I met up with Dalilama (Brian) today for lunch and we met a guy that claimed he purchased a new 442 in 1970 that had a chevy motor. He also said he was angry when he discovered it and got $600 back because of it.
Can this be true?

 

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Hell no.

 

Lol, thanks Joe. That's kinda' what we thought.

 

I always get stories that start with I knew a guy who knew a guy who's brothers cousins sister...

 

Was it the ultra rare 442 cid engine? 🙄

 

As far as I know only the Chevy six cylinder was installed in a 1970 Oldsmobile. It would not be until 1978 when some Eighty-Eights were found to have Chevy 305 engines installed at the assembly plant.

 

I recall that it was 1977 that was the start of Chevy drop ins. There was a 1977 88 with a chevy 350 engine for sale on C.L. Detroit for about year. And we cannot forget the handful of 75 88's that received the Pontiac 400.

Pat

 

Wow, I didn't know all of this. He did say it was a 305. Maybe he got the year wrong.

 

1977 was the first year that Olds started putting Chevy 350 (not 305) motors in the full size cars. This is what led to the highly publicized class action lawsuit. The Chevy 305 was factory available in the 1978-79 442. These are the only model years where a Chevy engine came in a 442 from the factory.

But I can see how easy it is to confuse this with a 1970 model...

 

Yes, for a second there, I thought that was a pic of my car .

Quote from today's car show; "Yeah man, my first car was an Olds LTD!"

 

https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/15/a...sinful-to.html

 

i had one of those and it was an olds engine,260 i believe

 

In 1978, the base engine was the Buford V6. The Olds 260 and Chevy 305 were available options.

 

I wonder how many 260 5 spd 442's were built?

 

Interesting article. My grandparents had a 79 Delta with an Olds 350. But, I knew someone who had a 79 Buick LeSabre with a Pontiac 301. I say buyer beware, open the hood and see what engine it has. I wouldn't buy any car without opening the hood, even if it were brand new. Never trust a car dealer, or any salesman for that matter. How would you know if the dealer overlooked something wrong and just handed you a defective new car?

 

Obligatory guffaw at Mr. BJ's

 

The article is a little unclear. "Mr. Siwek recently had bought a 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with the optional 350‐cubic‐inch Rocket V‐8." If this is accurate, Mr. Siwek should have been told he was driving off with the chevy motor.

 

I didn't bother to read the article, since I lived through the events, but that is EXACTLY what happened. GM had marketed each division's proprietary engines, then in 1977 started mixing and matching without disclosing the fact. This is why there was a class action lawsuit. Note this addendum from the 1978 model year - and specifically the part about "...and the GM divisions that produce them."

 

Definitely a low point in HP readings... The performance era came so close to dying in the late 70's.

The counter people at the part stores had their hands full with the various engines, always asking for codes off the emissions stickers so they could sell you the correct parts. Many people had no idea what brand engine was in their car. They even switched the Chevy engine color to "Corporate Blue" losing the trademark orange identity as well.

 

Oh, it died. I write off 73 to 92, with maybe the turbo buick of the late 80s as an exception.

 

The '73 GM cars still had some grunt. The '73 H/O with the optional W-46 engine was one of the fastest cars that years, tying with the Corvette and Trans Am SD with still respectable acceleration test times.

Indeed, starting with the '77 model year, the job of counter worker at part stores became a lot more involved and complicated. Even though GM had installed different division engines in a particular model prior to 1977, it was rare and in very low volumes. When GM started routinely installing engines from different divisions in other makes, no matter the reason, it lost it's uniqueness and became no different than Ford and Chrysler in that aspect.

 

Interesting, proof the 260 did put out more than the 3.8, even with 7.5 to 1 a ridiculous peanut cam. Mine might be 130 hp and 235 tq. Also the 305 put out very good numbers, better than Olds 307 put out except in HO form. Also interesting that the Olds 350 made more power than the 350 chebby.

 

Because the Chevy was choked with additional "High Altitude" calibration that the Olds didn't have to deal with.