68Tom

Is the driveshaft for a '68 Cutlass S going to be the same as one for a '68 442?

The idiot who was working on my car lost my driveshaft (including new U-joints), and now need to find a new one.

kaz442

Only if the 442 was a stick car. I assume your car has a th350 trans. If the 442 was an auto it should have a th400 which would be a shorter shaft. Why not just have the shop pay for a new one. Would not cost more then $300 tops. Jkaz

joe_padavano

Depends on the trans. If the 442 has a manual trans, then the Cutlass driveshaft will fit. If the 442 has a TH400, then the Cutlass driveshaft will likely be too long (since the TH400 was not offered in the Cutlass that year). Also note that 2dr driveshafts are shorter than 4dr driveshafts (which are in turn shorter than Vista Cruiser driveshafts). Also note that there is up to 1" variability in the distance between the pinion flange and the axle centerline among the various rear axles used in the A-body cars, which adds to the driveshaft variability. Finally AT driveshafts were typically two concentric tubes with a rubber insulator between them, whereas the MT driveshafts were solid.

Sorry, this probably isn't completely helpful. Good news is that any 68-72 A-body driveshaft that fits the same trans and rear axle will bolt in.

68Tom

My 442 is a stick car. The Cutlass was an auto. Both 2 doors. So I'm guessing it might work?

They're not going to pay for it because they're a bunch of clowns. I'll end up having to take them to court, and at the end of the day, would then have to attempt to collect the money from them. If I was in the same state, I would probably do this. However, attempting to deal with it across the country is just not worth my effort.

Olds64

Bummer!

Good luck finding a usable drive shaft.

68Tom

Well, the one upside to having to scrap your 442 body for a southwest Cutlass S body is, chances are you have 2 drive shafts.

Now I just have to locate where the Cutlass drive shaft was placed....

68Tom

OK guys, hopefully someone with a '68 442 4-speed can help me out here (or someone with a manual--both of mine are in AZ at the moment).

I need the correct length of the driveshaft for this car. I found a bunch of Olds driveshafts, but need to know the length to choose the right one.

Thanks

Yellowstatue

From the centre of the u-joint, end to end, 56 1/2 inches...centre of one u-joint to the centre of the other end u-joint...

68Tom

Thanks!!

68conv455

Don't let your repair guy off the hook. Tell him to make good on it.
How do you lose a drive shaft anyway? I can see losing some hardware or something, but a driveshaft.
Tell him to look for the long thing.