prrc

This 442 was brought to our shop for a full restoration. The customer is the original owner of this car and has asked us to bring it back to showroom new. The car is complete and solid and just needs everthing re-furbished. I am planning on posting lots of photos as we progress and will try and document as much of the originality as possible. Follow along and feel free to ask questions. I will answer everything I can.

Here is our starting point. Let the teardown began!!

Jim

2blu442

Nice car! I don't see any rust issues, so I'm guessing you must not be in a part of the country where they salt the roads or along the coast line! Yes, please do share pictures of your progress as your right there's not many of these cars left that have not been monkeyed with over the years. John

Rocketbrian

I just bought the same car in August and I'll be interested in your progress. Looks like a solid original car, better shape than mine. My restoration will take quite a long time but fortunately like this car no one has had their hands on it before. Please provide lots of regular pictures as you go through the car.

mmurphy77

WOW, what a time capsule. I love it when they've remained un-altered after all those years. Plenty of progress pics PLEASE.

prrc

This car actually has been in central Indiana all of its life. So anyone who knows our roads in the winter can appreciate how clean the car is. I believe the owner had alternate transportation to use and took it off the road as a DD back in the late 70's. Many pictures are coming.

Jim

Texas442

Are the side stripes original or have they been repainted?
If they are original, take a lot of photos showing the exact location & width of the stripes.
It would be interesting to compare to this original stripes 1971 convertible:

http://www.texas442.com/71442stripes/
http://www.texas442.com/sidestripes/

prrc

The car had a repaint about 25 years ago so the original stripes are long gone.

prrc

I started taking trim pieces off the Olds today as well as cleaning out the trunk. The floor pan is clean as a whistle and the original Tiger Paw spare is still there. I did find a mouse condo under the spare and a former occupant. There was also some S&H Green Stamps in the console. I remember my mom getting these and going to trade them in when I was a kid. The wiring harness's in the trunk still have the plastic tags on them from the factory. This car really is a time capsule of sorts.

Stay tuned for more.....

gearheads78

Glad to see you joined and are sharing the progress here. Welcome to the site.

mmurphy77

My car still has it's original Uniroyal Tiger Paw spare as well - won't hold air but it looks great!

Bluevista

I hate those mieces to pieces!
Tiger Paws were originally used on and the marketing was directed to the GTO, the reason they were named "Tiger" Paws. No GTO was ever officially called a goat by the factory, they were referred to as "The Tiger" or " The Geeto Tiger" in advertising up until '68.
That seat batting nest isn't a good sign, may find some more evidence or maybe even a few more little friends on the interior .
Maybe the mouse was using green stamps? I must of given out a million Eagle Stamps working at the gas station back in the day. I kept the ones people didn't want and gave them to my mom, one stamp for every ten cents purchased.
I'll assume that the tubular control arm seen in the one dead critter pic is not the 442?

prrc

Bluevista, you are correct. I did find a few more furry creatures but doesnt appear they have done any real damage. And the tubular control arm belongs to a Nova in the shop getting some major suspension upgrades. Spent the holiday working in the shop on the 442 just taking more items apart and organizing the pieces. I have not come across the build sheet yet but I'm still hoping to locate it. Body and frame seperation should be this week and then the real fun starts.

skryla

Please keep those pics coming!

cutlassjoe

Wow that car is in very good shape for being in Indiana. I just finished the restoration on my 72'. Still need to do the stripes and minor other stuff. If mine was in half the shape this one is, it would have taken half the time and half the money! Great job, keep the pics coming.

prrc

The teardown continues and we are just about ready to seperate the body and chassis. We plan to have the detailed chassis on display at the Indy World of Wheels in February so there is plenty to be done in a short time. Lots of late nights and weekends planned around here. Pieces are now headed to the stripper and platers while tons of new stuff is on order and on its way. No real surprises so far, but we are coming across lots of factory marks and tags. We are taking pictures of everything we find.

Bluevista

Sure looks like it in the tearing down stage alright, keep up the good work.
If you only have a little over a month to get that chassis finished what the heck are you doing online?

