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That is completely untrue. A GM Olds dealer would NOT and could NOT install a Chevy engine into your Olds vehicle. That was not allowed by GM.
Actually, GM decided to do that on the assembly line starting in 1977. Know anyone who's purchased a 77 Oldsmobile Delta 88 new with a SBC??? Heard of that big ol' lawsuit? Where do you think that blurb came from that goes something like "GM reserves the right to add/modify/delete options, engines, drivetrains, etc., without notice".
That said, a dealer back then might do almost anything for a buck. They might balk at swapping an entire engine, perhaps, but if you wanted headers, rear gears, new paint, different stereo, or steering wheel...almost anything. It wasn't because GM said that they could or couldn't if you're paying out of pocket for it, however. And whatever they did do, didn't make it necessarily sanctioned by GM. I know a guy that had a light blue 66 Chevelle SS and bought it new. It was an automatic but got the dealership to convert it to a 4 speed. TBH, I would have never have guessed if he didn't have the documentation. It was right on his delivery paperwork with a blurb something like "4 speed conversion- customer pay" in the notes for additional equipment. So I guess it was a separate bill since the cost wasn't included on the paperwork. Which was odd. I mean, why couldn't he just order a new car or find one with a 4-speed? How many 66 Chevelle SS's with a 396 4-speed did they make anyway? 80 Kajillion?
Black 442 grill inserts on a 1969 S. If I had bought one back in the day I would have done it.
Need to get my correct hood painted,and installed, debating about stripes, wife wants the double bump big stripes, which I don’t believe were available on a S in 1969, I want the pin strip around the bumps. But definitely no Chevelle trunk stripes.
It may have been mentioned already, but the '72 FAUX FAUX TOOs that not only have the glovebox lid "442" emblem that was never there, but leaving the rocker chrome on the car when "adding" the W29 option to a non-442 car.
And when adding W-30 emblems, stripes, and 442 emblems to either new fenders/trunklids or Cutlass cars, 99% of the time they don't bother to even get the right templates for drilling the holes or right measurements for the stripes, and the final emblem placement looks like ***. A few are nicely done, but most aren't. It's one thing to customize your car, it's another when you're trying to emulate a genuine car only to fugg it all up.
I saw this "442" on the streets of Philly today. This "442" does not have the dreaded wing. The "442" badge is not correct. The decklid is not striped. Three tailights? Must be a 350 C.I. with 2bbl (single exhaust). Maybe a 1972??
Talking about incorrect emblem placement...done two owners ago, last owner left it because he thought it looked cool. This is what happens when you use the original S or Rocket emblem holes and open up the hole bosses for the other 4 and 2. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about it...might just leave it since the car is going to check a couple dozen boxes in this thread as is :-D
Oh yeah...wrong grills for either an S or a 442!
Incidently, this is what 20 years of sitting untouched in a storage locker looks like! That's drywall joint tape hanging from the sagging ceiling, and some paste chunks on the hood. I hate to think what would have happened if I hadn't rescued the car when I did!
Last edited by VI Cutty; Mar 29, 2021 at 03:47 PM.
Once a buyer purchased a car, GM has no say in the matter. And dealership service departments are privately owned, not part of GM. Would such an engine swap be covered by a factory warranty? Obviously not, but if the customer paid enough for it, the service department would do it. Nickey Chevrolet sold 1973 Novas with 1969 L88 427 motors in them. That was entirely not allowed by GM - not only did it violate GM's warranty, it violated federal law EPA requirements. The fact that they got it to pass a sniffer spot test does NOT make it EPA compliant.
That was a Chevy engine into a Chevy vehicle. My point was that back in 1967-1972, GM would not allow a dealership to install a Chevy engine into a Oldsmobile vehicle. If you have proof of that happening in 1967-1972, please show me that. I would be curious to see evidence of that happening.
I do realize that in the mid to late 1970's, GM started on the "corporate" engines where it put in corporate Chevy engines in other makes. We are discussing the muscle car era and I have yet to find proof of a GM dealership installing a Chevy, Buick or Pontiac engine into an Oldsmobile vehicle during the 1967-1972 era.
