thom

Hello. I bought this 71 Cutlass SL in 93' for 600.00.
It had a bench seat, straight 6 and shifter on the column.
Originally Blue with a White Vinyl top.
No one I've ever met has heard of or seen a 1971 Cutlass SL.
I have SL badges/emblems on the rear of the vinyl top and on the front fenders.
If anyone has any info please advise. I know about the S, and SX, but not an SL.
**UPDATED PHOTOS**
I apologize for not providing better quality photos. These are taken by a cheap walmart digital camera looking at 20 year old polaroid photos. I'll get better pics of the SL emblem on the vinyl top soon. As you can see in the last photo it's a bit difficult to reach.


A friend's Dad worked at the GM plant in Wentzville and told me it was a custom package code. Does that sound right to anyone? If you can zoom in on the last photo the SL badge/emblem" location can be seen on the vinyl top. Other pic of it is on the front fender. I provide more clear photos of it soon.

Octania

regional promotional like the GMO perhaps

Welcome by the way

can you find the How To Post Photos instructions? They are on one of these threads. Posting right from your computer requires "go advanced" and etc.

oldsmobiledave

Post pictures please.

I have never heard of an SL trim option in 1971. I suspect this is someone's made up trim package.

Olds442redberet

Yes! please post pictures

oldcutlass

Welcome to the site, yes pictures.

BangScreech4-4-2

Well Thom, it looks like you're going to have to post some pictures!


Oh, and welcome.

OLD SKL 69

Welcome aboard. Sounds like a cool survivor, you rarely ever see those 6 cylinders anymore.

thom

Thank you for the warm welcome and instructions on how to post the pics. Very helpful. Thanks again.

Octania

I know, right?
what a PITA
If I had a ph # I would call you and explain.
I cannot even find the thread that had a good explanation, and I have been here a while. It is not easy to find. The search engine sucks bwana and does not "minus out" things you are not interested in, evidently.

I would take the hour or two to make a how-to if I believed that the mgt would start a ClassicOldsmobile 101 forum, and make it sticky #1 so that we could ALL learn it when we arrive. It is not at all intuitive. Many other things like "how do I see all of MY posts" could be in such a thread. [It is really easy.... after you find out how... but difficult to GUESS how]

Like the distributor rebuild pix I have.... I am not putting hours into organizing and showing if the info just disappears into the abyss after that...

Chris
517-449-043 two

If your pix are on a computer it is more complicated by several steps.

Or, try this

1) put the pix on photobucket or flikr or whatnot. Get the URL for one photo. Copy it.

2) come here and edit your post/ add fresh post

3) use the yellow icon, paste your one pic's url into the proper field when prompted.

Repeat for more.
Gets old real fast

I am using the yellow icon to show this screen capture of using the yellow icon. GOD FORBID any icons ever anywhere have one single word telling what they do, ya know... no, you have to GUESS what somebody else's idea of a teensy picture thing means. I will probably get in trouble for teaching this and not making you guess how to do it.

[IMG][/IMG]

don71

I completely feel the difficulty posting pics on this site. I know it can be frustrating.

Nice to see the OP get some pics up. Sure looks like a regional sales package to me. Marketing at its ah..best.

Octania

Interesting, I see some photos now in the initial post

hard to discern detail, but I am going to stick with
regional promotional like the GMO perhaps

I see a Cutlass or perhaps F-85
The 6-banger was the bottom of the line engine. Is the column shfter controlling an auto trans or 3-spd manual trans?

Clearly, when you get the chance, more and clearer pix are in order. The fact that none of us here has ever heard of such a thing makes it rather rare. Not to be confused with super-valuable. It looks like it should be out of that pile in the garage and getting used and shown though. Is that your plan?

RetroRanger

use the macro button on your camera (looks like a small flower) and no flash. In a room w good light hang the Polaroid on a verticle surface (like your computer monitor turned off) and you can get close to the Polaroid without a shadow. the macro button will allow you to take a clear picture up close. usually if you depress the shutter button 1/2 way the camera will beep and a green (indicating good focus) light or square will show up in the viewfinder or viewing frame. then depress the button the rest of the way to take a nice clear pic of a Polaroid. if when you depress the shutter button 1/2 way and a yellow light appears move back an inch or two your to close to the Polaroid for the camera to focus.

