BlackSnshine442

Hi! I posted in the General Discussion forum about finding a broadcast sheet under the rear seat of my car. I finally took a decent pic to post so I'm wondering if anyone can help me a bit with decoding. I'm still kind of a noob Oh, after what's felt like an eternity, I have my motor block casting number: 395558 2 and the engine id number: 35M185980. The id matches the VIN, parts of the Body/Cowl tag and the sticker that was on the inside of the driver's side door. I'm still hoping for a buildsheet! My phone wouldn't let me put the pic of the sheet here so it's in my album.

GAOldsman

The W29 identifies it as a 442, D55 = Front Compartment Console, U75 = Power Radio Antenna?, what other #'s are you looking to decode?

BlackSnshine442

Hello again! Thank you for replying so fast! Sorry my post was so...all over the place? I tend have a million thoughts running through my head but only a few make it out and onto posts, into emails etc- thus causing random chaos, lol! Well, from searching n' reading in the forums I believe the U76 and UM2 kinda went together as the windshield embedded antenna and am/fm stereo radio w/ 8-track player, right? Y74...you're gonna laugh, man, before I really researched, I wrote down that that was the Indy Pace Car option. I know, I know...it's for Bright Moldings around the wheel openings, right? The infamous 26X appears to be in reference to one of the big 4 colors of the time, in my case blue. Thebody number doesn't match any others I have, any ideas why that is? In the box PLT. OPT 16 what is the 37A mean? Finally, this has bugging me since day one, ok, I have the white n' blue interior but why on earth do I have black seatbelts (front n' rear) w/ the black plastic "covers" on the bottoms? It just doesn't match ya know?

GAOldsman

Maybe 442much can help you. My knowledge is mostly with the '70-'72 models. He has a website and deals with '73-''77 models. Send him a PM he'll help you.

macrover

Congrats on finding a piece of the factory documentation.

I wondered the same thing about the interiorin my car ('77 442). The verdict is still out.

How dud you determine the Big 26X is one of the big colors of the time? I've been pondering on it's meaning for quite some time.

I have a list of codes at home, I may be able to answer some of your questions this evening.

Ken will come along shortly with some answers too.

442much

Black, send me the questions you have (or post them here) and when I get home I'll answer them with my reference books (if I can). I also have the 26X code on my blue 442. Code 35 blue was only available in 1976. The 442 option for 76 (W29) included the stainless mouldings around the wheel openings (and FE2 suspension). Have you also checked out www.73-77olds.com ? That is also a good forum with some great people who's passion is the 73-77 A body. There is also a 73-77 Registry. See the link in my signature at the bottom of my post. Send your questions. I'll do my best to help you.

BlackSnshine442

OMG! I should've logged in sooner! Thank you so much replying eveyone. When I first joined, I was told that the coolest, friendliest group of people are members and it's true! Oh and I gotta do this (bows down) Ken, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" I'm in the registry but haven't logged in like 4ever, I lost my password! But, I found it last night, yay! I guess as a forewarning, I have tons of questions, some I might just need double checking on the answers to. The two questions right this second that plague me are 1. Why do I have black seat belts? Oh, my wheels are black also but I'm gonna look at the one later today, there's a chip and it's blue underneath. 2. The broadcast sheet's Body Number doesn't match any other numbers on the car or it's VIN or anything I've found so far, is that normal? I won't overwhelm you with my ADHD ramblings, yet...lol, so, thank so very much and I can't wait to hear from you!

BlackSnshine442

Ya know, I wish I could remember exactly where I read about the Big 4 colors...after my hubby bought my car for me I went Google crazy and I believe I found it on a random forum. I was on oldsfaq alot, I know better now...oldsmobility was another. Umm, of course 73-77olds, justoldcars.com, 442bro.com. "I've been everywhere man. I've been everywhere!". Oh, it was worth the money to get my archives from GM as well. I have everything framed!

