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Yesterday I went out and purchased my dream car. I dropped it off this morning to a buddies shop to begin the restore. It was born sienna brown with sienna brown interior. Its a numbers matching 344671M car. I don't know if its a w30 car, i cant find a build sheet or P.O.P. I am definitely going to buy the w30 hood, i love the look.Everything is there besides the hood. Its all taken apart but everything is in boxes. Basically I need some insight on whether i paid too much or got a steal. So i am going to list a few pictures and you guys tell me, what would you have paid for it in this state. Keep in mind that the 455 was rebuilt and i have all the receipts totaling 7000 and some odd dollars.
Yesterday I went out and purchased my dream car. I dropped it off this morning to a buddies shop to begin the restore. It was born sienna brown with sienna brown interior. Its a numbers matching 344671M car. I don't know if its a w30 car, i cant find a build sheet or P.O.P. I am definitely going to buy the w30 hood, i love the look.Everything is there besides the hood. Its all taken apart but everything is in boxes. Basically I need some insight on whether i paid too much or got a steal. So i am going to list a few pictures and you guys tell me, what would you have paid for it in this state. Keep in mind that the 455 was rebuilt and i have all the receipts totaling 7000 and some odd dollars.
Welcome to the site Johnnie! I can only view some of your photos, not sure why. But it sounds like you've got a really nice car to build. Are you planning an original restoration or an upgrade for a fun car? I like the sienna color, I believe that was a 1971 only color. If it were a W30 with original drivetrain there would be several W30 only numbered parts. I see its an automatic, the tag on the passengerside would have OW on it. I believe the 442 without the W30 option would be OG. There is a vin stamped into the transmission on the drivers side so you could verify if the transmission is original or not. I agree the OAI hood is a nice addition to any car. What part of the country/world are you in?
Welcome to the site. The car is worth exactly what you stroked a check for. Does it really matter what anyone else thinks as long as your happy with it?
Welcome to the site Johnnie! I can only view some of your photos, not sure why. But it sounds like you've got a really nice car to build. Are you planning an original restoration or an upgrade for a fun car? I like the sienna color, I believe that was a 1971 only color. If it were a W30 with original drivetrain there would be several W30 only numbered parts. I see its an automatic, the tag on the passengerside would have OW on it. I believe the 442 without the W30 option would be OG. There is a vin stamped into the transmission on the drivers side so you could verify if the transmission is original or not. I agree the OAI hood is a nice addition to any car. What part of the country/world are you in?
John
I plan on restoring it to its original specs, and I live in the metro Atlanta area.
Yesterday I went out and purchased my dream car. I dropped it off this morning to a buddies shop to begin the restore. It was born sienna brown with sienna brown interior. Its a numbers matching 344671M car. I don't know if its a w30 car, i cant find a build sheet or P.O.P. I am definitely going to buy the w30 hood, i love the look.Everything is there besides the hood. Its all taken apart but everything is in boxes. Basically I need some insight on whether i paid too much or got a steal. So i am going to list a few pictures and you guys tell me, what would you have paid for it in this state. Keep in mind that the 455 was rebuilt and i have all the receipts totaling 7000 and some odd dollars.
You've been given some greetings already, so I'll pass on that.
Now that you have the car and are gearing up for a resto, now's the time to do the research. The nitty gritty with numbers and correct parts is the tough stuff, but the easy stuff is like what you'll find below.
- The hood you want is called W-25, not W-30.
- The standard hood with the stripe is unique for 1971, so something to consider.
- Sienna is not "brown" by name - that's "Sable." Pontiac called Sienna "Castilian Bronze" but, yeah, it looks brown. Sometimes how you call the color changes your perception of it.
- Do you plan on changing the color? If so, you have a lot of choices when you combine the stripe colors, which were black, white, gold, green, and blue. Don't rely on Internet photos to figure out combos because some are more rare than others, and some were not done correctly if you plan on going OEM.
welcome to the site. The car is worth exactly what you stroked a check for. Does it really matter what anyone else thinks as long as your happy with it?
IMO I would leave the color alone. It a great one year only color combination from the factory so I'd keep it. What color top did it come with?
In regards to it being a W-30, very unlikely. The person who sold it to you probably would have know if it was an original W-30 and priced it accordingly. They didn't make many 71 W-30 convertibles, so the price would be threw the roof if it was. But like 2blu442 stated, there are ways of finding out. Like the trans tag, does it have a factory aluminum intake manifold with W-455 on it? The heads for 71 W-30's are H heads. Very rare by the way, or does it have G heads.
Did you confirm yourself that it was numbers matching, or did you go by what the seller told you? I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, but most people don't know. The vin numbers are on the drivers side of the block on a flat section near the front. It should be easy to find with the motor removed.
Either way it's a great car! Good luck with the build and keep posting pictures of the progress.
I paid a substantial amount for it, but my substantial and someone else is very didn't. That's why I was asking how much would 1 cost in this state. I indeed checked the vin to make sure it was a numbers matching car, included are the pictures.
Originally Posted by dfire25
IMO I would leave the color alone. It a great one year only color combination from the factory so I'd keep it. What color top did it come with?
In regards to it being a W-30, very unlikely. The person who sold it to you probably would have know if it was an original W-30 and priced it accordingly. They didn't make many 71 W-30 convertibles, so the price would be threw the roof if it was. But like 2blu442 stated, there are ways of finding out. Like the trans tag, does it have a factory aluminum intake manifold with W-455 on it? The heads for 71 W-30's are H heads. Very rare by the way, or does it have G heads.
