Back when we did the CC Complete Cutlass Chronicles (you have seen them, right?), I could not come up with a ’66-’67 Cutlass coupe and had to pinch hit. So here it is, in all its genuine curbside goodness: A war-battered veteran, and from Washington D.C., no less. CC Cohort c5karl posted these about 18 months too late, but in the spirit of better late than never, I’m adding them to the aforementioned CC.
This shot is particularly nice. The sun and shadows accentuate the car’s key design elements so nicely while (mostly) sparing us its crunched face. The Cutlass probably shares this tunnel-back roof with its A-Body brethren, but its unique hips and Toronado-inspired slab sides and big wheel flares express a surprisingly strong Olds identity. Somehow, the Cutlass even manages to look bigger than its corporate siblings.
The ‘66 Toronado’s bladed front fenders also made it to the Cutlass, albeit in slightly less aggressive form. From here, it looks like they bore the brunt of an encounter with a solid mass…ouch! That’s too bad, because otherwise this Cutlass is in very decent original shape.
I wasn’t going to say any more, but this side shot restates my point: This Cutlass looks like a full-sized car. Yes, I know they weren’t exactly small, but the Olds simply looks the biggest of all the ’66-’67 A-body coupes. Now I just need to find a ’65 Olds Delta 88 Coupe. But wait a minute–I already did. What am I waiting for?
It looks like the owner slightly misjudged the Cutlass’ overhang. Hopefully it gets restored as it appears to be a nice unmolested example.
The damage reminds me of a same color ’67 Toronado I used to have for a few years. I ended up Craigslisting it because I could not find a parts car to fix mine. The left taillight in the pic belongs to a ’67 Ninety-Eight which I still own. My favorite though is the Delta Custom though.
That’s a shame about the Toro, Junky— I really dig those cars and miss them on the road.
My mom drove the Town Sedan version of this when they were new, up until the time it was traded in on a new Ninety-Eight in March of 1970. Hers was white with a red interior.
To this day my mother – who knows nothing about cars – will tell you about her Cutlass “with that four-barrel carburetor…you could watch the gas needle move toward ‘E’ as you pressed the gas pedal!”
It’s quite possible that my dad told her the four-barrel was the reason the Cutlass didn’t get very good gas mileage, and they were probably comparing it to the ’66 Skylark that he drove. From mom’s comment, I’m assuming that it was equipped with the 330-cubic-inch, 320 hp “Jetfire Rocket V8;” if I’m reading the brochure correctly, that appears to be the only four-barrel available in a non-442 Cutlass (which I suppose is technically not a Cutlass).
Interesting thing about this particular car: It was my parents’ second ’67 Cutlass. The first one delivered (metallic gold) had an annoying hesitation on takeoff that was attributed to a bad transmission. Dad took it back within a day or so, and the dealership unwound the deal and put him into the one they owned for the next three years, which was similar except for the color.
I agree that this car looks “full-size” compared to it’s contemporary cousins, don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I think part of what makes it look larger than it’s class are the hips and the blades front and rear.
Nice design, pretty clean.
I always liked these.
A call to Original Parts Group or Year One will fix that right up 🙂 .
Looks like someone has been testing the crumple zones. Back in about 1989 or so, I acquired a ’65 Buick Special that looked a bit like that after having gone through three generations of one family. The fact that it cost me all of $185 helped make up for the battle scars.
Pretty much every Olds of the 60s was a looker, but I’d take this gen of Cutlass over its humpbacked successor any day.
Indeed.
These 2 gals like riding around in this one.
To me the ’67 Cutlass looks classier and more elegant than the plainer ’66. Also, I had a 1/25 scale model of the 1967 ‘Hurst Hairy Olds’ drag car, which had two motors! So, I am partial to them.
Hello all,
Interesting to find this article, because this is actually my car!
A little bit of backstory, I was stationed in D.C. in 2011, I made it 19 days before I decided I couldn’t live without a car. I had 750 dollars in my pocket and hit craigslist.
I found Rosie in a garage in Baltimore, the original owner bought her in 1967, and drove her until 1981 when she passed away. The car had been sitting ever since. Luckily it only had 130XXX miles on it, but the family parked it and it sat for 30 years. They were selling it for parts, so after some haggling I picked it up for $450, Un-wrecked, original, and unmolested. I pushed the car out of the garage, went to autozone, replaced the battery, plugs, wires and cap, sprayed some carb cleaner for a couple hours, and actually started her and drove her to D.C. that night to the astonishment of the family.
I have been using her as my daily for about three years and have since put about 10,000 miles on the car. She runs well for a 47 year old tank. The wreck in the front is from an overzealous teenager, a v-6 mustang, and a parking lot. His mustang was totaled, I had to replace a headlight.
She is beat, ugly, worn down, old, and has her share of problems, but she has been a faithful old bird, and I have enjoyed my time with her.
Currently I am no longer driving her full time, and am actually looking to sell her for parts, or as a winter beater, I’ve lost the title, but you can retrieve one from the D.C. DMV.
If anyone is interested, I am almost willing to literally give her away if you’ll take her.
Thanks for the interesting read!
-Adam Jones-
leadsledfan@yahoo.com
Great story! Thanks for sharing it.