44k Mile: 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Located in Johnston, Rhode Island, this silver 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon is listed for sale here on Ebay. The car is currently bid to $4,301 and has just 2 days left in the auction. The car is claimed to be an original Texas car and the rust free nature of the body indicates this to be true.
The car is equipped with an Oldsmobile 350 cubic inch V8 engine and automatic transmission. The Cutlass has air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, dual exhaust and rebuilt fuel system. The landau top was recently replaced and the car has new aftermarket wheels and tires. Does anyone have experience with Nexen tires? I have never hear of them before.
The blue cloth interior is showing its age with tears and rips from sun fade. The car is equipped with a console and bucket seats. Out of all of the Cutlass models, I like 1975 the best. I would like to have a 1975 Cutlass 442. The car has manual windows and is said to be one family owned until 2018. Equipped with a 4 barrel Quadrajet, the Rocket 350 engine delivered 170 horsepower and 275 ft lbs of torque from the factory.
I prefer the Oldsmobile Rally wheels but that is an easy change to make this car a nice driver. Maybe the owner still has the original wheels. When I was in high school, these cars were extremely popular along with Monte Carlos and Grand Prixs. The reserve has not been met on this Cutlass. Are these cars undervalued in today’s market?
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now1 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now1 days$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now1 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now3 days$11,000
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now5 days$750
Comments
Sure they’re distinct and becoming rare, but what appeal does this malaise-era tank hold for buyers? Contemporary buyers were mostly unimpressed with mid 70s Detroit iron and they haven’t gotten objectively better as time has passed. 50s-72 were great. Fuel injection era till now is great. What kind of buyer is looking for this particular car?
The production numbers on cars like the 73-77 Cutlass, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix and Regal are insane!! People loved them. We are now in the era where people in their 50’s and 60’s who “always wanted one” can now afford to throw some money at one they “never had”. Again production numbers into the 6 figures showed people LOVED them. Nice cruiser at the local cruise night. That is my take. I am 54. Was a teen when they were out and, yep, loved them. If you are all about the GO, and not the SHOW, well then you are not interested.
I would take one. Build the 350 to respectable power, and have a ton of fun with it. Or, just crate it out to a modern spec engine. These cars were very comfortable cruisers.
now they were 4200 ibs very heavy but i still beat stock cameros with it i could change out spark plugs in 5 min. due to the heavy ness the frame kept bending and would start pulling . sad i had over 300 000 miles when i sent to junk yard donation great car in school my GTO was my week end toy. the cutlass was orig but had to put in a timing chain around 150 miles twice the SALON was the most expensive to the vista cruiser wagon.
The kind of buyer who bought one of these new in 1975! It was our first new car after we got married. Two door, landau vinyl roof, 350, auto on the floor and had the swivel bucket seats. Powder blue w/ dark blue vinyl top. Had it for 10 years. The PA winters we’re not kind on the rear wheel well lips. Kept them clean but still had to have them repaired a couple times. It was a sweet riding & driving car!
I loved them then and I do now … 68 years young … Went on my first honeymoon in an 75 Avocado green and white one …
I would buy this if the price remains reasonable. This is what we drove in high school & into the early 1990’s as old beaters. I had one like this, black with red interior & a 455. It was a GREAT car!
Nexen tires absolutely suck lol. I work in the tire industry & I never heard of them until my Mom bought a new Hyundai last year. Hers has Nexen tires. 3 of the 4 have been replaced already due to failure, 1 at a time of course so it never made sense to just put a full set of a different brand on. One day she will get some Continentals lol.
That Olds 350 will out last and similar vintage Chev Buick or Pontiac engine
That rocket ain’t no slouch either this is a hiway flyer and has many miles left in it,too bad the high reserve
I like it. What a great looking Salon with admirably low miles. I disagree that the reserve is too high, it is sitting at $6600 right now — still RNM– with 14 hours or so left.
The 75 Salon was equipped with the Rally tuned suspension stock, along with various coolers and HD parts. While incredibly comfortable these beasts handled amazingly well. Many are unaware that Oldsmobile was at the top of it’s game at this point in time and the Olds chassis engineers really had this platform nailed down. They worked very hard at a “European” feel in a 3900 lb car, and succeeded. The Salons were arguably the best handling of all of the A-body cars of the era.
The Rocket 350/Turbo 350/10-bolt limited slip combination is bulletproof, torquey and responds well to inexpensive minor mods – very easy to wake up.
