Is my Cutlass Supreme Brougham a Calais?

[DylanOrbanski]

Hey guys/girls,

New to the forum here and got a quick question,
I purchased my 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham in May of 2017 and I love the car to death. The paint going to hell but the car is rust free and mechically sound, which is a really good find for up here in Manitoba, Canada.
So basically I was doin some research and I noticed most 1979 Cutlass’s have the Chrome “waterfall” style front grill, so I thought well maybe my cars not a 79 since I have the “ice cube” style front grill, but after running the Vin I did confirm it’s a 1979. So my question to you guys/girls is did some Cutlass Supreme broughams come with the Calais front grill? Or is my car a Calais? Or did someone just swap the grill over?
If anyone knows give me a response back, would be interested to know what’s up

 

[MrSony]

I think the only other 79 cutlass's that had that (your) grille were w-30s.

http://members.tripod.com/aedd_mawr/78-80olds/ident.html

This link seems to have some info.

 

[MrSony]

Also hello and welcome to the site!

 

[DRIVEN]

Welcome.

From what I can tell by your pics that's a Supreme Brougham that has had a nose job. Probably got hit at one point and they either elected to put a Calais header on or maybe thats all that was available.
Car looks nice. Keep it out of the salt and enjoy.

 

[oldsmobile joe]

Reminds me of my first gbody i had in the late 80's.

 

[oldsmobile joe]

now back to your question. whether your car had a nose job, i don't know. but i do know you could order a supreme with the calais nose. i believe you got two tone paint and the wide wheel well opening trim. its not listed in my sales handbook, but i have see advertisements on eBay that spelled it out. i'll see if i can find one.
joe

 

[pagrunt]

It's a Calais. Check out this site http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html & look up the '79 Olds brochure to see if your car has the features listed for the Calais.

 

[DRIVEN]

I can't locate any documentation that you could order a Supreme with a Calais header and grilles. Calais was more than just the nose. Look for these clues...
"The Cutlass Calais used essentially the same suspension as the 4-4-2, but it also came standard with several other performance and touring options, including full instrumentation, an aluminum spoked sport steering wheel, reclining front bucket seats and a center console with floor shifter."
I see none of the interior cues in the photos. I see the door guard trim is missing on the RF fender and the paint even looks mismatched. Hood to header fit is poor at the front too. I'm thinking it was in an accident.

 

[oldsmobile joe]

just check your vin, if it has "k47" in the vin, its a calais, supreme brougham is m47, supreme is r47.
from your pics, you have brougham interior, pillow seats and upper door panels, and a regular speedo, not a gauge cluster.
joe

 

[DylanOrbanski]

Thanks for all the replies, I think you guys are all correct with the assumption that the car was in an accident at one point in its life and they slapped a Calais Front Clip on it, the hood to front clip lines up like sh*t honestly. And the vin on the car is, *3M47H9M508242”. The car was also originally an American car, and was imported into Canada sometime in the 90s or Early 2000s, that’s the main reason the car is rust free, but she stays parked for the winter anyways.
As for the interior the front seats don’t recline and it has the normal “slide style” spedometer, not gauges. So yeah I guess it’s safe to say my Calais front Cutlass is a Fake, but doesn’t much matter to me cause I bought the car for 2500.00$ with a fresh safety and came with original rally style rims.