Hey guys I'm new to the board and wanted your opinions. Let me start by saying I have always been a MOPAR owner, but I have always loved the Oldsmobile 442 and Buick GS cars. I recently found what appears to be a super clean 1968 442 in my area.
The details I have been given on the car is that its an original 442 Sport Coupe 2 owner car. It has 68,xxx miles on it as confirmed by its title (for whatever that means) The car is supposed to be from down south and from looking at the undercarage I believe it. Its also supposed to be a number matching 400, 4spd car. Its painted a medium metalic blue with the white 442 stripe on it. I had the car up on a rack and the underneath looks very solid. I also took a paint guage and magnet over the whole body, as well as a visual and hands on check and it appears to be pretty much body filler free. One odd thing it has solid (boxed) control arms which I found pretty odd from my experience with GM's. All the electronics on the car work including the original radio.
Couple issues I found
1.) Somone painted the motor orange and chromed it up.
2.) The front seat bench/buckets was swapped out at some point with early 70's swivel buckets. While they look ok they are to tall for the car and make getting in an out very difficult.
3.) The steering wheel was swapped for a small grant unit.
I am trading the guy my 2002 Indian Chief, value of 11-13k and 1000.00 in cash for the car.
My questions
1.) How can I tell if the motor is number matching?
2.) If when I get original buckets will a big guy (6'3, 290 lbs) fit in the car and be comfortable? As I mentioned with the swivel buckets I really have to crane my neck to get in.
3.) Does this seem like a fair price?
4.) Is the 1968 442 a good year, I know a couple buddys have told me the undersquare motor isn't the greatest.

 

The body tag reads
MADE IN CANADA
A52M20
ST 68 3477 OS307698 BODY
TR 953 1-11-23 CLL PAINT
VIN matches the body...I don't have it right now.

 

Heres my Indian I'm trading him.

 

i did not know till recently but there were 442s made in Canada. just look close because i don't think that the stripe is in the correct spot. there is an entire thread on this. not all 442s had this stripe so it could have ben just added to the car.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...n-springs.html

 

Good looking car [and bike!!] The beauty of the Oshawa,Ontario made cars is that you can write to GM here and they can give you the full build sheet info on that car as it came off the line in 68. Senior +/or Cndn. site members will chime in with that info if you request it...just don't ask Joe P. unless you want a discourse on W-36 option stripe correctnessDerek[Barrie, Ont.,Canada]

 

That is a straight car.

 

H/O emblem on trunk is not correct, Shade of blue I dont think is correct. Engine should have C heads and block G if I remember correctly. Unless you are racing the 68 400 is fine. Price is about the going rate I would say. Maybe you can negotiate some because of the seats and little things that arent quite right...engine too...it should be a bronze color. Correct seats should work for your size. Boxed control arms were standard on the 442 and help verify the car. Maybe someone can decode the firewall tag for you. Not a bad car overall it would appear.

 

Nice looking car, looks like it even comes with the optional drivers side lean, might be time for some new coil springs and remove that Hurst badge.

 

Welcome and congrats, you're off to a great start with that Olds. Here's the link to the GM site to get your documentation:
http://www.gm.ca/gm/english/shopping/parts/vintage

The VIN derivative stamp should be on the engine block on the front drivers side just underneath the large letter (should be C) on the head.
VIN derivative stamp should be on the trans too to verify originality. Body tag indicates it is a M20 wide ratio Muncie. Should have a 12 bolt cover 10 bolt "O" rear.
The wheels are incorrect for '68, too, but it just depends on how original you want it to be.

The boxed rear control arms and sway bar are what give Olds superior handling.

Post coupes rule!

 

Not a word...

 

Didn't some or all the Canada cars have "C" rears?

 

All GM's have that lean LOL, especially when I'm in them. I had a 72 Impala and man that car had a serious lean. The hurst badge was put on by the previous owner, the people who have it now told me right away it wasn't real. They seem to be fairly honest and even put car on a lift for me.

 

Its deffinatly a real 442 the vin number indicates it, 344 first digits along with some of the key features.

 

Is it worth getting the documentation? I have heard some say that it doesn't really show much. The original build sheet was in about 10 million pieces. Also what is the differance between the O and C rear ends? I'm a Jeeper by nature also and I know Jeeps built in Canada typically had the stronger D44 rear ends over the US Dana 35, The D44 is much stronger.

 

Sorry about my O rear comment, 4fortwo caught me napping and reminded me that you're talking about a Canadian car, and yes it probably is a Chevy (and stronger) rear. Will have the "eyebrow" crease in the cover and be a true 12-bolt.

Yes, the documentation is worth it (IMHO). It does show every option the car came with. I'd still try to piece together what you can of the millions of build sheet pieces!

 

If you look at the engine under the drivers side head under the large cast letter (should be) "C" you should find a machind pad. There will be numbers stamped into the block there. Should read 38-XXXXXX. 3 is Olds, 8 is 1968, the - will be a letter denoting the plant where the car was manufactured and the X's match the last 6 of the VIN on the car. That will tell you if the engine is original to the car.

