turquoisethief

Hi, I own what I believe to be a real 1970 442 W-30 convertible. What is the best way to verify? Red plastic fender wells(check) LAN in crowl tag for Lansing(check) M in vin# for Lansing(check) Does not have F heads due to not the orig motor.

Someone said there is a paper under the carpet located beneath the driver seat?

Any info would be appreciated

joe_padavano

The "paper" is the build sheet that the factory used to identify parts and options to install on the car when it was being assembled. There may or may not have been a build sheet left in the car, and if it was it could be almost anywhere. I've owned about two dozen Olds A-body cars in the last 30+ years, and so far I've found exactly one build sheet (on top of the gas tank). Also, it appears that cars built in Lansing are less likely to have build sheets than those from other factories.

Unfortunately, authenticity is difficult to verify without the build sheet. Tens of thousands of non-W-30 442s were built in Lansing. The red inner fenders are bolt-on parts and good quality repros are now available (the original repros were awful). The original engine is gone, which is really the heart of teh W-30 package. If the car is an automatic, finding the original OW code TH400 with a VIN derivative stamp that matches the car's VIN is good evidence, but even OW tags are now available as repros, as are the aluminum intake manifolds.

The bottom line is the car needs to have the correct equipment, and this equipment needs to look like it has been installed since the car was new. A freshly restored car with everything bright and shiny makes me nervous that the W-30 parts were installed as part of the restoration.

turquoisethief

Many thanks for all the info Joe. Very helpful. Since I posted I have been turning wrenches. Dropped the tank and pulled the driver seat. Found nothing so far.

Seems like you could just run the cars vin # somehow. Oh well...

The only numbers on the heads read CFD 409 100 What does that mean? Where would the F or E be located?

-The block reads 396021 F

-The trany reads 862 3599 CFD-7
15-6
70 06 1765 (can't recall the ow when we dropped it)

The car VIN is 344670M112598 Cowl tag 34467LAN213447

What do you make of all that?

stevengerard

it's a real 442 convertible because of the 34467
3 = oldsmobile
44 = 442
67 = convertible

There should be a tag on the Transmission about 2" x 1" that will say either OG or OW in big printed letters with smaller stamped letters below that should include the year, OW or OG. OW = W-30, OG = 442

Check on the frame rail under the drivers door, there usually is a stamped VIN number should mathc the VIN on your car.

My car is in peices and there is no build sheet with lots of W-30 parts on it so good luck

By the way the E or F you can see on the top of the Heads on the driverside near the front

turquoisethief

Thanks again!

I remember the tag on the trany but can't recall what it said. Will have to try and look again.

The head has a big G on it. Were there G heads?

What about the aluminan center section on the rear end? Was that W-30?

joe_padavano

Neither the VIN nor the cowl tag will tell you if the car was a W-30 or not. 1972 was the first year that the engine code was in the VIN. Does this car have a full aluminum center section on the rear axle or just the cover? The complete W-27 axle was a very rare option, but again it is a bolt-in part that can be changed. If it's the cover only that was available from the dealer parts counter and is also available now as a repro.

G heads were used on all 1971 455 motors except the W-30. Is the aluminum intake in place? What's the carb number?

Wireman134

Look for the VIN on the drivers side of the block bellow the head were the G is located. The last six digits of the VIN number, the year of the block, and the assembly plant stamped on the driver's side of the block below the cylinder head. Equals numbers matching block...

turquoisethief

Thanks however when I purchased the car I was informed it was not the original motor. I'm trying to determine if it's a true however W-30 model w/o the orig motor. Still trying to determine if the trany is orig as well.

turquoisethief

hey joe i recently discovered that the entire center section of the rear end is aluminum not just the cover however the trany has a OG not an OW on the tag. what do you think?

turquoisethief

actually duh!!! lol
the rear end has a big w-27 stamped right on it. now i'm really confused about this car. lol

Jamesbo

W-27 Option Package

turquoisethief

Yeah thanks I read that on the Olds Faq. What about boxed rear control arms? I read where that is a w-30 sign as well. My car has rear boxed control arms.

joe_padavano

All 442s (including W-30s) and all Cutlii with the FE2 suspension package got the boxed rear arms.

Oldsguy

However, could the boxed control arms be ordered without the FE2 package as an individual item?

joe_padavano

Not unless they were bought individually at the parts counter. They only came with the rear anti-sway bar.

turquoisethief

well to sum things up i have red fender wells(that look factory installed), his/hers hurst, ram air fully functional hood, full aluminum w-27 rear end and boxed control arms with a F 455 block, G heads, and 400 trany with og stamped on it. i was informed the motor was not orig when i purchased the car. have searched everywhere for a build sheet but nothing yet. i feel it was a real w-30 originally and someone put a 442 newer drive train in it at some point.

thanks for all the help!