mefirst72

Has anyone seen this on ebay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oldsmobile-4...US_Cars_Trucks

Looks pretty good, Engine code, Cowl, etc., but the stripes are awful. Pushed so far front, they hit the wheel well.

Would a paint job, to fix something like that, move the numbers, be incredibly expensive? Any ideas, or even shops in the Chicago area

Thanks

79MKII

Great looking car but you're right on the stripes. They seem to be all over the place on the '68's. I really hate it when they don't put the gap in the stripe at the numbers...really looks bad. Here's an interesting thread on those stripes:
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...-question.html

mefirst72

Thanks!

73supreme

Here are the facts on 1968 stripes. I have researched this from the assembly manual, literature and untouched originals. The 4-4-2 came standard with a GT stripe which followed the stainless peak molding. 1 1/4" down, 3/16' to 5/16" wide depending on examples I have seen. The W-30 came with a bumblebee stripe (like Dodge Superbee) code W-36. It was also an option on non W-30 cars. VERY often guys give in to temptation and add this stripe to any 4-4-2. The results are what you see. The W-36 and W-30 cars actually had different fenders with piercing for the 4-4-2 emblems. They were placed much closer to the door edge, so that the numerals were centered in the stripe and it would look "right" and not run into the wheel opening. Hope this helps.

rcorrigan5

This is where the stripes are supposed to go!

Randy C.

sammy

Just to re affirm this.....I measured my GT ghost stripe that has become more visible as I have sanded and it is 11/4" down and 5/16 wide on my 68 442.......

73supreme

Thank you for providing the photo to help describe my contention. I just saw the new "OverHaulin" with the 1970 4-4-2. I won't put down the fooster, because I know he going for creative, but he combined the 1968 into the 1970 and created a custom destined to confuse the masses even more! I don't get how he can "feel" (contaminate) the prepaint surface with oily hands ( wedding ring too) and not compromise the topcoat, but hey, I don't have a TV show either!

mefirst72

Yep. Confirms what I've seen, and read...Thanks!

mefirst72

That's a great visual!

mefirst72

Thanks Sammy

73supreme

Yes, Sammy, yours is 5/16's, mine is 3/16's and the one at the Nats is 1/4" (posted). Please Re -read my post. As Oldsmobile's drunken C shift assembly workers would say; Results may vary! I already posted my pictures once, apparently, you can't download them twice? No argument, I have not found a factory document yet to tell me what width they were supposed to be, if you ever worked in production, you would know that specs are a joke anyway.

sammy

Uhhhh?

72xw30

IMG-20120730-00294.jpg

Sam

73supreme

Now that my work here is done, I am going over to the Buick site and kick a bee hive or two! GT stripe, GT stripe, GT stripe, sorry, Sammy, I had you confused with the gentleman who has the original Scarlet red '68 with the white GT stripe. His was 5/16" wide. Nice Willow Gold, looks like lacquer?

Allan R

Also note the positioning of the 442 numerals. They were placed differently for the W36 cars so the stripe would line up centered in the lower fender.

Nice detail pics Randy and Sam.

72xw30

Yes lacquer - original paint.

Sam

mefirst72

nice

allyolds68

Here's one before the numbers are installed & the paint is buffed. I had the black painted first then the stripe area masked off and the red laid on. Opposite of the way the factory did it. It makes the stripe deeper and they stand out better IMO. I understand the hate for the W-36 stripe but ones installed correctly set the 68 apart from the almost identical look of the 69 from the side (other than the vent window on hardtops and verts)

Allan R

Mike, Not sure I get it. Are you saying

1. Most people hate the W36 stripe?? or....
2. Most people hate that owners put the W36 stripe in the wrong place because they haven't moved the 442 numerals? (most likely...)

This is a topic that gets hashed around a lot, and it seems that everyone with a 68 442 is putting the W36 stripes on not realizing they are in the wrong place. A little homework before the paint job would cure that.

Personally, I like the W36 stripes on Randy's, Sam's and your car! Interesting way to lay down the paint. If it pops better, that's the way to go.

