1971 Oldsmobile 442

(2014 to 2017)

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442: 4 barrel, 4 speed, 2 exhaust!

After only Mopar’s I thought it would be interesting to try something different. I always liked the ‘69 to ‘72 442’s, particularly with the fresh air hood, so I thought I would give one a try.

I picked this up at Mecum Indy, it is numbers matching and came with original Oldsmobile dealer sales paperwork and build sheet. It needed some work; pretty much nothing on the dash worked, the steering needed rebuilding as did the brake system…all in good fun and nothing too serious. I was amazed how much more accessible GM parts are for these cars when compared with Mopar, but of course GM built a lot of 442’s, Chevelle’s, GTO’s and GSX’s. The car had incorrect W30 side stripes which I changed to what a standard 442 would come with (easy since the car was restored with decals instead of the stripes being correctly painted on). I also added the Oldsmobile rear wing because they are just so very cool!

I really enjoyed this car during the couple of years that I had it, even given the few thrills I experienced while working to make it road worthy (no brakes once was certainly interesting). It drove and ran great, you really felt the pickup that a 455 can bring. However, I already had my eye on a special ‘69 red GTX with a pewter interior and when it came up for sale I moved the Oldsmobile on. The car was sold new in the Boston area, and that is where it ended up after me which is great.