I first found this '69 442 convertible sitting in a field about 4 years ago. I bought some GTO parts from a guy, and we started talking Oldsmobiles - his buddy apparently had this '69 442 vert and would be interested in parting with it.

I didn't act for about a year, and then called the guy and arranged to see the car. Due to my ignorance, I got scared when I saw that the cowl tag and VIN didn't match, and when I didn't see rosette rivets on the VIN plate. I actually suggested to the owner that there was something funky going on.

I later learned that most '69 442s have the mismatch on the cowl tag/VIN plate AND that Lansing rosette rivets are mounted from the bottom. I called the guy back, and soon hauled home the car and a truckload of spare parts. True red car with a lot of original paint, bucket seat/column shift car with factory AC, looks like factory power antenna.

I then sold it without even unloading from the trailer! Didn't think much about it for awhile, then talked with the new owner about trading for a '71 Skylark I had for sale...no deal.

A few weeks ago I was selling two of my Trans Ams (87 GTA and 95 TA), and the owner called me. We made a deal where I swapped the GTA for this '69 and a '67 442 vert and a '67 Cutlass parts car.

He hadn't done anything on the '69, and it had gone downhill from more sitting outside.

I put it up for sale right away (this sickness I have...) but kept looking at it in my driveway. Last weekend I spent a couple of days, and now I'm trying to build a low buck car with mostly parts I have on hand.

It has a '73 350 and a '71 Turbo 400 in it, motor turned by hand when I first got it, a little more stubborn now. No carb or coil or distributor, so I grabbed the points distributor and coil off one of my parts motors.

SSII Rallyes with bolt on caps, rattle can red, 15" in back, 14" in front.
'68 Fenders and '68 442 hood and '68 grille from my stash, it already had a '68 core support sitting in it.
'69 Cutlass vert trunk lid from my stash.

Now I'm looking for a cheap '68 front bumper and a reasonable pair of '68 hood hinges. Next I'll vacuum out the intake and distributor hole, and install the dizzy and coil., while being on the lookout for a cheap qjet. I have a decent bench seat from a '70, so I'll probably slap that in there. I'll probably use fiberglass to patch the windshield frame/cowl good enough to hold a windshield.

Thanks for looking!

Steve

 

Wow, that's a cool "don't give a damn" kind of project. After putting a ton of work into a car to make it "good as new", I know I'd enjoy a "eh, this is plenty fine for an old car" project. Looking forward to seeing where you take this.

 

Seff, thanks. I figured that since I've owned her twice, that must account for something!
Steve