I've got a 1969 442 Sport Coupe that i will be doing a on frame restoration. I would like to know if theres a way to find out how many of these vehiovles are left. Big watcher of Barrett Jackson & usually hear that there are only "this" amount left of these cars, i just dont know where to look. Any help would be appreciated. Also i would like to know what books are good to get for Olds, as normally a chev guy the more i research olds the more i'm converting to the make. Thanks all oh 1 more thing my 442 has a 455 in it & even though i know it came with a 400, as far i all that i read, i'm still trying to figure out where the engine came from. The exhaust letter is W & my understanding is that this may be a W engine but still cannot confirm. I'll be removing the alternator bracket soi can get the vin. This car was built 1st week of dec-69 & "wonder" what '70 influences this car may have. Anyways thanks all been a big fan of the site even before i got my "Lizzy"-442. Thanks.

 

I don't know if the 442's have any special record-keeping by their owners, but there is no general way to determine how many are left of any car. No central repository keeps track every time a car is wrecked or crushed or whatever and thus taken off the records.

You can only go by statistics, which say, very generally, that about 1% of a typical car's original production is still in existence after 25 years. Some, more popular cars, like 442s, were likely kept in greater numbers, but not a lot greater. There might be 2 or 3 or 5% still around, but not 1/3 or 1/2 of them or anything that large.

Those comments they make at the auctions are just guesses. There's no database backing them up.

 

There's some decent info here. You can find how many 69's were produced although you won't find how many are left.

www.69olds.com

 

On the engine, wouldn't kill myself trying to find out, as like many here, built my 455 from a bare block on up with custom worked heads, forged pistons. No engine like this ever existed from the factory, but know every piece thats in it, compression, ext. You may have to pull things apart on yours to really know.

 

If the time build code on your cowl tag is 12A, your car was built in the first week of December 1968, not 1969. Model year production usually started in mid-August and ran to the end of July before the next model year production was started.

I've heard the same 1% rule discussed by jaunty75 and it makes sense. However, as he said, there isn't any database to go by. It would be interesting if there was some sort of registry where people could sign up - perhaps that might provide a clue as to how many are left.

Randy C.

 

As Oldsmobile said in 1977: "Can we build one for you?" Wild About Cars is building a registry as we speak.

We haven't decided just how we'll break it out, but it will likely be by year and body style with sub sets for models.

Look for an announcement with at least the first segment on or about Feb 1st.

www.wildaboutcars.com

 

Thanks all for your responses. Your right about the cowl tag, but the thing why i thought it was in 69 is that the vin & cowl numbers match. I've read that the correction of the cowls was in march, now would that still be valid? If so then the 68 of march is when they made the correction & not march of 69.......right? I'm gonna enjoy the car for what its worth afetr i go through it. Question i have is should i just keep the 455 in it or dump it off for the 400 that came with it. whats that you ask....depends if it matters to me?, well kinda only on the side of if its the engine that it was made with, but then again i like torque & horsepower, sometimes i like answering my own questions but also like opinions of others for the objective view. Thanks.

 

Welcome to CO. any pics of your 69 442?

 

Welcome board

I've got 2, 501 paratrooper has 1 and you've got 1, Thats' at least 4.

Seriously, I had discussions like this before concerning 442 a/c vs. Non a/c cars.

Do a/c cars have a higher survival rate because their owners were older [and therefore didn't wreck them] Or Becausee many non a/c cars were sold up north where salted roads rusted them to pieces.

Who knows, From what little I can gather there are more survivors with a/c. I could only guess because 1] Older owners desiring creature comforts, 2] Sold in the south w/ less salt damage 3] most likley weren't raced.

 

Wondering how many exist is useless. There is no viable rule of thumb or anything else that could be described as accurate, so why bother speculating? The meat and potatoes is how many were built - always has been and always will be that way.

 

Definately less tha 10%

Probably 5%

So, if they made 20,000, that would be 1,000.

 

According to Setting the Pace, there were 2,475 442 Sports Coupes, 19,587 442 Holiday Coupes, and 4,295 442 convertibles made in 1969. All together, that's 26,357 1969 442's.

 

yeah & i think 1547 of the Sport Coupes were automatics, I've got #847. yiiihaaa.

 

as a wild guess I would say all the ones that have not been crushed still exist.

 

Due to "creative" car engineering by builders and dealers, there may be more now than in 1970!

 

I have two Non air- auto's