1 of 96: 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30
Oldsmobile got into the mid-size muscle car movement in 1964 with the 4-4-2 (or 442) based on the Cutlass. It was every bit as potent as any of the rest of its corporate cousins. The W-30 option, which became available in 1970, gave the car a fiberglass hood with functional air scoops and low-restriction air cleaner, an aluminum intake manifold, and a special camshaft, cylinder heads, distributor, and carburetor. This 4-4-2 W-30 comes as a convertible with a 4-speed, making it one of just 96 built that way in ‘70. It will be available here on Barrett-Jackson on September 16-18, 2021, in Houston, Texas. Thanks, Larry D, for making us aware of this cool survivor!
As the story goes, the original owner bought the car new in Michigan in May 1970. He/she kept it for 50 years and put 55,000 miles on it before turning it over to the seller in 2020. It’s in original condition except for a repaint of the car’s factory Burnished Gold finish in the mid-1970s. It presents well with no obvious flaws, making it an ideal candidate for Barrett-Jackson’s first-ever auction in “The Energy Capital of the World”. The interior is also said to be original and is equally nice for an automobile of this vintage. The same can also be said for the drop-top.
With a 455 cubic inch V8, Oldsmobile built precisely 3,100 copies of the W-30 in 1970. When you drill down to convertibles with a 4-speed manual transmission, the result doesn’t crack 100, putting this car in rare territory, to begin with. The list of numbers-matching hardware provided by the seller is extensive. The Olds has the same drivetrain it left the plant with and that has been documented by the Rocket Report. The buyer will receive the original title as well as the car’s broadcast card,
This Oldsmobile is a well-equipped automobile, with goodies like power windows, a power top, Rally Pack gauges, and a sport console. Hagerty estimates the resale value of a ’70 4-4-2 to be $75,000 on the high end, but it’s unclear if that includes the W-30. And the disappearing top. With a no reserve auction for selling this car, it will be interesting to see how far north the bidding goes before the gavel drops. I need to remember to set my DVR to record the auction if I’m not around to catch it when broadcast.
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Comments
Wow nice car.
This car will bring huge money. B-J auctions always get top dollar sometimes going way over the actual value of the car. They always have some cars that top a million dollars but this won’t be one of them, but I won’t be surprised if it gets a hundred thousand. The frenzy created in those auctions is contagious and people get caught up in it bidding far more than the cars worth. Well, even though I live in Houston the NRG stadium is downtown a place I avoid like the plague. So I’ll be watching it on T.V.
God bless America
NRG is no where downtown John
Restored these cars have been fetching upwards of $150K as a convertible with the W30 and 4 speed options. Interesting to see where an unrestored original survivor car will end up.
Would love to see the broadcast card. The side stripes are wrong! Nice car.
I bet those padded armrest tops are not original – their cheap vinyl was the 1st things to crack apart in GM cars back in the day.
Over the years my friend bought several expensive new replacements for a late 60s Nova parked outside.
& wouldn’t you know it, those all cracked again very quickly, & later he just wrapped them with matching very durable color cloth material found around the house.
$150k today for a used 442?
A new base 442 was $3,312 back in the day!
If they’ve been replaced they are still original looking. My ’70 with gold interior has all original vinyl in it, including the arm rests. (Maybe Olds used better vinyl than Chevrolet :-)
No AC, I’m out.
AC in a W30 got you a much milder cam and less HP. You won’t find too many of the era’s musclecars with AC.
BJ? Barn Find? More like it will be overpriced ruined hobby car.
There are plenty of desirable cars at reasonable prices out there for people willing to open their minds and put in the work to find one. Even in the early-1980’s me and most of my friends were priced out of the market for cars like this, Hemi’s, 6 packs, Shelby’s LS-6’s, Z28’s etc. Instead of pouting we figured out that we could afford, cars such as 383 Road runners, 390 Mustang GT’s, SS Camaros and alike. Today, you plug in any number of used later model performance car into that equation, those are plentiful and inexpensive. The one thing that hasn’t changed is that the guys who complained about prices were typically the ones that wouldn’t put in the effort to find something, there were several guys I knew back then that echoed your sentiment, they never bought anything because they were happier complaining.
Steve R
I love the assuming.
My 67 Shelby I bought in 1979 thanks you, (found on a side street). My 70 Boss I found in 2002 thanks you, (found on a backroad). My 66 Shelby that I just bought will also be thanking you…..(bought off a collector). Some cars are overpriced. I am not taking away form that nice car, I like the Olds, and the Buick versions of that body, but they made so many of them, that they are just too much. Oh, and my SS Chevelle thanks you also, I bought it after a long search back in 1978 along with my 55 Thunderbird at the age of 17.
They love the assumers. Still loving them and not complaining at all, facts are facts.
Nice car. I beat one three times in a row once with my 70 442 hardtop. Partly the weight difference and he was getting some misfire. These cars liked to eat spark plugs. Still nice car, but out of my price range.
This same car was recently on eBay. The awful stripe job give it away…
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224556743262?hash=item34489ffa5e%3Ag%3AR64AAOSwqGxhCAun&nma=true&si=DbWVtFMk6aSgjVROEmEiD%252FAOLXc%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Don’t recall the original listing showing a $100K starting bid that the completed listing shows now, but I know it was bid up to may $85K and didn’t meet reserve. Either the Ohio seller is going through BJ or a flipper bought it in the meantime.
No ac on w 30 4 speed cars. Looks sweet bet it will do better than 100000.
No power brakes available on the 4-speed cars either.
I’m a Mopar guy, but a good buddy of mine had a 442 that I always admired. Nice to see one this clean surface as an alternative in a sea of SS Chevelles.
There is an Olds enthusiast out there for which this 4-speed W30 drop top is the holy grail. That guy won’t think twice about writing a six figure check for it.
The W30 package became available in 1966 or 67, with behind the headlights air intakes on 66 and 67, and under the bumper scoops on 68 and 69’s, then on the hood for 70 to 72.
The 1966 W-30 had scoops located in the bumper openings normally occupied by the parking/turn signals. The parking lights were then moved towards the center. The 1967 were between the headlights, on top of and below the parking lamps. !968 and 1969 were located under the bumpers.