When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Starting with the 1972 model year, the 442 was demoted to an "appearance and handling" option package, available with any engine offered that year. As a result, it was possible to buy a 1972 442 with a 350 2bbl single exhaust motor that was rated at a pavement-ripping 160 HP net. Sad but true. Prior to 1972, the answer is no.
Thank you, that is what I have found also. But, I have someone telling me they had a 69 442 with a 350. No idea if he's just to old to remember our is just confused. 🤷🏻♂️
Thank you, that is what I have found also. But, I have someone telling me they had a 69 442 with a 350. No idea if he's just to old to remember our is just confused. 🤷🏻♂️
Not from the factory. Look, this is easy. From 1968-on, every car built by Olds had a VIN derivative number stamped on the block that matched the VIN of the car (hence the term "matching numbers"). If the engine doesn't have a matching VIN derivative, it wasn't installed in that car by the factory.
This was a car he had as a kid. The car is long gone. I just think he is mistaken on it being a 442 or it being a 350. He used Google to prove that the 442 could come in a 350. But, he is one of those people that will argue this to no end. So, I figured I would just verify (for my own personal info) what I had already believed to be true.
I have a 72 442 Convertible that was born with a 350 2 Bbl single exhaust and even though it is a documented W 29 people still wont believe it is a real 442
I have since upgraded to 4 Bbl dual exhaust with trumpet tips so as long as I don't open the hood they don't think to argue with me
1980 442 had a 350. And as mentioned, the 72 442 could be had with a 350. That would complete the list of all the factory 350-powered 442s.
Not quite. The 350 was offered with the 442 package every year from 1972-1977 and again for the 1980 cars (and the 1979 H/O if you count that). In fact, the 350 was the base engine with the 442 package for model years 1972-1974 and again in 1980. For the 1975-79 model years the base engine was the a six (the Chevy I6 and then the Buick V6). Think about that for a second - a 1975 442 with the I6 and 3-on-the-tree manual trans. Talk about pavement-ripping!
Not quite. The 350 was offered with the 442 package every year from 1972-1977 and again for the 1980 cars (and the 1979 H/O if you count that). In fact, the 350 was the base engine with the 442 package for model years 1972-1974 and again in 1980. For the 1975-79 model years the base engine was the a six (the Chevy I6 and then the Buick V6). Think about that for a second - a 1975 442 with the I6 and 3-on-the-tree manual trans. Talk about pavement-ripping!
Ooh, yeah forgot about the boat era 442s. D'oh! Wasn't thinking that very clearly. That was a pretty big mis-remember there. I'm getting too old for this crap. I'm not even going to count the 78/79 442s at all, even if you couldn't get a 350 in them. For one thing, the body style wasn't anything to write home about. You could get your 442 with a 4 on the floor again, but you had to get power from a 305 Chebby V8 to do it.
I'm not counting the 79 H/O since it wasn't a 442. And 78/79 442 didn't have a 350 available as it was. Even the H/O's in the boat era based the W-25 with the 350 and you had to get W-30 to get the 455 in '75. There were a bit more 350 H/Os that year than 455 H/Os. Hence, you just knew THAT was the year all good things were coming to an end...
This was a car he had as a kid. The car is long gone. I just think he is mistaken on it being a 442 or it being a 350. He used Google to prove that the 442 could come in a 350. But, he is one of those people that will argue this to no end. So, I figured I would just verify (for my own personal info) what I had already beloved to be true.
In 1969 and 1970 there was a W31 option for 442s that came with a 325hp 350ci engine. It had 360 foot pounds of torque. It also came with either a manual 3 or 4 speed as well as a 3 speed automatic. My dad had one. There was only 1,352 of them produced in 1970, but they did exist. So the old guy may not be lying. Just Google the 1970 W31 442. It was a badass car.
Last edited by Robarn1117; Oct 12, 2024 at 05:51 PM.
In 1970 there was a W31 option for 442s that came with a 325hp 350ci engine. It had 360 foot pounds of torque. It also came with either a manual 3 or 4 speed as well as a 3 speed automatic. My dad had one. There was only 1,352 of them produced, but they did exist. So the old guy may not be lying. Just Google the 1970 W31 442. It was a badass car.
Do you know your resurrecting an old thread and not providing accurate info?
W-31 option was never available on a 442. It was an option available on a Cutlass S or F85 models.
Do you know your resurrecting an old thread and not providing accurate info?
W-31 option was never available on a 442. It was an option available on a Cutlass S or F85 models.
I was a kid when my dad had that car, but everything I’m finding says you’re wrong.
Robarn1117 Volo cars is in the business of sales. The wording is cross promotion.
W31s are incredibly rare and special cars. Oldsmobile's mightiest small block. But they are absolutely not 442s.
Interestingly they are quicker than many actual 442s.