Did you confirm yourself that it was numbers matching, or did you go by what the seller told you? I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, but most people don't know. The vin numbers are on the drivers side of the block on a flat section near the front. It should be easy to find with the motor removed.
Either way it's a great car! Good luck with the build and keep posting pictures of the progress.
OW trans tag, H heads, W-455 aluminum factory manifold, for starters.
I have discover a lot about the car for the past weeks, it's not a w30 for 1. Secondly the past owner have been restoring since 1992. The engine was rebuilt by dick Miller racing in 2004 and never been ran , I have the receipts. I spoke to some one at the shop who confirmed that the engine would have a stamp from dmr, I found it. Now I don't know what to do with the engine as it sat for 12 years, any suggestions?
Prime the oil system as mentioned above. I'd pull the spark plugs and squirt some oil in each cylinder. Turn the engine over by hand a couple of times with the plugs out. Then fire it up and break in the cam if it was not done previously.
Very nice car. I've always like the '71 442 convertibles. What color stripes are you thinking of? Hopefully no deck lid spoiler will make it's way onto the convertible, as it was never available from the factory or as a dealer install. In my opinion, the spoiler completely throws off the beautiful lines of the convertible. Just curious, do you know what axle ratio the 442 has?
I have no clue what the axle ratio is. As for the spoiler, I hate the way they look also. The convertible top will be black, and I am kind of undecided if I will put stripes on it. If I do, they will be the 3 thin stripes in black.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
The car looks great so far. Bittersweet is a fantastic color, especially since your interior is Sienna.
Although the Cutlass Supreme convertible was the only body in the CS lineup that was offered for 442 (and W30), based on the pictures I don't think your car is a W30. True, that all W30's were built at Lansing and yours fits that bill, it's also missing the earmark red fender liners. Also, the intake on your 455 doesn't have the aluminum OLDSMOBILE 455 intake that came with the W30. I'm curious to see what the O code is on your transmission, and what the carb number is.
There were a lot of 442's built with the steel hood and Y73 stripe, that doesn't make it any less authentic; and IMO adding the W25 hood to a non W30 car is just extra expense (because the good hoods by Thornton aren't cheap), + you need to buy the air breather, and hardware that goes with the tie down system. It's easy enough to make a stock Cutlass S hood from 71/72 into a W29 (1972 term) style hood for the cost of an emblem and paint. Personally, I think the Y73 stripe looks great on 71 non W30 442's.
Still, IMO this car looks like it's going to be a stunning looking restoration based on what we've seen so far. Keep posting updates for us?
I love the look of the w25 hood, I had to have it! I already purchased the Thornton hood about 2 months ago it's already painted. All the panels are painted ready for assembly, pretty much just looking for bolts that match the originals. I went to year one yesterday to buy all new emblems and trim, and they didn't have any bolts. I will definitely keep posting pictures as we progress. This is my first restoration and I am learning that progress is a slow process, nothing like chip foose show on tv.
Beautiful 442. I remember bits and peices about that car, as I was interested in it. The guy selling it was selling it for a gentleman that was going through a divorce. The guy selling it had two other 442 convertibles that were 70s, I believe one was a four speed. He was well versed in these cars. He was firm at 16k when I talked to him and the car was definitely worth that.
Nice car!
I love the look of the w25 hood, I had to have it! I already purchased the Thornton hood about 2 months ago it's already painted. All the panels are painted ready for assembly, pretty much just looking for bolts that match the originals. I went to year one yesterday to buy all new emblems and trim, and they didn't have any bolts. I will definitely keep posting pictures as we progress. This is my first restoration and I am learning that progress is a slow process, nothing like chip foose show on tv.
In my opinion, Year One used to be good for parts and information, but has really slacked off lately with availability and quality of OEM parts. Been using other providers for unavailable original parts.
Beautiful 442. I remember bits and peices about that car, as I was interested in it. The guy selling it was selling it for a gentleman that was going through a divorce. The guy selling it had two other 442 convertibles that were 70s, I believe one was a four speed. He was well versed in these cars. He was firm at 16k when I talked to him and the car was definitely worth that.
Yep, that's the car! I guess I am not good as a negotiator as you because I ended up paying a little more. But that's the story that he told me also. The car was registered to a another man from Ga. Also it came with receipts that date back to 1991.
Nice car!
If you offered the dealer $$ to put one on they wouldn't take it? That's doubtful.
What I meant was that the spoiler was never offered by the factory, nor was a dealership officially authorized to install one on a convertible or Supreme - due to the spoiler not being designed for either vehicle type. But of course, a dealer would do almost anything if you offered enough money, even if it meant being "sacrilegious" and installing a Chevy engine in an Olds right there in their service bay.
I went with a thornton hood, my friend who is doing all the work said that it have to be the best reproduction part he has ever seen. He said that the fitment was about perfect and needed little tweaking.
Last edited by Johnnie5; May 31st, 2016 at 03:53 PM.
At this point I just can't wait. We have fired it up on the weekend and it sounds so stock. I imagined it have a loopy idle because it was built by dick Miller racing but it didn't turn out that way. I am going with 17" ss1 on Bfgoodrich tires, even though I wanted white letters. I also upgraded the brake system to all disc. Now we just have to run the vacuum lines and put back the rest of the interior and it is pretty much done.
Me too! The only thing is that I keep dropping money into it. That's what I was trying to avoid by selling it. After all I am happy how it's turning out. I can enjoy it for the summer and if I sell it, I had a chance to play with it.
January 3rd, 2016, 06:16 PM
