hi

i m a new member
I ve bought a 71 442 holiday coupe as a real W30 but she missing some details like red inner fenders.

i ve contacted GM classic but they don t have invoices before 1977.

what can i do?
i m sure that one of you can help me
nobody has the archive?

i you need further details like VIN,sure i will give you


best regards

 

Welcome.

Posting the VIN would be a good start.
Pics and a description of the car may also be helpful.

 

If your car is automatic, then follow these steps:

1. Check the 7th character for the letter “M”. Example 344871M. If the 7th character is “M” jump to step 3.
2. Your car is not a W30. Stop here.
3. Check the driver side of the transmission and look for the VIN# stamp. If the last 6 digits stamped on the transmission matches the last 6 digits of the VIN on your title, then your car has the original transmission and you should proceed to step 4. Otherwise, the transmission has been changed.
4. Check the passenger side of the transmission and look for a metal tag that says "OW". If “OW” tag is present, then your car is a true W30. If the tag on your # matching transmission is anything but "OW", then your car is NOT a W30.

 

Unless of course the tag has been changed to fool people.
The ONLY way to be positive is to find a build sheet with the VIN and W30 on it.

 

guys

thanks for your answers

My VIN is 344871M191557 so it seems to be be a real one, but some details are wrong, like inner fenders, the hood seems to be aftermarked.

GM sent to me documents which said that the block have to be in metallic blue with a serial number 409160 and H letter on front of left cylinder head and rear of right cylinder head.

for the build sheet, i would like so much to have it one, but who can give me this, how can i do to investigate, even GM doesn't have it

if somebody knows how to do, please give me some advices.

 

The build sheet is a piece of paper that the factory line workers used to know what pieces to put on which cars while they were building them. Once the car was finished, those papers were of no use to them so they would simply stick them in the car somewhere just to get rid of it.
Common places they have been found include taped to the top side of the glove box. On the outside so you can't see it unless you take the box out or reach up behind the dash and feel for it. Stuffed into the seat back springs in the upper seat back on bucket seats. Under the carpet. Above the gas tank, between the tank and the bottom of the trunk floor. Behind the rear seat back. There may be other places as well. Here's a pic of one. You can see the rusty shape of the seat springs on this one.
All w30's were built in Lansing Michigan so the letter M in the VIN for Michigan simply means that the car was made in Mich. This shows that the car _COULD_ be a w30 but doesn't prove it. Not having an M in the VIN _WOULD_ prove that it was not a w30.

 

To clarify, an "M" in the VIN does not "prove" that a car is a W-30, but any other assembly plant certainly proves that it is NOT. All W-30s were built in Lansing, along with a very large number of regular 442s. There is no way to prove the car is a W-30 from the VIN in 1971. Unfortunately, everything that makes the car a W-30 can be bolted onto any other 442 (or Cutlass for that matter). If key elements like the inner fenders and hood are suspect, definitely be cautious before dropping big bucks.

Without the build sheet or other hard proof (like an invoice or a broadcast card with the W-30 designation), everything else is suspect. In these cases I look for the correct equipment (H heads, correct intake and carb, etc) and then look to see if the parts appear to have been born with the car. If the car is a total resto and has all these parts, I'm always suspect since it's easy to bolt them on during reassembly. I'll always take a worn, apparently original car over a total resto of questionable lineage.

Yes, in this case an automatic trans with the OW tag and matching VIN deriviative is the best available proof, but as noted, you can get repro OW tags. If the tag looks 40 years old, that's a little better.

 

One thing I would add is that you've been asking about who to contact to get paperwork....There is no paperwork to document Oldsmobiles except for those purchased in Canada. GM won't help you (they will take a bunch of money from you and you get back squat though ).

Oldsmobile records were thrown out, burned or whatever story you want to believe, years ago. Without original documentation that comes with the car you can't prove it's a W30 (& lately a lot of forged build sheets seem to be showing up so who knows what you can believe)

 

guys

thanks for all your answers

i finally had the name of the previous owner, i will contact him to know if he has the build sheet and another details

for GM, I agree, they took me 50 dollars and i received many documents but not the build sheet

on saturday i will inspect the car with professionals,especially under the car, i will able to see for the transmission and other parts.

thanks for your help, i will keep you in touch

bye

 

Any updates?

 

hi

thanks for taking news
i ve passed successfully the technical control

after further investigations, i ve got some options like W30 have (example option JL2)
serial number for exhausts are W30
block is correct (396021F)
the intake manifold is an Edelbrock (aftermarket?)OLDS W-455 intake

i will search under the carpet for the product sheet

i ll keep you in touch

best regards

 

These were used on all big block A-body cars built from 1969-1972, not just W-30s

Again, every 455 cast from 1968-1972 (and some through at least 1974), not just W-30s

Edelbrock doesn't make repro W-455 intakes, but others do. There will be a casting date on the underside if this is an original intake. Of course, this could have been bolted to any big block Olds.

 

Where are you located?? This is starting to look like a new form of one of those "Nigerian Bank Letter" scams.

 

Hi, i looked under the carpet and i found...nothing,i found only rust,i ve also looked in the glove box and nothing too. I m going to look behind the rear seat.i m located in France. I keep you in touch.best regards

 

look under the back seat in the springs, may be something wrapped around a spring

 

Front seats also...check under the buckets in the springs. The broadcast card isn't a real large piece of paper. Only about 4 x 7" or so....sort of like an old IBM computer punchcard.

 

They put the build sheets in various locations. Seat springs (front and rear), behind the front seat backs, under the rear package tray (the shelf in the rear window), on top of the gas tank, .....I can't think of anywhere else at the moment, but I'm sure they have been found elsewhere in the cars.

 

Lansing was notorious for NOT leaving build sheets in the cars mostly. Not saying they wouldn't be found now and again, but from what I've seen over the years, a Lansing build sheet is a rare bird to be found in these cars.

 

hi guys
i was scary that you were right and you were...

i dismantled the front seats and the back seat, i looked inside them and i found nothing (look pictures).

normally, the build sheet has to be in the spring, no need to dismantle the whole seat

my only hope is in the build sheet above the gas tank

thanks for your advices

best regards