On 69olds.com they show a trim tag # of 344679... for a 69 442. 3 is Oldsmobile, 44 is for 442, 67 is a convertible & 9 is 1969. I've seen some supposed 442s for sale that have a 336679... where 36 is a cutlass # not a 442. Is there any way that Oldsmobile or Fisher Body would put that tag on a 442? Or has some one changed the vin # (which shows a 442 vin) to hoodwink the unsuspecting?

 

There are a LOT more "442"s on the road than ever came out of the factory. If the (68-72) VIN doesn't say 442, then it is a clone.

C.J.

 

I read on one web site (442.com?) where there were some discrepancies in the vin and body tag for 69's. The VIN for a 442, as I understood it, always started with 344..., but the Fisher body tag may start with 336...

Don't know for sure, as I am surely not an expert, but I did read it somewhere.

 

I've seen it on 442.com too, but (as with everything on that website) I like to get quality secondary confirmation.

C.J.

 

Standard Catalog of Oldsmobile 1897-1997 by Chevedden and Kowalke has this to say in the 1969 section.

"VIN located on top left of dashboard viewable through windshield. Engine number (six-cylinder) right side of block; (V8) front of right cylinder head. Serial number in the form of seven symbols, plus sequential production number. First symbol identifies GM division: 3=Oldsmobile. Second to fifth symbols indicate series and match the four digits in Body/Style Number column of charts below..."

For Cutlass the chart shows 35xx for six cylinder 36xx for eight cylinder, for Cutlass Supreme the chart shows 42xx, for 442 the chart shows 44xx.

I realize that this does not specifically address if the body tag would have differed or not but in my experience the body tags reflected the body numbers designated in charts like the one I quouted.

 

Olds never started matching vin#s and body tag#s until march of 1969.Check the buid on your body tag. However all real 442's vin's started "344".
Hope this helps



PIT
69 442 convert