Allan R

Thom,
Welcome aboard.
Sorry to be blunt, but that's not a rare 1 of a kind Cutlass. Oldsmobile never made an SL in any of it's Cutlass lines. What you have is any of the previous owners added prior to your purchase in 93. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. From what I can see in one of the interior shots, your trim package is for the base Cutlass (model 3187 if a 6 banger, or 3287 if a V8).
Have a look at this from the 1971 SPECS guide.





Would love to see better pics and more description of the car/options.

Diego

I think it's only fair to see more photos - good ones - and see if we can learn more. We do know there were a lot of regional promotions in the 1970s with the Cutlass (http://v8cars.hu/cutlass/stuff.php?page=y76) and I know there was a late-1970s one discussed recently where we all poo-poohed it for awhile until evidence trickled in that it too was possibly a regional trim package. While I am doubtful this is in a similar vein, I think it's better to not say "never" just yet.

ThePackRat

I do believe there was an SL at some point once the regular Cutlass line became a FWD car.

Don't hold me to that tho'.

When it comes to Cutlai' ... my interest is generally with the full size RWD varieties - so I'll be the first to concede I could be wrong.

Allan R

I'm comfortable with saying that it was never produced as an SL model from the factory in 1971. I'm equally comfortable saying this car isn't rare. More and better pictures would be welcomed.

redoldsman

Allan if you get any more comfortable you will have to get in a recliner. I agree the car may not be rare but it is unusual in that it is an inline 6. It seems odd that a dealer would go to the trouble to do special badging for a bottom line 6 cylinder car. It will be good to see better pictures when the OP is able to post them.

Das vierundvierundzwei

This is true. I owned a '93 cutlass supreme sl.

Allan R

Glenn,
Check the dealers SPECS sheet I posted. The 71 Cutlass could be ordered with either the 6 cylinder or 8 cylinder as standard equipment from the factory. That doesn't make it rare, and I'd agree it would be unusual given the market at the time for V8 power. However it would be fully within the factory standards of production for that model year.

Allan R

Fair enough. But that's 22 years after the production of the car we're discussing, and is a completely different platform (W body FWD) vs the A body RWD platform of the 1971.

Diego

Why not?

Depending on whether his car is a Cutlass or Cutlass S, it could range from 113 to 1,345 built - hardly popular.

Das vierundvierundzwei

Yeah, I know. Just stating that there is a history of it. Really I would like to see a clear pucture of the badging to see if someone threw one on there from the early 90s.

I dont know why someone would do that, except to maybe make it look rare of course.

ThePackRat

That's what I was thinking.

A previous owner working at a dealer &/or repair facility could have come across the emblems & just decided to toss them on there for gits & shiggles.

But I have to agree it's doubtful that it's something someone did back in 1971 - tho' not entirely impossible.

73aussie455

The second picture in the first post, although poor quality, is of a bench front seat and a clear floor and trans hump. Interestingly the fourth picture clearly shows, albeit a bit fuzzy as well, a console with an auto floor shift in between two bucket seats.

Is that what you meant by 'It had a bench seat, straight 6 and shifter on the column'.

Anyone else pick that up, surely.

Octania

I believe in my bag of emblems I have an SL which was acquired 2014 at the local yard from a 90's car. I thought it was more oval than seen here.


"...it was never produced as an SL model from the factory in 1971... this car isn't rare."
======================
Someone added "SL" badges from a later era. There was no 1971 factory issued "SL" Cutlass. This story arises from time to time, typically your "GMO" package, with an excited owner who is certain that because no one has seen this before it must be a secret special factory offering. Then some study reveals that a dealer or group of dealers.... or an individual who used to work at the local plant.... modified a car or a few cars and produced the result seen.

6 days late for an April Fool's story- too bad, because it was perfect for that. So I think we can rule out intentional original poster tomfoolery.

That is kind a funny that the car in the photos seems to have a console, then not- but an 8-track? under the dash... So, either same car at different times, or different cars.

Rare? sure, it is hella rare for someone to put SL emblems on a 1971 Cutlass, and rare to find a factory 6-banger from the era too. Which brings us back to "interesting, rare, but not super valuable compared to say a similar V8 Cutlass or 442 or the really rare 1971 W31"[don't discount this, I have seen one].

