F for Fantastic, 85 for the temperature

F FOR FANTASTIC, 85 FOR THE TEMPERATURE

I was lucky enough to find myself out at Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways recently for some beach time when I spotted a glint of hot fire in the distance:

Yes! Roosting next to those poseur cars trying to share some limelight is a 1966 Oldsmobile F85 Holiday Coupe in Target Red. This car is 51 years old but looks like it just came from the dealership.

The F85 was the base trim level of the Cutlass line in '66. Above this ride were the Cutlass and Cutlass Supreme in the hierarchy (the 442 was still an option package and wouldn't be its own model until 1968).

This was considered an intermediate car as the full size rides of this year were truly colossal.
I love this generation which is very similar to the '67 442 I had. The sharp fender edges continuing on the bumpers looks mean.

In 1967 the headlights were spaced slightly apart with the turn signal nestled between each set in a barbell design. From this angle you can see the chrome hood trim is more of a blade than a hood ornament.
This was the most beautiful setting for such a ride. If I find myself needing to sell a car in the future I'm bringing it here to snap pics.

The hardtops such as this ride were known as the Holiday Coupe. If it had a pillar between the front and rear side glass it would be the Sport. The overall look is mid-'60s clean with the only side trim being down along the rocker panels and lower quarter.

This little emblem tells us the engine is the awesomely named Jetfire Rocket 330 V8. When I was a kid my favorite Transformer was Jetfire! The base engine choice was the Action Line 250 straight 6 cylinder. When equipped with an automatic transmission it was the Jetaway 2 speed. Gotta love those marketing names of the '60s rides!

While the dash and general layout are the same as the 442 there's a bench seat filling up the cabin. A column shift Jetaway auto trans is visible as is a radio. No air conditioning means these black seats will tear the skin off your legs on a Summer day if you're wearing shorts.

f-85!

There is the slightest separation on the vinyl roof otherwise this car is absolutely perfect! The matte finish on the rear bumper makes me believe it's a recent replacement.

Each letter of OLDSMOBILE gets its own square! The reverse lights are subtle, small rectangles flanking the license plate. 1967 would bring a much different taillight pattern with 2 squares on the body and 2 square set into the bumper itself.

The rear window is set deep into those sail panels for the first time this year. Other GM coupes such as the Tempest/Le Mans/GTO sported this look as well. 

Well there we have it; a smashing ride on a smashing day. Whoever drove this to the beach is the winner of the Kicking the Most Ass in Summer award. The only thing that would make it better is if it were a convertible. I loved my 442 with its bucket seats but really; if you're going to shuttle the crew somewhere in cruising fashion those big bench seats rule.

Twofer Tuesday returns with a couple of Rockets from coast to coast

ROCKETS COAST TO COAST

On a brutally hot day last summer I stumbled upon this imposing beast around Kensington:

This is a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass in Matador Red with 2 big black stripes on the hood that I'm 90% sure were added later. These cars are cool in just about every configuration.

This was built in the middle of Oldsmobiles heyday. Their popularity soared throughout the '60s and never stopped climbing even in the dark Malaise era of the late '70s. The 1976 Cutlass was the best selling car in America. It managed to hold that title for years after too. Cars like this are arguably why it all really got going.

There were so many body styles available for each iteration of Olds in '71 that it's a wonder they didn't saturate their own market. You could get a Vista Cruiser station wagon with skylights in the roof, a convertible, 2 door coupes in hardtop and pillar versions, and 4 doors with and without pillars as well. In addition to that the base model was still known as the F-85, with the Cutlass above that, Cutlass Supreme higher still, and the mighty 442 at the top. Break it down even further and you could choose between the Sport, Holiday, or Town version of most of the above. Whew!

This is what I believe to be the lowest production number (with the exception of 442 convertibles and the '70-only Rallye 350 special editions) body style available; the 4 door hardtop Holiday. The 4 door Town Sedan had pillars between the front and rear door glass, ruining your holiday.

