I saw a picture, on another forum, of what they called a 1970 F-85 W-30 in which only 207 were made. Is that true? Could you get the W-30 option on an F-85 in 1970? It may explain a 442 in my town that does not have the "344..." starting vin number, but it does have the "F" heads and outside air induction hood. The taillights have the chrome bezels that the 442's do not have. I was tipped off that the "442" badges may have been added later on from when the car came off the assembly line. That's why I checked out the vin number. Would it be better for the person to put the "F-85" badges back on since there were so few built. That's assuming the two above questions are answered as "true."

 

Keep in mind the W-30 IS a 4-4-2. If it IS an original W-30, it should have had the 4-4-2 emblems from the start.
Does the car you are talking about actually have F-85 emblems?
If so, where on the car are they?
If I'm not mistaken, the emblems on the F-85's were on the fenders in the same place as
the 4-4-2 emblems. it would get pretty crowded with 4-4-2 emblem, an F-85 emblem AND a W-30 emblem all in the same spot.

I would think, if it were a true F-85 4-4-2, it would, like the early ones, have no side chrome, wheel opening chrome,
aluminum trim around the windows or rain gutter trim.
It would also have 4-4-2 emblems INSTEAD OF F-85 emblems.

Since I've never seen a '70 F-85 4-4-2, all this is only extrapolation based on the early F-85 4-4-2's.

 

It's a W-31 based on the production figures. Whomever wrote the caption made a typo.

 

It would also be one-of-none, since in 1970 the 442 was a separate model with a unique VIN and the W-30 package was only available on the 442.

As Diego correctly points out, you could get a W-31 based on the F-85, however.

 

Joe,
Although I wasn't 100% positive that the car being described wasn't original, I was reasonable sure it wasn't.
I was trying to think of indications to look for to confirm or reject whether it was original.

As I recall, '64-'66 4-4-2 could have been F-85 or Cutlass based and in '67, the 4-4-2 was Cutlass Supreme based only.
Was '68 the first year the 4-4-2 became it's own model?
I know in '72 it was down graded to an option package.
I know the W-31 was available in F-85 in '68 & '69. Didn't know the same was true in '70.










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Correct. The VIN on a real 442 will start 344... for model years 1968-1971.

Yup. 1968 was called the Ram Rod 350, actually, and W-31 in 1969-70.