79MKII

So, just to be clear....were there every any stripes on the '68's that did not break at the "442" badge? I've seen a lot that are solid from top to bottom and never thought it was right...even on real high-end restorations.

Allan R

The W36 stripes always 'broke' below and above the 442 numerals. The ones you've seen as solid all the way through are simply repaints that didn't know any better. You might also see variations on the widths of the stripes based on your comment.

You should definitely go out and buy a properly done 68 vert now that you no longer have that triple green CS. Or did you buy it back? I see your sig line says 72 is current

allyolds68

A lot of people don't think they belong on 68 442 if the car didn't come that way regardless of whether the stripe & numerals are correctly positioned or not. I don't think anyone that knows Oldsmobiles likes the stripe in the wrong position, period.

79MKII

The '68 442 is my favorite but I never realized that the stripe was an option...I though all 442's came with it. Love this forum!

Oh, and I didn't buy back my car...when I'm ready to buy another it will probably be a '68 this time. Just forgot to update my signature.

Allan R

The W36 stripes were standard on 68 W30's. The other 442's automatically got the GT body side stripes unless ordered with the W36 option (it was only a paint stripe - nothing to do with performance) for a whopping exta $15.80.

I swear, if you try to find a picture of a 68 442 with GT stripes you're hard pressed. It seems that almost every picture of a 68 442 has the W36 stripe painted on, mostly in the wrong spot.

The GT stripe looks like this. Note it runs just under the fender / door / quarter window stainless and wraps around to the leading end of the drip channel by the A pillar. You wouldn't see it all with a 68 442 hardtop with a vinyl roof (option C08)

rcorrigan5

Allan,
You are so right about the Y70 GT paint stripe. I never knew, until just a couple of years ago, that the GT stripe was a part of the 4-4-2 or any kind of option at all. Even when I bought the softback book "Oldsmobile 4-4-2 and W-Machines Restoration Guide" in 2004 and saw pictures of it in the 1968 section, I thought the owners of those cars had just added the pin stripe on their own. It wasn't until recently that I realized the 4-4-2 model for 1968 came with the Y70 paint stripe unless it was deleted or "superseded" by the W36 stripe. Because it seems so rare nowadays, if I had another '68 Cutlass holiday or sports coupe, I'd put it on. And, if it was a 4-4-2 that didn't have the W36 stripe, I'd definitely put the Y70 stripe on it.

Randy C.

Allan R

Randy, the GT stripe is listed as standard 'equipment' in the 1968 Olds SPECS booklet.

442craig

Was the GT stripe offered on a convertible? I've only seen them on hardtops.

Craig

Allan R

Far as I know they'd just stop them at the end of the quarter glass area by the top trim? Probably the same for cars that got the C08 vinyl tops. My best guess anyways.

mefirst72

Exactly. It's the position. In the wrong place it makes "Olds" look like "they" made some kind of mistake. Running numbers into the fender.

allyolds68

Yes,


The stripe went all the way to the end of the 1/4 panel under the peak trim. They couldn't stop at the window or they would have had to pass through the peak trim

rcorrigan5

I wonder how many owners of brand new '68 4-4-2 holiday or sport coupes had the GT stripe deleted and didn't order the W36 stripe. I just don't recall every seeing the GT stripe on '68 4-4-2s without the W36 stripe until I learned a few years ago that they were standard issue on the '68 4-4-2.

Randy C.

allyolds68

I think the way I read these threads the car is a 68 W30 with a W36 delete and it also has a Y74 option which is the Y70 stripe delete code.


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ast-sheet.html


https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...nvertible.html


Definitely different. I'll wonder if the only way you could get a W36 stripe delete in a 68 W30 was to delete the Y70 too?

Allan R

Can't address that for 68, but I do have an image that shows the stripe delete on a 69 HO. Probably a different W code. This one deletes the 442 body piercings, hood insution, and stripes. Not sure about what piercings were needed for the console, but they're outta there too.

wmachine

The W46 was the H/O code, not the stripe delete code. *All* of that text after the W46 was for the W46.
The stripe delete code was usually Y74.

Allan R

Thanks for the clarification Kurt. Don't know why I didn't tweak to the W46 being the code also for the cowl tag.