GAOldsman

The body number should match the number on your cowl tag.

BlackSnshine442

My cowl tag says: 292394 BDY and the broadcast sheet says in the box BODY NUMBER: 012923. So. That's not cool...I mean there's parts of the numbers that match but not like exactly so to speak.

GAOldsman

Hmm. Sometimes they discarded other car's broadcast cards and or build sheets in the wrong cars, so that's what it sounds like here.

BlackSnshine442

That sux to say the least!

442much

Post the VIN and the data plate (the silver plate under the hood on the passenger side near the windshield).

junqueboi

Hi. Black seatbelts were standard in most '70's GM cars regardless of interior color. Option AK1 is "deluxe seat belts" which would have given your car blue belts with stainless steel receptacles.

It was a very popular option. You kind of get gypped though if your car had black interior or white/black interior because all AK1 got you was nicer receptacles.

Love your car btw. Great color combination too, especially the white interior. I'm a sucker for white interior. Too bad it was built in Lansing because that broadcast card is all you'll find. No killer GMAD build sheets await you (sorry) Hope you keep it original!

BlackSnshine442

Well, first, for Ken, this is my VIN: 3G37R6M185980. The cowl tag says this:
ST 76 3AG37LAN292394 BDY
TR 110 X35 35U PNT
10E AN7 26x
I hope this helps you to help me, lol! I tell ya, this car's like me in that it's a quirky mystery where some things just don't seem to make sense!

BlackSnshine442

Thank you for the info, I don't have deluxe belts that's for sure! I love white interiors too, they keep me busy, lol! Dude, I would so luv to be in the exclusive club of owners of Lansing built 442's who've found their build sheets...dream a little dream, huh?

macrover

Ahh, gotcha. The 26X BIG 4 BLUE mystery continues. It's on my build sheet and I've been trying to pinpoint a definite answer to keep me from scratching my head. Guess I'll have to dig a little deeper.

From the factory, your rims would have been painted the same color as the upper body color of the car. The remnants of blue paint underneath the black paint would indicate as such, if it's the same blue as the car, or course.

The Lansing broadcast card you have whether correct for your car or another, is a rarity in itself, compared to build sheets from other GM plants. Mainly the Arlington plant from what I've seen.

After viewing your photos, I have to say that's a very nice 442 you have. Cool to see the stamps/markings on the seat cushion(s), can't say I've seen them before.

As you stated, the U76 is the windshield antennae and UM2 is the AM/FM 8 track tape radio. The Y74 is exterior moulding (doors, fenders, and rear quarters). The wheel well moulding option is B96, door edge guard is B93, and rocker panel moulding is B83.

I see a few correct and original items still on the car so keep the car as original as possible. Although, it's you car so do with it as you please.

I'm sure you have more questions and we're here to help, if we can.

scott_442

Saw one of these cars get some love at a local auction today. Actually, it was a black 77 442 with really low miles. Nice car but didn't expect it to bring $25K!! Actually, there were a few mid 70's Olds roll across today that brought the money. Good to see!

442much

OK Tricia, let's decode.

VIN: 3 (Oldsmobile Division) G (Cutlass S) 37 (Hardtop Coupe) R (Engine Size - in this case 350 V8) 6 (1976) M (Production Plant - in this case Lansing) 185980 ((Plant number)
Data Tag: ST76 (1976) 3 Olds Division) A (Body Type) 37 (Body Type - Cutlass S) LAN (Plant) 292394 BDY (Plant Body Number - does not match VIN - this is typical)
Line 2: TR 110 Trim code - 110 = White) X35 Lower body colour in this case Dk Blue Met) 35U (painted roof -not vinyl same colour as lower body)
Line 3: 10E (Production Date - in this case last week Oct 1975) AN7 (Seat type in this case-Swivel Buckets) 26X (the best I can see here is Compaticolour Blue - this means blue dash, carpet, kick panels,steering wheel column, console (if equipped), rear package tray, seat belts. If the compaticolour was not indicated, the white interior had a black dash, carpet etc.

