friesjh

Hello all,

Well I think I got pretty lucky with my 442. Several years ago I was forced to sell the 1971 442 that I have had since the early 1980's. The person that bought it passed away and his widow contacted me. She found my business card where I had wrote, "If you ever decide to sell this car, please call me first to see if I want to buy it back." So now I am the second and fourth owner of this car. Not only did I get lucky enough to find an original triple black 442, but I actually got it back!!

Now I am more determined than ever to document that the car is an original OAI non-W30 car. The person I bought it from years ago told me it was original, but I have never been able to find the build sheet in the car and believe me I've looked. The only document I have is the bill of sale, which shows the total cost of factory installed options, separate from the sale price. So a month or so ago I posted on this site for an options list with prices for that year 442, in hopes that I could match the total cost on the bill of sale with options currently on the car. Where I did learn a lot about the different options on the 442's, I was only able to come within $5 of the total cost of options on the bill of sale and total from the options list.

I have heard rumors that GM has released a lot of it's factory documentation by vin numbers, but sadly I have not had any luck locating such a service or anything even close to this for Oldsmobiles.

Can anyone point me in the right direction with this? How do I get closer to documenting my 442?

Thanks to all, I think this is an awesome website! There is an enormous amount of information here. Finding the time to search has been my biggest obstacle.

Thanks again!

John

tru-blue 442

Where was the car built? If Lansing, more than likely You won't find a build sheet.
Fremont lines and a few others had build sheets found in odd places. Under carpets,
headliners, seat backs and above gas tanks. If you can post the cowl #'s, there are
fellas here that can decipher the info for you. Good luck with it and let's see some pics.

anthonyP

What were the odds of that card still being around all those years. Sorry to hear about the prior owner passing, but nice to see you got the car back. Unfortunately, except for the Canadian sold Oldsmobile's, the building where the factory manufacturing records were stored was lost in a fire, including all of the records.

stevengerard

Although it would be nice to know I wouldn't worry too much about documentation. In the end you sound like you are happy to have it back and won't get rid of it. Secondly I'm not sure how much of a premium a 442 with an OAI hood and documentation has over one without documentation. They both be worth a few grand more just because of the price of an original hood.

friesjh

Thank you all for the words of encouragement!

The car was built in Arlington, Texas. I will get a picture of the numbers on the cowl and post that and some pictures of the car. I have been all over this car. The only place I didn't look was in the back seat. The guy that I got it back from replaced the covers. No way of knowing if anything was found there or not.

Yes, I am happy to have it back and unless someone makes me an offer I can't refuse I will not part with it again. Still, it would be nice to have the assurance of documenting the car.

Thanks again, I'll get some pictures up soon.

John

joe_padavano

In over two dozen Oldsmobiles, I've only ever found two build sheets. Both were on top of the gas tank. Ironically, both were 1971 Cutlii, one Framingham and one Fremont.

BangScreech4-4-2

Seeing as it was built in Arlington, this is probably quite a longshot but if it was originally sold in Canada, GM Vintage Vehicle Services can fully document it for you.

friesjh

I've had the gas tank off the car, no build sheet and the bill of sale says a dealer in Kentucky.

Here are some pictures. I'll try to get the info off the cowl tag at lunch today.

John

tru-blue 442

Very nice! That last shot is the best in my eyes, calendar worthy, enjoy.
More pics would be great. Interiors on these are sweet, don't forget those.

friesjh

I'll have to get some pictures of the interior.

I did get the paint & body information tag on the cowl. Following is what it says:

ST 71-34487 R01395 BDY
TR 930 19 B PNT
03B675

Can someone decode this?

Thank you,

John

joe_padavano

ST 71 = 1971 model year

344 = Oldsmobile 442 model line

87 = Holiday Coupe (2dr)

R = Arlington, TX assembly plant

01395 BDY = Fisher Body sequential build number (not related to the VIN)

TR 930 = Black vinyl bucket seat interior

19 B PNT = black paint (19), black vinyl top (B)

03B = assembly date second (B) week of March (03), 1971

675 = ???

Joffroi

Documentation or not, you can be sure its a nice looking 442.

friesjh

Thanks Joe for the decoding!! No idea what the 675 stands for?