1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass SX - 455 V8 - more rare than 442 - one of 1820 made

Reluctantly, I’m selling my 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SX hardtop.A two-year-only model (1970-71), just 1,820 of these were made in 1971, making it much more rare than a ’71 442. The SX sub-model was Oldsmobile’s way of helping buyers get around the crushing insurance premiums of the 442, since the VIN would come up as a Cutlass Supreme in insurers’ systems. But it has the ground-pounding L32 455-cubic-inch V8 pumping out a claimed 320hp and 460-lbs. ft. of torque.

Since the VIN does not designate the SX package, knowing the history of these cars is key, as clones have appeared. The original owner had the car until 1980 or so, and the second owner had it until 2012, when I acquired it. There are approx 105K miles on the original 455, which the previous owner had rebuilt in the mid-1980s (and hence it runs on today's pump gas; no need to add lead additive) . The Cameo White paint and green vinyl “halo” top were redone about 15 years ago, and have held up well. And yes, those are Chevy wheels on it (the previous owner liked Corvettes so swapped an extra set he had onto this Cutlass). Tires have plenty of tread, but following NHTSA guidelines should be replaced due to their age.

The car is a driver-quality car, not a show car. There is a spot of rust bubbling through on the front edge of the hood, a couple of chips, and other flaws I’m sure. Chrome is all there and in good shape. But again, driver quality, not gleaming like a recent re-chrome.

The green interior features bucket seats with the console-delete option. The car started leaking at the cowl with a small rivulet of water coming in behind the passenger kickplate (a common problem on these)--so my fix was to pull the carpet out and store the car indoors. A new-in-box carpet and padding set (from Original Parts Group) go with the car. The rear package tray shows sun damage, and the previous owner put a cassette deck in the dash in place of the original radio. The seats and door panels show like seats from a 1971 car that has 110K miles: Serviceable, but not show quality. Rubber gaskets for the doors and trunk are older and ideally would replaced.

The engine bay has not been touched since the rebuild, which means the expected grime and surface rust, not pristine like a show car. (Did I mention this is driver-quality?) The engine runs strong, although like all 455s it likes to be warmed up before you go. If you start it and put it in Drive immediately it will stall. And if the car sits for a few weeks (which I’m guilty of), you need to spray starter fluid in the carb to prime the engine. But start it and feather the gas until it settles into idle and you can go all day…or until you are out of gas. As the saying goes: It’ll pass anything but a gas station.

This is a great car to use as is, or as the base of a restoration. Restored these list for $30K here on eBay. That is, when they do come up for sale.