jayvee53

Thanks in advance to all for any insight... I am talking to a guy several hours away who has a 69 442 for sale. He mentioned someone who does a lot of restorations had looked at his car on a hoist and commented favorably that the car had the "F41 suspension". Was that exclusive to the 442 as opposed to a "regular" cutlass and does it lend credence to the car being a 442? Again, thanks for helping out a newbie trying not to get screwed....(can I say that?) .John

allyolds68

The only thing you need to prove that its a real 442 are the first three numbers in the VIN.....344

droldsmorland

And the 442 will have the FE2, not F41. F41 is Chevy speak. Similar upgrades but definitely not as good as the FE2.
Note all FE2 parts can be bolted on to any Cutlass.

Allan R

Actually it isn't. It's also Olds speak. The F41 suspension was offered on Cutlass models as well. But yes, the 442 will have FE2 suspension.

joe_padavano

While RPO F41 was used by Oldsmobile in various years to designate the HD suspension for Cutlass cars, that RPO code was NOT used in the 1969 model year on any cars, so whoever is claiming that a 1969 442 has an "F41" suspension doesn't know what they are talking about. Oldsmobile DID use RPO F40 in the 1969 model year to designate an export-only suspension package on Cutlass cars, which was actually the same shocks and springs used on the 442 models, but without the 442 sway bars. RPO FG2 was HD shocks for Cutlass cars (but not as stiff as the 442 shocks). RPO G51 was the HD rear springs for towing.

jayvee53

Thanks gentlemen! Imagine that...someone proclaiming to know something when they actually don't...I do appreciate your valuable input and sharing of your knowledge.

tangokilo

Thanks for the compliment! True the vin does not confirm a 442 in 72. But pre 68 (I think) doesn't either. You need other documentation. Like this. Tom

Allan R

Those are Fisher Broadcast Cards, typically left in the car in various places during construction of the body/interior trim. You're correct that 68-71 had easy identification simply by referring to the 344 prefix of the VIN. 1972 is one of the easiest years to clone into a 442 since there's no identifier other than the X code cars that were absolutely confirmed 442's via the VIN. The broadcast cards with W29 RPO in box 12 will authenticate the 1972 442's. The W29 option had deletes and add ons to make the car look and handle more like what was expected. W30 442 cars would have the W30 in box 12 of that card, which included the W29 RPO as part of the build. The downside of 1972 is the 442 could have any of the available 350 and 455 engines, which is noted in the 5th placeholder of the VIN.

Prior years (1964-1967) can have the 442 designation confirmed on the Cowl tag. All that is except the Fremont cars. For some reason they didn't include the '5V' on most of their cars. So with those years, a Fremont car would need authentication through the build sheet or Bill of Sale. Possibly the Protecto Plate as well for engine details. I don't know a lot about the 64-67 cars except that there's a raging controversy about some of the Fremont built 442's. Everything else seems to have the 5V authentication.

BTW, those broadcast cards you posted could easily be my car based on the interior theme and color. But the build date on that car is June, mine was April, so your car is a very late production of the model year. The body number of my car makes me smile - 442 325