Unless you took them off the hoses going into the vapor canister should have spring clamps on them, red and yellow I think?
But you probably already knew that, so never mind.

I refinish the original clamps and stash any extras I come across, the repos are incorrect.
The originals have the sharp square corners on the part of them that you squeeze together. The repos have blunt rounded corners and don't slice you open every time you go near them.
It's those little things that make all the difference, keeps guys like me from quietly pointing out the wrong clamps to you at shows every ten minutes.

Pssst...pssst, hey buddy....your clamps...they're discorrect.

prrc

We have seperated the body and chassis and will be taking the frame to the media blaster tomorrow. We have been documentng the inspection marks and parts tags we find for duplication and replacement later. The shell and loose body parts will be off to the blaster this week as well. Lots of work to do so I'm outta here and back to the shop.

prrc

Unless you took them off the hoses going into the vapor canister should have spring clamps on them, red and yellow I think?
But you probably already knew that, so never mind.

You know the canister did have clamps on the steel line ends but nothing to the canister itself. Doesn't look like they were ever on this car. It's pretty much untouched with 27,000 original miles on it. The hoses don't show any sign's of anything ever being on them. I can only guess that the guy on the assembly line that day was not doing his job. Thanks for the heads up. Maybe we can put them on when going back together.
Tim

mmurphy77

I'm ordering the tag for my Brake Booster line. This car has a 'WK'. My car has the exact equipment as this EXCEPT for mine has A/C. Can I assume the tag for my car would be a 'WK' also or was there other criteria?

Aceshigh

I'd love to see what this is going to cost.

He must have won the lotto.

Rocketbrian

Just curious if you received my 2 responses sent in reponse to your PM.

I'm not sure if I did it correctly.

Thanks, Brian

prrc

Sorry I was behind Brian. 14 hour days are gettting to me, but I did send those pics you requested. Also just email me at the address the pics come from if you need something. I check that several times a day so they wont get missed.

Thanks,
Jim

prrc

This is the first 442 I have done a stock resto on murphy so I cant answer that question with any certainty yet. I am doing a lot of research every night and documenting what we find on this car. Just lucky enough that the tag was still on the booster. The tags are still on the springs and wiring harness as well.

prrc

The frame has been media blasted and powdercoated. The frame came out of blasting as smooth as new and we are scheduled to pick it up Monday morning from the powder coater. A truckload of parts have been taken to the chemical stripper and should also be back Monday. Assembly of the chassis is beginning next week and we should have no problem meeting our goal of displaying it (the chassis) at the World of Wheels in Indpls. If you live in the area and are attending the show, stop by our booth and say hi. Engine cleaning is coming along and I will have it ready for paint this weekend. Lots of gunk coming off it and a lot of time spent dodging debris knocked loose by the wire wheel. You have to get them as clean as possible for good paint adhesion. Thats it for now, later guys.

Rocketbrian

Thanks so much for the pictures. It does confirm that the air cleaner vacuum hoses do have white stripes on them. I ordered and received a set from Heartbeat City, a Camaro supplier.
I'm jealous as to how fast you are proceeding. Your customer must be pleased with the workmanship and progress, I know I am!

I see you have all the control arms ready for blasting. Are you powdercoating them as well? What was your method to remove the bushings?

Have you removed the undercoat from the body yet? Curious as to the colour of the floors.
Appreciate any info when you have the time.
Brian

OLD SKL 69

Thanks for taking the time to post pictures on your restoration project. Mine was from Southern Indiana and was also pretty much rust free. Pretty amazing.

prrc

No doubt Darrel as Indiana loves to spread the salt in winter. But if they are not driven in it they can survive. Im glad this one did as we have had cars in the shop you could throw a bowling ball through and not hit metal!!

prrc

Have not removed undercoat yet but getting ready to take a good look at it. We will be painting the suspension pieces. Bushings were removed using a press and or air hammer.

I have hundreds of photos of the tear down so let me know if you need pics of something. Most are boring shots that just show a location or how something was routed but they are very usefull.

I hope he will be ecstatic when it's done. I know we are enjoying doing the car.

