My classic car: 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass

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In a moment of sanity failureI sold my ’71 Cutlass S Custom (a rare “rear coupe” model) in October 2019 after 16 years of ownership. The buyer was a guy in Tucson, Arizona and I had the car shipped to him. This is quite painful.

Later, knowing I was going to Tucson for a business trip, I contacted the owner and hoped to visit my old car while in town. Coincidentally, he had just put the car up for sale and consigned it to Hi-Speed ​​Rods & Customs, a high-end restoration shop in Tucson. I spent over an hour there reuniting with Cutlass and checking out a bunch of other cool custom rides in the shop.

When I sold the Cutlass, it had a long list of performance upgrades, including a Pro 455 with Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum cylinder heads, an Art Carr 200-4R Extreme Duty overdrive transmission, a 12-bolt rear end with Eaton Positive Traction, and a 3.55 Ratio gears, front disc brake conversion, MagnaFlow Performance 3-inch twin pipes, Tru-X pipes and more.

While the Cutlass did not require any cruising/showing when purchased, the current owner has spent over $25,000 in parts/labor on numerous upgrades including a brand new powder coated frame, quad shocks with front tubular control arms, Sniper fuel injection molding, vintage heating/air conditioning, Be Cool aluminum radiator with dual Spal fans and more.

Sadly, through communications while I was in town, I learned that the current owner was troubled by his wife’s health. He initially rejected my offer to buy the car which was well below the asking price, but accepted after further consideration.

I hired InterCity Lines to transport the Cutlass boat from my shop in Tucson to my home in southern New Hampshire, a distance of approximately 2,700 miles, where it now joins my three other joy rides.

Although I have a special relationship with the original buyer/current seller, we have yet to meet in person!

– Steve F., New Hampshire