Hello everyone! My father just gave me his 1966 Olds 442 Holiday coupe. It was given to him by his father who bought the vehicle in 1967. It has been in storage for the last 10 years. My father wanted to restore the vehicle but his health has not allowed it. I want to restore the car for my father (and myself.) Some of my favorite childhood memories were riding in this car with my grandfather. We think the car is all original and 100% complete. It even has the original spare tire in new condition. It is burgandy mist with a black vinyl top and a Hurst 4 speed. I can't wait to get started!! - Halffast

 

That is extremely COOL! Welcome to the website! I think it would be TOTALLY AWSOME to inherit an Oldsmobile from your father! I think Oldsguy would agree with me.

 

Sounds like a nice project. With some great history. Nice color combo & a 4 speed to boot. I'm drooling. Post us some photos if you can. There are a lot of knowledable Olds folks here. If you have any questions. Don

 

Welcome to our site and nice story too. I recommend you get all the documentation you can about the car and your story, including pictures. This may not seem like much now, but when you are an old man and want to pass it on to your children, or perhaps sell it some day, that documention will make the car that much more valuable.

 

Thanks Guys! I appreciate the good comments and advice. I did write the G.M. Heritage Center with my VIN# and they were able to provide me with some good initial information.
I'm currently matching all my #'s and they are correct so far for a 442. I have pictures of my grandfather and the car. I also have my grandfathers original title, and the original owners manual. I haven't been able to find the build sheet yet, any suggestions for were to look would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - Mark

 

Yes, welcome! We're all glad (and impressed!) that you are able to keep the Olds in the family! I'm glad to see your enthusiasm too!
Oldsguy is spot-on: Gather up all the pictures, papers, and documentation that you can!
As you've already found out, not much info comes out of the VIN. The firewall body tag will yield a lot more. If you get me that info (a pic would be best), I'll decode that for you.
You are very fortunate, but it appears that the good fortune is well placed!

 

Congrats and welcome. Some of us really like 66's

Pictures are required. We would hate to have to ban you with in your first few posts.

 

Congtats. Not bad for a newer car. Not as good as the "Older more perfect looking 64 and down Olds but it will do. Just Kidding welcom aboard

1957 with a 455
1948 with a ???

 

That is so cool. 66 is one of my favourites.

 

Not to be a turd or anything, but this thread is a year old, and the guy only made the two original posts.

 

 

.....Not to be a turd or anything, but this thread is a year old, and the guy only made the two original posts....

So are you saying halffast might really be kind of halffast??? LOL!!

 

 

A year old???? I didn't even notice! LOL

 

I know I haven't posted anything since my original thread and I apologize. I've had other priorities that I've had to deal with first. Now that those have been handled, I've finally started the restoration on my 66 442. I've had the original 400 engine rebuilt along with the M-21 close ratio.I still need to do a few small things on the engine ie: paint power steering pump,install spark plug wire looms, I left the air cleaner retaining disk red because my grandfather painted it that way in the seventies - I know it's not original - I've also dealt with the fuel and cooling systems along with the brakes. I've ordered my interior from legendary and it should arrive sometime in February. The original paint is shot, but I did buff it out until it was somewhat presentable ( no photo) -It will need bodywork and paint in the future. I've attached a few photos and hope to post more later.

Thanks,
Mark

 

Very cool! Great car, and great history you have with it. I'd be curious to see the firewall data plate.
Standard rear with the M21 was 3.90, is that what you have? Anti-Spin? A very potent drivetrain!!

 

Sounds like your on your way to having a very nice car. Keep us posted.

 

Vera Nice

Don't be such a stranger. We need a piece by piece update

 

Looking good, great to have you back. Keep the pictures comming

 

I think the retainer for the air cleaner where red. Am I wrong on this?

 

Not red for '66 442s.

 

Very nice to have your childhood car. My family passed down to me a 66 cutlass in 1977. Although I like the cutlass model, I'm glad I have my 66 442 to restore. Please post more as you restore and I'll try to do the same.

