[marlin65]

A buddy of mine asked me to go on the Olds portion of this website for him. He's contemplating buying a 78 Olds Salon fastback 442. I think GM called them "Aerobacks". I've never seen one but the picture of it looks interesting. Can anyone point him or I in the right direction for info, production figures, photos and facts. The car is located in Buffalo NY and we're in Fla but the owner says it could be driven home. Anyone in the world of Olds live near Buffalo?He's mainly interested in a driver. I've been helped numerous times by the folks here so I'm hoping for the best. Thanks in advance. Ed in Fla

[joe_padavano]

The "Aeroback" cars are an acquired taste (but then so are Marlins, right? ). The 78-80 cars are just about mechanically identical to the 81-88 cars, so parts availability is very good. Body panels and interior parts are more difficult, as the 78-80 cars are not as popular and the Aerobacks in particular were not even popular when new.

Available engines were the 231 V6, 260 Olds V8, and 305 Chevy V8. The Pontiac 301 may have been available in the Cutlass then too. The Olds diesel was also an option. Transmisisons were the usual GM automatics (TH200, usually) and the rare manual transmissions, including the five speed. Rear axle is the weak-kneed 7.5" axle.