it a pass.