Jim

prrc

Just a quick update. The frame is back from powder coat. The suspension pieces that are bare steel have all been run through the blast cabinet for a final prep before paint. All the bare steel parts will be painted later this afternoon. We are all working really hard to get this chassis back together. We should be ready tomorrow for set up of all the chassis parts that will be painted black and starting some assembly in the next couple of days. More pictures tomorrow.

Rocketbrian

Looks fantastic!. Great to have the facilities and all the gear. Appreciate the pictures.

prrc

Has anyone ever found this type of marking on an automatic transmission? It looks like an arrow drawn to the hole where the fill tube is attatched to the bellhousing. Found it when I started cleaning the trans and was just curious.

Thanks,
Jim

Rocketbrian

I haven't, but my 442 T400 tranny has an unusual yellow stripe running down the back, which I haven't see before either. Maybe from a tranny shop at some point - I'll never know. I also found remnants of an "OG" stencil on the right side bell housing section. I think this was used to identify the correct trans to install on the line. Did you notice a stencil on yours?

prrc

A lot of progress has been made in the last week or so painting and assembling components. We have a deadline of Feb 8th to have the chassis finished so it's creeping up on us. I started painting the engine today and wasnt totally happy with the color so I think there will be a meeting in the morning to make a decision on that. The Bill Hirsch paint appeared to have a slight turquoise tint to it and not a true blue like some other colors I have seen. But we have a tab off the the valve cover with original paint on it and it's almost spot on, so I guess the debate continues. Also worked all day cleaning the trans and organizing all the parts that have been showing up. Does anyone know what if any stripes would have been on the driveshaft for this car? They were not visable on the driveshaft.

Thanks,
Jim

Rocketbrian

I used Bill Hirsch paint on my 71 SX years ago and comparing it to the remnants of the original blue on my 442 engine it is far too light and almost a silvery blue. I took a chance and ordered the new Eastwood Olds blue and it is "bang on", a perfect match. You know the true blue Olds blue when you see it. There's is a ceramic high heat paint, #51683. They also sell a hardner, #21854.

The finish on those parts in your pictures look absolutely stunning. Such a smooth finish and the correct sheen. What paint did you use? Is there a formula for the correct gloss?
Good luck with the completion date.

prrc

Tim and Wade made a lot of progress today on the chassis and some other items. The owner was in today and brought his brother with him who purchased a new Cutlass in 1970 and still has it to this day also. It is now sporting 154,000 miles on the ticker. Its really interesting to talk to people who bought these new. We began installing brake and fuel lines on the frame and I have to say I was not happy with the "correct" clip kits that we bought. I guess they forgot to include my individual cans of paint to get the clips the right colors. We will just do it ourselves here but you think if you spend good money.......


Brian, we use a version of a hot rod black for the suspension components. Sometimes the sheen can vary depending on the humidity so you have to watch it to keep the finish consistent. Tim sprays 99% of everything painted here and does a really good job of laying it down smooth. And if he doesent, Wade and I make him spray it again. LOL

prrc

Just a few more pics of the chassis for today. Heading out to see how much ice has fallen here in Indy and fight my way home.

Jim

prrc

We are making progress despite the bad weather and parts delays caused by it. Engine is being finished out and the rear axle assembly is painted and ready for re-assembly. Hope to have it back tomorrow night and installed Friday.

oldzy

Very nice.

Ditto on the 'correct' clip color issue. I bought clips from several differently places, and they were all different slightly, and not one of them had the correct yellow brake line clips for my 72 Supreme, so I had them colored yellow instead (the two clips closest to the Prop. Valve). The manual says they are yellow... so I did them yellow. I was sent green and silver ones instead.

19Starfire62

Hey Tim & Jim.

Does it seem like 2 years since you had my Starfire in the shop? Anyone in the Indy area needing any work done on their Olds should definitely go to these guys. They handled the logistics of getting my Slim Jim rebuilt and freshened the paint on my motor.

Excellent work on the 442 guys.

George

prrc

It does not seem that long ago George. We were just talking about you and the car the other day and wondered if you still had it. I think we still needed to rewire the tach so if it still needs it, get it by here when the weather gets nice. Good to hear from you!