Looking at buying a 72 Cutlass

[Guest]

I am currently looking at buying a 72 Cutlass S (2-door fastback). The car is in original condition and has only 55,000 miles on it. It has a 350 2-barrel engine, buckets and console, no vinyl roof, Gold/brown with tan interior. The car is in extremely good condition. The lower portion of the quarters were replaced in 88 when the car was painted. There is no rust what so ever as far as I can see. It has been sitting for most of the time since 88 but the owner has had it out a few times to give it a good run and get the fluids moving recently. It runs great too. What are some of the common problems on this body style and where should I look for signs of problems? I want to get this car for a daily driver. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Aaron (hopefully future owner of a 72 Cutlass)

[Sgt Art]

I would check for rust first off. Paint and Bondo can hide a lot of sins. I've seen some old cars when stripped down were almost being held together with paint. Check the floor pans from underneath, it really helps to get the car up on a lift. If you know a body guy, ask him to look, he knows the most common spots. The trunk is also an area to inspect. Pull up the matting if possible (sometimes it's glued and then you need to look from the bottom) and see what it looks like. The rockers and fenders should be looked at as well again from the underside. Be suspicious if there's a lot of black undercoating. Some guys use this snot to hide rust, it sprays on and looks great until you scrape some of it off. This stuff costs a lot to fix if it's rusted out.

As far as the mechanicals, depends how mechanically inclined you are. No substitute for a test drive and I'd want to get up to at least 60 MPH to check for vibration and handling. While on the lift, you can check for leaks, cracks and the usual stuff, exhaust system, shocks. All that stuff adds up.

Even the pros get stuck sometimes. I work in a dealership and it happens here from time to time. Remember, there's always a gamble and lots of excitement when buying a 30 something year old car.

One tip when negotiating; don't start running the guy's car down item by item. You might hurt his feelings and make him defensive. If you see something that is clearly wrong, just run your hand over it slowly making sure he sees you do it. He knows and knows you know there's a flaw, rust whatever and perhaps his expectations for a big price will drop. Good luck.

[Guest]

Thanx for the reply but he did not accept my offer. I am only prepared to pay a certain amount for it and he did not go for it. I may be way under what it's worth but I'm not sure what it is truly worth. Who knows, he may call me back if he does not get any other offers. The car is VERY clean but it is not a well optioned car (2-barrel, drum brakes, no air, no power options, hub caps). Thank you.