I was probably 7 years old when my dad owned that car. All I know is, it had 442 on the side and had a 350 engine. That was in about 1974 or 75; so it’s been a while. I do know he got in a lot of trouble with that car. It could smoke a set of tires completely off. lol It could have very easily been a replacement engine, but it was definitely a W31. Wish I had it now. Thanks for the info, and sorry for resurrecting an old thread. I was just watching the Barrett Jackson Auction and saw a 442. It made me start Googling and I wound up here.
I was a kid when my dad had that car, but everything I’m finding says you’re wrong.
The whole point of the 442 was the big block engine (400 for 1965-69 and 455 for 70 and 71). The first time Olds ever put a 350 in a 442 was the 1972 model year, when the 442 got demoted to a "handling and appearance" package. The W31 was a performance package on the F85 and Cutlass models, not the 442. And FYI, use factory literature for proof, not something you pulled off the web. This may come as a shock, but much of what you read online is not correct.
This is from the 1968 Salesmans SPECS booklet. Note that the only standard and optional engines offered in the 1968 442 were 400 cu in.
Robarn1117 Volo cars is in the business of sales. The wording is cross promotion.
W31s are incredibly rare and special cars. Oldsmobile's mightiest small block. But they are absolutely not 442s.
Interestingly they are quicker than many actual 442s.
I was probably 7 years old when my dad owned that car. All I know is, it had 442 on the side and had a 350 engine. That was in about 1974 or 75; so it’s been a while. I do know he got in a lot of trouble with that car. It could smoke a set of tires completely off. lol It could have very easily been a replacement engine, but it was definitely a W31. Wish I had it now. Thanks for the info, and sorry for resurrecting an old thread. I was just watching the Barrett Jackson Auction and saw a 442. It made me start Googling and I wound up here.
Speaking of incorrect info, even the factory literature has it's moments. I just noticed a mistake on the engine availability table I posted above from the 1968 SPECS booklet. Note that the RPO L65 Turnpike Cruiser option for the 442 carries footnote C, which says "Available at lower cost". The reality was that the Turnpike Cruiser option was a $236.97 EXTRA cost option - for the privilege of getting 35 FEWER HP and 15 less ft-lbs of torque out of the 400 motor. There's a reason why these are rare. Seriously, this is obviously a typo, as the RPO L65 low compression 350 2bbl motor in the Supreme that also carries footnote C was, in fact, a $33.70 credit option. Also note that the engine RPO codes don't mean the same thing across model lines.
Last edited by joe_padavano; Oct 13, 2024 at 05:16 AM.
I can attest that 1972 350 442 had no cutouts. I bought a 99% original 3 on the floor silver/black 72 442 from an older dude back in the mid-80s for chump change. Had about 79K miles on it at the time. It was kinda cool that it still was a factory Hurst shifter with the small "H" at the bottom of the stick, but it certainly had no cutout bumper. My only mod was a black fuzzy T-handle shifter. This is also when I learned the hood stripes were vinyl tape but the side and trunk stripes were painted on. It's only "rarity" was that it was a silver 3 speed 350 442. They only made a handful of those like that.
I think confusion exists because when cutout bumpers first appeared, the 442 W29 included a big block and trumpet exhausts and this was NOT a separate, or alterable, RPO. In 72, that changed with the 455 being an option on the 442. So when people see a 72 442 with a 350 and no cutouts, they think it's somehow wrong. As Joe pointed out, save for the Rallye 350, the cutouts were a big block 442 thing from 68-72.
I can attest that 1972 350 442 had no cutouts. I bought a 99% original 3 on the floor silver/black 72 442 from an older dude back in the mid-80s for chump change. Had about 79K miles on it at the time. It was kinda cool that it still was a factory Hurst shifter with the small "H" at the bottom of the stick, but it certainly had no cutout bumper. My only mod was a black fuzzy T-handle shifter. This is also when I learned the hood stripes were vinyl tape but the side and trunk stripes were painted on. It's only "rarity" was that it was a silver 3 speed 350 442. They only made a handful of those like that.
I think confusion exists because when cutout bumpers first appeared, the 442 W29 included a big block and trumpet exhausts and this was NOT a separate, or alterable, RPO. In 72, that changed with the 455 being an option on the 442. So when people see a 72 442 with a 350 and no cutouts, they think it's somehow wrong. As Joe pointed out, save for the Rallye 350, the cutouts were a big block 442 thing from 68-72.
Keep in mind that many people (myself included) who owned a small block car retrofitted a cutout bumper. Back in 1979 I owned a 1972 442 with the VIN K 350 4bbl single exhaust motor. It naturally did not have a cutout bumper. I of course added the cutout bumper when I added the dual exhaust. In any case, what may or may not have been on a car that someone owned is irrelevant unless one took delivery of that car brand new, since you have no idea what was done to it by prior owners. The factory documentation, like the PIM, is the proof. Here is the page from the 1972 PIM. It clearly says that only L75 cars (VIN U and V) with W29 and W30 (VIN X) got the cutout bumper. And yes, the 1972 H/Os were not W29 cars but still got the bumper. That is documented on a different page.
The other thing to note on this page is change A, which deleted the Y79 (Supreme SX) option for the 1972 model year.
