What's wrong here?

First....
which year / brand / model do you see in the photos?:









to be continued......

 

I think it is a late '80's Caprice, but with Olds badging. Although I have to say that I don't really know the differences. Just a guess without searching the web.

 

Just another tip: it is registered as 1976!! :16suspect1:

 

Senri.... you Hercule Poirot....

 

I could have sworn it was a Chevy, early 80's, until I noticed the hood ornament. Oldsmobile had a very different grill.

Very strange.

 

It CAN'T be a '76. That body didn't come out until MY 1977, and the composite headlamps didn't appear until 1985. Are you sure it didn't say 1986 on the registration? Also, the wide brushed satin trim piece on the C pillar identifies it (in US. terms) as a Chevy Caprice. Also looks like it had woodgrain at one time, too.

 

It depends on what is the definition of the age of a car. Is it the whole car, only the chassis, only the part were the number is in....
But honoustly, it is possible here in holland to look up some data about a car by the registration number. Simply at the DMV site. It will give you some data about the age, when it was first registered in Holland (so with american cars, when it was imported), when it last changed owner, but also often the number of cilinders, the cubic inches, weight, max towing weight. Modern car also have some data about polution, mpg etc. Really handy!
But back to topic, this one is registered as a 1976 and as an Olds!

BTW, did you see that 3rd brake light? Isn't that post-85 too?

 

That body type was delivered from around October 76 and on, so although model 77 it could be registered in 1976 here.

Senri: did you noticed the model on the DMV site? That`s a bit where the trick is.

 

I did see that yes, I just didn't want to give that away already! But what is up with this car besides the question? I get a bit the feeling that you have a new family member, or?

 

To avoid paying road taxes (1700+ kilograms with LPG: around $2,200 for 1 year till the car gets 25 years of age) the owner got his hands on the title of a 76 Olds Cutlass (which is illegal)

The trick here is that is in fact a 87+ Chevrolet Caprice (so a car still not tax exempt), but titled as a 76 (=no road tax) Oldsmobile Cutlass.

To do this he had to remove the VIN plate under the windscreen and retag and rebatch the Caprice to Oldsmobile.

Hard for DMV to prove (they hardly know anything about US cars). What they can do is measuring the wheelbase:

76 Oldsmobile Cutlass 116inches
87+ Chevrolet Caprice 116inches

 

Sneaky...

I saw pictures a couple years ago of someone's Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon (95 or 96, I can't remember). They had replaced all the Buick badging (nameplates, wheel covers, hood ornament and emblems) with Cadillac Fleetwood badging. They even glued a Cadillac emblem on top of the embossed Buick emblem on the steering wheel/air-bag. It was bizarre. They were even advertising the car as a Cadillac Fleetwood wagon.

But with your pictures of the "Oldsmo-chevy", at first, I thought it might be someone who wanted their Chevy to be an Olds...not that it makes any sense, since Oldsmobile actually had a wagon, too. The attempt to circumvent taxes makes a little more sense...I guess.

 

Well, I have to admit that my 188 Caprice Classic was registered as a 1978 Impala...
The advantage next to having a younger car, is that it has the overdrive trans as well. I knew about it, but don't know were it happened. The car was imported from Belgium. I guess during the import process a lot of things are possible.....

 

The car is definetly a 1986 or newer caprice. Like said the headlights on a 85 and older were two seprate beams and yes the first year for the thrid break light was 1986. the bootleg olds emblem in the grille isa dead give away also.

 

Actually, the composite headlamps first appeared on the 1987 models. The 1986 has the separate beams, but on the newer fascia, and the side markers were all-amber. 1986 is also the only year out of that body style that did not have the stand-up hood ornament. The 1987-1990 models had the composite headlights and the split amber/clear sidemarkers.

The 1986+ had the third brake light, as you mentioned.

I have included a pic of the 1986 model (from ASWOA).