If this car is indeed as solid as it appears, imo anything under $10k would be a great buy on this sculpted classic. If I didn’t already own a 14k mile A-body time capsule I would definitely be in the game on this one.
She warrants a closer look, that is for sure. Someone may score a very impressive Olds that is not only a real pleasure to drive but also has a whole lot of life left to give.
Too bad it didn’t come with the lightning rod shifters. Nice car
Is the 75 Cutlass your favorite because of the HEI ignition ? Other than, the catalytic converter and the grille inserts they are a twin to the 1974s .
I think these are gaining in popularity too . I had a 74 supreme , dark brown with a tan gut and that car would fly. I could smoke the tires at any light and the car did more than its share of doughnuts in a local malls parking lot. The car never broke down or gave me problems , but I sold it when I got a job that required traveling and I needed a car that got better mileage
Nexens are a cheap tire ; we used to put them on our used cars at a dealership I worked at.
Malaise era car or not, IMO these Colonnade cars were the sweethearts of the 70s. Compared to what else was out there at the time, they had my vote.
About Nexen tires – they are Korean, and similar to other Korean brands like Kumho and Sumitomo they are relatively cheap and are ok but not great.
They are light years better than the tsunami of dangerously bad Chinese and Vietnamese brands that’s flooding the market right now. (Just two months ago I bought a car where the dealer had put on a new set of Vietnamese Blacklion tires. As soon as the pavement was wet there was zero grip. Absolutely zero. Braking distance was ridiculously long. I took them off and put a set of Contis on and it was like getting a different car. Noise, comfort, steering response…)
As for a set of Nexen, I’d leave them on. Good enough for a Cutlass.
There is a Facebook club designated for 73-77 oldsmobiles. So for sure a lot of interest in these colonades. I have a 75 442, I like the look of the s body. Swivel buckets floor shifter.
Nexen tires are used on some low line Chrysler products as OE.
I owned several of these cars when I was younger. Since I loved the looks & equip if the Hurst/Olds, I retrofitted one of mine carswith the Hurst Dual/Gate Shifter. I fashioned a bracket from a blue print of an original Hurst conversion bracket. The inside of the factory console is slightly modified to accommodate the Dual/Gate. I found having the proper trans cable Hurst used was a critical to proper operation. Also I got a top plate essential to complete the console with the Dual/Gate provision. Finally, with the help of friends, installed a shift kit in the trans. After that, the car was a serious blast to drive!!!
I like the look of these single headlight models better than the later dual headlight models.
I think it’s a great deal right now at $7,100, hopefully the reserve isn’t too much more.
I totally agree ; the 76 and 77s really got squared off and lost the distinctive lines the early ones had – plus they rusted out a lot worse than the 73 -75s !
i paid 6000 dollars brand new in 1975
A close friend had a new 75 Cutlass Salon, white, with the dark burgundy high back buckets like this. Bullet proof drive line. I bought a 76 Cutlass Salon, silver with dark burgundy buckets, Hurst Hatches, loaded from the original owner in 1978. Prettiest car I ever owned. Simple to fix, a little hard on gas, but super comfortable cruiser. To finish paying for my college education, I sold it in 1980 to some idiot, who destroyed it. I have owned 45 cars in my life, including two GTOs, two Corvettes, 66 Chevelle convertible, 70 Road Runner, 88 Monte Carlo SS, 77 Grand Prix SJ, and the Salon was my favorite. I love the 73 to 77 cars, so much better looking than the 68 to 72 models and far more comfortable. Getting very hard to find and the aftermarket has totally ignored these great cars. If GM would build this again, I might buy a new car. Not now. Nothing but junk built by American car makers. Very sad.
Reserve Not Met at $8,800.
My wife owned one of these when I met her!! She drove the tires off it and if it weren’t for rust issues I don’t think she would have ever let that car go!! I drove it a bit and it was a snappy car that was always smooth and fun to drive!! Thanks for the walk down memory lane!!!
Divid, the type of guy that would buy one knows how to properly use his rocket. The Rocket 350. The one everybody watches on tv or other media. It’s ok that for those that ride scooters stay in their respective lane
I had a 75 Cutlass Salon as my first car back in 80. Silver like this but with a full maroon vinyl top and red cloth interior. Loved that car. Paid $2,500 back then. A 16 year old kid tboned me after having it 4 years so I bought a 76 Cutlass Salon. It was black with a tan vinyl interior and had t-tops. Loved that one too! My Mom had a 77 Cutlass Brougham…silver with black velour interior. We loved our Oldsmobile’s!