viper771

I am going to check this car out on Sunday since it isn't too far away. The vin is 34467M114480 so it looks legit. It might be typed in wrong though, since I tried to decode it, and it was invalid.I have a few pictures and asked for some more. Basically, from what the seller says, it use to be blue with a white interior. It has a w25 hood, edel intake, hurst dual gate, power top (that has a toggle switch installed for some reason but orig style comes with it). From what I can see, the hoses to the windshield washers are not hooked up. Also, why would they use a toggle switch for the power top in the first place?? That seems kind of strange but I will check that out closer. I know it isn't a perfect car but good enough to drive around (and a lot more done than my 68 hdtp). I could take care of the trunk rust and the driver floor pan rust easily. I know it isn't a real w30 (but I would like to make it into one someday) but what are your opinions? Can anyone here decode the cowl tag? I would be interested in seeing if the sellers claims were legit. Anyway check out the pictures and let me know what you think. I think it looks cool. I like the 70 better, but I can deal with the 71

viper771

more pictures.. hopefully I will have more in the next few days

scrappie

Looks like a 71 442 conv. to me. Does the VIN match the cowl?
Does motor and trans have correct I.D. numbers?
Looks to have a fair amount of trunk rust. Be sure to check real good for rust especially up inside the trunk over the rear wheels. Obviously has been painted so a lot could be hiding under paint and undercoat. Good Luck.

oldsonharmont

The convertible top switch went bad and the guy went the cheap route
with a toggle switch. It's a small thing, but says a lot about how the car was maintained. Caveat Emptor!

jeffreyalman

Looks cool - I have had to replace a top switch and a tailgate switch. I had to go ghetto with the wagon, but it really does not address how well my car is maintained.

At all.

1971 442 convert

Hey Viper,

My Vin is 34467 1 M181997 I think the 1 should be in front of the M
My tag is also 26 A and mine is blue with white interior.

wmachine

Huh? VIN never does match the cowl.


The engine and trans will have the VIN derivative on them. In your case it is "71M181997". If that is the same number on the engine and trans, they are original.

VikingBlue

I am always a little suspicious of cars that had color changes, and very suspicious of cars that had already attractive colors repainted a different color.

Make sure the rivets on the cowl tag and the VIN tag look kosher.

Not saying something fishy happened, but the color change would cause me to be a lot more careful.

stevengerard

looks like a decent car from 20 feet away and has some nice options.
It should have a 1 in front of the M in the VIN as others have mentioned (if it is a 71). I wouldn't be all too worried about the color change on a 40 year old car - 30 years ago these cars were just cool old cars with potential and I saw more cars painted to the owners color preference than worrying about originality, and red was a popular color to paint a car - looked good and didn't show nearly as much as a darker color.

I have also seen a bunch of A-body convertibles with toggle switches for the top. Just 10 years ago those were extremely expensive - that is, if you could find a used one, now they are reproduced - they easily burn out since they have full voltage going through them.

VikingBlue

what I meant was, unless the car was frame-off restored at some point, you would probably see blue paint in some hidden places...like the floors, etc...just something to look for.

citcapp

Take your magnet along and check the usual places for bondo. Who knows maybe he just wanted his car his way and didn't like blue

viper771

good info everyone. I know the seller didn't know where to check to see if the tranny was original to the car. I am not really worried about matching drive train.. My 68 doesn't have anything match and I still like her. But I will take a magnet along and see if I can find more rust. Minor rust doesn't bother me really, since I can drive it around and not have to baby it as much...at least until I fixed it.

I think you guys just solved the whole toggle switch issue. I didn't realize that was the case with repro switches.

This car has a lot less rust issues than my 68 GTO convertible lol... I think rust is all that is holding my car together while I part it out.

I will see what other info I can dig up. I want to really make sure on this car.. bec my 68 ended up being not so great after I brought it home. The guy doesn't want a whole lot for this car, so we shall see. Thank you everyone!

My442

Check the base of the windshield for rust thru.

Also, be sure to look hard at the frame.

Convert frames are expensive to replace.