Rare Custlass 442 Salon with Four-Speed Manual

This is one seriously rare and odd beast – the ugly “Salon” version of the late 70s Cutlass in 442 trim with four-speed manual! Note: when we say “ugly”, it means we want it.

The seller claims to be daily driving this oddity, which bodes well for a future owner – at least is hasn’t been sitting. 130K original miles are claimed and it has had the trans rebuilt recently. The seller provides quite a bit of information and good pictures. What’s this worth to you?

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Seattle, WA, USA
$2,200 with one bid, reserve not met and two days to go

Front half look normal – back half, not so much.

Non-matching hood and fenders add street cred among domestic fans.

From this angle, this could be any Cutlass, which it seems every family owned back then. Remember when moms drove two-door cars?

Here’s where things get strange.

You’d think this oddly-shaped vehicle would have a hatchback, but you’d be wrong.

Interior is pretty much standard late 70s Cutlass, but has ample 442 badging and that prominant shifter.

Money shot!

The engine compartment shows use, which is a good thing.

Ad text:

“THE BODY: The body is solid, having minor door dings here and there. NO rust through that I have found. Its does need paint…INTERIOR: Headliner sags, both seats need recovered, cracked dash, gauges workMECHANICAL: Runs and drives great, needs shocks, a fresh clutch kit it has clutch chatter, and valve guides, I do have a rebuilt set of 305 heads cost $350 to have done that I will include with the sale.”

1978 Olds Cutlass Salon Brougham w/ 442 package. 305 4bbl, rare saginaw 4 speed (reblt) w/ a Hurst Shifter. Options, PS, PB, Tilt, Cruise, AC (not working), Gauge package w/Tach, bucket seats (passenger seat reclines), rear defrost, recent dual exhaust. Out of 2541 Olds 442s built in 1978, 1180 of them were built in the Cutlass Salon Brougham body, and 1-3% of them came with a 4 speed and only with a 305 engine, which puts the production numbers somewhere between 11-35. The car is not perfect, but it is solid and about 99% complete, only missing the Horn emblem for the sport wheel (sport wheel included, missing the factory Air cleaner, and the AC compressor. This car is my daily driver, its weird, its odd but always gets thumbs up even with bad paint. Fly in, drive home.

On Jul-11-15 at 13:41:50 PDT, seller added the following information:
LOW RESERVE!!!!

On Jul-12-15 at 13:14:39 PDT, seller added the following information:
reserve is at $2201… let the bidding begin

On Jul-13-15 at 06:51:08 PDT, seller added the following information:
I should mention that I do have the car listed locally, and reserve the right to sell the car locally to a local buyer.

On Jul-13-15 at 17:31:40 PDT, seller added the following information:
Okay, Ive received a lot of emails that have asked the same questions, So I will answer the more common ones on here instead of repeating myself over and over again.

The car does have a new battery, It does have nice “OOOMPAAA -OOOMPAAA” dual glass packed exhaust, the engine doesnt use oil, but it does make a puff of smoke when you first start it up valve guides), which is why I had a set of heads redone for the car, its just the front shocks that are worn, the 4 speed was overhauled prior to me, but has less than 3000 miles on it, the clutch works fine, it just has a little chatter when you first start out, Im sure the pressure plate and/or flywheel needs to be turned, Seattle hills are hell on clutches, The gauges work including tach however the oil pressure gauge has a mind of its own, ive added a new sending unit, sometimes it works, sometimes it does not, there is an owners manual, the jack, jack base and tire iron is all there, I do not have a spare for it. the bumpers on both ends are VERY straight and bright, the only dent it had when I got it was in the RF fender, it had a crease, so I replaced it with another 442 fender, it has new headlights, and I also have another set of taillights for it as well. I imagine the A/C would work if it had a compressor and a pressure hose, thats the only thing missing, the cruise did work until the other day, Im thinking it is a fuse, I have not researched that yet. YES, the car runs great, but could most likely use a tune up, the spark plug brand is “MIGHTY”, which I know my dad used in his shop back in the 80s, but it has ran so good this far I havent bothered to change them,.. If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.