 

I think the bottom line is that if you want a 442, it's getting hard to find them in that shape with that much documentation! BTW, that's the 1st year of that series! '64-67 was the 1st body series. Solid buy!

Ralph

 

I have always wanted a 442, I used to like the later model HO cars the best. But with that said the 68 has really grown on me the past few weeks. I like the way the rear tail lights look simple and not overdone. I like the grill, how it doesn't meet the hood like the later models. I also like the front end it reminds me of the 67 slightly.

 

The real clincher is the fact it is a four spd car, for me that is a must have. The 68 400 is not a strip motor but for the street and stop light to stop light it gets the job done.

Great car go for it.

 

About 3/8".

The Type O axle, despite having 12 bolts on the rear cover, only uses an 8.5", ten bolt ring gear. The Type C is the traditional Chevy 12 bolt axle, which has an 8.875" ring gear held on with 12 bolts.

 

Well I'm deffinatly going to get the car I took out half the 1,000.00 today and next Friday I plan to take out the rest. Now to find a set of clean buckets to recover and a white center console for a 4spd. The buckets will need to come first so I can yank those ugly swivel buckets and actually be able to fit in the car.

 

id wait,and i sure as hell wouldnt give a dealer a deposit.

have you driven the car?that front end is sitting pretty low

no reason to jump on a car you havent really checked out,numbers wise.

when the dealer calls,and he will,tell him youre looking at another 442,youll get back to him.

let him knock his price down,if he wants your business.

1968 isnt the most desirable year of 442's,because of the motor situation.

vin stamp is on a small pad right where the head meets the block in the front drivers side corner,behind the power steering pump.

last 6 digits should be the same as car vin.

 

I have to agree. Let him know there are more than a few expences involved in getting that car on it's way to pure. Seats, Motor paint (sorry but orange is just plain embrassing), trunk tag is, no doubt, punched through the sheet metal and if you do your homework you could list several other immediate needs.

Work towards the bike for the car and $1,000 from the dealer and settle on a straight up trade.

 

All the H/O tags I've seen are peel off adhesive.

 

Post some pics of the seats and engine! If the seats are out of a '70's 442/cutlass supreme/HO, somebody may be interested in buying them. Orange engine....is the dist in the back? Hope it isn't a ......

 

I tried but on trade to deal on the price but thats all we got to. I know the dealer he has a great rep. He said he checked the #'s on the engine, trans, etc and it all matched (which I will confrim). He even wrote that in the wording of the contract #'s matching 1968 olds 442 so if hes lying hes looking at a hell of a law suite. As far as desirability the 400 motor is the same from 1968-1972 right? The HO eblem while not being correct isn't a deal breaker. It amazes me that a 1968 442 is less valuable than a comprable 1968 Chevelle SS. I prefer the Olds 442 over a Chevy any day.
Here are some more pics.
The seats are swivel buckets and came from a cutlass or Monte Carlo, I'm thinking 73-76

 

I see an EGR valve on it!!! 400's ended after '69. Maybe Canadian cars got EGR's?

 

Hmmm you are correct on the EGR valve. Maybe someone else with a cunuck car can chime in. I'm going to have to go out and check the numbers on the engine to confirm.

 

That engine pic makes it look like a small block, I suggest you drop back for a while. For that $ it should be correct...a lot on this one is not.

 

I'm hopeing at some point the the intake was switched...could have been a Turnpike cruiser optioned car 400 2bl. that got swapped out. I'll be bummed if its not number matching. I was looking forward to getting it.

 

X2 I thought something just doesn't look right and now that Joe mentioned it, it does indeed look like a small block.

Guys, this is exactly why I keep saying the term "numbers matching" means nothing unless you say *what* numbers match *what*!

 

First, get confirmation on the #'s, then tell him "$4K and the car for the bike!" That will leave some money to correct some of the issues, and find a BBO for it! It still is a pretty nice car, just not for what he wants...

 

Good thing you posted pictures under the hood. That engine is totally wrong, so much for the sellers rep.

 

Get a pic of the casting numbers that are on the block just above and behind the water pump next to the oil fill tube.

 

X3, walk away from this.

 

Before I trash the guy I'm going to go out and check the car out for myself and check the casting #'s as well as the engine stamped numbers.

 

so you are giving him the bike and $1000! You say the bike is worth $12000.
I would say maybe $4000 for the car and you sell the bike else where.
The car looks nice, but many hands have been in that car. The engine has been swap and manual drum brakes and no power steering. Also the bucket seat swap and the add on stripe that is not factory. It may be nice, but not $13000.

Gene

 

More non correctness....splatter paint like in trunk should not be on firewall, when painted hood hinges have overspray. Look how rusty master cylinder is, wonder what all was sprayed over on the car to perhaps hide rust.

 

$10 says that's a 350 or 403

 

Anyway to determine if this was originally a bench seat car? Have to wonder if this is an original 4sp car. I think I would run from this and keep looking.

Of course this is my opinion only.