shepo1

Hi all. just joined.. I have a 68 442 i bought when i was 18.. it was primer brown with huge hood scoop and Micky Thompson 50's on the back and blown motor when I bought it.. I just happened to have a 68 Delta 88 2 door at the time that the body was toast.. but had a great motor.. so .. that's what is in there now.. Now wishing I would have kept that gold painted 400 that was in there.. but I was 18 and stupid at the time and wanted a race car..Paid 300.00 for it back then.. .. LOL.. it has gone though some changes through out the years.. got the correct hood for it and other parts over the the years.. at some point repainted it..( tried to make it look like the 442 from the Chicago "Stay the night" video where the 442 convertible jumps thru the bill board) But the guy that painted it was kinda a hack.. lol.. but it has been hiding in my garage and been in tow or on a moving truck ( not really drive able long distances.) with me since i moved away from Upper MI in 1991 down to Detroit MI then from Detroit to MN in 1997... anyway.. finally getting the bug to get cranking on her... found this forum.. and love all the invaluable knowledge that is here.. I'm sure I will be back with lots of questions.. Found some pics .. blast from the past.. maybe you will enjoy.. As you can see.. the car was pretty bastardized when i got it.. Looks like at some point it had front end damage as the 442 grill is missing.. but as you can see from the back bumper and glove box and VIN its a 442.. ( also some one decided to put a console from a 70 442 with the Hurst Dual Gate Shifter in it.. not period correct but probably worth some cash if i feel like putting the correct console in it.. anyway.. laugh away !!!

shepo1

here are some pics of original car when i got it.

shepo1

here are some after i had some fun with some paint..and wore out some tires.. !!
and how it looks now after the some what botched attempt at a real paint job..

shepo1

This is how she looks now.. kinda sad , hiding in the garage.. but ready to be dusted off and brought back to life.. Also the original title from 1984.. and a few pics of the donor of the 455 that is in her now.. ( kinda a wish i held on to the 2 door delta 88 too.. but that went to the scrap yard )

Magna86

Looks like will be a good project. For $300 I would have bought it too! Lol If I had started hot rods and motorcycles when I was 18 not sure how many I'd have now.

Yellowstatue

Hi, and welcome...so you bought the car when you were 18, and now you are 20...you have come a long way in two years... :
)

ds00469

Welcome! I love project cars where you get to drive them first and then restore them.

tru-blue 442

Welcome. Looks like a great project.

mike8162

Welcome, looks like a great project. Lots of smart guys and great info on this site.
Cheers, Mike

sammy

Yeeeeeee ha!...love it
Welcome!
After restoring a couple of Olds, I am thinking I would like a beater that I can tear off some rubber with and not have to worry about road tar or squirrel guts
Good luck with resto....

oldcutlass

Looks pretty solid. Welcome to the site.

shepo1

lol. i whish i was 20.. pushing 50... lol.. Thanks for all the welcoming comments... Its going to be a major restore.. I think probably take it down to the frame and rebuild.. but will see.. My 18 year old kid has been pestering me constantly now for the last year or so.. to get it out and rebuild it.. So that has been my reason i guess.. IF he is interested, then I think we woudl have a good time doing it.. But the thought of all the work needed is some what daunting.. but oh well. I guess will start by clearing it off and taking off the Hood and staring at the 455.. lol that should get the juices flowing so to speak.. Take care all.

gearheads78

Welcome to the site. Looks like a great way for you and your son to spend time together.

john.diggs442@gmail.com

Great story...I'm there with you; bought a 69 442 (from my Dad when he was working at a new car dealership; it was a trade in) when I was 20. Took my wife of 25 years out on our first date in this car; got married had kids and she sat neglected for 20 years. Now have the bug to get it running again and work on it with my 18 year old son. Good luck!

z11375ss

X2 on the spending time with the son thing. You can't put a price on time with your kids.

oldcutlass

Father n son projects are great when the kids are interested in the project.

