1985 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham Sedan

[Monte Cristo]

Hello!

I have a 1985 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham Sedan that I may restore. I am trying to get some more info about what it is worth or what I should do with it. It was the top of the line for that year, but what about being a sedan? The coupes are more popular now. I also am noticing that the grill and front bumper look different from photos that I see of other Cutlass Supremes from the same year. Anyone know why that would be? I don't know enough about the Brougham line.

Everything is stock. It only has 197,000 miles on it. It has a remanufactured 3.8/ 231 engine with about 50,000 miles in it which runs fine. It has a standard GM Turbo Hydramatic 200 transmission which under performs especially on wet or slick roads. I have a 250 from a Monte Carlo I could put in it. The body has some rust, in the quarter panels and the bottom of the doors, but not too much. The interior is in fair shape but worn. The steering wheel cracked from heat expansion. Otherwise, it is a running fool that needs a bit of TLC. It needs a new top, headliner, etc.

Any idea what it is worth, and what should I do with it? It was in the family, so I know its history.

 

[L92 OLDS]

Hello!

I have a 1985 Olds Cutlass Supreme Brougham Sedan that I may restore. I am trying to get some more info about what it is worth or what I should do with it. It was the top of the line for that year, but what about being a sedan? The coupes are more popular now. I also am noticing that the grill and front bumper look different from photos that I see of other Cutlass Supremes from the same year. Anyone know why that would be? I don't know enough about the Brougham line.

Everything is stock. It only has 197000 miles on it. It has a remanufactured 3.8/ 231 engine with about 60000 miles on it which runs fine. It has a standard GM Turbo Hydramatic 200 transmission which under performs especially on wet or slick roads. I have a 250 from a Monte Carlo I could put in it. The body has some rust, in the quarter panels and the bottom of the doors, but not too much. The interior is in fair shape but worn. The steering wheel cracked from heat expansion. Otherwise, it is a running fool that needs a bit of TLC. It needs a new top, headliner, etc.

Any idea what it is worth, and what should I do with it? It was in the family, so I know its history.

The 4 door Cutlass is typically worth less than the 2 door but if you really like the look go for it. It's your car so who cares what others think. Can't say I have ever seen someone do a resto on a 4 door Brougham but it would be cool to make it a sleeper with spoke hubcaps. You could surprise a few ricers with your grandfathers Oldsmobile. Hmmm. I think a turbo 5.3 LS would fit in there.

 

[Monte Cristo]

The 4 door Cutlass is typically worth less than the 2 door but if you really like the look go for it. It's your car so who cars what others think. Can't say I have ever seen someone do a resto on a 4 door Brougham but it would be cool to make it a sleeper with spoke hubcaps. You could surprise a few ricers with your grandfathers Oldsmobile. Hmmm. I think a turbo 5.3 LS would fit in there.

Thank you for your reply.

I don't want to sell it. It has been in the family a while now. It is one of us. It seems to me that my options generally are:
1) Restore it as a museum piece and keep everything stock,
2) Customize as a hot rod,
3) Use it for parts for another Cutlass.

So one vote for make it a hot rod. There is nothing wrong with the power train of the car. There is no rush to swap that out yet. I am most concerned about the body. The fact is that as I look at this model and year in the online for sale listings, the sedan is now very rare. If the demand for the sedan goes up, then it becomes more valuable. Yeah, a sedan is "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena", and not "Little Deuce Coupe". The coupe is sexy. The sedan is understated.

It looks like the sedan has a different front grill and bumper. Here is a video from youtube:

This car has the same color interior as what is in the video, but slightly faded. The steering wheel is different too.

Using a car for parts can get problematic. I grew up next door to a man who had restored a couple of '28 and '29 Nashes. One went to car shows on a trailer. The other was his fun car. He took us for a ride in the fun car once and I got to sit in the back in the rumble seat. They don't make 'em like that anymore! He also had a third Nash sitting under a cover in the back that he used for parts. That would be a problem today in many places. The parts car gets labeled an attractive nuisance and the property a non-conforming junk yard in the zoning or is against a home owners association. Something gets lost when we lose pieces of our Americana.

 

[pontiacgp]

You do whatever you want and the nice thing about these cars once you get it done the way you want there is nothing stopping you from changing your mind and go with another agenda. It sounds like what you need to change will be needed whatever you decide to do with the car. I think you should get the things changed that needs changing and use that time to decide what you want to do with the car. Nothing wrong with keeping it all stock, that is even harder at times than modifying the car. I know guys who love the 4 doors. I have a friend who has a 4 door BMW M3 and it's a rare car.

 

[Blake442]

Rare doesn't always mean valuable... And this is certainly the case with 4-dr G-bodies.
It's good you don't plan to sell it, because you'd never make any money.
These are the cases where a restoration truly has to be a labor of love... just how attached to the car are you?
You could sink $10K into a resto and end up with a $2000 car when you're done...
I just bought an '84 4-dr Regal in fairly similar condition for $500. If I was looking at your car, I'd offer you $500.
Staple up the headliner and drive it into the ground.

