I tried to make a catchy title. I'm asking for help on a project car I have found. Please make any / all comments about this car. It was an original 1970 442 convertible, the VIN #344670E189856. What is the 'E'? In my VIN decoder there is no such assembly plant.
Engine #390621F
I also noticed the wheelwells under the hood are not red, is this a concern? It looks like a lot of the body work has already been completed.
I am going to ask for pictures of: Convertible framework, front end, hood. Anything else I should look for? This will be my first Cutlass, let alone 442 so I would like the combined wisdom of everyone here for help.

Thank you!

 

Hello. Is the "E" possibly an "M" that is in your Vin? Also, the wheel wells being black are correct for 99% of 442's. The red ones were part of a higher performance package offered on only some of the 442's.

 

Hi shatrab. It doesn't look like it. The current owner showed me a copy of his title, which has the E, and a picture of the body tag. If you zoom in you can see the 344670E. So, not sure what the deal is?

 

canada ?

 

E= Linden, NJ

 

Its not a W-30 so it should have black inner fender wells.

 

Time for a new VIN decoder. The one in the 1970 Chassis Service Manual is always a good choice. By the way, no Cutlii were built in Canada after the 1969 model year, and Canadian assembly plants had numbers, not letters, to designate them in the VIN.

 

Joe, you are apparently right. I found the link to the VIN decoder here on this site.
What does everyone think of the general condition of the car and it's worth? I was told all of the black panels are GM replacements with the std black primer. The trunk is from a standard cutlass from AZ, and the hood is from another car with very slight damage on the center "lip".
Any feedback is appreciated on these things.

 

There's no way to tell value from the pictures you've posted. Also, we can't see the workmanship used to install the quarter panels. Note that Chinesium repro panels also come with black primer. Unless there's a GM sticker on the inside, you can't tell what it is.

This is a NJ built car, so it's likely spent it's life in the rust belt. Check EVERYTHING.

 

Ill take the 65-66 C2 next to the 442!

Quote<"Anything else I should look for?">>

Yes rust & rot. The Frame the trunk and interior floors and the metal dash/cowl/firewall areas & frame to body mounts. If all that is solid and rot free your off to a great start.

 

I'd check the heads for a large letter towards the front that will tell you what they are. E heads would be correct for a 1970 442. B or C heads are good heads too. F or D heads are worth a nut & a half (1970 W30 & Hurst Olds respectively). If it has J heads J stands for Junk.

 

E is the Linden, NJ assembly plant
Pretty sure that is set forth in the factory Chassis Service Manual, which you either have or will now get.

wildaboutcars.com

free manual access

or/and buy a paper copy.
or/and CD copy.

What's it worth? Oh about a thousand. I can be there Saturday with a trailer.

 

Funny, only I am not selling it. I am looking to possibly buy it. No, I am not going to tell you where I found it!

Everyone has given me good questions to ask, thanks again!

 

Definitely time to find a new decoder...

http://www.oldsmobilecentral.com/vin...=344670E189856

 

Please don't. Forums don't need catchy titles. Think about it. The title should be a prelude to what is in the thread. "I need help", "you have to read this" "Is this stupid or what" should never be used for thread titles. What good is a forum full of titles like that? More times than not, I don't read threads with titles like that, so "catchy", it is not. My 2 cents, but I'm annoyed by titles like that. I don't mean to pick on you, but hope to get more real forum etiquette going. Try "need help on a '72 442 project car". That will catch anyone worth catching.

I wouldn't bother with *any* VIN decoder when the Chassis Service Manual has all the *correct* information. And it can be accessed free of charge (along with lots more info on your '72) at Wild About Cars.

Wild About Cars. http://wildaboutcars.com. An information supersource, especially Oldsmobile. More Olds content than anywhere else on the internet and continuing to grow.
You'll find Chassis Service Manuals, Product Information Manuals (AKA Assembly Manuals), Inspector's Manuals, and other documents that will contain this and much much more.
Dealer Brochures, magazine ads and articles, and the Automotive History Preservation Society library growing daily.
Free to join, free to learn.

 

Ok, I didn't realize people would get annoyed by it. I am used to other forums where that helps people to look. I know that you are one of the respected contributing members of this forum, so that was not my intent. I know I can't re-title this thread, I tried on my wanted ad and it didn't work.
Sorry to anyone that I've annoyed or bothered.

 

You don't need to apologize to me. It is not about me being annoyed, that's just me. It is about a forum and how it should work. Most people don't read every thread, nor should they be expected to. But most pick what to read by the content right? If you don't put the thread content in the title, how would anyone know what is in the thread? Why make people waste their time
clicking on threads just to see that they are not about anything they are interested in? It is just an uncommon sense thing. It should be in the rules of every *real* forum to post the thread content in the thread title.

 

Purely for the record; if you need another argument for naming your threads in a descriptive manner, then think about when people do searches - any info you can find in an old thread means you don't have to start a new one. Hopefully.

I don't fault you one bit though, and I hope this car has no rust at all - if you're that lucky, you should seriously consider snatching it up before someone else does. Rust-free cars are keepers.

 

I'll be honest, with the amount of work that one needs, and if it is missing a bunch of parts, it better be cheap.

 

changed the title for you

 

Much appreciated, and accurate. I am new but eager to learn!

 

He claims to have all of the parts stored in those boxes on the shelf behind the car. This car is a long ways away from me, so I'm trying to find out about the car as much as I can before I head out there. He's asking $8750.

One more thing he said I wasn't sure about. This isn't an original W-25 car, but he bought the W-25 hood and the components for under the hood. He said his cowl was cast iron and not cast aluminum? Did they make repro parts at one time this way?

 

The components for the W-25 hood would include the correct OAI aircleaner, and the foam top for it. The cowl is part of the body, not the OAI setup.
BTW. IMHO 8750 might be too high for basically a basket case..there appears to be a lot of assembly required...

 

I'm wondering what kind of inventory of parts come with it? It may be a fair deal depending.

 

If by "cowl" you really mean intake manifold, then only W-30s and W-31s came with aluminum intake manifolds. You could get the W-25 option (hood and air cleaner) on other 442s and Cutlii, but the intake would have been cast iron on those cars.

 

Get more pictures. From what I can see through the taillights the frame seems to have quite a bit of paint left on it. You need to establish why its got new quarters on it. Were they just damaged or is this thing a regret in the making. Make shure you get ALL THE PARTS. I bought my 442 last year as complete but not together and it nickled and dimed me to the edge of sanity. But too late for that when it's in your garage and you can't just make a short trip to rectify. I would pay that price quickly for a 442 vert if it doesn't need major rust repair. Are the exhaust manifolds there? Stock wheels? All the 'vert parts and 'vert rear seat? The green buckets don't seem to go with the blue exterior or black dash. Was it a bench originally? And what's your end goal? A cool modified car or a restored stocker with some intrinsic value? Good luck!

 

That must have been what he was talking about and it makes sense. Thanks for the info.
It sounds like I should get an inventory from this guy. Not sure he's willing to do that but no harm in asking. The owner told me the panels were rusted so he replaced them with NOS GM panels. I've asked for a picture of a sticker on the panel or some kind of paperwork. I've also asked for pics of the hood, intake, frame condition, build sheet. I'm also trying to find out the casting letter on the heads.

 

Well, I did find out the heads on this car are the 'E' type. I have been waiting for the other pictures, he seems to be intimidated about sending pictures via email. I will keep looking for another project, or save up my money and get a good rebuilt one.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.