I thought these were all gone!

[rick60]

I worked at Oldsmobile when these were recalled and destroyed.  I remember thinking it was a shame to destroy such a nice car.  We soon found out how problematic these cars would be.  I still like them even with their inherent problems.  Probably the worst case of cowl shake of any convertible I have ever driven!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oldsmobile-Cutlass-/301709292312?forcerrptr=true&hash=item463f467318&item=301709292312

[ScarredKnightfan]

Recalled & destroyed ... yet this one survived?  Intriguing!

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"You let your mind out somewhere down the road" __ Electric Light Orchestra __ 'Don't Bring Me Down'

[John_S_in_Penna]

Rick, are you saying that the 1988 Cutlass convertible,

Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replica edition, was never

released to the public but instead destroyed?

Surely you don't mean all Cutlass convertibles of that year.

 

Tell us more about it!  It sounds interesting.

And how would they be recalled if they were sold to customers?

 

Those Cutlass convertibles would have looked

much better without their roll bars.

[rocketraider]

The W-body convertibles were a classic case of late-80s GM incompetence and mismanagement. Yes, a few of the 1988 Pace Cars survived.

 

GM had the technology to eliminate the cowl shake; they used "cocktail shaker" vibration damper cans on each corner of Corvair and 67-69 F-body convertibles for the same reason.

 

GM unveiled this car at the 1988 OCA National Meet in New Jersey. When they took the cover off, there was stunned silence. No one could believe this was the Cutlass Supreme's replacement. As hardcore Olds as I am, took me a while to warm up to these. I now think they were probably the best-styled of the W-body platform.

[Restorer32]

Hard to believe it was never titled. The dealership sold it to IRP without a title? The immediate past owner bought it without a title? 1800 miles is a lot of laps around a track.

[rick60]

I believe initially the only convertibles available were pace cars.  I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.  The body of the pace car convertible at the dealer where I worked  actually twisted.  There was about four inches height difference at the top of the windshield when measured at each A pillar to the ground.  GM wisely recalled that particular car.   The pace car generated a lot of showroom traffic and positive comments.  Too bad they didn't do it right the first time.  I agree, GM was poorly managed at the time.  One of our early convertibles was returned for service so many times that it was bought back by the factory.  Unbelievably someone made the decision to resell the  car as a used car.  As expected, the next owner had problems with the car.  The owner found out about the history of the car and sued GM.  I don't blame them.  The employees at the dealership were shocked when the car was resold.  Later production convertibles were better.  Even those later production convertibles were the loosest feeling convertibles that I've ever driven.  It really was a bad time for GM.  Roger Smith and his bean counters really made my job unpleasant.

[rick60]

I agree they would have looked better without the roll bars.  The roll bar was a compromise because the door handle was in the B pillar.

[joe_padavano]

First, there were no Cutlass convertibles other than the Pace Car replicas in the 1988 model year.  The factory-engineered versions were not released until the 1992 model year.  The 1998s were all hand built, which is why they were not as well engineered as the later ones.  Allegedly, about 10 of the 50 pace car replicas did not get returned to the factory.  There have been others spotted in the wild.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Are you saying that the 1988 convertibles, being all

Pace Car replicas, were all lent out for special purposes?

And that they weren't intended to be sold to the public?

 

Interesting!

[joe_padavano]

Are you saying that the 1988 convertibles, being all

Pace Car replicas, were all lent out for special purposes?

And that they weren't intended to be sold to the public?

 

Interesting!

 

What I'm saying is that the 50 Pace Car replicas, which were the only convertibles built in the 1988 model year, were offered to dealerships after the race.  Some were kept by dealerships, some sold to private parties.  Most were bought back by Olds due to the structural rigidity issues described above.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that as many as ten of the 50 were not returned to Olds but kept by either the dealerships or the subsequent buyers who recognized the potential future collectibility.  I've seen a couple of these come up for sale in the last few years.

[rick60]

Thanks for the information on the convertibles.  I could not recall the exact details when actually production started.   I have two service manual supplements for the convertible.  One is for 1990 and one is for 1990-92.   Does the Olds Club have a library?  I would like to donate the manuals.  If not I'll donate them to the AACA Library.  Some of these cars are eligible to be registered as antiques as of 2015.  I worked on these cars when they were new.   I now qualify as an old man!