Rare 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 Convertible
The 442 (also 4-4-2) was Oldsmobile’s response to the 1960s mid-size muscle car movement. The performance market peaked in 1970 when the car was offered with the W-30 455 cubic inch V8 engine that was rated at 370 hp. Only 264 copies were built that year as a convertible, making the seller’s car quite a rare barn find after being stored for more than 40 years. Located in Hesperia, California, the car has just recently seen the light of day and is available here on Barn Finds Classifieds where the asking price is $11,500.
Among its General Motors counterparts, the Olds 442 had staying power. It began in 1964 as an option on the F-85/Cutlass and got promoted to series status in 1968. That would carry on to 1972 when the package became an option again. It returned in the 1980s as a variant of the popular Cutlass Supreme and one more time on the FWD Cutlass Calais in the 1990s. Perhaps the pinnacle for the 442 was in 1970 when the seller’s convertible was built with the W-30 set-up, a 455 with functioning cold air induction. Besides a ton of horsepower, the package came up with 500 lbs.-ft of torque!
We don’t know a lot about this drop-top except that it resided in the same garage for 41 years. We assume a mechanical condition at 87,500 miles led to its dormancy, which it may have weathered fairly well. There is plenty of surface rust present on what may be the original Sebring Yellow paint. Yet the interior looks surprisingly good for the most part, and it would be interesting to see how it all comes out after thorough cleaning and some detailing.
But, first, you’ve got to get this 1 of 264 to run again and there’s no telling what that might take. The seller has not attempted to start the Oldsmobile, so the condition of the engine and transmission are unknown. It’s sold in non-Op status, which means that extensive back fees should not be required from the California DMV if the car stays in-state. We’re told the auto is being sold on an “application for duplicate title” which suggests the original title couldn’t be found. More on the auto can be found here on BidFastAndLast.
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Comments
This is not a classified ad but an online auction. This classified ad must be changed to include a link to the auction to register. That link is https://bid.bidfastandlast.com/
They also listed the car with Barn Finds Classifieds.
Understand but several have no link to indicate this is an online auction.
This is just so they can get traffic to their auction. They aren’t selling for $11,500
is it still for sale
That kind of torque puts permanent grins on faces of the drivers. 😎 😃
I wonder what rear gear it is running with all that torque?
I believe factory A/C cars came with 3.23:1 gears
The 323 gears is what I have on my 455 Cutlass. You really don’t need more aggressive gears on a car with a peak hp at about 5000 rpm. Mine is not a 442 with the hotter cam, but it’s a joy to drive. Wicked throttle response with the correct quadrajet carb in good working order.
Has A/C that being said the rear ratio from the factory would be 3:23.1, unless the dealer changed it per customer. All W-30s, W-31s< Hurst/Olds, Cutlass SX's, and Vista Cruiser's were only manufactured in Lansing Michigan so the letter in the VIN will be M The VIN is 344670M then the sequence number, 3 is Olds division, 44 is 442, 67 is Convertible, 0 is year 1970 M is plant Michigan. I've seen a lot of fake Oldsmobile's. I've owned Olds all my life, 11 so far, 1969 to present and I won't own anything but Olds and nothing newer than 1972. I'm old school and hate new cars in my book 1973 and newer JUNKS. I know these cars inside out, I waited 12 years to get my 71 Vista Cruiser with the Special B-07 Option-Highway Patrol Package, got it from the original owner and car is loaded with options, fully documented, odometer U-11, 0-150, Numbers Matching 308.1 posi rear w/ sway bar. This W-30 for sale is a great find and worth the buy, if it was a 4-speed I'd buy it.
There was never a B07 version of the Vista Cruiser, and Olds stopped offering the Police Apprehender packages on the A-body cars after the 1968 model year.
All SX’S were not built in Lansing. I owned a ’71 SX that was built at the Arlington plant in Texas. I’ve seen others that were built in Fremont as well as Lansing.
I am not an expert on Olds but I had a few. In order of owning: 1973 Cutlas Supreme, 350. 1968-70 Vista Cruiser, 455(paid $300) and what a gas hog! Bought in 1987. Needed the engine for a resto. Last one was a 1971 Cutlas S(Salon?) Small v-8. I paid $500 for it in 1991 and drove it 1,000 miles to law school, used it for 4 years and sold it.
I have owned many, many cars mostly Chevys but I liked the few Olds’ I owned. Solid engines, never burned or threw oil, trannys never slipped but I always kept fresh oil, tune ups and trannys serviced.
“Did not try to start” always scares me off a non-op vehicle. They want that much and never tried to see if the motor is any good? I bet it’s frozen.
The car is worth $60,000+. With a w-27 rear end (3rd member) double that.
In that condition? Not hardly.
On the contrary T,
Not tried to start is a FAR more responsible and respectful choice.
