NewOldsGuy

Think I want a '70-'72 442 vert 442 clone...more to drive than stare at... Been looking over othe last few months and thinking that over 50% or the "real" 442 verts for sale have to to be clones..what do you guys think?

Aceshigh

I'd say more then 50% are clones that are sold as real ones these days.

In fact, It's the same with anything.
GTO Judges
Chevelle SS's.
Buick GSX's.
Hemi Cuda's
Hemi Chargers
Mustang GT500's
Shelby Cobra's.

You name it, because there are so many fanatics wanting an all original car
there's many shops that change VIN plates, and build cars up to spec and sell
them @ Barrett Jackson, Mecum, etc. The auction houses just have disclaimers
that it's not their problem to authenticate cars for buyers.

If you REALLY just want the LOOK and performance of the car to DRIVE it, buy a clone.
It's cheaper, and it's not going to make you question changing anything you want to.
For me, cars are meant to be driven, not put in a museum.

If you're a collector, then fork out for an all original car if you really want to. Just my .92

72 cutlass455

You forgot 73 starsky and hutch torino's

Aceshigh

Dukes of Hazzard Chargers as well.

svnt442

That's probably the #1 "counterfeited" car on the planet.

Nilsson

I say Chevelle SS's are the most cloned.

mmurphy77

I agree, especially '69 and up when the 'SS' package became an option on the Malibu and no longer a separate model so they all have a Malibu vin#, 'SS' or not. I think you'll find more '72 442s cloned for that same reason. ('70-'71 cars that can be identified thru the vin#).

cutlassjoe

I agree with Aces. If you want something to drive that won't cost a fortune then buy or make a clone. A good friend of mine has a 70' Hemi Cuda' he refuses to drive because it is a numbers matching survivor (he bought it when it was 2yrs old.) Just afraid something may happen to it.

I have also heard it said that there are now more 32' Fords on the road then they made in 1932...

joe_padavano

How can these be "clones" when the factory didn't build them in the first place?

442much

Their Torino was a 76.

InfoJunkie

Quote from classictvcars.com

"The show started by using a 1975 Gran Torino and updated to the 1976 model for its second, third and fourth seasons. These cars were built at a time in history when horsepower was being replaced by fuel economy and environmental standards. The forty four hundred pound Ford was not the quickest off the block with the base 351 c.i. engine - it really wasn't a muscle car but it just looked good. In 1976 Ford introduced a very limited edition (1,002) Starsky and Hutch replicas of the Gran Torino. It was the same car that was used in the show and could run up to over $7,000 with all the options."

It seems that a 73" can't be a clone but a 76" can. In searching for this wiki has a pic of the 1974 Starsky and Hutch Torino. Fact and fiction are so hard to keep seperate. If you state fiction enough times it becomes fact.

General Lee never factory built so no clone there?
Hmmmmm Clone is making something that looks identical to something else. Could I take a 1970 F85 and make it into a 1970 Cutlass S clone?
I rest for now.

455man

I had heard that fake 442's were rare because it costs more to clone one than to buy one. That was a while back and maybe with those TV auctions prices for real 442 have gone up.

Allan R

Well, you could be right. Should be able to glean a little insight for 1970 cars by checking their VIN and cowl tag. If it's a 1970 442 vert the VIN should start with 344670XXXXXXX. For 1971 I believe the only change on the VIN will be the year - 344671XXXXXXX. In 1972 The VIN should start with 3J672XXXXXXX (first year of reworked VIN) but that may not necessarily comfirm it's a 442; just that it's built on a CS chassis AFAIK.

All 70-72 442 Verts were build on Cutlass Supreme chassis. I don't know if this is 100% right, but supposedly there were 2933 442 verts built in 70, 1304 442 verts built in 71, and up to 1171 442 verts built in 72. If anyone has better or more complete info, I defer to them.

If you search the web, it's not surprising to see the verts as a popular seller - they always were in spite of the lower production numbers. Considering that many of the 442s were often driven hard, I'm just guessing, but many of the 'undocumented, Original owner, California car, survivor, immaculate restoration' 442s are probably clones. If the car has a original dealer invoice,build sheet or broadcast sheet that shows it was ordered and delivered as a 442, that's hard to argue with. Get something you like to drive then put the top and hammer down (not necessarily in that order).

Expect the ask to be high, and counter with a real number that matches what the economy and your pocket book can stand. Good luck with your search!

Aceshigh

So you're saying you can't clone a 1972 Hurst Olds ??

Since when does a vehicle have to come from the factory to be considered
a valuable collector performance car that can be cloned???

Hurst made a ton of performance cars post factory.
Baldwin Motion made a ton of performance cars.
Shelby made a ton of performance cars.
Hell, the Batmobile is a highly collectible car.

None of them came from the factory that way.