If there is any chance that your car was sold in Canada, you can trace its history as GM Canada kept all the records such as options, dealer, production etc.

The 442 package (option W29) came with wheel opening and body side paint scheme with 442 identification, rear deck decals plus options FE2 (suspension) and Y74 (rocker panel and wheel opening mouldings is was already included with the W29 option). You could not get B84 (body side protective moulding) or FG2 (firm ride shocks - because it was included) with the W29 option.

The FE2 was higher rated front and rear springs, firm ride shocks, larger front and rear stabilizer bar, 7inch wheels.

Cars of this year could be ordered with SSII wheels (Argent gray) or body colour. Body colour wheels were called SSIII. Most of this era were body colour.

Hope that helps a bit.

442much

Kelvin, you must have a white interior I'm guessing. is your dash, carpets etc. blue?

Also where did you see the pictures of Tricia's car?

BlackSnshine442

I have an "album" on this site, the last time I checked I had all the privacy settings set to "everyone"-because I really don't care who sees or reads what ya know? Ken, you should be able to see my car and I know I need to put pics on the 73-77 registry and forum sites too. So, wow...scott 442, 25K? That's awesome! I've heard alot about the forgotten years cars values slowly increasing but that's off the hook! From the moment I saw my car, I new I wasn't going to deviate from stock-I'm a fan of you Ken! What you've done with "The Beast" over the years is the path I intend to follow. I've got my work cut out for me! My 15yr old son will need a car soon...omg...I feel so...OLD! Well, now, in the trunk on the day I bought 'ol Roger, there was indeed black carpeting. After looking at it, it's definitely from an interior. Why would someone do all that work? The whole steering column in my car is blue etc. I understand the carpet I guess because they "fixed" part of the floorboard. The console is blue, yeah, everything but the seatbelts and wheels. I will jump back online in a bit, hungry teenagers want food now!

macrover

Scott...25K???! Wow, that's awesome! Do you have any info on the auction and/or the car? I'd like to check out the details if they're available. Nice to see the mid 70's cars getting some attention.

Ken, yes...my dash, carpet, console, steering column, and package tray (what's left of it) are blue. Compaticolor is typed on the dealer receipt. However, all of my seat belts are black.

Tricia, are you thinking of giving your son first dibs on your 442?

What am I asking, I know better! The 442 is yours and he'll have to find him something else.

scott_442

http://raleighclassic.com/new/inventory.php?pid=10

The 442 I mentioned is lot 736...has only 5700 miles.

They aren't going to post results but I was there when this one crossed the block for 25. The silver 76 sold for 12.5 and the yellow one was in the 13's. All nice Oldsmobiles!

BlackSnshine442

I'm sorry I never made it back online the other day, darn kids eat up all of my free time and anything that's in the fridge! Ken, you're awesome! Yes, you helped me out greatly. Thank you so very much! Kelvin, the car will be passed on to my son if something were to happen to me. He knows it's the only material possession I care about. As far as for him and his 1st vehicle...wow...he's loved Ferraris since he was 2 but has learned to appreciate any finely built, clean looking, powerful car. I could see him in 69 Barracuda all the way to say a 2013 Lambo! Sometimes I ponder if he's my beloved Uncle Roger, reincarnated!
Hey, I just realized I have a tinted brow on my windshield-cool!
My exhaust manifold says this: 4177 54 RH
298 D5Y
I couldn't find info on these numbers, any ideas?

macrover

Thanks for the info Scott. Nice cars indeed, would have been nice to have that black 442 if it was indeed a 403 car.


Tricia, I'm with you now. After I'm done restoring my car, I'll hang on to it and pass it on to my son as well. Unless I get a Barrett Jackson offer I can't refuse. lol Talk about wishful thinking.

A 69 Cuda...a Lambo...