Most are not knowledgeable or careful enough to properly start a car after sitting. The damage resulting from some half-assed effort can ruin the car. When i read that i smiled and thought: ‘nice, smart move’
For someone such as yourself who pressumably fails to see the value running or not, if you were seriously inclined buyer, simply attempting to manually turn crank would suffice; check oil too ;)
As for me, id buy this for sure, in fact, once im done writing this, im gonna go to the classified post. This is the kind of car this website is all about.
Thank You Barn Finds for another great find !
Looks complete and a good car to restore. 87,000 miles its ready for an engine rebuild anyway.
So, if the car is sold to an out of state buyer, the seller has to pay California extra fees? Because the car was inoperable for 41 years? Another reason to move to a free state.
Big C
If it indeed has been “out of the system” for that long it drops out and there are no extra fees. I’ve purchased many cars in CA that have been sitting 8-10 plus years and there are just standard transfer fees, nothing more.
All states come with strings and downfalls. CA just has more than most! LOL
I was going to make a very very negative comment about the “free” state I live in Florida, but then I figured if I pointed out how deplorable the conditions are there with regards to being “free”, then Barn Finds would consider this a political post and remove it. So I’m glad that I thought twice about it!
Sly fox you
nice ASSumption lil C.
and ‘free’ state ??
I bet i know wnat cult you belong to; typical.
What’s with the “extra fees californication wants if the car is taken out of state? What is that all about? Sounds like a state sponsored scam!
Red inner fenders? Original color of the car?
Red Inner Fender Wells were W-30 only part of the package. It should also have the Rallye Pac Gauges, worth the fix, if it was a 4-speed car I’d jump on it, loved Ragged tops in the day
This car doesn’t have the Rallye Pac gauges/tach/clock in it. I believe items such as this and the sport steering wheel were still optional, even on the W-30
Rally Pac and four spoke wheel were options. The W30 package only included the engine, hood, red inner fenders, and sport mirrors.
I should have included the manual disc brakes as also included with W30 for 1970.
a rare option, liner, if im correct; even cooler !
and surface rust..except the rust through on the trunk
The red plastic inner fenders are factory for a W30. The 455 makes a lot of torque, but the high lift cams tends to egg out the valve guides. I didn’t see mention of any drag pak or special gears so it is likely a 3.23 rear gear. My 442 developed a oil smoke issue on deceleration. Concur with the engine rebuild comments. Not running, no attempt to start/turn over is an issue. But listening to the tires squeal and those megaphone exhausts bark with tph top down … WOW.
Contrary to what most people think, the 1970 W30 with automatic got the much milder 285/287 degree cam, not the 328/328 cam. This is how it made enough vacuum to operate power brakes and the vacuum actuated A/C. The 285/287 cam is the same one that was installed in every 442 with AT that year. How this engine made the same HP as the manual trans W30 with the 328/328 cam remains a mystery of the marketing department.
Ironically, these fully loaded AT W30 convertibles are the ones that bring the stupid money at auction, despite being among the heaviest, slowest W30s built in the musclecar era.
Looks to be relatively complete and unmolested except by the ravages of time and storage. What looks to be an original paint W-30 with special order color, A/C, disc brakes. Well worth the restoration costs.
Joe – My hardtop 442 had an alleged curb weight of 3743 pounds. The convertible, with its top mechanism and fiberglass hood etc. was probably similar. Reporting 365 or 370 kept them over the GM imposed limit of 10 pounds per hp. Insurance penalties usually were based on 10 lbs/hp.
I’m aware of the “370” HP in a 3700 lb car math (I own a 1970 4spd W30, among others). 370 was probably pretty close to realistic for the AT engine. Roger Huntington showed closer to 440 HP for the MT engine with the 328/328 cam. Considering that the Toro W34 motor was rated at 400 HP with the same 285/287 cam used in the AT W30 cars and the crappy depressed Toro intake and exhaust manifolds, it’s clear that the HP numbers were bogus. Still, there’s no way that the AT and MT W30 motors made the same numbers.
Purely fantasy numbers to keep the insurance companies happy. Just like every Chrysler 426 street Hemi ever produced made only 425 horsepower. Drop the rpm low enough in the equation and you can make any engine look tame.
Everything else being equal, there will be more parasitic loss through the torque converter and auto trans vs a standard transmission.
such a make or break aspect to this car, ya, cause were all only interested in it for its quarter mile drag times (eyes roll)
Were those Roger Huntington horsepower numbers 1970 gross numbers… or net numbers we use today?
They were gross numbers so they were comparable to the factory claimed numbers of the period.
Does it run. If so $8500.
Owned two 442 and purchased new from Lloyd A. Wise , Oakland, California. A 1965 442 Holiday Coupe , 4 speed , 400 cu., 345 HP. A 1985 442 . 1965 built in Fremont, California. The 1985 built in Arlington, Texas