 

[pontiacgp]

Rare doesn't always mean valuable... And this is certainly the case with 4-dr G-bodies.
It's good you don't plan to sell it, because you'd never make any money.
These are the cases where a restoration truly has to be a labor of love... just how attached to the car are you?
You could sink $10K into a resto and end up with a $2000 car when you're done...
I just bought an '84 4-dr Regal in fairly similar condition for $500. If I was looking at your car, I'd offer you $500.
Staple up the headliner and drive it into the ground.

that's kinda harsh for a guy who just joined yesterday and this is his first threat. The car has been in family since new so that gives him a little more attachment than if he has just bought the car from a stranger. It's not always about how much $$$ you put into a car

 

[Monte Cristo]

Rare doesn't always mean valuable... And this is certainly the case with 4-dr G-bodies.

It's good you don't plan to sell it, because you'd never make any money.

These are the cases where a restoration truly has to be a labor of love... just how attached to the car are you?

You could sink $10K into a resto and end up with a $2000 car when you're done...

I just bought an '84 4-dr Regal in fairly similar condition for $500. If I was looking at your car, I'd offer you $500.

Staple up the headliner and drive it into the ground.

Yes, you make an excellent point. I would like to know how many sedans vs. coupes were made. I suspect that the sedans were largely canabalized for parts for the coupes. There doesn't appear to be a market for them now, but that could change. In time, if you and I are the only ones restoring the G sedans, than we would have a corner on the market. Hollywood would have to come to us to use our cars in the movies about the 80's. If we don't restore them, they won't come knocking. In the mean time, we could use them with Uber and use the restoration costs to offset the profits for tax purposes. It could lose money for two years...(joke) They would make good taxis.


I am not as attached to this as I am to my Monte Carlo, but I spent enough time under the hood that I am willing to spend the necessary time to restore it. The problem is that it now needs body work, and that is not my specialty. Of course, I am willing to try and learn. I enjoy hacking around with cars.


The headliner was cloth attached to a Styrofoam shell with some kind of thin foam. The cloth is in the trunk now so I can match the color properly. No way to tack it up.

that's kinda harsh for a guy who just joined yesterday and this is his first threat. The car has been in family since new so that gives him a little more attachment than if he has just bought the car from a stranger. It's not always about how much $$$ you put into a car

He was just trying to be realistic. The sedans went to the junk yards because there was no demand for them.

You do whatever you want and the nice thing about these cars once you get it done the way you want there is nothing stopping you from changing your mind and go with another agenda. It sounds like what you need to change will be needed whatever you decide to do with the car. I think you should get the things changed that needs changing and use that time to decide what you want to do with the car. Nothing wrong with keeping it all stock, that is even harder at times than modifying the car. I know guys who love the 4 doors. I have a friend who has a 4 door BMW M3 and it's a rare car.

The body work needs to be done first. I would probably at least replace the two barrel carb with a TBI system. The pollution control vacuum lines going into the intake manifold are a nuisance. I broke some plastic vacuum line connector reinstalling the intake manifold. I just plugged them up. There is always some trade off with a restoration. Some parts are almost impossible to find, e.g. wiring harnesses. Putting the th250 on it would still be considered stock.

Thank you both for your replies.

 

[soloone87]

if you have a daily driver best thing is to strip down everything to primer and just make sure theres no major body issues after that drive it down to makko (cheap 200 special paint jobs) and keep it covered up from uv protection and you should be fine while you tinker around or save up for a nice motor swap you already have a monte so im assuming thats your baby vs this cutty family car. it would be a decent road trip car also, and if you drop a gnx swap in there no one would expect it

 

[Monte Cristo]

if you have a daily driver best thing is to strip down everything to primer and just make sure theres no major body issues after that drive it down to makko (cheap 200 special paint jobs) and keep it covered up from uv protection and you should be fine while you tinker around or save up for a nice motor swap you already have a monte so im assuming thats your baby vs this cutty family car. it would be a decent road trip car also, and if you drop a gnx swap in there no one would expect it

Being from California you don't seem to understand what happens to a car that spent all of its winters in the Northeast. The frame needs to be coated with something like POR15. I haven't pulled the bottom trim off, but I am sure that the lower quarter panels will need to be cut off and replacements welded on. That is just par for the course for restoring a car in this part of the country. More surprises could be revealed. To do it right right means cutting out rotted sections, welding in new steel, and stripping all the paint off and using naval jelly to remove surface rust. It needs to be primed within 15 minutes after that. No time to go to Maaco.

No one would expect a GNX swap in there because there were only 500 3.8L GNX engines made in 87. That turbocharger would work with the engine since it is the same, (well different cam) but where would I find one? I would assume it would require a different intake manifold too. It is an interesting idea. Thank you for your input.

 

[soloone87]

you don't have to take it down to bare metal and you can get a simple rattle can to have a temporary cover to prevent the corrosion there is always a way to do something it just comes down to how much effort you wanna put in it. i'm going through the same thing with my monte down here in south Florida. i repaired my rusty quarters with sheet metal patches cutting away all the rust until i got to good metal. might not be a 15000 resto job but for what im doing it works. if you want it done right you gotta pay a shop to do it.