Allan R

So the car has undergone changes, including interior function and exterior color/roof. What makes you think that the emblems on the car are original then?? I am 100% in agreement with the last line in the partial quote

I'd like to see the VIN and cowl tag for the car. Likely it also has a V8 in it now?

Octania

ooops

the car I saw was not an SL

http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img673/3812/wdTtbu.jpg

thom

Hello again all. Thank you for the responses. I tried giving some background previously and was auto-timed out I think and lost my story and pic's so I'll keep this brief being new to using the internet and forums. Here are the SL badges on the vinyl top. They are smaller than the ones on the front fender. When I'm able to get to the drivers side badge I'll put a ruler next to them to show you the size difference. I'll also answer all questions.

thom

Background of car. 71 year old man bought it new in 71. Man's son repainted the car and top after his dad backed into a telephone pole and sold it to my friends brother in 95. He intended on putting in a 455 but sold it to me instead. Had a straight 6, 250 hp? 1 barrel carb. 350 turbo automatic transmission. Now 350 Chevy small block. Same transmission. Bench to Buckets. Column Shifter to floor shifter. Drove for 600 miles then Garaged last 14 years.

cutlassjoe

Very nice car. I have only seen one with a straight six. It was a 1968 Cutlass in pretty decent shape. I like the color combo too.

Octania

Well don't that beat all?
It appears to be not double sided tape but a nut on a peg type installation, or peg into a grippy hole liner thingy.

When you type in a lot of stuff, just before entering, hit ctrl-A for select all, then Ctrl-C to copy it... if the site loses it all for you.... you still have it. SOMETIMES a "back" button will get you back to the screen of info but making your own copy is better. Extra secure- open a Notepad text document and paste it in there, throw it out later.

Oh, and enter a few lines, submit it so at least that much is there, then open and edit that existing post.

Ask not, what your computer can do for you, but what YOU can do for your computer. -JFK [apologies to]

redoldsman

I wonder if that was the initials of the first owner. It looks like something that was purchased at Western Auto (remember them) back in the day and stuck on the car. Must have been some good adhesive in any event.

oldcutlass

I merged your 3 threads, nice car.

Allan R

Things like this are the reason I believe it's a dealer marketing promotion or a PO's attempt to modify the car. This is the W19. Is it a rare unknown or barn find W performance car??? No, simply one of the many Y76 promotions throughout numerous states under different demographic labels. The Y76 was a dealer incentive authorized by Olds COPO from 74-77 involving 40, 367 Cutlass S cars. Underneath they are still Cutlass S models as designated in their VINs. It did involve modification of the quarter window inserts by Fisher if I understand their operating principles at the time. 77 was the only year to have the brushed aluminum top band. All the other years had special padded vinyl landau roofs.



There are no records I can find anywhere of that kind of promotion offered in the earlier years. I encourage anyone to prove this wrong.

Diego

You know COPO is a Chevy thing and not a GM thing, right?

Allan R

Maybe you could explain why Fisher Broadcast cards for W29 and W30's have those designations in box 12 which is identified as 'COPO'. Box 13 is SO which I believe is 'special order'. Love to hear back on your take of this.

OH, one more thing. Chevy is not part of GM?? New one for me

Diego

Could you show me one of these?

Before I see it, I would guess that Fisher had one card for all GM brands, but I believe COPO is distinctly Chevrolet.

I'm sure you're familiar with the fact that GM was a decentralized company and each marque operated differently. This is why the records that each company kept are completely different from each other.

Allan R

Here you go. A 1972 W29 with (options) Tinted glass (A01 includes A02 tinted windshield), A51 Strato bucket seats, A31 Power windows, AK1 Deluxe seat belts, C49 Electric defog on glass, and Y60 Convenience lighting package. Baroque Gold upper/lower Cutlass S [model 33687] with white interior (code 947). Start build at Fisher 8th of Dec 1971.

Diego

Thanks .... Do you have a pic that shows the whole thing with the top not cut off?

Allan R

There's nothing really missing there.

This is from my car, same format broadcast card showing showing the top and IBM print wheel holes.