455 Powered: 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass
The fourth generation Oldsmobile Cutlass is known as the Colonnade body style based on the A-Body platform. This particular example is a 1975 model that is located in Austin, Texas. The car is black on black and equipped with the top of the line Oldsmobile 455 cubic inch V8 engine. The car is listed here on eBay. There are four full days left on the listing and the car is currently bid to $5,500 after only 2 bids.
There are not a lot of pictures in the listing. In fact, there are only four pictures. The black cloth interior features a bench seat, air conditioning, and automatic transmission. The Cutlass has manual windows and locks. The odometer reads 86,000 miles and the car is equipped with 15 inch Rally wheels. The seller states that the car runs and drives well. The car was originally equipped with a landau (half) vinyl top that has been removed. Upon closer inspection, the new exposed part of the roof is rough. It would be important to see if there is any rust on the car and whether the dash is cracked in order to make an appropriate bid.
Oldsmobile has several engine offerings in 1975 including the Chevrolet 250 cubic-inch inline six cylinder engine. The V8 offerings were all Oldsmobile produced motors and included the 260 cubic inch V8, the 350 cubic inch V8 and the 455 cubic inch V8. A three-speed manual transmission was standard on the 250 cubic inch inline six-cylinder engine but this was very rare. The Oldsmobile 350 cubic inch and 455 cubic inch V8s only came with automatic transmissions. If this engine is original, the four barrel 455 cubic inch V8 motor was rated at only 190 horsepower.
The Cutlass is equipped with dual exhaust and the red pin stripes look good. The exterior black paint appears dull and splotchy in places. The proper chrome molding looks in place as well as the hood ornament. The Cutlass took over as sales leader for Oldsmobile in 1975 by outselling the Delta 88. This car is in driver condition but could be upgraded with a little TLC.
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Comments
75 did not have true dual exhaust. They had 2 outlets on the muffler.
Yes, I remember that well, it was pathetic. On some cars they had 2 outlets coming from the catalytic converter IIRC. If I were a betting man, I’d say it was changed to true dual after all these years.
Those aftermarket body side moldings are horrible. Placed too high on the body, too short, and they do not belong there!
I had several ’74, 75′, & 76’s Cutlass’. The catalytic converter appeared in ’75 along with single exhaust. I remember sourcing a used cross member designed for the true dual exhaust from a ’74 442. This allows for installation of true dual exhaust from the exhaust manifold to the tailpipes in the post ’74 models.
The year 1975 offered my two favorite large 2 door coupes: the Cutlass and the Charger.
It has a T in the fifth digit of the VIN. Therefore it is an original 455 4-barrel car. Of course by 1975 it was so smogged up that zero to 60 still took over 10 seconds.
I worked at Oldsmobile in 1975. No dual exhaust and NO dual outlets on any Oldsmobile that model year. Only Corvette had dual outlets for the incredibly slow 75 Corvette. Despite GM using lousy exhaust in this era, I owned a 76 Cutlass Salon with Hurst Hatches. Of the 45 cars I have owned, it was the best looking and one of the most reliable.