Here is my 1974 Cutlass Supreme. My father purchased it on May 31, 1991. A friend of a friend was selling his mother's car. The car was sitting in an apartment parking lot, so my father and I went to look at the car. We arrived at the parking lot, and there sat a 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 2 door colonnade hardtop. We learned that it had not been driven in over a year. The paint, once Cranberry Metallic, had oxidized to bleached brownish color. The white landau vinyl top had rotted to an almost powder-like consistency. The tires were also rotten as the sun had severely cracked the sidewall rubber. Under the hood however, the engine compartment was surprisingly clean. Only a few years worth of dust had accumulated. As we looked around inside the car, we noticed a practically flawless interior. The interior was cranberry colored. The odometer read 25,104 miles.
The owner liked Subarus, not Mother's "old tank". My dad purchased the car for a very good price, and was going to resell it. Once he drove the Cutlass, he loved the feel of the car and could not sell it. He wanted the car to stay in our family (and he needed a pick up truck) so he traded me the Cutlass for my 1967 Chevrolet El Camino. Almost three months worth of work followed. We replaced the tires, all belts and hoses, installed gas shocks, changed the oil, trans. fluid, and antifreeze, refurbished the landau top, and rubbed out the paint. The original cranberry color came back with a lot of paint deoxidizer and determination.
The Cutlass Supreme was originally purchased in Independence, Missouri at Lloyd Ketcham Oldsmobile. The car has a 350 cubic inch engine with 4 barrel carburetor. It has a Turbo Hydramatic 350 transmission and 2.73 rear end gears.
I have driven the Cutlass almost every day to college and work, and it has served as very faithful transportation. Unfortunately in August of 1998, my Cutlass was involved in a serious four car chain reaction accident. I was stopped at a traffic light on the downward slope of a hill, and was rear ended by an SUV. The SUV was pushed into me by a fully loaded 14 passenger van. I was pushed into the car in front of me. The front of my car was undamaged thanks to the massive front bumper with the hydraulic shocks and the swing-away hinged grilles. The back end sustained some damage including a very bent rear bumper, a broken left taillight, left quarter panel damage, and a bent left exhaust pipe. I drove the car home from the wreck. The SUV was totalled. I had the car repaired and repainted. I continued to use the Cutlass as a daily driver until the summer of 2001 when I bought a new pickup truck. The Cutlass has since been used as a second car and driven to a few car events. The odometer now reads approximately 82,600 miles.
Future plans include a freshening up of the engine, and some restoration work of the body and interior. The car still looks great though! It is featured in the August 2005 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine. Also check out my 1973 442 and my 1975 Cutlass Supreme 1/4 mile drag race car on this site.
The second page has some specifications and the options that are installed on my car for you Olds enthusiasts! Enjoy!
