1977 Oldsmobile 4-4-2: The Last Colonnade Year

This record's own dek states that the 4-4-2 was an appearance and handling option in this period, that no Hurst/Olds was offered, and that no production figure was found. This record's own overview states that a tertiary account describes the final Colonnade-body 4-4-2, with Buick's 231 V-6 replacing the Chevrolet six and a 403 V-8 rated at 185 hp and 320 lb-ft as the largest option.¹

This record's own key facts state that no citable 4-4-2 production figure was found for this year, and that Oldsmobile's 1977 catalogue gave the Cutlass 4-4-2 its own page, describing a 231 V-6 as standard, a 260 V-8 with a five-speed overdrive manual, and new Rocket 350 and Rocket 403 four-barrel V-8s with Turbo Hydra-matic. This record's own production notes state that the Standard Catalog of American Cars gives only a 70,155-car host-body total for the Cutlass S coupe, shown for scale only and not a 4-4-2 figure, since the catalogue does not say how many of those carried the package.²

This record's own options section documents the 4-4-2 package's contents as bold stripes and a special grille, priced at $169, with the FE2 Rallye suspension, a special gauge cluster, bucket seats, a sports console, and steel-belted radial tires all available on the 4-4-2. This record's own prices section documents factory prices of $4,350 for the Cutlass S coupe (G37) with the V-6 and $4,395 with a V-8, both base prices before options.²

This record's own engines section documents the 231 V-6 as standard on the Cutlass S, the 260 V-8 as available with the five-speed overdrive manual footnoted specifically to that engine, and the Rocket 350 and the new-for-1977 Rocket 403 four-barrel V-8s as available with Turbo Hydra-matic. This record's own transmissions section documents a three-speed all-synchro manual as standard on Cutlass Supreme and Cutlass S, the five-speed overdrive manual as available only with the 260 V-8, and Turbo Hydra-matic as available with the 350 and 403 per the 4-4-2 page.

This record's own specifications section documents a 112-inch wheelbase for the Cutlass coupe against 116 inches for the sedan, noting the 4-4-2 was a coupe, a 209.6-inch overall length for the coupe, and a 22-gallon fuel tank. This record's own identification section documents the 1977 Oldsmobile 13-symbol VIN, including engine codes running from A or C for the 231 V-6 through K for the 403 four-barrel, model-year symbol 7, and assembly-plant codes including M for Lansing and R for Arlington, again noting the VIN does not identify the 4-4-2 package.²

This record's own unpublished leads flag an enthusiast source's uncited claim of 11,649 4-4-2 Cutlass S coupes built in 1977, called the second-largest production year after 1970, alongside a $4,520 base price with the 4-4-2 option and a 403 rating of 185 hp at 3,600 rpm and 320 lb-ft at 2,200 rpm with an 8.0:1 compression, an M4MC Quadrajet, and a standard 2.56 axle. This record does not adopt these figures, noting that a related web article carrying the same numbers could not be accessed to check its own sourcing.¹