I recall the first time seeing a brand new '68 Hurst/Olds and wanting to get more info the model line (since my older brother had just purchased a '68 Cutlass S)
Thinking back about the Dr. Olds ads, I seem to recall a special option for a W-28, which was a "not-for-street" option. The ad listed the specs for the cam, among various other weight-saving components. Am I just dreaming, because I cannot find any specs, or references to the old ads that ran in Hot Rod, & Car & Driver mags.

 

442.com shows no option W-28. I don't recall ever seeing one either.

 

W-28 is the lease group code for the Turnpike Cruiser option.

 

Good one! That's an obscure option - especially for 1968. 290 HP 2bbl high compression 400 motor, intended for mileage, only offered in the 442 that year. Try to get your head around the idea of the 442 as an economy car.

 

Don't they call those 242's?

I have seen a few claimed to be Turnpike Cruiser Vista Cruisers for sale but no documentation of any sort.

Allan

 

Yeah, right along with the 462 L-69s in '66.

Just to set the record straight, Olds changed the orignal "Four Barrel, Four Speed, Dual Exhaust" to "Four Hundred CI, Four Barrel, Dual Exhaust" in '65.
And that was the *last* that Oldsmobile offically defined the 442 designation.

 

You mean 422, right?

The 400 was optionally available in the Vista, though it was not called the Turnpike Cruiser.

 

It would be 422 if it's a 400 with a 2 barrel and dual exhaust.

I found a mention of the option in a story on Vistas and Sportwagons in the Feb. 2005 Collectible Automobile.
In reference to the '68 Vista and what engines were available it says," The Oldsmobile mill, cribbed from the muscular 442, developed 325 bhp and 440 pound feet - though a 290 bhp "Turnpike Cruising" variant with a two barrel carb and long legged axle ratio was available."

It's written in a fine magazine, it has to be true.

Allan