hey gang, i am new, a pontiac guy by trade, but may be moving into the lovely world of olds as well.....

my uncle and i do projects together, all pontiac. but, since forever, he has always wanted an olds car as well. here is the situation: he has come across a 1966 L-69 equipped 442, and i have done some research on vin tag, data tag decoding, (i know ALL this stuff for pontiac, but not so much olds.....) but is there a way to define exactly what this car came with engine wise and option wise? we have phs services to send a vin number into, and it gives you the car details, but i haven't located that service for olds yet. (i am using the search feature as we speak, but have not located quite what i am looking for yet......)

basically, i am just trying to verify that the car is what is says it is, that is is originally an L-69 equipped 442, if the options are what it really came with, and just learn more about the world of oldsmobile in general, as far as documenting what is what......


any and all info appreciated, or if there are some 'L-69' aficionados on here you could refer me to for a more private querying, that would be amazing!





here is a pic of our gto, ( i do concourse stock stuff too!) and maybe i will be posting pics of an olds soon as well...........

thanks gang,

davey

 

PHS-type documentation doesn't exist for Olds like for Pontiac. Add in the fact that there were a lot of 66 cars that had the L-69 Track-Pak dealer installed and things get muddy real quickly.

Fisher Body option codes are listed on the data plate and there are several guys here who know those codes as well as most of the W30 and factory and dealer installed L-69 VINs.

 

As Glenn noted, the build records for Oldsmobile do not exist. If you can find a build sheet inside the car (no a certainty by any stretch) that is the best you can do. Also, since the VIN derivative stamping on the engine did not start until the 1968 model year, only the Protect-O-Plate will tell you if the engine is "numbers matching", and even then, all it proves is that one head is original (the engine number was on the front of the RH cylinder head).

 

VIN won't tell much of anything more than the model
Post (or email me) the data plate info, and we'll tell you what we can.

 

Welcome to CO. Hope your car is true-blue.

 

You can infer a bit more than the above posts discuss. The Tri Carb option became available in Dec. 65 so a car built before then was converted (PN 397615) from a Quadrajet. Secondly, the sequence number on the head will be V###### for a regular 442 in 1966, and will have the suffix T if Tri Carbs. Toronados had N######T on the end of the head. Beyond that, there were three castings of the Tri Carb intake, AL, AU, and AZ which help to see if the build date of the car is reasonable vs. the casting. All Tri Carb cars had manual transmissions so the frame would have the welded on Z bar bracket.

There have been a couple detailed threads in the past. I suggest you search the forum.

 

Welcome to the site Davy! Good Luck with the car, but if you decide to pass on it keep looking! Are you and your Uncle wanting a fairly complete driver or project car? I can keep my eyes open for you in Southern Oregon. John

 

thank you all for the help people!

i have learned a ton in short order. it looks like he will be a go on this car, i am very excited. we do everything together, so i will be knee deep in this ride too, even though he will be sole owner, (our first non-partner deal, i am broke!)

we got some detailed history on it from the gentleman who restored it, and it seems legit. it's a neat car, and i will definitely become a more active member around here in the olds family, very excited!



thanks again peeps, see you soon, hopefully with pics!


davey

 

As Rund to Rund said, The T heads and the build date will tell you if you are looking in the right direction. They are crucial but also heads could have been changed.

 

real quick, does the data plate have the build date of the car on it?

oh, the heads are 'T' heads too, so that's good.....

thanks again!


davey

 

Just about anything can be faked when it comes to these cars to make them look original. I used to own an L69 car, but I know that it was added after the fact. At the time, I was told about (and later communicated briefly with, th ough never pursued it) a fellow who had perfected a stamp to create the "T" suffix. That said, if the car has all the correct components that distinguish a correct tri-carb installation (special water pump bypass hose, fuel pump, throttle bellcrank arm, primary throttle rod to carb, extra tall oil filler tube, glass fuel bowl-type filter, etc.), you should be happy with it regardless. They are impressive when you open the hood, especially when all the correct original components remain (or even if they were added after the fact).

 

yes, there will be something like 06B for second week of June, or 10c for third week of October in the top left area of the plate.