The opening when all the windows are down is colossal! There is a reason 4 door hardtops were referred to as hardtop convertibles. This body style was doomed later in the '70s when rollover safety regulations went into effect.

That CS emblem on the vinyl roof denoted a Cutlass Supreme. This was the highest trim level which got you all the little chrome doodads and niceties. All 442s were essentially Cutlass Supremes with the 442 option package. While 442s were only available in 2 door coupes and convertibles in '71 there were ten 4 door versions built in 1964 when it was an option available for anything but the wagon.

This one's getting a little munchy around the edges.

Even flaking apart this thing looks tough and ready to run. Dual exhaust is promising.

The taillights being integrated into the bumper was a signature look for Oldsmobile for many years. The taillights alone can be used to identify the year.

This looks like a dog just started chewing on it. I don't know what hail-Mary attempt that brown smudge is supposed to be but my man should just get to sanding and welding because it's long gone.

Sure this is a big car, but the proportions are pretty good due to the exaggerated Coke Bottle styling. This was the smallest offering from Olds in '70. The larger Delta 88 and full size 98 were both monumental in scale.

Getting into engine possibilities would fill up an entire page but suffice it to say that this probably has a 350 or 400 in it. If there were an SX badge on it we would know it had a 455.

Now onto the dusty cousin of Big Red:

This is a 1971 Cutlass in Palm Green Poly. Unlike the above Cutty this is not a Supreme but a standard Hardtop Coupe. It was also discovered in Oregon so no matter how filthy it is 100% rust free. 

Notice the larger grill openings which would continue for '72. The three horizontal chrome bars in the grill were '71-only.

I've always loved this year and think the look holds up today. As opposed to hood scoops you can see the grill openings are bulging out of the body like flared nostrils.

I would love to have run a hose over this thing as it seemed flawless under the muck.

That line running from the trailing edge of the bumper up over the quarter panel and around the rear window is sweet! The folded paper crease of the bumper keeps everything clean too.

I've seen variations of the '71 model year where OLDSMOBILE was spelled out on the trunk in individual chrome letters as opposed to being imprinted on that piece of trim on the lip of the lid. Perhaps this is the non-Supreme treatment?

Here's an angle where we can see the same pronounced rear wheel swoopy arches that the red '70 has. That tiny emblem on the sail panel of the vinyl roof is just the Olds rocket symbol as opposed to CS if it was a Supreme. I would love to own another Olds of this general era; easy to work on, responsive and quick, and almost every part is widely available.

Twofer Tuesday returns with a single step in evolution!

A SUPREME CUTLASS AND A CUTLASS SUPREME

This Twofer Tuesday I'm featuring a make and model that I've been around my whole life. When I was a kid we had Oldsmobiles as our family cars. Later on my very first car was a 1983 Cutlass. In my early 20s I had an Olds 442 which is basically a sporty Cutlass. Without further ado:

 Evil! This black beast is a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass that obviously feeds on small children. Its Ebony Black paint job is nicely offset by the red accents added to the bars of the grill. The red was not there from the factory but is a very subtle and tasteful addition in my opinion. The grumpy underbite tells tales of parallel parking on the mean streets of NYC.

From this angle you can see one of the most iconic muscle car silhouettes in history. This overall body and frame were shared across the entire General Motors family. In addition to being the Cutlass (and sportier 442), this was the body for the Pontiac LeMans and GTO, the Chevy Chevelle, and the Buick Skylark and GSX.

I love these side marker lights that incorporate the Olds jet logo. This idea was carried across the other marques as well; the Pontiac had light-up Pontiac symbols as marker lights.

