All,

I've got a 1969 442 Vert that I'm in the process of restoring. From the cowl tag I was able to determine that it is a triple black car... but that was all. It's a Lansing built car, so there wasn't a build sheet to be found.

My questions pertain to the wheels and striping if there was any...

The car currently has SSII wheels, where the backs seem to be slightly wider than the front and have different trim rings. The spare is a blue steel wheel, with what appears to be an era correct white wall tire - not sure they are original to the car. Is there a way to find out what types of wheels originally came on the car?

As I've stripped through 2 repaints and the original black, I haven't seen any signs of pin-striping. Is there a way to find out if the vehicle originally had pinstriping and what color it would be? Any help is much appreciated

 

wheels in 69 were 14 by 6 whether they were steel wheels w hub caps or Super Stock 1's or Super Stock II's.






So without dealer invoice or build sheet no way to know what your car came w originally


In 69 there were outlined hood stripes on the hood panels and outlining on the trunk. If the original color was black chances are the stripes were white or red. These stripes were part of the 442 option. Now because of the black color it is possible original owner decided no stripes

 

But no way to know for sure? Another curiosity...is there a way to find out the original dealership?

 

no unless you track down the previous owners. But regardless only 14 by 6's offered in 69 for the 442's


even if you do find the original dealership now the issue of records or better yet lack there of

 

Is the spare wheel the same color as the original color of the car? If it is, that might be a clue that the car originally came with steel wheels. Is the white wall tire really a white wall (about 3/4" to an inch wide) or is it a white stripe tire (about 3/8" wide)? If it is a Firestone, Goodyear, or Uniroyal tire with a white stripe, and the tire looks like it might be original to the car, and the wheel is the same color as the original color of the car, it might be the original spare.


The wheels on the car that you describe sound like 14X7 SSII wheels on the rear and 14X6 SSII wheels on the front. The way you can tell is to look at the trim ring. If the opening for the valve stem is closed, it's 14X7. If it is open on the back side, it is 14X6. SSII wheels of that era had bolt-on center caps. The later version (SSIII) had snap-on center caps.


Striping for '69 A-body cars is outlined manual section 1-4, page 400 (W42 hood stripe), page 401 (Y73 hood stripe), and page 402 (rear deck paint stripe), of the '69 Cutlass/4-4-2 assembly manual.


Randy C.

 

Yea, the backs are definitely 14x7's and don't belong. It doesn't sound like I have the original spare either which isn't a big deal. Yea, I've checked out the pages you mentioned in the assembly manual. If it has W42 hood stripes, wouldn't that be shown on the cowl tag? I do appreciate the help you guys.

 

no never seen that on a cowl tag

 

For a black car, the choices are white, gold, red, or blue. I bet there was a way to delete the stripes too. Not sure why you suggest the original owner may have specified no stripes due to the black color.

 

Very cool! Thank you!

 

simply because it may have been a possibility since current owner could not find any evidence of original stripes.
Why else would I suggest that.

 

This may be a 68 only thing but in 68 if there are two clips for the lug wrench at the back of the trunk then the car came with SSII's. Conventional rims stowed the lug wrench under the spare.


If I paid the $10 for Wildaboutcars I'd go check and see if 69 was the same.....but I didn't.......so I can't.......sorry

 

'69 is the same. I've got both - a '68 that came with steel wheels and a '69 that came with the disc brake SSI wheels.


Randy C.

 

A lot can happen in 45 years, so I found it curious.

Anyway, I reckon white would be the default stripe on a black car, although I don't even know if there was a default stripe - for 1970, I know there was.