Whatever he picks, get two! I'd like to place either one of those next to my 442.

Factory tinted glass was an option so that's another cool piece to this puzzle, especially if it's the original GM glass.

I'm not sure about the numbers on your exhaust manifold. I'll have to do some research and see what information is out there.

What exactly are you wanting to know about the manifold/numbers?

brad442

That's an awesome price on the black & gold '77 442. I saw this car in person, very nice, well maintained and documented low miles. It is a correct 403 car. I looks like it still needs a good detailing like it did a couple of years ago, not to mention those non-correct "W-29" decals need to be removed. I have some photos of it on my website.

Congrats on finding your build sheet, glad the guys could decode it for you, welcome to the site!!!

BlackSnshine442

It's so hot here in WI n' we seriously need some rain! Hope everyone is well! Thank you brad442, everyone here has been awesome n' very helpful indeed. Well Kelvin, on the windshield it says on the lower right, passenger side: SHADED
SOFT-RAY
SAFETY FLO-LITE
AS-I YI-C
LAMINATED
ANTENNA
DOT 15 M28
I left the center area blank but there should be a sort of square with the letters L O F going diagonally.
I was iust curious about the manifolds as far as if they originally came on my engine and if they're anything special. My block number is: 395558 with a big 2 at the end. Oh, what's a better carb than that quadra jet?

macrover

Yep, I'd say that you have an original GM windshield.

While we're at it, might as well mention the standard GM windshield without the embedded antenna with different SOFT-RAY markings of course. I've only seen one but they're out there.

The rest of the glass should be marked SOLID TEMPERED Soft-Ray with the same AS-x (x=?...possibly being 2) code on all five panes and different FLO-LITE codes on each pair (doors and side windows). The back window will also have the same AS-x code as the pairs and depending on standard or heated glass, the FLO-LITE code will differ and the DOT 15 Mxx will probably be M74 or M81.

Hope that makes sense.

Sounds like you have the factory manifold as well, nothing spectacular about them as far as I know. I haven't deciphered the manifold markings beyond the 417754 RH or GM Y 411961 on the driver side. The remaining number(s)/letter(s) maybe be date/time stamps. I dunno so I'm no help there.

As far as carbs are concerned, I'll leave that for the experts.

BlackSnshine442

Kelvin, you're a dear! I can't thank you enough, seriously! Every time I learn that something else on or in my car is correct for it makes me giddy! The carb question is actually from my husband. Uhg! He wants to make my car faster etc n' I'm concentrating on restoration. Right now neither of us can do anything when it's so bloody hot! I do have my seats in my bedroom because I'm very carefully searching for the ever elusive buildsheet. Oh, on my car, should there be white stripes on the vinyl parts of the bumpers or no? I don't have any n' I think that's how they're supposed to be.

macrover

Well shucks, glad I'm able to help.

Hmm, I think it would take more than the carb to make the car faster, unfortunately.

I ran across a 1977 Y76 lansing built car in a salvage yard and the only documentation I found in the car was a broadcast card like the one you found in your car. Not saying the elusive Lansing build sheet doesn't exist but don't get your hopes up too high.

It's a sauna here in Texas too...I can relate to the temps being too high for working on a car.

You're correct, the bumper impact strips should be black without the white striping. Although, I have seen a 77 442 with the white striping on the rear bumper strip. Whether it was a factory installed original, who's to say.

442much

White striping is correct on the 77 but not the 76. As for the Lansing build sheets, I've heard people say that that the sheets weren't available on Lansing cars, when in fact they weren't supposed to be available for any car no matter what plant they were manufactured in. All the plants were supposed to remove them. They weren't left there on purpose. So some cars have them, some don't.

brad442

White striping is incorrect for the '77 Cutlass S and 442 models. The white striped bumper impact strips came on the Cutlass Supreme and Brougham models. '76 model Supremes and Broughams received the solid black strips as well.