The design for this year is so clean and slippery with those inset taillights and reverse lights. The leading edge that runs from the bottom of the bumper up over the rear window is pretty neat.
*Here's a bit of history as an aside; see that mural of the revolutionary soldiers in the distance? That's the wall of the local American Legion hall/bar in Gowanus. Supposedly the bodies of between 200-256 Revolutionary War soldiers from Maryland are buried under the concrete lot in front of that wall. The First Maryland regiment remained in place during the Battle of Brooklyn, holding off the British Army long enough for Washington and his vastly outnumbered troops to retreat to "live to fight another day". If the Marylanders hadn't been in position the revolution could very well have been doomed on the spot. A small plaque commemorates them, but this article sums it all up nicely: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/nyregion/historian-points-to-gowanus-brooklyn-lot-as-grave-of-first-maryland-regiment.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

As with the grill this Cutlass emblem has been given the red treatment by someone.

Technically this ride could've been ordered with the Chevy 250 inline 6 cylinder mated to a 2 speed automatic transmission, but doubtful that it would exhale through dual exhaust. This ride most likely had the 350 V8 from the factory.

Those are the correct Super Stock II wheels for this year Cutlass and I think they look pretty darn good. They continued with this basic style of rim all the way up through the 1980s.

As noted already by the lack of extra trim on the outside this is a plain Cutlass and not a Cutlass Supreme. With this comes a big old bench seat as standard equipment, along with a column shifter, plain steering wheel, and crank windows. You could order bucket seats and a console for extra money but then you might as well get the Supreme.

We'll leave this bare knuckle boxer in peace with it's thousand yard stare and fat lip. I wouldn't want to tussle with such a leering brute!
On to a more posh example;

Parked in a fenced-in lot in the heart of Williamsburg was this sweet ride.

I poked my head through the open gate this far for a quick snap. Moments later the owner gave me permission to take a bunch of close-up shots!
We're going back a year for this beauty, which is a 1968 Cutlass Supreme in Scarlet.

This thing is a show-stopper, and possibly show winner!

Here is the easiest way to identify a '68. The turn signals were only located between the headlights like this for 2 years. The '67 that shared this configuration had a much different overall body style though; more straight lines than rounded. If you see a bulbous Cutlass with the central turn signals it's definitely a '68.
*Incidentally, the 442 had an even more race-ready option called the W-30. Amongst other things the W-30 featured air intakes above and below the turn signals that directed air into the carburetor. W-30s are SUPER rare and sought after. I've only seen them at car shows.

This long hood contains either the 350 or 400 V8. A mighty 455 was available but only for the 442.

The Cutlass Supreme was more well-appointed than the standard Cutlass in many details. The vinyl roof was an option, but the chrome trim running along the bottom of the body was included with the Supreme. I like how the body color runs up to the midpoint of the rear side window, under the vinyl.

Here are the Super Stock I wheels; predecessors to the rims on the '69. This shot also shows the worst of any damage I could locate on this ride; there are rust bubbles emerging from around the wheel well. Overall this car is in fantastic shape so the rust gives it a little honesty.

Most of the details are the same for this year as with the '69. The taillights are an exception, with these 1-year-only slits being separate from the reverse lights.

You can see from the 6x9s on the back deck that this car lived through the '80s. A couple of small rust bubbles can be found on the trunk lid. The gas cap is hidden behind the rear license plate on both years.

Vinyl tops look a little dowdy to me on most muscle cars but this one wears it well.

It was a warmer time of year when these were shot!

From the side the bumper looks identical to the '69.

The Cutlass Supreme emblem is the same shape as the Oldsmobile symbol, but without the jet. The red on the inside of the letters is original on this ride.

This car is loaded with options! The console with wooden shifter, sport steering wheel with the horn buttons on the spokes, power windows, and deluxe AM/FM radio are all extra cost items. That below dash touchscreen doesn't bother me because they left the dash alone.

We'll leave this sweet Cutty poised and ready for action. These rides are great classics to own as they were built in pretty large quantity. Even though the bodies changed over the years the mechanical components are the same as the entire GM line and parts are some of the easiest to locate. If this was your ride you could order an entire catalog dedicated to this model. Hopefully I'll see this beast rolling the streets once the warmer months return!