- Beyond the Sebring Yellow body and
wheels, every W45 Rallye 350 wore
distinctive vinyl graphics with black and
orange op-art sport stripes accentuating
the roof line and front-fender ridges.
Though missing here, the plastic grille
was blacked out for a sinister vibe. The six
small holes in the decklid once secured the
standard-issue W35 fiberglass spoiler.
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- Because the Rallye 350’s 310hp L74
came with Olds’ famous W25 “forced-
induction” air cleaner and fiberglass hood,
many people mistakenly confuse it with
Oldsmobile’s 325hp W31 350. While the
’68–’70 W31 included an aluminum intake
manifold, wild camshaft, and specially
balanced short-block, Oldsmobile sales
documents said the L74 350 “provides
unquestioned performance at a level
that may offer substantial insurance rate
benefits to the buyer.”
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- Though three-on-the-tree and floor-
shifted three- and four-speed manual
transmissions were offered, this F85-based
Rallye 350 was built with a column-shifted
automatic transmission and front bench
seat. Oldsmobile specified the M38 Turbo
350 automatic transmission for Rallye 350
duty. The torque-handling capacity of the
larger M40 Turbo 400 was reserved for
455-powered 4-4-2s.
5 - The tiny F85 badge on the passenger
side of the dashboard signifies the base
trim level. Amazingly, the formed rubber
floormat was still in place, albeit cracked
and torn from time and exposure. Our
dream Rallye 350 would be an F85 pillar
coupe like this, but with a four-speed,
bench seat, radio delete, and W27
aluminum differential housing with 3.91
Anti-Spin guts.
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- Olds sent its dealers a detailed booklet
stressing that the color-matched bumpers
weren’t simply painted (like on certain AMC
Go Machines). It read: “A real red-hot selling
feature is the urethane-coated bumper
material (pronounced you-ra-thane) on the
Rallye 350. This is a magic-like substance
that can be likened to ‘elastic plastic.’”
Rallye 350 rear bumpers all featured
cutouts for the dual chrome-plated exhaust
trumpets that came with the standard-issue
N10 dual exhaust tract.
6 6. One sneaky detail that helped the
Rallye 350 make the most of its 310hp 350
was inclusion of a standard 3.23:1 ratio
inside the beefy Type-O 12-bolt rear axle.
Dr. Oldsmobile knew that more common
Cutlass-spec 2.78 and 3.08 gears would dull
acceleration. Ratios of 3.42 and 3.91 with
Anti-Spin were also offered. Anti-Spin was
extra cost.- Most Rallye 350 buyers (2,367 out of
3,547) went for the sleeker non-pillar
hardtop body style. The bright trim rings on
the wheels are a matter of contempt. Most
period Olds catalog pictures don’t show
them on the Rallye 350. This unrestored,
122,000-mile survivor is owned by Dave
Wicks of Billerica, MA, and has optional
front bucket seats and the sporty W26
center console and Hurst Dual-Gate
automatic shifter.
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