which cutlass do i have?

[lelanb]

when i decode my 85 cutlass vin it says its a cutlass supreme that came with a 3.8, (has a sbc350 in now but im about to ls swap it), that last owner said it was a cutlass calais, it had bench seats when i bought it, but it has factory console brackets and floor shifter holes, rally gauges, front and rear sway bars and it came with the "ice-cube tray" grille wikipedia says is standard on the calais.

also no 85 cutlass parts fit on my car, the wheel studs are different thread, the wiper motor is older style, i have the old style pull out headlight switch, etc.

im confused because i read that the cutlass calais became a separate car in 85, my title says cutlass supreme but i guess they would all say that, is it a cutlass salon?

this all started from me trying to guess which axle ratio i have without remove the cover so i could get the ls computer programmed.

 

[pagrunt]

Does your car have a Fisher body plate on the firewall/cowl by the wiper motor or a SPID tag on the trunk lid & do they match the VIN? Your car could of been slapped back together from an earlier car.

 

[DRIVEN]

Photos of the car and SPID tag would help a lot.

 

[ck80]

The spid tag they reference is an index card sized sticker under the trunklid. A 1985 would have it there and it'd list the vin and tons of 3 character option codes.

On the drivers door should be another smaller sticker. Check the vin there.

Check your frame rails by the transmission crossmember. On 1983-up there were TWO mounting holes for the crossmember because of the introduction of the 200-4r in the 1983 ttype regal.

With these cars approaching 40 years old lots of work has been done. You might have a body swap, or a frame swap. Or all kinds of cars made into one.

The wheel studs on rotors and rear end were different 1981-down from 1982-up. If someone junkyard swapped those on, it'd explain the different stud threads.

Likewise, interior could've been swapped.

If you get us interior pics, based on color shade and fabric pattern we may even be able to tell what it was from.

 

[ck80]

Also, easiest way to guess the rear end ratio is the old jack it in the air and spin a tire while counting until the driveshaft makes a full revolution trick ...

 

[lelanb]

there are no stickers in the door jamb or trunk lid, ill have to check for a body plate and the crossmember tomorrow, its dark out where the cutlass is and i'd be begging for a racoon attack lol. the interior has been redone in all black but i know for a fact it was previously slapped together with various g body seats and carpet, probably dash too.

and thanks for the dirveshaft tip, i have to try that, after some research im starting to think i have 2.41

 

[69hurstolds]

True. In 1985, the FWD Cutlass Calais came on the scene. So to minimize confusion in the sporty G-body line, they changed the Cutlass Calais to Cutlass Salon. It's easy to tell as well by the VIN if it's a Salon...the 4th through 7th spots in the VIN tell you the model- GK47...If it's a Supreme, it's GR47, and if it's a Supreme Brougham it's GM47.

 

[pontiacgp]

Also, easiest way to guess the rear end ratio is the old jack it in the air and spin a tire while counting until the driveshaft makes a full revolution trick ...

that does work but I think on a thirty year old car the rear end grease is probably due for a change and with the cover off it's easy to read the numbers to find out what the gearing is.

 

[Blake442]

'81 was the last year of the pull-out headlite switch. The wiper switch was on the dash, too.
They changed to the flip-style headlite switch in '82 and moved the wiper switch to the turn signal lever.
The Cutlass Supreme could be ordered with buckets and console as an option.

 

[UNGN]

Also, easiest way to guess the rear end ratio is the old jack it in the air and spin a tire while counting until the driveshaft makes a full revolution trick ...

That only works if the car is a G80. If no G80 you have to slide under the car and spin the driveshaft and make one tire revolution.