442much

I stand corrected. I knew the 76's didn't have the white stripe on the impact strips. Didn't know it was only on the more expensive models in 77.

BlackSnshine442

Ah, my dad's bbeloved '77 Cutlass Supreme Salon had the white stripes. Whatta ride! He let us kids drive it when we needed a car, I used to be a detailer so I always kept her purdy for him. One rainy night on his way to drop it off at the shop, a well known n' drunk guy in his van decided to hit his brakes n' attempted to turn right to stop off for a few more drinks at a local bar. My dad was coming down a hill, he had big ol meats on the rear of his car, well they hit that water n' thought it was time to float! He had no chance of stopping, turning didn't do anything. His wife was behind him n' saw it all. It was a mess! That van was full of beer cans but that guy got nothing because of who he was, that's Lake Geneva for ya! My dad amazed everyone by being perfectly ok but he got a ticket n' to this day a whole in his heart from the loss of his car. I saw the aftermath...I don't know how he even got out of after the crash! He ended up selling what was left of his car for parts. It's a terrible thing to see my daddy cry, I hope I never have to again...although life has a way of bringing on the pain because without it how can there ever be happy n' wonderful days?

BlackSnshine442

Please help! I put an ad in the for sale section...I don't want my car auctioned off by the bank! It doesn't deserve that!! I need to sell it or if someone can assume the payments? I'm beyond devasted n' I'm not even gonna go there, so, call or text me at 920-460-3206. My name is Tricia.

BlackSnshine442

Nevermind...the bank just called n' said no one can assume payments. It's too late, my "Roger" must be turned in no later than this Fri 5pm. There aren't enough words to describe the pain I'm feeling right now.

442much

Tricia, what happened? Can you sell it to a friend and buy it back later?

BlackSnshine442

Ken, if I can call you my friend, then I would you and my son's dad Jeff. He's in the midst of a bitter divorce. My husbands "friends" are only around when they need something from him. Any dealings with family members is a no go n' would take forever to explain why. I would love to tell ya my life story n' how it pertains to what's happened but that would take even longer than forever! To sum it up...we refinanced the 1st loan on Roger in order to pay off n' catch up on a buncha bills in Nov last yr. My husband wasn't getting any hours at his job n' left to go to another one. He was fired over a minor saftey violation right before he was to end his probationary period. How convienent, right? We lived off of my pittance from disability until his old job called him back. Meanwhile, we pawned everything we had of value, took out a title loan on his car, I have a random loan that I got from an offer in the mail, he has another loan from a place that helps you build your credit...we borrowed money from his mom(not a good idea). The rent, power,phone n' little credit card all fell behind along with these loans.

BlackSnshine442

So, now, one loan place is taking him to court on the 18th. I found out about the loan against Roger being in such great default about two hours after I posted on the forum yesterday. Talk about a sixth sense! My husband wasn't answering their calls n' was hiding the mail from me (AGAIN). That's why they got drastic, I told the lady whats been going on n' she made me cry because she was so bitchy when I told her I was on disability. So...she said to surrender the car or pay off the entire loan. I kinda laughed at that. If someone assumed the payments she said they would have to pay our loan off first n' then start over with their own. Why doesn't that seem right? I will let you n' anyone else who reads this know what happens over the next couple of days, especially if we absolutely must surrender. I will try to then get auction details so maybe somone on this site can buy Roger.

442much

Sorry to hear that Tricia. If your husband was in the US military, Canada is looking to fill 114,000 jobs with US Vets. It's mostly in the oil patch. They feel if they have to go outside the country for foreign workers, they'll look for Americans as we don't really consider you guys "foreign".

It's minimum wage to start (around $100,000 CAD which is about $98,000 USD). They are looking for former US military because they hear that they are the most qualified of the people that have a hard time getting jobs. If your husband or you are former US military, don't mind living in Canada for at least a few years, then contact a Canadian consolate in your city or close by and ask about this. It can't hurt to ask. Good luck.