Brought home a 85 442 that had been stored in a container since 1994.
Car is in pretty good shape ..60,000 miles on it..one owner
T Top,electric windows etc.

Motor might be salvageable...but needs work
frame is excellent, as are floors and trunk, exhaust and gas tank.
Very excited about finding this car....always liked them.
Time for a build thread

 

a few more...do not recall seeing one in this color before....

 

You the man Ted.

 

Wow! Nice find! Congrats on finding one with maroon interior that isn't faded to death, like mine is. I recently saw a white one at a local cruise-in. I don't remember the numbers, but white was very rare. here's the one I saw at the cruise-in at Quaker Steak and Lube in Austintown, OH. The last picture is my black 1985 442.

 

Congrats Ted! That would be a sweet highway car once its cleaned up. The worst area looks to be under the hood! I believe I've got an air cleaner that would fit. When you reach that point in your build let me know and I'll dig it out & send you photos.

Stored in a container... like a shipping container? Did you get any more details on why it was stored away?
John

 

The previous owner called this car a Cutlass Salon 442 Special Edition Sports Coupe. He claims it is 1 of 200 cars issued in Canada, and 1 of 59 with the T Roof...info he got from GM Historical Documentation obtained at the dealership where the car was bought. He did not provide me with these papers, so I will find out from George at Vintage Services, and get the correct info.

The car is white on grey w/ burgundy interior...previous owner claims of which only a "handful" were made with this color scheme.....307 4bbl Hurst/ Olds..built in Arlington, Texas

AC,AM/FM Stereo, power bucket seat, cruise,intermittent wipers, PB,power locks,posi,pw,rear defrost,tilt steering.

John, the PO painted the car in 1992, and then drove it into a sealed shipping container in 1994 and closed the door. He thought it would be okay and never let any air in, or started it...he did not even take the battery out!
As he said , if he had realized the detrimental effect this would have had on the car, he would have not stored it this way

The motor is so rusted, that the balancer is split
Weird thing is the rest of the car is good..but the engine itself is a rust bucket..
Great example of what happens to these cars if no air is circulating around them when they are stored and forgotten.....

I will take the breather ...

HO...really nice 442 you have...the white car looks identical to mine but without the T Roof...mine will look this way soon

 

White was a one year color.

Pat

 

Nice find Ted, where was the container stored?

 

The container was on the edge of his yard on the ground fully exposed....must have gotten incredibly hot/ cold.....

 

Awesome find!

 

Nice score - great color combo!

Terry

 

Very nice find -- congratulations & good luck with the engine!

 

The motor is so rusted, that the balancer is split
===============
?? I have seen a lot of failures, but... pic?
Rubber deteriorated, or the metal failed?

Need a nice 403 engine for it?
Looks rustfree bodywise but if the engine is that bad how did the frame fare?

 

pics say a thousand words...
the frame has surface rust but is by no means rotten..the engine is another story....the wiper arms i think are still there...
why the rest of the car is pretty good is beyond me..

403...any suggestions as to how i should procede would be appreciated..350 Olds, another 307,...try and rebuild this one?

 

This is a rust belt car that has been sitting in a sealed unit for 20 years....I am amazed that the frame was any good at all.....

 

I'm thankful I live in the south.

 

Whada ya mean Eric!.....it gives us something to do for the long winter months..
Eh

Pics make it worse than it is...a new motor and I will be touring down to Texas

Well, what motor do you think? Keep it Olds or change it up?

 

I think you should just forget about it and sell it to me lol

 

Good job Ted. You have really found some nice cars recently. That balancer pulley is a real curiosity. I have never seen one do that. You said the battery was still in it. Is there a chance that it split or leaked acid on the engine? Another great save.

 

I believe there were 300 white '85 442's.

 

Wow! That's a great find! Congrats!

 

 

As bad as that rust is, are you sure it is not a flood car? Sure looks suspicious with that much rust and the water in the speedometer.

 

Nice find!
How many miles?

 

I don't know how you keep finding all these! Cool car. Those G bodies are really growing on me.

 

looks to me like a lot of condensation was in the metal container. hot to cold even in the winter would do it. the body has paint and probably undercoating,so it wouldnt nessasarily be affected. where under the hood and frame,any place that was bare rusted,like the joint for the wiper,once it's started,it will eat the metal under the paint. i would look very closly at the fuel and brake lines before i went anywhere with it.

 

If you are not going to "beat" on it and make it a street driven car I would consider a 403 with the earlier 350 heads. Just keep the revs down so that windowed block can live. Maybe there was a SMW in that trailer that rusted away.

 

Thanks for all the comments..

Shane.....everything is 4 sale....well almost
Steve....it looks like Octania was correct...I am hoping it is the rubber..the battery tray was not rotten, and the battery did not show any signs of leaking

Eric...i do not think I would want to chance it with the pollution police wondering around...pour some diesel, or AT fluid into it, and cut the belts and see if it turns after a week or month or so

Edolz...this is not a flood car..just a really good example of what condensation can do over a long period of time...

Ed.... About 60,000 miles

Joffroi...I always liked the Supreme in these years...just a bonus it has T roof and 442 badging and is white
I always keep my eyes open ...now I have a float I can jump in the truck and get them...

Oldolds88 .......EXACTLY!

Drop top...thanks for the suggestion....
SMW? ...

 

It must have been stored with road salt still on the chassis. That stuff will pull moisture out of the air for years & years. I've spent my life in the rustbelt, and am not surprised.
I once drove a running '71 Toronado into the junkyard, because the frame was so rusty in the rear, that the rear suspension was only held in by the weight of the car.

 

I'm totally jealous. That's all I'm going to say...

 

SMW= Solid Main Web 403 Ask Chris (Octania) about it.

 

a few years back i scrapped out a white with gray interior 85 442.

 

I just wanted to update this post for those interested....and I need opinions!
I pulled the motor and tranny and they are toast!...trust me
I have 2 motors that I could put into this car....a 72 olds 350 4bbl or a 327 out of a 67 Corvette..or maybe I should be looking around for a 307?..I am almost ready to pull the car into my shop, so opinions are appreciated

Thanks,
Ted

 

Sammy, is it really that bad:eek :Sorry to hear that.

Keep it all Olds. That's my suggestion anyway.

 

I would just use what you have, and by that I mean the Olds 350

 

Second the olds 350, that is if you dont have 455 lying around, lol. I like it I
Know nothing about the newer cars but I would love one of these with a 4 speed or a 5 speed good luck with the build looking forward to reading the thread

 

I am for originality & simplicity so if it had a 307 then I'd be looking for a 307 ... I say "simplicity" because I don't have the skills and I wouldn't ask anyone else to fit a 'different' motor into it, I've heard a few horror stories about the finagling that could be required for putting a "non-stock" motor into a car

BUT it's not my money and you have two spare engines sitting around; of those two, I echo the others above who say go with the Olds

 

Why replace a missing 307 with another 307 when a 330, a 350 or a 403 have the same external dimensions & offer far better performance?

 

I'm with all the others as to keeping it Olds Powered.... But I am partial to the big blocks.... I converted my 85 Supreme from a V6 to a 455 and I don't feel I had any major issues to overcome with the exception of valve cover choice (AC box clearance) and exhaust (cross member clearance), both of which I did resolve quite easily..... Second choice IMO would be the 350.... Good luck with the project....

 

Oh, calm down -- I gave an opinion and outlined my reasons (including my lack of knowledge about the dimensions, thank you for that), there is no law that says OP has to take it