If I were a betting man, Pettrix, I'd say you have a convertible with a wing on it. I don't like the wing and I don't have one, but I thought I read somewhere one of the reasons the wing wasn't offered on the convertible is because the contour of the decklid is different than the coupe and it didn't even fit. Too bad, with your thinking I could have put one on my 4 door.
If that is in fact true, then the many wings on the many convertibles only means that they either fit poorly or something has been massaged to make it work. And I doubt very seriously GM was monitoring every dealership in Podunk USA to see what engines they were swapping out. You don't think GM would allow a Chevy motor in an Oldsmobile back then? Check out the 6 cylinder Cutlass sometime.
I ordered a 1970 442 W-30 convertible from Faulkner Oldsmobile in Philadelphia. My mentor, friend and racing buddy ordered the same car, except a different color. In 1970, you could order a W-30 or a 442. I never saw a 442 with a W-25 hood, unless of course, the car was a W-30. I never saw a 442 with a W-30 stripe. I never saw a 442 or a W-30 with a wing. A neighbor had a 442 W-30 hardtop without a wing.
I did buy a 442 hood from Faulkner Oldsmobile, painted the hood to match my car, and installed the 442 hood on my car. The purpose of the 442 hood was to drop a class when racing. (W-30's fell into a higher NHRA class compared to a 442). The 442 hood, did not significantly affect either my elapsed time (E.T) or MPH compared to the hood that Oldsmobile delivered on my car.
I just got lucky when I found mine. Had all the boxes checked that I would have checked. Well other than not being a W-30 car. Rallye Red W-25 Sport Mirrors and a dual gate. I was set. 🍻
That was a Chevy engine into a Chevy vehicle. My point was that back in 1967-1972, GM would not allow a dealership to install a Chevy engine into a Oldsmobile vehicle. If you have proof of that happening in 1967-1972, please show me that. I would be curious to see evidence of that happening.
I do realize that in the mid to late 1970's, GM started on the "corporate" engines where it put in corporate Chevy engines in other makes. We are discussing the muscle car era and I have yet to find proof of a GM dealership installing a Chevy, Buick or Pontiac engine into an Oldsmobile vehicle during the 1967-1972 era.
You're intentionally avoiding the point here.
First, I don't care if the Nickey car WAS a Chevy motor into a Chevy car. That swap was NOT factory authorized, didn't carry a factory warranty, and wasn't EPA legal. The dealership did it anyway, sold these as new cars, and bragged about it on the cover of Hot Rod. A COPO car would have used a current model year engine, not one from 1969. And no, I wasn't in any way referring to factory Chevy motors in Oldsmobiles.
Second, if telling yourself that your wing on a convertible was dealer installed and thus a legitimate factory-authorized installation lets you feel better about yourself, more power to you.
Koda, you opened up a huge scab with this post..lol. Hey good to have some healthy and fun controversy..Guys no reason to get heated up, cars are a passion for us all.. I tend to lean towards the purer side but also appreciate people making their cars there own.. My 68 drop top 442 had the 66 400, because its better? Nope, it was cheaper at the time to buy that motor after the original spun a bearing..
I don't see any reason why a discussion of what is correct should do so. No one is mandating anything; simply trying to preserve knowledge that there was a metal hood on some 70-72 442s once upon a time.
I don't see any reason why a discussion of what is correct should do so. No one is mandating anything; simply trying to preserve knowledge that there was a metal hood on some 70-72 442s once upon a time.
Should be no reason but people are people. Interesting for sure..
I have to be honest, that doesn't really bother me. As I've pointed out before, when these cars were new, the first thing we all did was run to the parts counter and buy a 1971 glovebox emblem. I certainly did that with the 72 I owned in the late 70s.
................ that doesn't really bother me. As I've pointed out before, when these cars were new, the first thing we all did was run to the parts counter and buy a 1971 glovebox emblem. I certainly did that with the 72 I owned in the late 70s.
Who cares what bothers you or not? That's not what this thread theme is about. It's about what was not that way originally.
No "Oldsmobile" script above DS headlight on 1971/72 442 W29 cars
If it was a 70-72 car with W25 it didn't have Oldsmobile scripts on them anyway. Steel hoods, then, yes. Most people that restore the cars leave them off of the steel hoods. Even 69's.
Speaking of hoods, here's another one- those people who thought adding aftermarket hood pins to the 69 H/O hoods was somehow necessary.
