oldsmosteel

Been my year for rare oldsmobile finds... In feb found that 1967 B07 optioned Olds Cutlass Police Sedan loaded w/ factory high performance options... While not as rare as the big block B07 I did find & purchase a running, 1 owner, 69k original 1968 442. So far everything on the car checks out as #s matching 442... Vin matches 400 big block, "34487" on vin & data plate etc. car is all original except for a cheap 80's spray over & old gabriel shocks. car has some pretty strange options for a 442. most notably a factory 2bbl carb mounted on a stock cast iron intake w/ an "H" letter code casting #388625. Car also has a stock "O" 10 bolt ring, 12 bolt cover diff w/ an R2 stamped on the axle tube which denotes 2.56 open gears, 4 wheel manual drums, factory "oldsmobile stamped" mud flaps on all 4's, no ac. KK code (Aqua mist) paint,
Black interior w/ buckets & floor shift th400. Purebred Cali black plate car Fremont Build, bought & been in SoCal since new. Oh yeah its a sports coupe.

So How do I determine if this is infact a rare optioned 68 Turnpike Cruiser? 2nd I've heard this option was kind of rare... Does anybody know the production numbers of the Turnpike Cruiser option? I know the 442 sport coupe option for '68 was a little over 4k but haven't found any info on TPC optioned cars. As always Thanx in advance! Will shoot & post pics this weekend

Marty

stevengerard

I believe it would have a "QL" sticker as the engine identifier code.

wmachine

Wild About Cars has all kinds of info for you.
Look in the assembly manual:
http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/cgi-b...aldisplayed=50

And the SPECS booklet:
http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/cgi-b...aldisplayed=50

Wild About Cars. http://wildaboutcars.com. An information supersource, especially Oldsmobile. More Olds content than anywhere else on the internet and continuing to grow.
You'll find Chassis Service Manuals, Product Information Manuals (AKA Assembly Manuals), Inspector's Manuals, and other documents that will contain this and much much more.
Dealer Brochures, magazine ads and articles, and the Automotive History Preservation Society library growing daily.
Free to join, free to learn.

1969w3155

Actually not that rare, I see them pop up on ebay frequently. My buddy has one that he bought in 1996 from the Homecoming car corral, switched to cast 4bbl intake and carb years ago.

oldsmosteel

where do i find that "QL" engine code? data plate? unfortunately thats all i have.. no sales literature or build sheet.

btw: thanks Kurt i'll check it out on WAB. ive found a ton of good stuff on there

Marty

Joffroi

where are all of you finding these 442 deals!?

oldsmosteel

WAC.. not WAB. sorry

Octania

On the paper tag on the oil fill tube.

It's still there, right?



The only other place would be the Protecto-Plate, which you seem to have good luck finding, and maybe the build sheet or broadcast sheet- maybe.

Does it matter?
Put the square air cleaner on and voila' it's a TC car.
The exhaust heat stove and pipes would be nice, but they are a little harder to find than the air cleaner.

1969w3155

Chris, the '68 TC didn't use the square air cleaner.

oldsmosteel

i've been super lucky... right place right time. the B07 police optioned '67 Cutlass was a once in a lifetime find. spotted the rare car by accident driving in a residential area saw it someones open garage w/ a for sale sign on it. you can read about it on here. these guys helped me out a lot when i was trying to verify all the rare high performance options. the best moment came when i found the original protecto plate matching all the high performance options to the car. before that find i knew absolutely nothing about oldsmobiles... but since then i've been on this classic oldsmobile search finding frenzy... searching classifieds, wrecking yards, swap meets etc for rare olds stuff. like myself most classic rodders i've met are either into CHEBS or FRODS.. some MOLPAR.. most have know clue about olds. they usually let the oldsmobile stuff go cheap because they have no clue what it is or what its for. even at the Big 3 swap meet this year i spent 2 days there bought some 15" buick rallys but saw almost nothing oldsmobile related. maybe olds stuff is a little harder to come by or maybe less demand. even at the wrecking yards... i've seen a mid 70's Monte engine & car completely stripped down.. on the same row of cars a 73 cutlass w/ an almost complete 455 w/ th400 trans & diff complete. like i said i think most people just don't know what it is so they pass it by & leave it for me to find.

Marty

stevengerard

Of course its there, it was made to last 43 years 6 months

Most likely not.... but who knows and original car in a nice climate who knows.

oldsmosteel

is there a letter code or casting number to help me identify? do you have a pic?

marty

hurst68olds

Congrats on the find. IIRC the driver's side '68 Turnpike Cruiser "X" exhaust manifold has a different casting number on it VS. the "normal" 389269 unit. Here's my uncle's "sapphire blue" Turnpike.

oldsmosteel

just checked... it is a 389269 manifold.

thanx Marty

oldsmosteel

Pics...

oldsmosteel

mo pics...

Aztec

Hi,
here's a pic of my 1968 Turnpike Cruiser exhaust manifold...check out numbers.

jankyrre

I got a 68 TPC.Mine is a hardtop,but the options are very simular to your car.

This following is from memory.

The R2 rear axel is uniqe for TPC.
The engine has low comp. pistons.Two barrel carb.
TH 400 trans version,think it is OH is also TPC only.If you have this trans and the VIN derivat on it match the car ,you got a TPC.

Think the intake manifold on mine is a J type.Not sure on this.Will check it tomorrow.

image.jpg

Hairy Olds

I have an NOS air cleaner pie plate for theses cars.

67442nut

Is the TPC considered a 4-4-2?
Would the TPC have 4-4-2 emblems?

1969w3155

In 1967 it was not a 442, in '68 it was,and therefore came with the 442 badging. The only way to tell in '68 (cosmetically) was to pop the hood to see the 2bbl air cleaner.

1969w3155

This is my buddy's '68 TPC.

jankyrre

Mine has the same intakemanifold as yours 388625.
The old faq site dont have much to say about this manifolds.

Far as I know the 68 TPC is identical to a regular 442 exept from the drive line.
Build for cruising down the highway at a lower rpm.

Octania

PN Database says
398625 "H" casting for '68 [-70?] BB 2-bbl

Casting quality often makes it hard to get the digits read right.

Koda

Even under the first 4 being a 400 from 65-69, wouldn't that make it a 421?

jankyrre

Correct.The 9 was easy to misread as 8.