zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
At $12,500, Could This 1983 Olds Cutlass Brougham Convertible Get You to Go Topless?
At $12,500, Could This 1983 Olds Cutlass Brougham Convertible Get You to Go Topless?-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:48

Cutting a car’s roof off is usually a bad idea, structurally speaking. That is, unless it’s a body on frame like today’s Cutlass. Let see if this custom droptop’s price makes you weak in the knees.

There are lots of things called Mega in America. There are Mega Churches, Mega Millions Lottos, and even Mega Burgers for people who won’t be happy until they’ve eaten an entire cow in one sitting.

We’re not ones to be left out of significant cultural phenomena so last Friday we brought you a , one of the mega-i-est Megas of all. Still, with a $39,999 price, not even that truck’s mega-capable 12,900-pound towing capacity could pull out a win, and in fact it fell in a mega-big 90 percent Crack Pipe loss.

Big trucks are still popular here in the U.S., with Ford’s F-series still taking home the sales crown year after year after boring year. You know what though? That wasn’t always the case. You might be surprised to learn what cars vied for that top spot back in the ‘80s. In the first year of that decade the Chevy took top honors with the Chevette. They sold nearly half a million of those little shitboxes. The next year Ford captured the title with the F-series, a harbinger of things to come.

In 1983, the crown went back to GM, however not to Chevy’s Chevette as people had caught on by then. No, the top selling car of 1983 would prove to be the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which apparently was named in anticipation of the victory.

The G-body Cutlass Supreme would be the last of the models to ride on a separate body-on-frame platform, and in fact would stay with that until 1988. The rest of the Cutlass lineup went FWD in ‘82. It’s that ladder frame design that makes this even worth considering.

As the ad notes, Olds never made a convertible Cutlass of this era. No, these were converted by a company called ASC. Now, ASC originally stood for American Sunroof Company, but when they found out that the big bucks were in the removal of car roofs rather than just punching holes in them, they changed the name to American Specialty Cars.

Back when they chopped this Olds’ top off they were still American Sunroof. You can tell that by the paper tag that’s amazingly still on the car. Now, ASC did fine work and so, even though the top on this Olds looks a bit untidy when erect (who of us doesn’t?) it’s probably pretty well engineered and likely reasonably water tight.

The white paint job is claimed to be new and if your name just so happens to be Lola then you’re already set with the driver’s side detailing. There’s a little Von Dutch treat going on in back, and all the typically decrepit plastic work—bumper caps, grille work, etc.—all seem to be in decent shape. A set of 15 inch Billet Specialties wheels underpin and to those are mounted some reasonably new tires.

Under the long-ass hood sits an Olds 350 V8 with a new carburetor and aluminum intake. Behind that sits a TH350 three-speed slusher that’s claimed to currently have issues getting into top gear. You know, just like Chris Evans.

The interior is when the party starts to take a turn. The leather/vinyl seating surfaces are discolored and as puckered as an elephant’s under-tail. There’s some stitching that’s gone all Pooh Bear in there too. Perhaps most egregiously, there’s a Grant steering wheel that greets you.

The seller says the car is one of only 250 convertibles built—a modest contribution to the Cutlass Supreme’s stellar year—and that it comes with just 99,000 miles on the clock. Other notable factoids in the ad: the title is clean and the car is described as ‘100% rust free.’

Those are all admirable bonafides, but do they add up to the car’s $12,500 asking price? That’s what’s being asked on both , and the . What do you think, is that a fair dealto go old school topless? Or, does that price have you raising the roof?

You decide!

Washington DC , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to elzornado for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Hit me up at and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
Zero Percent Car Financing Isn’t A Thing Anymore
Zero Percent Car Financing Isn’t A Thing Anymore
If you wanted on your , you are shit out of luck. After a never-before-seen increase in free-money deals during the pandemic, from the market, according to . The share of all hit a new low in the third quarter of this year at just 1.1 percent. That’s down...
Oct 24, 2024
To Hell With The 911 Dakar, Nissan Built A Rally Z
To Hell With The 911 Dakar, Nissan Built A Rally Z
All the sports car top dogs are being made into rally cars. Lamborghini has the , Porsche has the — all the cool kids are doing it. So why shouldn’t Nissan, with its and , do the same? The company tried this last year, incomprehensibly rather than a Z,...
Oct 24, 2024
At $5,000, Could This 2003 Dodge Durango R/T Make You A Mopar Maniac?
At $5,000, Could This 2003 Dodge Durango R/T Make You A Mopar Maniac?
The ad for today’s Durango boasts that it is a 3X undefeated MoparMania Champ and identifies the truck as the “Silverback.” Let’s see if this custom, lifted 4X4 can chalk up another win in our voting. There was a lot of interest in the archeological expedition offered by last...
Oct 24, 2024
At $4,000, Is This 1966 Datsun 411 A Barn-Burner Of A Deal?
At $4,000, Is This 1966 Datsun 411 A Barn-Burner Of A Deal?
Today’s Datsun is an actual barn find, and it has a thick layer of dust and detritus to prove it. Let’s see if this classic Japanese sedan is priced to leave the barn behind. In the world of off-hour TV infomercials, the siren’s call of “but wait, there’s more”...
Oct 24, 2024
I Need An Affordable Project Car For A Tall Driver! What Car Should I Buy?
I Need An Affordable Project Car For A Tall Driver! What Car Should I Buy?
Caleb is going to sell his Z3 project car because at 6’8” he doesn’t exactly fit safely within the confines of the car. He and his fiancé have a $12,000 budget for a zippy, manual transmission car that can accommodate a taller driver. What car should they buy? (Welcome...
Oct 24, 2024
Tesla CEO Elon Musk Decides Established Medical Term Is A 'Slur'
Tesla CEO Elon Musk Decides Established Medical Term Is A 'Slur'
Elon is , so we’re re-running this post to explain why he’s wrong. Elon Musk is a lot of things. A , a , and most recently . He’s had a lot of fun with that last role, using his ownership of the site to and but now it...
Oct 24, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved