1977 Oldsmobile 442 - Barber Poll

Cars like this very worn out 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 were my dream cars when I was in my late teens and early twenties. This is for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $3,200. Bonus, the original driver's door comes with the sale. 

Here's what it would have looked like new. Or restored. Quite the looker, no? Even in this barber poll motif. 

Color coordinated interior too although that black seat belt buckle poking up next to the drivers seat makes me wonder if this interior is original to the car. Not that it matters. A lot can happen to a car in forty-five years. 

As is the case with many an old car up here on the cusp of the Great White North, rust is a major concern. Especially with regards to the structure of the car. This is not the rustiest bucket out there and that mouse hole is just advanced surface rust. Poster of the ad claims the "frame is solid". I'll take their word for rather than make a four-hour round trip to see for myself. 

Same here on the lower rear, passenger side quarter panel. That this this is sitting on grass makes me believe it's not going to be the driest old car either. 

Something tells me this Oldsmobile "Rocket 350" is not running and would explain why this hasn't been moved to pavement. Maybe they don't even have anything paved? At best it should be indoors. Plastic bags in the air cleaner to stop mice from nesting in there tells me this bubba has been sitting out here for while. 

This is what the engine room looked like when the car was new although that's an Oldsmobile 403-cubic inch V-8 and not the Olds 350 like our Facebook Marketplace find has. The Oldsmobile 403 was an Oldsmobile 350 with a larger bore. You'd find this engine in a number of Pontiac Trans Am's in the late Seventies too. 

For 1977, available engines ran the gamut on 442's from a Buick V-6 through every available Oldsmobile engine at the time. That included the dreadful Olds 260-cubic inch V-8 although with that motor, you could get a five-speed. Yes, a five-speed. FE2 "Rallye Suspension" was optional so the 442 package, at its most rudimentary, was a trim package. 

Poster of the ad says the brakes, exhaust and radiator are bad and the car has some some electrical issues. At least they're honest. They don't mince words about the rust either. Sigh. 

This another prime example of let's "put it out there" before winter comes? Which, newsflash, it's all but done up here already. Price is knocked down from $3,500. NADA pegs these high retail at around $19,000. average around $13,000, fair approximately $6,000. There's no NADA value for poor or basket case - which this one most certainly appears to be. Might be fun to make into a rat rod but not at anywhere near $3,200.