Trawling youtube yesterday I found an episode of Jay Leno's Garage featuring an off road car based on a 69 cutlass originally driven by James Garner, not his '70 442 off roader.
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Also found this gem with Garner doing road safety in a Cutlass
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How much better would the Rockford Files have been if he was in a 442 instead of that pontiac

 

I love Olds A bodies & Pontiac F bodies. The Firebird is Rockford!

 

Well, considering that they would have been mid-to-late 70s 442s, not so much. The show went into 1980, so imagine him driving a 1978-79 aeroback 442.

 

Pretty neat Baja. I don't think there is a single Olds component left on that car... I like the spare driveshaft worm clamped in the rear window.

 

Wanna bet? It's got a factory experimental aluminum Olds motor, for one thing. Originally it was a 350, but now it's a 410.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-...ldsmobile-442/

 

As stated in the Leno interview, original 455 Olds was replaced by a "more modern, less problematic LS3".

 

Well, that's unfortunate. The restoration in 2011 used an Olds motor, per the Hot Rod article.

 

Please note that this Baja Olds is not the same as the "Goodyear Grabber Olds"