Olds Wizard

I just joined too. My story is close to your story as well. Hope you get it back on the road again.

shepo1

Seems to be a lot of us with simlar stories.. LOL.. Buy a car when were young and crazy and have time to mess with it.. But not much money ( so usually not in the greatest shape) .. Get married.. have kids. Car gets put away for awhile ( about 20 years). Kid says.. "Dad, when are we going to fix up that old car !!" Those were the words I was waiting to hear now for 20 years.. !! Getting excited.!! Thanks for the kind words.. I will update the progress.. Step 1 Clean out the garage to get to the Car.. LOL..

OLD SKL 69

Welcome and post pics of your restoration when you get started.

shepo1

Hi.. just an update, the restoration has begun !!! Took a little longer to get to as i first helped my son get his 92 Mitsubishi 3000 GT up to snuff ( needed to swap out the trans and some other stuff) So i used that as my primer to get motivated to work on the olds.. seems to have worked ( that and i out fitted my garage with some new air tools and such that makes working on this stuff so much easier) Anyway.. some pics as promised..not much done yet.. but i guess getting it running and out of the garage, cleaning up the garage, and making room for the tear down is progress.. LOL.. Tempted to just drive her around for a while.. but want to use whats left of the nice fall weather to start pulling out the interior and what ever i can get done before it gets to cold ( non heated garage in Minnesota does not make for a good place to work on cars in the winter) So plan is to get all the interior into the basement so i can work on that stuff this winter.

shepo1

here are some pics. Hood looks good !!! lol.. Brakes are toast.. tried to bleed them out.. but master cylinder is toast I think.. then ended up breaking off one of the bleeders..and finally twisting off a brake line at the master cylinder, so i gave up. It will all be replaced anyway so no big deal. I drove it up and down the street anyway and left a few tire marks. My neighbor kid came over and was looking at it. Asked how much I paid for it..I told him 300$ when i was 19... He said..OH.. you should sell it to me !! ill give you 1000.00... Hmmmm I dont think so.. should have bitch slapped him.. LOL.. anyway.. on to the next steps..

boese1978

( non heated garage in Minnesota does not make for a good place to work on cars in the winter) So plan is to get all the interior into the basement so i can work on that stuff this winter.[/QUOTE]


I'm here too! Get a torpedo heater from Menard's makes the garage warm and enjoyable for not too much $$$

shepo1

Good idea on the heater.. might have to try that.. were ya at...?? I'm in Rogers.. if close by.. would love to check out your car some time and get some tips..
Take care.

Octania

Interesting... a good start.
I have some '68 expertise and some parts.

shepo1

@Octania Cool.. will take any advise and help i can get.. Also if you have some parts.. shoot me a pm if you want with what you got .. Not sure what i need yet.. but im sure a lot of the trim type stuff will need replacement. Fender bottoms are toast as usual.. not sure if i just fix that or go for replacements ? Rear quarters of course.. once i pull up the carpet i will know more about the floor pans.. but I think they are pretty solid. Car has been stored in doors so other then air, no moisture has been getting to it.. Trunk has one spot that is rusted out..but that was rusted out when i got the car back in 1984.. and I wisely tried to wire brush out as much as i could and coated it with the rust killer stuff..so I was pleasantly surprised to find that after pullout all the crap i had stored in the trunk, the the pans were all still there.. LOL.. ( i was expecting a lot more big holes.) otherwise.. looks pretty good. Trunk lid i think is ok, other then one spot on the passenger side that has some rust along the edge. Hood is ok. for sure new font bumper and rear.. as you can see the front is bent.. looks like some one hit something.. and rear as some rust holes.. I assume it is more cost effective to just get new vs repair and re-chrome?? idk.. those are the kind of things and decisions I will need to figure out i guess.. I know that years ago, the front widow was leaking near the bottom driver side. and we pulled the windshield out, and there was some rust there, we fixed it ( with bondo and rust killer) so will be interested to see how bad that is or isnt when i get to it.. but that seem kinda normal for these cars in looking at others pics of what they have ad to fix.. anyway.. thanks for the help and taking a interest.. will post more pics when i get some stuff removed..

boese1978

I am in Maplewood, East side of the Cities. Take care as well!

shepo1

Oh.. your one of those east-siders. LOL.. kidding.. !!!
Cool. well maybe we can hook up some time when i get further down the path and have lots of questions.