1970 was a good year, wasn’t it? Pick your brand, pick your portion size…there was plenty to like all around. Outside of maybe the Chevrolet Vega, which itself was a great-looking car (if nothing else), you couldn’t go wrong. Want a stickered-up street sweeper that let everybody know that you were trying to be the top dog? Plymouth Road Runner, Pontiac GTO with “The Judge” package and the AMC Rebel “The Machine” in it’s red/white/blue paint scheme got that job done. Wanted something subtle but had the power of a giant with a sledgehammer? Buick Gran Sport, Ford LTD 429. Wanted a great all-arounder, something that did a little bit of everything well? Well…you couldn’t go wrong with an Oldsmobile Cutlass.
No, it’s not a 442 W-30 with a stump-puller of a 455 under the hood and a wing that you could land small aircraft on out back. It’s not even one of those nuclear yellow Rally 350 examples with the painted bumpers. This was Oldsmobile doing what they did best: inoffensive, slightly sporty, slightly upscale, and powerful enough for most. Rocket 350, a R-134a converted air conditioning system, automatic trans, painted Sunfire Yellow with a tan top that matches nicely, this 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass S would’ve been an older relative’s daily driver until it started getting passed down through the generations like most Cutlasses were treated. Someone would tune and tweak here, someone would get into an accident there, and the next thing you knew, what had been a rolling source of pride was now the car in the field. Not this one…two very careful owners have kept this Olds in fantastic condition, and excepting a repaint, the car looks flat stunning.
Once again, is there anything you could bring yourself to change on this car? All I can think of is the name on the title…
eBay Link: 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass S
Any and all V8 engines deserve a set of long tube headers with true dual exhaust. An x-pipe would be nice too. Coincidentally the company in New York that invented the x-pipe used an Oldsmobile Cutlass to test it.
i take big issue with this.
No, not all V8’s need a true dual exhaust. That’d be a hell of a way to plumb a turbo, after all…
An old folk’s biege 442 – are you sure those brown stains behind the doors are rust?
And if you saw the original set up for the single exhaust you would know why these cars wake up with a set of headers. They ran one bank into the cast iron exhaust manifold on the other side, then out the rear of that one. I had a ’71 Supreme in high school (have a ’72 “S”, now) and it was amazing what headers did to it.
1. Needs a little more back tire
2. Swap steering column and add appropriate console and floor shifter (or 3rd pedal)
3. Headers, intake cam carb gears.
4. Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive….
Could there be an uglier color combo? I think not.