Question on a possible Cutlass purchase

[Rocknrod]

Question on a Cutlass I found.
Reading the RPO’s (if I am reading them right) it’s a Canadian built 87 with a 305, 4 speed, it says the rear end is a 2.57:1. It has the build sheet, where I got the RPO’s but I can’t decipher those upper numbers in the blocks.
STE - PLANT CODE- ST THERESE, PQ, GM OF CANADA
GM8 - AXLE, REAR,2.56 RATIO
MW9 - TRANSMISSION, AUTO 4 SPD, THM 200, CONV CLUTCH
LV2 - ENGINE, GAS, 8 CYL, 5.0L, 4BBL
KM9 - MANIFOLD, INTAKE(ALUMINUM)
Using an online gear calculator, it shows 1656 rpm for 70mph with the stock 195/75-14 tires installed. Doesn’t that rear end gear sound kind of tall? Or is this a boat they built for emissions.

 

[69hurstolds]

Cool. It's a Y78 so that means it's a Salon with A/C (C60). The GK11 in the VIN gives that away. Supremes would be GR11. Got the sporty junk on it with FE2 suspension (Not the 442's F41, but the base front/rear sway bars), AR9 reclining buckets (Supremes came with non-recliners) and D55 console and floor shifter. Has B85 wide moldings on top of the doors. K64 is your 78A alternator, which was normal equipment on the Olds V8s.

Cool tip- LV2 is for the Olds 307 V8. NOT the Chevy 305.

Has front and rear mats (B34/B35), Cruise control K34, rear defogger, C49, and 14x7 chrome SSIII wheels, N66, and leather wrapped sport steering wheel NP5 with Tilt N33. Light Chestnut exterior color, and matching vinyl top (C04). Interior is code 62 and is cloth. Light Saddle, aka, tan interior. Has a good U66 radio in it with power antenna U75 and extended range speakers UM6. D34 is sun visor mirror, and D35 is the dual sport door mirrors. Also has the TR9 lighting package, meaning you should have the trunk lamp and underhood lamp, along with the underdash lights. Oooh. TL6 is your BLACK grilles, a la 442 style. Actually, it was the other way around. The 442 used Salon grilles.

EVERY G-body was built with emission reduction in mind. Especially when they got to the mid-80s.

 

[Rocknrod]

Oh man what a post. Your one thorough guy. I downloaded a GM RPO list hence my mistake on the engine and alternator info, thanks for that update.
I see on another post it shows the RPO numbers, weird I didn't find that earlier.
Anyway, great help 69hurstolds thank you.

 

[69hurstolds]

I found your car online (wasn't hard). Go buy it. At least check it out thoroughly. It looks like a winner. It's a little bit more than I'd pay, but you ain't going to be able to replace parts on a cheaper one for less.

Oops. Looks like I missed marking down the lamp monitor system U46 and B84 side molding. Actually, I knew it had side molding when I saw 58Q (chestnut body side molding color), I just forgot to add it on the list. Saw it on the pics. The vinyl top even looks excellent. Appears it has some Rusty Jones or some other sealer job done to it. You can see it running out the drains on the door drain holes. This is a good thing. Plus the wrapping of the seats? Get outta town.

I'd go drive it and jump on that thing. Even the nose rocket and tail lights aren't faded. Appears it even has everything under the hood still original except it does look like it was changed to 134a or other refrigerant (orange cap on the high side muffler). Has the original upper radiator hose, but can't tell if heater hoses have been replaced.

This was the EXACT color combo my 87 Salon was.

Get some white letter tires for it if you do buy it. It will set it off. BW don't look good on it, IMO. This one looks like a pure winner.

If you got the $$, DO IT!!!

 

[Rocknrod]

I'm glad you looked. The tires are BF Goodrich Radial T/A's so all they need is to be turned inside out. Not sure why they did it black wall out. I'm asking them to send me pics of the underside just in case. I noticed they black sprayed areas of the engine compartment. But overall as you say it looks good so far.

 

[69hurstolds]

Looks VERY good. Obviously it needs to be examined in person, but you couldn't BUILD one to get it back in that shape for less. You should know. Needs a little TLC and it would be an EXCELLENT example of a real survivor.

Promise me you won't customize it beyond being able to return it to stock or I'll turn my back on you. J/k.

 

[Rocknrod]

That's one of the reasons why I would buy it, because of it's originality.

 

[69hurstolds]

Now you got me thinking about it...it's definitely not my old Salon because it has the lamp monitors and I put all new hoses/belts on it. But it is a dead ringer otherwise. Mine only had 36K on it when I bought it from some old dude in Florida.

Edit: Never mind. I thought you said you WOULDN'T buy it because of originality. Never mind. I'll sit back down.

 

[Rocknrod]

... Appears it has some Rusty Jones or some other sealer job done to it. You can see it running out the drains on the door drain holes. This is a good thing. ...

I found the little black tabs on the door ends are from - https://www.ziebart.com/auto-care-services/rust-protection/rust-protection-services
I was a little bit concerned that someone sprayed around the firewall black paint, but it might have been that company's stuff. I get underneath pics today supposedly, we'll see if they did it there also. Might be a killer find.

 

[69hurstolds]

I found the little black tabs on the door ends are from - https://www.ziebart.com/auto-care-services/rust-protection/rust-protection-services
I was a little bit concerned that someone sprayed around the firewall black paint, but it might have been that company's stuff. I get underneath pics today supposedly, we'll see if they did it there also. Might be a killer find.

If it's anything like my 87 442, it looks like it was dipped in it. Mine was Rusty Jones'd, similar to Ziebart. LOTS of dealers used to do it to pad the window sticker back in those days. In a way it was a good thing as it needed annual inspections where they logged the miles. Which corroborated the 19K on the clock when I bought it.

My 85 got the treatment and I specifically asked them not to do that when I ordered the car. So I refused to pay for it. Dealership: "But we do that to all the cars." Me: "Not to mine you won't." All that junk wasn't on my copy of the dealer order. Gave them the option to remove it or take it off the additional markup I wasn't going to pay. They tossed it in for free. So now I'm stuck with it. Of course I asked for the window sticker too and they wet it down, but then scraped it off the window! Came off in about 100 pieces. Idiots. I ended up with a "dealer copy" but it wasn't the same. I have a repro now, though.