 

Nice looking project and a great family history to boot! How did you make out with documentation? Have you found the build sheet? Keep us up to date with your project.

 

Hi everybody. I am new to this site and I just acquired a 1966 442. It is all original except for new paint job and front seat cover. My car also has a red air cleaner retainer. The car only has 36500 miles on it. I will post some photos of it soon. What color should the retainer be?

John

 

Thanks for posting the update & pics!

My buddy and both have matching Burgandy 66's (although his is a 442..) and we met another local guy at a show last summer who had yet another burgandy 66 442 (his had a black top though)... Quite the little group around here. Neat to see another one!

 

I need to correct myself.

*All* '66 retainers are painted except for the chrome Toro ones.
All '67 retainers are chrome.

 

I'll try and take a picture of the cowl tag and post tomorrow. I always thought that my grandfather painted the retainer red, but I guess I was wrong. ( nice to know it's original). It does have the anti-spin rear end. I'm not sure about the 3.90 in the rear - I might need some help with information on how to determine what I have. I have not found the buildsheet yet, I have looked in some of the easy to access places but I hope to get lucky and find one during my interior redo. Rambow - Great looking 66' hopefully mine will look that way someday. I really appreciate all the help and comments. - Mark

 

Any help deciphering would be appreciated. Thanks

 

06D - 5th week of June (in the heart of when they were rolling some high performance olds off the line......like the W30s)
66-33817 - Cutlass Holiday Coupe
LAN28407 - Lansing build with the body sequence number
980 B - Black bucket seat interior
N-2 - Burgundy Mist Poly with a black top
W - Tinted Windshield
(2)
L - 4-speed
G - Console
R - Rear speaker
(5)
V - 442 trim
Y - Deluxe Seat belts
Now what you *don't* have is an accessory code for the vinyl roof. But that is not exactly rare, and does not mean that yours in not original, as I believe it is. It is coded for a black top, and does *not* have the column 1 "O" that designates the painted top. Since the vinyl top were a midyear introduction for the F85, this kind of anomaly is not really surprising.

 

Mark, I presume you do not have the Protect-O-Plate?

The rear will have the code stamped on the axle tube. Look on the passenger side on the rear of the tube about 6" outward from where the tube goes into the center housing. About 1/4" high letters, probably upside down.
I'd expect you'd find TH, possibly SJ.

 

Thanks for all of your help Kurt. I did not know many of the firewall tag codes - especially the interior ones along with tinted window and speaker. Very interesting info on the vinyl top also. I do not have my protecto plate but I'm going through some of my grandfathers garage stuff and hope to find (he usually kept everything). I'll look at the rear axle today.I've attached a picture of a small card (2' X4") that was attached to the rear seat bottom - I now know most of these codes but I have no idea about some of them. Do you know what these additional numbers are?
Once again - Thank you - Mark

 

That is the earlier version of the "broadcast card".
The only additional numbers are the string at the top, and as far as I know those are just some kind of sequence numbers. Other than Lansing and Framingham (in '67) plants, and starting in all plants in '69, these accessory codes are not on the firewall data tag, so the broadcast cards are more valuable in those situations.

 

I looked at the axle and it has a JS stamped into it.

 

Sorry SJ

 

3.55 posi! Nice gear combo. Plenty of guts, and half way decent on the highway.

 

You had mentioned earlier that the standard rear with an m-21 was 3:90. Was 3:55 an option with the m-21?

 

Yes it was.

 

A 400 with M21 and 3:55 gears that is a nice combo.

 

Kurt - Thanks for taking the time to help me with all of the great info. - I really appreciate it.
Have a great weekend. Mark

 

My tag says 05D= 5th wk of June.
ST 66-33817
Lan 25971
TR 985-B = Red Bucket seat interior
RR= Red on Red
W2LG= tinted windshield 4speed console
5VY= 442